My Night in a Haunted House

Halloween is coming up, and in an attempt to add some fun to our Writing lessons, I decided to have the kids practice elaboration and word choice to describe what they would see, hear, feel and do if they had to spend the night in a haunted house.  I let them make paper houses and each of the sections is where they wrote about the different parts of the story.  I had them complete a rough draft first and then they made changes to spelling, grammar or parts that just didn't make sense.  Then they folded the paper houses and re-wrote and designed their house.  I hope you like it!

Here are a couple of close-ups of the houses that the kids completed.  You can see that after they wrote, they were able to go back and decorate the houses. The front left of the house is what they see, right across from that is what they hear.  On the inside, the left is what they would feel (physical or emotional) and across from that is what they would do.

Here are step-by-step, photo instructions on how to fold the paper houses.  You can also skew the "towers" by having them off-center when folding.  I also traced the outline of the towers on the front so the kids knew where to write on the inside.  

 

Begin with legal size paper and fold in half (hamburger fold). Then with the crease on the top, fold over the sides until they meet but do not overlap in the center.  Meeting in the center will make both towers equal in size.  If you want one short and one tall, have  them meet off-center.  

 

After both sides are folded inward, open one of the side flaps and push your finger up to the point and pop it out.  Then pull down the "roof" so it meets the crease line of the now formed "tower".

Repeat this action to the other side of the house.  At this point, I trace the top of the "roof" line and draw a line down the middle so the students know where to write.  I also have them draw a line across the roof line so they can decorate the "attic".

I hope this gave you some ideas for a fun, student created Halloween Bulletin Board!