October is so much more than just the month spent in anticipation and prep for Halloween. It has some noteworthy calendar days that can be turned into fantastic lesson plans. Besides the chance to impart wisdom and introduce your students to integral concepts of tolerance, non-violence, and mental health, October also houses the very special World Teachers' Day!
October Lesson Plans
Halloween Lesson Plans
- A Broom's Story
- Bat Mobiles
- Candy Corn Poetry
- Candy Graphs
- Halloween Safety
- Halloween Then and Now
- Harvest Moon
- Neighborhood Map
- Superstitions
- The Average Temperature on Halloween Night
- Weighing Pumpkin
Columbus Day / Explorers
Fall /Autumn Lessons
National Book Month
United Nations Day Lesson Plans
Love Your Pets Week Lesson Plans
- A Guinea Pig Makes An Excellent Classroom Pet
- Animals and Their Coverings
- Be A "Peder-Reader"
- Making Your Dog Your Best Friend
- Wonderful Worms
What's Your Invention Day Lesson Plans
Children's Health Month Lesson Plans
- Aspects of Individual Human Blood Pressure
- Breathe In, Breath Out
- How Do Toxins Affect the Human Body?
- Learning the Bones and Muscles of the Head and Face
October Teaching Ideas for Your Classroom
International Day of Non-Violence
This is the day Mahatma Gandhi was born! Our world today is driven by aggression and wars. It becomes the responsibility of the teachers to introduce the students to the critical concept of accomplishing goals through non-violence.
1. Other than Mahatma Gandhi, this day is an opportunity to learn and commemorate the efforts of key figures in history who have advocated for change without the use of violence. Dr Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, and Mandela are a few non-violent activists the students should learn about and embody.
2. Have an activity where the students are asked to devise non-violent solutions to current problems that plague the world. This activity is not meant to be a practical exercise. The idea is to encourage the students to think about non-violent solutions.
World Habitat Day
October is rich with days dedicated to spreading awareness about basic rights and healthy living for humans and animals alike. This is also an excellent way to communicate and understand how the present generation is responsible for the future generation's safety.
3. Littering is an environmental threat, greater than just untidy roads. It can harm impede waste management and harm marine life. Organize the students and clean up a public area of the community. This builds team spirit and serves as an inspiration to the neighborhood as well.
4. Teach the students about renewable energy. Ask them to reflect upon their current energy consumption and then come up with alternate ways to use renewable energy.
5. To illustrate the importance of shelter, have the students build accommodation or shelter for their pets or animals they can foster near their homes.
World Animal Welfare Day and World Wildlife Day
6. Building on shelter-building activities from World Habitat Day, help the students figure out a sustainable way of feeding the animals.
7. Organize a small bake sale that features cookies as cute animals. This event can act as a fundraiser organized by the kids to support a local organization that looks after animal welfare.
Columbus Day
Christopher Columbus, one of history's greatest explorers, should be remembered through fun activities. This is an opportunity to make geography and history exciting and fun.
8. Have a massive world map printed or drawn on the board. Engage the students to make boats and name them per Columbus' ships. Have the students chart their own voyages.
9. With raw material lying around the house, turn your students into little inventors by having them make their own spyglass! This might seem tedious, but the moment it works out for them will be glorious!
10. Turn your students into explorers! Pick up a corner of the city your students would be unfamiliar with and ask them to plan their route from point A to B. Reading maps is a skill that will never go redundant.
International Girl Child Day
This day is observed worldwide, and the theme is creating a world more accommodating of girls and women. The idea is to make education and health more accessible and empower them to build a better future for themselves.
11. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about prominent girls from around the world who have caused ripples and advocated for change despite their young age. Malala Yousufzai, Greta Thunberg from the present day, and Anne Frank from the past are awe-inspiring young girls who have created a global impact.
12. Prepare a box of essentials and a few goodies to distribute to the neighborhood shelter and less privileged girls. These can have items of basic hygiene and grooming, a few items to pamper oneself with, a novel or a notebook, and a gift card that they can feel special about.
World Food Day
The day is to recognize that not all across the world have food security and the same access to sustenance.
13. World Food Day is a splendid opportunity to exercise generosity and a charitable spirit. Have the kids bring their favorite homemade dishes to school and host a mealtime in partnership with the closest welfare organization. This lays down roots for a healthier community.
14. A storytelling session is always a good way to make lessons more contextualized and human. Have the students share a story about themselves or their family where food plays an integral role.
15. Turn your students into gardeners! Guide them into setting up a home garden (a school garden in this case) where they plant various vegetables and fruits. Each student is responsible for their plant.
Halloween
The end of the month is here, but that does not mean the end of learning or fun. Halloween is a great excuse to bring out the inner artist and go super creative with arts and crafts.
16. Have a feast! The students can prepare food and dessert that would be delicious inside, but it has to be spooky on the outside. Whether this means using cookie crumbs to resemble dirt, jelly in place of slime or an intimidating glass of red punch, this brings culinary wonders and creative thinking together.
17. Make mind maps of words and feelings associated with Halloween, whether frightening or thrilling.
18. Channel their inner Stephen King by making them write short stories that might raise the hair on your neck as you read them. This activity can be upgraded to become an open mic night for students where they can share Halloween-themed poetry as well.
October is a rollercoaster month! It has plenty of opportunities to learn about how to make the world a better place for ourselves and future generations, as well as some exciting days that can be as much fun as they are educational.