[Free October Resources] Celebrate Halloween with Edmentum

It’s the spookiest time of year! Check out a few of our favorite free resources that are perfect for your class as you learn about and explore the October holidays. Whether you’re learning in person, virtually, or doing something in between, it’s easy to share these fun downloadable resources with your students and put everyone into the October spirit!

Fun Classroom Resources for Major October Holidays

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)

Every year from September 15 to October 15, the United States observes National Hispanic Heritage Month, a national celebration of the cultures, traditions, accomplishments, and contributions of Hispanic Americans.

Kick off the celebration in your classroom during Hispanic Heritage Month with a free topical resource packet from Edmentum. In this packet, you’ll find fact sheets, critical thinking questions, and activities to help your class explore the significance of Hispanic Heritage Month, discuss different cultural traditions, and learn more about Spanish-speaking countries.

Check out this list of useful links that your class can use to learn more about the people, history, and heritage of Hispanic Americans.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 9)

Indigenous Peoples' Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October, is a day dedicated to honoring and celebrating the rich cultural heritage, history, and contributions of Indigenous peoples in America. It's a day to learn, reflect, and show respect for the diverse Indigenous cultures that have helped shape our world and continue to play a vital role in our global community.

Check out this FREE downloadable Indigenous Peoples Word Search PDF for a fun activity to introduce students to important terms within Indigenous culture.

You can also find some more free printables here to keep the fun going and engage your students in meaningful discussions and activities centered around Indigenous Peoples' Day.

National Bullying Prevention Month

Bullying comes in many different forms, including physical bullying, verbal bullying, and the increasingly common cyberbullying. But no matter what form it takes, bullying is never cool. That’s why National Bullying Prevention Month is such an important October holiday.

The FREE National Bullying Prevention Month Toolkit from Edmentum includes an age-appropriate poster, Fact Sheets, and critical thinking questions specifically created to educate your pre-K through 6th-grade students. Help stop the cycle of bullying for the next generation by using these resources to begin a dialogue with your youngest learners about what bullying is, how to prevent it, and how to respond if it does happen.

National Fire Prevention Week (October 8-14)

For young and old alike, Fire Prevention Week is a great reminder of the importance of fire safety! Best practices should be taught early and often to ensure young children are avoiding potentially hazardous situations and prepared to react in case of emergency—both at school and at home. 

During the designated week of October each year, we encourage you to dedicate some time to brushing up on safety practices with your students as part of the official Fire Prevention Week. Learn why we observe this week each year and how you can help educate students on fire safety by downloading our free Fire Prevention Week Toolkit from Edmentum. 

Resources for the October holidays include Fact Sheets, Activities, and critical thinking questions to help review fire safety with your students. In addition, as you plan an upcoming lesson, don’t forget to check out this blog for five best practices for avoiding and responding to a fire.

Red Ribbon Week (October 23 - 31)

From October 23 to 31, schools around the nation will observe Red Ribbon Week®, the largest and longest-running annual campaign dedicated to drug prevention. Beyond spreading awareness of the dangers of drug and alcohol use, Red Ribbon Week also presents an excellent opportunity to teach students about the benefits of building lifelong healthy habits, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

To help you recognize this important campaign in the classroom, Edmentum is offering a Free Red Ribbon Week Topical Resource Packet stuffed with activities, critical thinking questions, posters, and fact sheets designed to engage your students in constructive conversations on developing positive habits. Not sure where to kick off the conversation? Check out our blog: 5 Tips for Talking to Elementary Students About Healthy Habits.

Halloween Classroom Resources

Celebrate Halloween in your classroom with a free topical resource packet from Edmentum. In this packet, you’ll find spooktacular critical thinking questions, fact sheets, activities, and a fun poster to help your class explore the traditions of Halloween, learn about the lifecycle of pumpkins, and even take part in a slimy experiment.

The Edmentum Brain Game – Halloween Edition

The Edmentum Brain Game is a fun, descriptive game that puts an interactive twist on flashcard review by challenging players to describe terms with a partner or group. There are multiple ways to play the game, so put your own spin on the rules to fit the needs of your students. Keep an eye out during the rest of the school year for more fun-themed packs to add to your collection. For the full list of card packs and rules for the game, check out our website.

Edmentum Bingo! - Halloween Edition

Who doesn't love a nice game of Bingo? Our free downloadable Bingo cards are perfect for printing or downloading to play with your students or posting on your social media story to play with friends. And don't forget to check out our other Bingo cards, too!

Fun Halloween Lesson Ideas

Looking for fun ways to incorporate a fancy dress day into a lesson? Your classroom may not be the place for witches or ghosts this year, but there are creative ways you can incorporate a fun, educational Halloween day into your lesson plan on October 31. Take a look at these three education-appropriate ideas to help celebrate Halloween at school.

• Book Character Day: Help your students select a book from your school or classroom library. Have your students read the book at home and then, on a designated day, come to in-person or virtual class dressed as the main character from that book. For students with stronger literacy skills, you can ask students to present a short book report to the class where they describe their character.

• History Report: Another great way to tie an educational theme into a fun Halloween celebration is to have your students dress up as a historical figure or a person living during a different time in history. To make things simple, type up a list of historical figures featured in the curriculum you’ll cover throughout the year and have students choose one from the list. Or, draw students' names randomly from a hat to ensure that you don’t end up with duplicates. Tie in a writing lesson by having your students research the person or time period they have chosen and write a brief biography about the figure or describe what a day in the life might look like for someone in their assigned time period. On dress-up day, students can present their costumes and biographies to the class and share them with their classmates.

• What I Want to Be: Imagining future careers is a fun way for your students to learn about different jobs and share their aspirations with their teachers and classmates. Before Halloween, have your students write a brief report where they describe a career that interests them and why, as well as what a day in the life might look like for someone with that career. On Halloween, have your students bring a prop item or dress up as they would for their future job or as a well-known person in the industry they have chosen. You can have students present to the class about what they want to be, or you can have them gather into groups and discuss how their different careers might work together in a community.

Celebrate October Holidays With Edmentum

No matter what your classroom looks like this year, the October holidays always bring plenty of ways to get into the autumn spirit! Share how you celebrate success in your classroom this year with us on social media by tagging @edmentum! And be sure to browse Edmentum’s Free Resources page for fun, interactive toolkits, downloadables and more.