Franklin's Halloween by Paulette Bourgeois - Teaching Ideas

Franklin is SO excited for Halloween because his town always has a Halloween party with lots of fun games, a costume parade/contest and a haunted house. But before the Halloween party, Franklin must figure out what he is going to be. His friends are no help, they won't tell him what they are going to be, they want everybody to try and figure out who they are at the party. In the meantime, Franklin tries on many different things and finally he comes up with a great costume idea, he is going to be Franklinstien and boy does he make a great green monster!! At the party Franklin recognizes Bear as the ghost (Bear is a ghost every year) and he thinks he has figured out his other friends. Franklin bobs for apples, wins a prize in the costume contest and then heads on over to the haunted house. Franklin goes in alone and just about screams but before he does the lights flash on and he sees all the things that were making it scary. As Franklin joins his friends outside the haunted house  a ghost flies overhead. The friends are all confused because Bear is the ghost and Bear can't fly! Where is Bear and is that a real ghost?!?! Your students will have a lot of fun with this story and they just might try to figure out who the ghost really is.

If you are planning on reading this book this October and are needing a great lesson to go with it, take a look at the following skills and strategies. Hopefully there is something here that will help you create a "spooktacular" lesson!

I really wanted something fun to do with this book, so I created a True False comprehension game. This would be a great center activity. Look at the bottom of this post for more info on the game.

Reading level: 2.4

Theme: Halloween

Genre: fiction

Suggested Vocabulary: gruesome, mysterious, twitched, swooped, clanged, shuddered

Reading skills and strategies:

• asking questions - {possible questions before}I wonder what Franklin is going to be for Halloween? {possible questions during} I wonder if that is a real ghost? {possible questions after} I wonder why Franklin wanted his treats to last him till the end of the week and not till next Halloween. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
• author's point of view - 3rd person point of view. Find 3 pieces of text evidence to support your findings.
• author's purpose - entertain {evidence} Animals don't talk. Animals don't dress up for Halloween and Franklin dressed in some pretty silly costumes. All these things make an entertaining book.
• cause and effect - Why was Franklin so excited about the costume party? because everyone would be there. Why were Beaver and Goose keeping their costumes a secret? They wanted Franklin to find them at the party. Why did Franklin think he knew what costume Bear was? because Bear is always a ghost. Why was the pumpkin toss Franklin's favorite game? because he always won a treat. Why was Franklin's heart beating fast and hard? because he was afraid in the haunted house. Why does Franklin think he knows who the ghost is? because a feather floated down and he thought the feather might be Mr. Owls. Why did the friends leave treats on Bear's porch? because they wanted to share their treats since he was sick and couldn't go to the Halloween party. Why did Franklin want his candy to last until the end of next week? because he didn't think he had a lot of candy and he was probably going to eat a lot so he wanted it to last until the end of last week.
• characterization - describe Franklin {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
• classify & categorize - Halloween costumes - scary, not scary
• compare & contrast - Franklin's Halloween party and a Halloween party you have been to.
• connections - {possible text-to-self connections}Making your own Halloween costume. Going to a Halloween party. Going into a haunted house. Being afraid in a haunted house.  {possible text-to-text connections} The Grumpy Bunny's Spooky Night - haunted house.
• drawing conclusions & inferencing - Would Mr. Mole and Mr. Owls ghost trick have worked if Bear wasn't home sick? Why or Why not? {text clues}Franklin said that it was easy to spot Bear because he was always a ghost. Mr. Mole said that Bear was home sick. The ghost flew over the kids heads. {my conclusion} I don't think their trick would have worked because if Bear was there with them and a ghost flew over head they would have just tried to figure out what other person - that could fly - it could have been. But because they thought Bear was there and the ghost flew over head they didn't think it was anyone else so it had to be a ghost.
• fact & opinion - {facts} Some people go trick or treating on Halloween. Halloween is October 31st. Most kids wear costumes on Halloween. When you go trick-or-treating you usually get candy. {opinion} Halloween is my favorite holiday. I think haunted houses are scary.
• main idea & details - {main idea}Franklin goes to a Halloween party and has a good time. {details} Franklin bobs for apples and plays the pumpkin toss. Franklin wins a prize in the costume parade for best green costume. Franklin goes into the haunted house and get really scared until he figures out what scared him. Franklin figures out that the ghost is really Mr. Owl.
• plot - the turning point or climax in the story is when Franklin sees the feather floating down after the ghost flies by.
• predict - What do you think the story is about? What do you think Franklin will be for Halloween? What do you think Beaver and Goose are going to be? Do you think Franklin will win a prize? Do you think Franklin will be scared in the haunted house? Do you think it is a real ghost? Do you think all the friends will share their treats with Bear? How long do you think Franklin's treats will last? Why?
• sequencing - It is Halloween day. Franklin and his friends talk about he Halloween party. Franklin tries on a bunch of costumes but doesn't like any of them. His friends won't tell him what they are going to be. Franklin makes his costume, he is Franklinstein. Franklin bobs for apples and plays the pumpkin toss. Franklin wins a prize in the costume contest. Franklin goes first into the haunted house and gets scared. Franklin and his friends see a ghost flying over head. Franklin catches a feather flying down. Franklin figures out who the ghost is, Mr. Owl. Franklin and his friends share their treats with Bear.
• story elements - list title, author, character's, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.

 Happy Halloween!