The days leading up to Halloween can make sitting through a lesson especially difficult for our young learners. They’re thinking about costumes, trick-or-treating, and candy, and it can be hard to focus on a lesson with all of that on their minds! They need an outlet for that excitement, but with so many academic demands and skills to cover, finding enough time for movement can be a challenge.
That’s why I created these Halloween movement activities that let students get up and move while practicing math! The animated Halloween characters build on their excitement for the holiday and demonstrate the exercises. But to know which movement to do, students first have to count the objects and choose their answer. That gives them a reason to focus on the skill practice while still getting some of those wiggles out.
You can fit in meaningful review, give everyone a chance to participate, and make room for movement during those busy days before or after Halloween.
During my years teaching preschool and kindergarten, finding ways to include movement was an important part of planning lessons. Young children need to move, explore, and participate. Sitting and listening for long periods is hard for them!
With so many standards to cover and skills to practice, it can feel difficult to fit everything into the school day. More academic expectations can also mean more time spent sitting, even when our students are showing us that they need to get up.
That’s why I created my movement review activities. I wanted students to get up and move while practicing the skills we were already working on in class.
Instead of raising a hand, saying an answer, or clicking a response, students show their answers by doing the movement next to their answer choice. Everyone has an opportunity to respond.
For this Halloween version, I added animated seasonal characters that show students how to do the movements. The characters move right on the screen, so children can watch and know exactly what to do!
Why Include Movement During a Lesson?
Movement gives children another way to participate in learning and allows them to get up and actively participate in the lesson. The CDC identifies classroom physical activity as a way to support concentration, staying on task, and engagement in learning. It can be incorporated into academic lessons as well as offered during movement breaks.
In these activities, the movement has a purpose: it communicates the student’s answer. Children need to look at the question, think about their response, and connect their answer with the correct movement.
This gives students practice with following directions and focus while reviewing math. It also gives you a way to observe their understanding as they participate.
You can look around to see which answers students have chosen, notice who may need more support, and decide whether to pause and review a question together.
How the Halloween Counting Activities Work
Each question shows objects in ten frames, with number choices along the bottom. An animated Halloween character demonstrates a different movement beside each answer.
- Count the objects. Give students time to look at the ten frames and decide which number matches.
- Move to show the answer. Students perform the movement beside their chosen number.
- Check together. Click to reveal the correct answer.
I recommend giving everyone thinking time before inviting the class to move. That way, students have a chance to work out their own answers before seeing what their classmates do.
After revealing the answer, you can count the objects together or ask children how they figured out the number. Some may count each object, while others recognize familiar arrangements or use a full ten frame to help them.
Students practice counting, matching quantities to numerals, number recognition, and subitizing (Common Core standards K.CC.B.4 and K.CC.B.5), all while getting a chance to move.
I also like to differentiate for students who are up for a more challenging activity: counting to 20 with 3 answer choices.
Try the Free Halloween Numbers to 10 Activity
Try a free sample that includes 10 counting questions for numbers 1 through 10, with two answer choices per question.
You’ll receive:
- Animated Halloween characters that demonstrate the movements
- Ten frame counting questions
- Self-checking slides
- Teacher directions
- Both BOOM Cards and PowerPoint formats
Use a few questions when your class needs a movement break, or work through the set during math review. You can choose which slides to use and how many to do at one time. It’s also an activity you can include in a Halloween classroom celebration while still giving students meaningful counting practice.
Download the Free Halloween Numbers to 10 Activity
Continue the Practice with Numbers to 20
If this format works well for your students, the full Halloween Numbers to 20 resource gives you more counting practice and a choice of two or three answers per question.
It includes:
- 20 question slides with two answer choices
- 20 question slides with three answer choices
- Animated Halloween characters demonstrating the movements
- Click to reveal answers
- Teacher directions
- Both BOOM Cards and PowerPoint formats
Both sets cover numbers 1 through 20. You can choose the set that fits your class or use different versions with small groups (numbers to 10, numbers to 20).
Keep the slides available for math review, a movement break between activities, or those days around Halloween when your students need a little more time to move!
See the Full Halloween Numbers to 20 Resource
Share Your Classroom Experience
Adding animated seasonal characters is something new I’m trying with my movement activities, and I’d love your classroom perspective.
After using the free sample, please take a minute to complete the short feedback survey linked inside the resource. You can let me know how your students responded, whether anything could work better, and whether you’d like more seasonal movement reviews.
Thank you for trying it with your students and sharing your thoughts!
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