Halloween rhyming game: pass the pumpkin, a 15-minute K–2 activity

1. Sit in a circle. Warm up together: "Cat, hat. Do they rhyme? Yes! They end the same: at." Try two that don't rhyme: "Cat, moon." Students show thumbs down.
2. Explain: "Pass the pumpkin gently while the music plays. When it stops, I'll say a word. If you're holding the pumpkin, tell us a word that rhymes."
3. Start the music and stop it after a few seconds. Call out a word from the list: bat, cat, night, moon, treat, broom, owl, black, sweet, boo, mask, spin. Silly made-up words count if they rhyme: "Moon, zoon!"
4. If the student is stuck, the whole circle whispers a hint: "It rhymes with moon and you eat soup with it." Then everyone says the rhyme together.
5. After every three turns, play "Rhyme or not?" for the whole group: "Night, light?" Everyone stands up for rhyme and stays seated for not.
6. Finish with a rhyme chain: go around the circle and each student adds a new word that rhymes with bat (hat, mat, sat, flat, splat) until the class runs out.

Not celebrating Halloween? Pass a fall leaf or an apple and use fall words: tree, bee, rake, cake, nut, hut, corn, horn, leaf, beef.

Differentiation: for younger or newer students, ask "Do these two words rhyme?" instead of asking them to make one, and start with simple -at and -oon words. For 2nd grade, after a student gives a rhyme, a partner spells it aloud or writes it in the air to connect sounds and letters. For English learners, pick words they know and show a quick gesture or sketch (moon, cat, broom) so meaning isn't a barrier. For students who use AAC or prefer not to speak, offer two picture choices to point at, and let a student with motor needs tap the pumpkin instead of passing it.

Quick check: say three words, such as cat, hat and sun, and ask each student to show which one doesn't rhyme.

If you try it, tell us the silliest made-up rhyme your class came up with.