Halloween Word Work Fun!

There are just too many great ideas on Pinterest to ever make them all!  However, I found this idea (as well as other versions) the other day and just HAD to make something similar for my Halloween-loving son.  Click here to visit the original post.

For this one, I used black beans and red lentils (The look was just too Halloweeny to resist!  But they are really too heavy.*).   I also made a set of Halloween and beginning sight words for the seek and find, as well as 2 versions of recording sheets.  You'll find that one page of cards is EDITABLE so you can add your own words.  Click on the picture below to download your free set!   Just remember to copy the cards at about 70% of the size.  I made them too big :(

Anyway, I just LOVE the way this set turned out.  My son loved it, too!  He was writing  and trying so hard to sound out the Halloween words!  The effort I saw him put into it makes me think that this type of word work would be quite a hit in the classroom, too!   I plan to make more sets of these for each holiday or season using fuse beads and some fun little toys.  Think of all the words students could practice this way!   

There are only a few things I will change:  

1)  My container is a little large and, therefore, heavy.  I did not anticipate the weight of it, so I plan to look for lighter packing materials (such as fuse beads) in the future.  I also plan to look for plastic juice bottles or something similar. (Think:  wide opening, small container.)  

2)  To only have each word appear once did not work well.  My son became a little frustrated when he could not find the last few words.  So, I took the words out and replaced them with cards copied back-to-back.  That way, each word appears twice.  It would also be best if the cards could be rolled or attached to objects.  They tend to stick together . . . 

Happy teaching!