Class Report: Halloween

Been a while since I posted one of these and it’s high time to see what my kids have been busy with as of late.  For Halloween, I showed my students some pictures of costumes, explained how trick or treating worked, and dressed up as the Pokemon Furret (known here as Ootachi). 

It was a pretty awesome week to say the least.

I also showed them some less traditional jack-o-lanterns including a cat, Mario, and a dragon, and invited them to create their own using a worksheet I made of a blank pumpkin.

Like all my most brilliant ideas, this one was taken wholesale from another ALT, though I did prepare my own Powerpoint.  Once again, this is a lesson that relied more heavily on cultural exchange than it did on English, though my most genki (energetic) class did ask a lot of questions after the presentation that I was happy to answer.  They wanted to know how to write the word “Halloween”, if adults wore costumes, and what you carved a pumpkin with.  I was pleasantly surprised to see most of them write Halloween on their pictures.

I did the same lesson at three different schools, one of which I presented to the entire school, not just 5th and 6th grade.  The jack-o-lanterns all turned out great.  Many of the students stuck with drawing some sort of face, but made it unique in how it was expressed.  Many also took their inspiration from things around them, like their pencil cases.  It was a lot of fun and a welcome break from structured lessons, which I feel can become stale after a while.  The best part is that, with a little bit of editing, I can share some of their creations with you.

Jack-o-lantern in love.

No idea, but it looks menacing.

Dawwwww....

Once again, I'm clueless as to what this is supposed to be, but I absolutely love how she spelled out "Halloween". The magician hat "A" is particularly awesome.

Some really awesome artwork.  This student absolutely loves dogs.

Gah! At least I can recognize what this one is: a nightmare inducing monster.

Extreme eyebrows!

Spiderman is probably the most popular American superhero over here.

This looks like a terrifying Japanese flag to me.

Classic and adorable despite the sharp teeth.

Compared to some of the others, this comes off as just mischievous as opposed to pure evil.

It's a face made out of flowers. Did not see that one coming.

This is Gachapin, the dinosaur, and his red yeti friend Mukku.

This is in the style of Kyupi dolls. It even says "Kyupi Pumpkin" along the side.

 

This one was actually drawn by the girl who did the last one for her friend and was based off of...

Mariko Shinoda of AKB48, the second girl's favorite member.

Okay, I saved my favorite for last. I can't even say why I like this one so much, but it caught my attention and is just really cool looking to me.

So, that was my Halloween lesson. I've got a few more pictures I might upload if people are interested, but I think 16 is enough for now.  Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween stateside.  Still have a bit of Halloween related news, but it will have to wait for another entry.