
This post originally appeared on the blog Mrs. Miracle’s Music Room.
Today, I’m blogging about ten tricks or treats for the music room… ten ways to integrate Halloween into your music lessons while engaging your students and improving their musicianship!

#1: Skin and Bones
This is truly one of my favorite folk songs for Halloween! Here is the notation:

This is a call/response song, with the first part being the call, and the “ooo” part being the response. Here are the additional verses:
- She lived down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
- One night she thought she’d take a walk, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
- She walked down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
- She saw some bones a layin’ around, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
- She went to the closet to get a broom, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
- She opened the door and BOO!
I learned a great game from my former colleague Jenna that my students love: Students lie on the ground with their eyes closed. As you sing, tap two students, who then go and hide! The rest of the students have to figure out who is missing.
I love all of David’s favorite folk song sets…they are such a great way to bring a song to life!
#2: Halloween rhythm writing
If you love the dollar section at Target as much as I do, you’ll appreciate this post by Amy Abbott about rhythm writing in the music room:
Amy also has these fun beat strips to practice rhythm during Halloween!
#3: Miss White
One of my favorite chants to use during Halloween is “Miss White”:

#4: Ghostie Dance
#5: Brain breaks
#6: Listening lessons
#7: Bulletin boards
#8: Vocal exploration
#9: Melodic and rhythmic practice
#10: Halloween lesson plans
Aileen Miracle teaches general music in the Olentangy Local School District in Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University in 1999, and her Master of Music in Music Education with a Kodály emphasis from Capital University in 2003. Aileen has taught Methodology and Folk Song Research for the Kodály Programs at Colorado State University and DePaul University, and presents music education workshops around the nation. You can visit Aileen at her TpT store or on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.