31 Days of Halloween - In the Haunted House!

                     In the Haunted House by Eve Bunting

Eve Bunting is an Irish author who has written more than 200 
books for children. It is a sure bet to pick up anything you see at a yard sale or a thrift store with her name on the cover. She says that
she likes to write books that "make children think."

This Halloween tale does just that. A rhyming couplet underneath 
each pencil and watercolor illustration offers the reader just a few clues, so they have to scan the pictures carefully. We never see the bodies of the two people who have decided to enter the haunted 
house, just two shoes, one a blue high top and the other, a small red shoe. What a great opportunity for discussion, prediction, and proof as the story goes on!It is like we have gone inside the house
with the main characters.

            This is the house where the scary ones hide.
            Open the door and step softly inside.

As the two go from room to scary room, one of them keeps asking
the other if they are frightened, and want to go, but the answer is "No."

By the end of the story, the cat is out of the bag...we can see that it is a Halloween haunted house, and that the two people are really a father and his daughter. Dad is clearly the frightened one here, in fact...his daughter makes him go inside again!

This story is so effective if you read it in a slow, whispery voice. Up front caution the listeners to pay very close attention to the pictures, but not to call out. Once you get to the end, go to your prepared chart paper and start back at the beginning. Have the students offer you evidence from the pictures that lets you know
1. when something scary is obviously staged
2. when they know which person is the more frightened
3. when they know who the two people are. 

More fun here! Watch a quick song about a haunted house that gives the students vocabulary words to use when writing about a ..........(you know what comes next!)Spooky Spooky 

Writing Mini-LessonThe importance of using details was evident in the read aloud 
today. How did they contribute to the overall feeling of creepiness
in the haunted house? Have the students write about one room in
a haunted house. This will be a "small moment" kind of story.
Have them describe in detail as much as they can about what they see, hear, feel, smell, or taste in this room, so that the reader can 
visualize it.

Sharing
Always choose at least two students to sit in the author's seat and share what they wrote. It is a good idea to keep a list on a clip board so that you don't forget to give anyone their chance!

Happy Reading!
Till next time,
Nancy