October Reads for Your Music Classroom

I have always considered October the most quintessential fall month. It is just beginning to feel cold and crisp, you have gotten used to the schedule and routine of your classes and have hopefully built relationships with your students.

Now that you have gotten the hang of routines and schedules, Halloween is right around the corner. Here is a list of seasonal books (many that are from a book series) that you can use with your students during this time.
12 Days of Halloween by Jenna Lettice

I cannot stress how much I like this series of books! From the familiar melody to how the author uses it to adapt to any holiday or situation, this is sure to be something your children will enjoy. This book goes through every Halloween item, and costume that you are likely to find while helping the students count on their fingers the items that they are coming across throughout the book.

The Ghosts Go Marching by Maria Modugno

This book is wonderful because the author takes the famous melody of Ants Go Marching and changes the lyrics to fit a Halloween theme. You can have the students keep a steady beat while singing through the song the first time as well as singing “Hurrah” and shouting ““Trick or Treat!” at the end of each phrase. Here is the music for the song. You can find recordings of it on Youtube.

The second time that you sing the song, have the students march while singing through the verses. Continue to have the students sing “Hurrah” and shout “Trick or Treat!”. This book is best to introduce after you have already sung the original song “Ants Go Marching In”, because then students will have familiarity with the melody already. Add rhythm sticks to keep the beat.

Spooky, Spooky, Little Bat by Rosa Von Feder

I really like this book because of the finger puppet built into the book! The words rhyme, which allows students to keep a steady beat while the book is being read. The illustrations are beautiful and the rhyme scheme helps keep this book moving for my smallest students while following the bat’s journey. I usually follow this book up with a movement activity or song about bats on Youtube.

The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry

I came across this book at a university bookstore and the illustrations caught my eye right away. Upon reading it, this beautiful story made me buy this for my classroom. The scarecrow saves and nurtures a baby crow and the two become fast friends as the crow family begins to expand. The rhyming language of this story in addition to watching the baby crow becoming an adult crow and having children, makes this a wonderful coming of age tale for students.

I composed a short lesson and lullaby for the students to sing to the crow. For a link to that, please click here. Meanwhile, here is a preview of the lullaby.

Hope this helps you with planning your October lessons!

Pumpkingly yours,
​
Polina