As Halloween approaches, our students are often distracted by thoughts of costumes and trick-or-treating plans. Sometimes the best way to keep students on track and engaged in learning is to incorporate a bit of holiday fun into our lesson plans! In this post, I’m going to share a fun Halloween inferencing activity that would be a great addition to your October lesson plans.
The Importance of Inference Practice
Making inferences is something that all readers do, since authors don’t always spell things out in the text. Students need to learn how to “read between the lines” and draw conclusions based on available information. This skill will help students better understand what they read, which is why it’s a skill that you should practice throughout the school year.
A fun way to practice inferring is with detective-themed activities. Since picking up on clues is such an important part of making inferences, students can put on their detective hats to help them practice this skill. As they work to solve a mystery by reading between the lines and analyzing clues, they are stretching their comprehension muscles!
To make these detective activities even more engaging, you can incorporate a theme that corresponds to the time of year. In this post, I’m sharing a fun mystery that incorporates a little bit of Halloween fun.
The Case of the Missing Candy
The mystery begins when a bowl of candy that was put out on the porch for trick-or-treaters has gone missing! The students need to figure out who took the candy by reading clues to help them narrow down the suspects.
Step One: Meet the Suspects
The first clue in this mystery provides students with the pictures of the suspects. This gives them the chance to activate background knowledge about these common Halloween characters: Dracula, Batty, Witchy Poo, Frankenstein, and Gus Ghost.
As students go through the remaining clues, they will rule out suspects based on characteristics described in the clues. This is why it’s helpful to discuss the suspects before moving on to the remaining clues. You can display the suspect cards for easy reference throughout the activity.
Step Two: Read the Remaining Clues
Once you’ve had a chance to discuss the suspects with your class, it’s time to read the rest of the clues together! The clues are numbered, so your students can practice their counting skills to help them decide which clue the class should read next.
After reading each clue out loud to your students, you can decide which suspect or suspects you can rule out based on that clue. For example, one clue says that footsteps were heard coming from the porch around the time the candy was taken. Students can eliminate the two suspects that don’t have feet! You can take away the suspect cards as you rule them out.
As part of this mystery, students will have a response sheet that they will use to record their inferences after reading all of the clues. This sheet has the suspects pictured across the top of the paper. As you read the clues and rule out the suspects, students can cross them off on their own worksheets. This is a great way for students to stay engaged in the activity!
Step Three: Make an Inference
After reading all of the clues, it’s time for students to make an inference about who stole the bowl of Halloween candy from the porch. They can draw the suspect in the space provided on their response sheet. The pictures at the top of the page make a great reference for students to use to help them draw their pictures.
Step Four: Write About It
Once students have made their inferences, it’s time for them to share what clue led them to that conclusion. Students can write a sentence about why they chose the suspect they did.
Depending on the writing skills of your class, you might decide to have students verbally share their reasoning with a partner instead. You could also have students write a couple of keywords from the clues that pointed to the suspect instead of a full sentence.
No matter how you choose to have students explain their reasoning, it’s important for students to understand that they are making inferences based on clues. Communicating their thought process, either verbally or in writing, will help students better understand what it means to make an inference.
Step Five: Celebrate
Once you’ve identified the suspect who took the Halloween candy, you can celebrate by “finding” the bowl of candy and sharing with your students. This is optional, but it’s a fun way to end this activity.
Step Six: Keep Practicing!
The inferring fun doesn’t have to stop there! This is a skill that students should practice throughout the school year. The more practice students have with making inferences, the stronger their foundation for reading comprehension will be.
I have created a variety of themed inference activities for early elementary students that you can use throughout the school year. Your students would love the School Tool Mystery or The Case of the Missing Apples. Both of these inference activities are perfect for the fall months near the beginning of the school year!
Printable Halloween Inferencing Activity
I have put together a printable resource with everything you need to plan your own Halloween inferencing activity! Your students will love being detectives as they work to find out who took the bowl of candy. This activity is perfect for your October lesson plans. It’s also a great activity to use for a class Halloween party. You can incorporate some holiday fun but still keep learning on track.
If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this resource, you can find it in my TPT store.
Save This Halloween Inference Activity
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite board of Halloween teaching ideas on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find this fun activity when you’re working on your October lesson plans.
