Trick or Treat! It’s Halloween

Objective & Resource Content

The objective is to understand the historical origins and the different cultural traditions of Halloween, while reinforcing the specific vocabulary related to the holiday.

The song "Trick or treat! It's Halloween" explains the history of the holiday in three parts. It begins with its Celtic origins ("Celtic people"), explaining that October 31st marks the end of summer and the time when "Ghosts come back," hence the tradition of wearing masks. Next, the song describes modern American customs: children "dress up" and go from house to house asking for candy ("Candy please"). It also mentions typical decorations (ghosts, spiders) and the colors orange and black. Finally, it evokes Irish traditions like "bonfires burn" and apple bobbing. The chorus summarizes the imagery of Halloween: "Black cats jump and witches fly."

Suggested Lesson Flow

Before the Activity (~5 min): HALLOWEEN BRAINSTORM

• Write "HALLOWEEN" on the board and ask students to list all the words they associate with the holiday. This helps activate their vocabulary.

During the Activity (~15-20 min): THE TRADITIONS SONG

• First Listen: Provide a worksheet with three columns: "Celtic Origins," "American Traditions," "Irish Traditions." Students listen and note the words or ideas they understand in the correct column.

• Second Listen: Distribute the lyrics with key vocabulary words missing (e.g., "The ______ people," "People wear ______," "Children ask for ______"). Students listen again to complete the blanks.

• Correction: Correct the worksheet as a large group, discussing the meaning of the different traditions mentioned.

After the Activity (~10 min): MATCH THE TRADITIONS

• On the board, list the traditions (e.g., "Wearing masks," "Asking for candy," "Lighting bonfires") and the reasons/origins (e.g., "To hide from ghosts," "A modern American custom," "An old Irish custom").

• Students must link the traditions to their origins based on the information in the song.

Adaptations

• To Simplify: Use a worksheet with images (a Celt, an American child trick-or-treating, an Irish bonfire). Students must number the images in the order they are mentioned in the song.

• To Extend: Ask students to do a short research to compare Halloween traditions with a similar holiday in their own culture (e.g., All Saints' Day, Carnival, etc.) and present their findings to the class.