Kids are getting more and more excited as trick-and-treating season is just around the corner. Halloween is back to bring some happiness and fun, things we have missed so much during a tough pandemic-ridden year.
But while Halloween is a time for celebration and festivities, we, teachers and educators, can also turn it into an educational occasion to teach our kids about a wide variety of relevant topics such as cultural diversity, tolerance, empathy, social justice, among others.
There are even digital activities designed specifically to engage kids in fun learning experiences during this season and throughout the whole year. There are also books and apps packed with interactive games, spooky stories, and challenges that will not only enable kids to enjoy their Halloween season but will also make sure they keep learning while doing so.
What is Halloween?
Several students know Halloween by name only and have mo idea about the story behind it. The purpose of today's post is to offer educational video content to help find answers to questions such as:
What is Halloween? What is the story behind it? Why is it celebrated on the 31st of each October? What do Celtics have to do with Halloween? When did this ancient cultural tradition first emerge and where? Why kids dress in spooky costume (guises) during Halloween? What is the story behind trick-and-treating? What does Samhain has to do with Halloween? What other cultural practices are involved in Halloween celebrations?
These and several other questions have probably crossed the minds of several of our students and they need answers. Remember, learning is always effective when it is experiential, timely and related to tangible authentic needs/goals.
To this end, I compiled for you this collection of YouTube videos that you can use with your students in class to educate them about this great cultural tradition. You can watch them together in class and get students in pairs to answer some of these questions before you engage the whole class in group discussion.
1- Halloween History by National Geographic
2- Bet You Didn't Know: Halloween by HISTORY
4- All About Halloween History | Halloween Facts for Kids, by ESL Kids World
