In today’s episode of Teaching Middle School ELA, we have a special treat for you as we dive into the spookiness of Halloween. We understand that the days leading up to Halloween can be a challenge in the classroom, as students are filled with excitement and anticipation. Join us as we guide you through an engaging and standards-aligned lesson called the Haunted Forest Escape Room. This three-class period unit is designed to make your students feel like class is a little more special during this time of year. Best of all, the lessons center around literary analysis, focusing on plot, setting, and characterization. So get ready to embrace the excitement of the season and engage your students in a frightfully fun and educational activity!
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Tune in now to hear:
[00:01:40] Caitlin and Jessica begin today’s episode remembering the excitement of Halloween as a middle schooler, with costume choices, trick-or-treating plans, and candy consumption.
[00:04:55] They share an activity that will not only engage students this time of year, but will also help them review skills around plot structure and literary analysis. Listeners will hear how to set this activity up in their own classrooms.
[00:12:32] The final lesson in this three-day activity is an escape room. Using escape rooms in the classroom can create energy and momentum, engaging students in their learning.
[00:18:38] Students will love this spooky activity that is not only engaging, but also standards-aligned, helping manage the excitement of the Halloween season.
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Now if you’re feeling extra awesome today, we would be super grateful if you left us a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find our podcast, and they’re also so much fun for us to go in and read. Just click here to review by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. You’ll receive a free sentence/fragment activity resource. Just screenshot it before submitting it and email it to us at caitlinandjessica@ebacademics.com with the subject line TMSELA Review| Sentence Fragment Activity. Thank you!
