It’s the spookiest time of year, and chances are your students are beyond excited about it! Halloween kicks off the holiday season and brings a lot of anticipation and candy. So, how can you make the most out of the craziness?! Bring math and Halloween together!
Math is everywhere, including on Halloween. Let’s look at how you can show students the math in all the Halloween decorations around them. Talk about a frighteningly fun lesson!
Math and Halloween: Spider Webs and Symmetry
Spiders scream creepy and crawly. Spiders and their webs are frequently used as Halloween decorations. You may see more cobwebs hung on doors and tables than symmetrical webs, but we can still use these webs to discuss symmetry.
Explore symmetry with your students by looking at various spider webs. Here are some questions you can ask students…
- What makes a web symmetrical?
- Is there more than one line of symmetry in some webs?
- What type of spiders make symmetrical webs?
Then, create your symmetrical webs. This blog post from Happy Toddler Playtime lists a variety of spider web crafts you can make. These crafts aren’t just for toddlers, especially when you add the challenge of making symmetrical webs.
These webs make for the perfect math and Halloween classroom decorations.
Math and Halloween: Geometric Haunted Houses
Haunted houses are another popular Halloween decoration; students love good haunted houses. Why not add a mathematical challenge to it? Create geometric haunted houses!
This is a great STEM activity. First, you want to review various 2-dimensional shapes with students and brainstorm what shapes they may see on a haunted house.
Then, have students create geometric creations of haunted houses. You can make this activity as involved as you want it to be. You can have students draw their geometric haunted houses or offer them a variety of materials and have them construct their own.
The choices are endless; combining math and Halloween decorations is another fun way.
Math and Halloween: Measuring Pumpkins
You may want to celebrate the season but would like to avoid the scarier side of Halloween decorations. Use pumpkins!
Pumpkins are another typical Halloween decoration, and we can use them to explore math concepts, too!
This pumpkin math project is a great way to combine math and Halloween. It requires students to measure pumpkins and then use those measurements to complete various place-value tasks. Grab the 3rd, 4th, or 5th-grade pumpkin math project and use real pumpkins or the included pumpkin information pages.
Whether discussing fall or Halloween decorations in your classroom, this pumpkin math project will hit the spot!
If you have students who need a little extra support when completing place-value tasks, download this free place-value toolkit. It is easy to build and a great differentiation tool for your students. Grab it here!
Math and Halloween: Corn Mazes
Corn mazes may be a large decoration, but if your students visit any fall festival or pumpkin patch, they will undoubtedly encounter this fall decoration. Corn mazes represent Halloween in multiple ways. So, how can we connect math and Halloween with corn mazes? Area and perimeter!
Anyone who creates a corn maze first starts by finding the area and perimeter of their maze field. From there, they can plan out the labyrinth and the spookiness they want to add inside.
Show your students images of various corn mazes, then have them create their own and find the area and perimeter of their different mazes. You can have students create their mazes on paper or allow them to work together to create a “corn maze” in a larger space with tape, rope, or other materials.
Math and Halloween: Halloween Color By Number
And if you are looking for an easy Halloween decoration for your classroom… grab these Halloween Color by Numbers. This activity includes three different color-by-number activities. Each activity consists of three versions and practices place value skills.
Students complete the problem-solving page and color the corresponding picture based on their answers.
Then, you can take their festive photographs and make a spooky classroom bulletin board.
Use this no-prep activity as a fun way to combine math and Halloween.
This time of year doesn’t have to be scary. Take advantage of your students’ enthusiasm and combine math and Halloween. Use Halloween decorations to explore various math concepts and show your students that math is all around them. Happy haunting!
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