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Teach? Learn? Seriously? In October? Is that a trick or a treat? Halloween music class lessons can be the “trickiest” ones to pull off. It’s hard to “teach” anything in music class with all the sugar in the air. Hopefully, this blog post will keep your Halloween music class full of treats and on track throughout the month of October. Keep reading to learn how to get ready for Halloween music class tricks or treats!
Because I only see students once a week for music class, it’s super important to continue teaching even though everyone might think we’re just having fun in the music room. If I keep the theme of the material about “Halloween,” the students think we are having fun! That’s the “trick” part of Halloween music class lesson planning. The treat is that my students will still be learning music concepts throughout the month of October and during those “tricky” music classes. Halloween music class tricks or treats? I’ve got them up my sleeves!
Every year I tweak my lesson plans, but here’s a simple outline of some of the Halloween music activities I’ll be teaching this year. I’ve found that using activities that keep students’ hands busy is a great way to be ready for Halloween music class tricks or treats.
GRADE |
CONCEPT |
LESSON MATERIALS |
KINDERGARTEN |
Steady BeatEcho ChantExpress Music through movement |
Pumpkin, Pumpkin“The Black Cat” GameHalloween Creative Movement with Scarves. |
FIRST GRADE |
so miquarter and eighth notesExpress Music through movement |
“Old Mother Witch”“The Black Cat”Halloween Rhythm and Instrument ActivitiesHalloween Creative Movement |
SECOND GRADE |
so mi laquarter, eighth, half notesquarter restExpress Music through movement |
“Old Mother Witch”Review “Old Mother Witch” with an emphasis on the half notes and quarter notes.Halloween Rhythm and Instrument ActivitiesHalloween WorksheetsHalloween Creative Movement |
THIRD GRADE |
Reading tiri-tiri or tika-tikaExpress Music through movement |
“Skin and Bones” on xylophonesHalloween Rhythm and Instrument ActivitiesHalloween Creative Movement |
FOURTH GRADE |
RECORDERSB-A-GExpress Music through movement |
BAG HALLOWEEN SONGSHalloween WorksheetsHalloween Creative Movement |
FIFTH GRADE |
Reading and Create Compositions using: tiri-tiri (or tika-tika)Express Music through movement |
Spooky Chants (Play and Create)Halloween WorksheetsHalloween Creative Movement |
SIXTH GRADE |
GUITAR-EM CHORD |
“Skin and Bones” Em Chord |
I’ve got a special set of activities that I’ll be using in my Halloween music class lessons in October. Since my school has a break and parent-teacher conferences during October, I’ve found that it’s better for students and teachers to keep lessons simplified and easy to manage. So I created a set of songs that I can use in my beginning recorder lessons.
This resource helps students learn to play G-A-B on the recorder. The songs are each 8 bars long and meant to be short songs for students to easily achieve success and build up the confidence to play more advanced materials. Use this resource to practice G-A-B on the recorder. Try using the different songs in centers or stations. Each page is provided in color and black and white for easy ink printing. Color pages are placed at the beginning of the file for easy printing.
I’m super excited about this set of songs for Halloween music class lessons because it will be an easy way to keep students engaged and learning during “spooky” Halloween music classes
You may be able to relate to this poem. I sure do!
My students love to play with color note instruments. I use them for my 5th and 6th grade students on special short days or as extension activities. Subscribe to the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY, and you can have the Halloween Color Note Songs for free!
I’m sure you’ve heard of “boomwhackers”? No? Don’t have boomwhackers? You can get them here from Amazon.
Grab the free Halloween songs by subscribing to my free resource library, and you’ll keep student hands busy and learning notes, playing together and having fun in music class.
I think “having fun” during Halloween music class lessons can vary from teacher to teacher. For me, having fun is when the students are engaged and don’t want to leave music. I also think that when I’m having fun, time flies by. For me, having fun begins with a plan and well-executed lessons. If I’m confident in my plan, the students sense this confidence and everything flows better. To me, having fun is NOT breaking the rules and letting everything get too crazy. However, I will jump in and dance, play the games, sing, wear costumes, talk like a wicked old witch, get out the props, set up the instruments, and try to maintain a positive attitude. I’d love to hear some ways you have “fun” in your music room.
If you like to have students playing instruments in music class, you may want to check out this top-selling resource. It includes one of my favorite lessons for the Halloween holiday called “Halloween Rhythm & Composition Activities.”
These activities are perfect for Halloween and keep students learning music concepts. Although the rhythms are easy, playing the instruments is a bit more difficult so even my 4th graders get into this one. (I have plans to make an upper elementary version.) My students are listening to the beat, playing rhythms, and reading out loud. It’s a great literacy/music activity! It also helps me be prepared for any Halloween music class tricks or treats.
Depending on when Halloween comes during the week, I might have a class where I want to do creative movement and a writing/coloring activity. I know that the students get really wired from all the Halloween activities, so sometimes a SUPER SILENT ACTIVITY (SSA … not sheet music) is required. I’ll play some spooky musical selections as my students color. I choose from the selections I’ve included in the scarf or brain break activities above. I like to talk about the pictures first and discuss what they are coloring. At the end of class, I do what I call an “Art Walk.” The students stand in a circle and hold their pictures in front of me. I can’t do the art walk with any talking! I walk around the circle and compliment each student’s work. They love to show me their pictures!
I also like my students to be able to go home and “tell” others what they learned in music class. So I have them echo me: “Today I learned about… It was fun because…. I listened to….” and other sentences to help them talk about their music class experiences. I am my only music education advocate, so I enlist the help of my students to spread the good word!
No matter what I choose to use for my October lessons, I try to keep a balance between learning and fun! It’s a good time to review the rules, maybe have a little competition between classes for the “best” Halloween class time, and bring out a little drama that way you’ll be ready for Halloween music class tricks or treats.
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If you’re looking for more ways to prepare for Halloween music class tricks or treats. you may want to read some of my other Halloween-themed blog posts. Click on the graphics below to check them out.
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Hi there! I’m Sandra, one of the authors behind Sing Play Create. My goal is to provide teachers with interactive resources and activities to improve the effectiveness of their teaching and enhance student learning.
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