Younger elementary students who have not learned to write many words or who are still learning how to read may not know how to write an entire story. These students can draw pictures of their favorite Halloween images, such as pumpkins, monsters, bats and black cats, and then draw a speaking bubble that comes from the mouth of the image with a few Halloween-inspired words within it. This will train the students not only to be creative but to think about spelling. The child should then explain on a separate piece of paper what their drawing is about.
Elementary school children who have a stronger grasp of the written language can take part in a Halloween story prompt exercise. To make one, create a story outline for the kids complete with character names and a basic, open-ended plot. For example, the plot can include a trip two friends take to a spooky house on the top of a hill. Tell the students to choose names and build their characters. Have them brainstorm about who their characters are, and why they want to go to the house on the hill. Then, have them write a story about the two friends and what they encounter. With just a little bit of guidance, this will allow the students to be creative.
A variation on this exercise can include the student writing a story based on giving them the first sentence, such as "It was a dark and scary night when..." or "I met a goblin and he told me...."
Have the students write a short rhyming poem about Halloween by writing 10 lines, with an A-B-A-B rhyme pattern. Lines one and three must rhyme, and lines two and four must rhyme. This pattern will continue for the rest of the poem. Give the students a few words to use, such as "cat," "bat," "black" and "night." This exercise will allow students to think about phonetics and rhyme sounds.
You can have older elementary school children read about the history of Halloween and write a one-page report on the holiday and what people do during it. This exercise teaches them how to analyze information and write about it, while learning about something interesting. For a cultural twist, provide each child with the background information on how Halloween is celebrated in other countries. Ask the children to write about what they have read and present it to the class.