Halloween Primary School Lesson Plan: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

Teach clothes vocabulary with a Halloween twist. Add a mini class performance to maximise interaction and participation.

Level A1 | Age: 8-10 | Speaking, listening, some writing | Clothes, Halloween

Topic: clothes / Halloween

Language skills: speaking, listening, some writing

Soft skills: critical thinking, organizing information, presenting

Materials: story book or read-aloud, a picture of a pumpking, a picture of a scarecrow, clothes flashcards (shoes, trousers, shirt, hat, gloves)

Setting the scene: the story box

Prepare a story box with the flashcards, the picture of the pumpkin and the picture of a scarecrow. Explain that this is a Halloween story, full of spooky character but the protagonist is not easily scared.

Show students clothes flashcards, elicit the names of the clothes.

Divide students in groups and explain that you will assign them a piece of clothing, each piece of clothing goes with a sound:

• shoes - clomp clomp

• trousers (U.S. pants) - wiggle wiggle

• shirt - shake shake

• gloves - clap clap

• hat - nod nod

• pumpkin head - boo boo

Explain to students that, every time the relating piece of clothing is mentioned, the corresponding group needs to make the sound. Try the sequence out a couple of times before moving to reading the story.

Storytime

Sit in a circle and start introducing the story by looking at the book cover. Recall vocabulary introduced with the storybox and elicit descriptions. For example:

• this is the old lady

• this is a pumpkin

• this is a cottage

Start reading the story and encourage children to make the sounds when they hear mentioned the piece of clothing assigned to their group.

Stop and point to the pictures in the story and elicit vocabulary. Play on the repetition "I am not afraid of you"

Class activities

Activity 1

Skill: remembering

After reading the story, ask students to create a story map to report on the elements they remember. The map should include:

• protagonists

• settings

• other characters

Activity 2

Skill: sequencing

Ask students to create a baseboard, with six boxes. Ask them to number each box from 1 to 6. Explain that students will have to write (or draw) the names of the different clothes, in the order they appear in the story.

Circulate to monitor and provide feedback when necessary. This activity can also be done in pairs or small groups.

Activity 3

Skill: Creating & Performing

Create a mini group performance based on the story. Here are some dialogue ideas, which you can modify according to the number and level of your students:

Cast List & Roles

• Narrator 1 & Narrator 2: Tell the story and guide the action.

• The Little Old Lady: The brave main character (lots of walking!).

• The Shoes: 2 children (make the CLOMP CLOMP sound).

• The Pants: 1 child (makes the WIGGLE WIGGLE sound).

• The Shirt: 1 child (makes the SHAKE SHAKE sound).

• The Gloves & Hat: 2 children (make the CLAP CLAP and NOD NOD sounds).

• The Scary Pumpkin Head: 1 child (makes the BOO BOO sound).

Script: The Brave Walk Home

(Setting: A dark, spooky forest. The Little Old Lady is walking in place. The other objects are hiding behind her in a line.)

Narrator 1: Once upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything!

Narrator 2: One windy afternoon, she went for a walk in the forest. It started to get dark.

Little Old Lady: (Looking up at the sky) Oh dear, it is getting late. I must walk back home.

(The Shoes step out from behind her.)

Shoes: CLOMP! CLOMP!

Little Old Lady: (Turns around, startled but brave) Get out of my way, you two old shoes! I’m not afraid of you!

(She keeps walking. The Pants step out next.)

Pants: WIGGLE! WIGGLE!

Shoes: CLOMP! CLOMP!

Little Old Lady: (Shakes her head) Get out of my way, you pairs of pants! I’m not afraid of you!

(She keeps walking faster. The Shirt steps out.)

Shirt: SHAKE! SHAKE!

Pants: WIGGLE! WIGGLE!

Shoes: CLOMP! CLOMP!

Little Old Lady: (Huffing a bit) Get out of my way, you silly shirt! I’m not afraid of you!

(She walks even faster. The Gloves and Hat step out together.)

Gloves: CLAP! CLAP!

Hat: NOD! NOD!

Shirt: SHAKE! SHAKE!

Pants: WIGGLE! WIGGLE!

Shoes: CLOMP! CLOMP!

Little Old Lady: (Marching proudly) I am not afraid of you gloves and hat!

Narrator 1: The little old lady was walking very fast now. She was almost home.

Narrator 2: But then, right in front of her, came the biggest surprise of all!

(The Pumpkin Head jumps out in front of everyone, hands in the air.)

Pumpkin Head: BOO! BOO!

(Everyone on stage except the Old Lady gasps: “Ahhh!”)

Pumpkin Head: (Laughing) Did I scare you?

Little Old Lady: (Stops, puts her hands on her hips) You did not scare me! I am not afraid of anything! But... what do you all want, anyway?

Pumpkin Head: (Looking sad) We want to scare you! That is our job! If we can't scare you, what will we do?

Little Old Lady: (Thinks for a moment, then smiles) I have a great idea. Follow me to my garden!

Narrator 1: So, the little old lady went into her house, and the spooky clothes stood outside in the garden.

Narrator 2: The next morning, she looked out her window. Do you know what they became?

All Objects Together: A SCARECROW!

(The objects all stand together in the shape of a scarecrow: Shoes at the bottom, Pants and Shirt in the middle, Gloves out to the sides, and Pumpkin Head on top.)

Pumpkin Head: BOO!

Narrator 1 & 2: And they scared all the crows away!

(Everyone bows.)

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