Great Halloween Activities for Your School Library

Lucas Maxwell has been working with youth in libraries for over fifteen years. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, he is been a highschool librarian in London, UK for over a decade. In 2017 he received the UK’s School Librarian of the Year award and in 2022 he was named the UK Literacy Association’s Reading For Pleasure Teacher Champion. He loves Dungeons & Dragons and is the writer of Let’s Roll: A Guide for Setting up Tabletop Roleplaying Games in Your School or Public Library. You can comply with him on Twitter and on his weblog.

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I really like the Halloween season, and it’s particularly enjoyable in a faculty library. In my expertise, college students additionally love this time of yr: horror and thriller novels are a few of our hottest within the faculty. There’s no higher approach to maintain college students coming again into the varsity library than to have enjoyable Halloween-based actions. These actions can typically end in plenty of books being put into the arms of scholars, however they’ll additionally change the notion of what the library is within the eyes of each college students and workers alike.

When I’m considering of Halloween actions for college students, I’m at all times enthusiastic about what I’d have wished as an 11- or 12-year-old scholar. I’d have wished one thing that obtained me up and shifting, one thing the place I may create my very own story, and one thing that might introduce me to chill new horror books and particularly comics. These actions attempt to do all of these issues, and I’m joyful to report that every one of our actions within the library are extraordinarily common and practically overrun with college students hoping to participate, which is admittedly fantastic to see.

a photo of a jack o' lantern bucket and paper the title Short Story Writing Workshop: Horror — Image courtesy of Lucas Maxwell

A Spooky Dungeons and Dragons One-Shot

I’ve written earlier than on why establishing a Dungeons and Dragons membership in your faculty library is crucial. Making a particular D&D Halloween one-shot (an journey that may be accomplished in a few hours) is a good thought to introduce new college students to the sport and to cater it to this scary season. The Dungeon Master’s Guild has a whole bunch if not 1000’s of scary one-shots for your teenagers, a lot of that are at a “pay what you like” tier and even free. I actually suggest establishing Dungeons and Dragons in your library: it will likely be an expertise you received’t neglect.

Scary Stories Podcasting

I do plenty of podcasting within the library with college students of all ages. It’s a good way to actually get their voice heard. What higher approach to rejoice Halloween than to file them discussing their favorite horror novels and even studying a scary story or poem that may be replayed (with permission) to different college students? Going even one step additional, college students may write their very own scary poems or tales and file them within the library. Our college students actually love recording themselves, interviewing company, and studying learn how to use the totally different media tools, so making it a part of the Halloween actions is crucial.

Horror Zine Making

Zines are straightforward to make. You can discover nice kid-friendly directions at Brightly. If you’ve by no means carried out them earlier than, primarily, they’re little do-it-yourself magazines on any subject you need. I’m going to do a horror-themed zine-making contest within the library over the Halloween interval. They could make a zine on their favorite horror e-book or film — or, in fact, create their very own horror story. They are fast, straightforward to create, and plenty of enjoyable. I at all times sit up for seeing the superb creations and concepts the scholars generate.

Halloween Book Basketball Deathmatch

I really like this recreation, however bewaaaaare! It will get rowdy. Put college students into groups. Have them give you scary names for their groups. Give every staff 10 factors. The object of the sport is to take away mentioned factors from the opposite groups’ scorecards. How do you do that? By answering horror-based literary questions, in fact! Wait, you ask, why is the phrase “basketball” within the title of this recreation? I’ll clarify. You ask a horror-themed query, and let’s say staff one will get it proper. They get to take away one level from another staff’s scorecard. They then nominate one individual from their staff to shoot a basketball at a hoop (Nerf or some type of knock-off toy). If they sink the shot, they get to knock off an extra level from one other staff. Last staff standing wins. Again, it’s going to get rowdy. Have enjoyable.

School Library — Image courtesy of Lucas Maxwell

Halloween Music & Munchies

This is one other chaotic one, however I do it virtually yearly, and it’s an incredible approach to improve the profile of the library. I associate with the music division, and we deliver older college students exterior to arrange mics, amps, keyboards, drums — no matter they need. They then play music throughout lunchtime. One yr, they performed the Ghostbusters theme tune and different Halloween-based music whereas I had college students borrow books utilizing a rolling cart and a handbook checkout system. Oh, I virtually forgot: any scholar who borrowed a e-book obtained a free doughnut. When I say it was chaotic, what I imply was it was full bedlam. Did I lose some books that day? Yes, however they talked about it for a protracted, very long time, and it modified the notion of the library for many individuals.