Halloween Poem

Either give each student 5 spider rings, or have them color and cut out 5 spiders.

Five little spiders coming in the door,
One stopped to spin a web, and then there were four.
Four little spiders climbing up a tree,
One stayed to play on a leaf, and then there were three.
Three little spiders help to stir the brew,
One fell in then there were two.
Two little spiders playing in the sun,
One went to look for shade, and then there was one.
One little spider is really quite a sight
(cover the spider tissue paper so he looks like a ghost)
dressed in his costume on Halloween night. Boo!

The students have fun saying the poem with you. I like to write the poem on large paper so the kids can follow along.

Spider Web

Have your class sit in a circle and roll a giant ball of yarn back and forth across the circle to create a huge spider web. This will work on turn taking and gross motor skills. Remind the kids that they have to keep their finger on yarn to keep the web in place as they roll the yarn around. After the web is complete I like to throw either small spider rings or spider toys into the web or a stuffed animal spider. Sometimes I will even drop them into their hair or laps... it is always good for a scream.  

Wee Sing for Halloween

I like to bring music into teaching when possible. Students learn through different methods and music is an excellent way to help them learn. I bought the CD called "Wee Sing for Halloween" This cd has some fun songs and chants about Halloween time. My classroom plays this music throughout October and the kids look forward to the new songs.

'Dem Bones

Have your class create Halloween skeletons. This is a great activity because if your students are lower functioning you can focus on the fine motor skills of cutting out the skeleton. If the students are higher functioning you can focus on naming the bones and placing them in the correct sequence. Simply use paper plates. Every student will require 16 paper plates to create the skeleton. I generally trace the pattern for the head, neck, ribs, pelvis, arms/legs (same pattern) then have the kids trace their own hands and feet. After all pieces are cut out we then hole punch the plates so their will connect with either brads or yarn. The kids then assemble their skeleton and draw on a face. Once their buddy is complete we use the skeleton to sing songs like "Dem Bones" "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" and other fun Halloween songs.

Articulation

I'm trying to find other ways to work on speech articulation. I found that creating flash cards and worksheets help the student to generalize these skills beyond speech instruction. I used Boardmaker pictures and an excel spread sheet to create different worksheets like the one pictured. The use of the boxes below each picture is for a small sticker. This way every time the child says the /f/ sound correctly they receive an immediate reward of the sticker and in the end the page is full of fun small stickers. This is also a great activity to have the child take home with them. I generally complete 3/5 of the trials and then the rest are completed at home to help increase the generalization.