Hi fellow teachers! Happy – almost – Halloween! “What Do You See, Jack O’Lantern?” is a short Halloween themed poem that can be used as a time filler, a post-recess moment of calm and focus or a fun twist on a poem read aloud. Some curriculum tie-ins could include point of view (POV), perspective, personification, inference, and creative writing (language arts), imagining and drawing pictures of Halloween (visual arts) as well as measuring and shapes (math).
See the teaching ideas below and grab the PPT version or print-ready PDF with some fun activity ideas for Grades K-2 as well as for ESL and ELL students.
You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.
Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.
Watch a video of the “What Do You See, Jack O’Lantern?” poem below. This “Poetry Pause with Dr. Kim” version includes a short interactive mindfulness introduction before the poem:
What Do You See, Jack-O’-Lantern?
I see little striped shins
and boots made of straw
I see scary shark fins
and socks with a jaw
I see tapping twice twins
and sweets on the floor
I see everyone wins
who knocks at my door!
Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.
Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:
Download a PPT slide version of the poem:
Teaching Ideas
- As a bell ringer or post-recess moment of focus. Let the video play while you tidy or prep.
- As the introduction to a Halloween creative writing or visual arts activity: For example, brainstorm with students other items connected to Halloween (spiders, ghosts, cobwebs, witches, etc.) and then ask them to write a poem or draw a picture about Halloween night from the perspective of that item. Scaffold the activity by brainstorming things the Halloween item (now the speaker of the poem) might see. Depending on the grade, you could also brainstorm some rhymes and ask students to create a rhyming couplet starting with “I see + item”
- To complement language arts assignments and activities, including those focused on point of view (POV), perspective, and personification: Ask students, Who is the “I” in this poem? / Who is the speaker? Can pumpkins really speak? (personification) What other Halloween objects could we personify?
- Reading out loud or performance practice – use the poem as pairs or full class reading out loud or performing activity
- To complement math activities – ask students to guess then measure how far away the Jack O’Lantern is from the trick or treaters knocking at the door. Thinking about what Jack O’Lantern can see from his perspective, what shapes make up some of the items he sees? What other shapes might he see on Halloween?
Happy Teaching! Kim x
Kim T. Harrison 