In my classroom, we love using creative, hands-on, and sensory-rich activities to teach writing in special education. This Spooky House Writing Activity is one of my favorite fall resources—especially because it supports differentiated learners AND leverages the five senses to deepen descriptive writing skills.
If you’re looking for a fun, engaging Halloween-friendly writing activity that’s tailored for special ed learners, you’ll definitely want to check out my resource in my TPT shop. It includes two differentiated levels, and now a digital version for Google Slides—perfect for in-person, hybrid or remote instruction.
🎃 Why this Spooky House Writing Activity Works
- It taps into student interests — Halloween, spooky houses, crafts — which boosts engagement and motivation.
- It uses the five senses (see, hear, smell, touch, taste) to help students generate rich descriptive language and scaffold writing development.
- It’s differentiated for special education needs: one version supports independent writers, the other includes picture cues and a cut-and-paste format for students who need more motor or language support.
- It comes with a craft element (making the Spooky House) AND a writing component, which encourages cross-modal learning (visual + tactile + written).
- The digital version makes it easy to implement : perfect if you’re teaching virtually or have students working remotely.
How to Use It in Your Classroom
Step 1: Build or Draw Your Spooky House
Start by asking students to gather boxes (cereal boxes, milk cartons, toilet-paper rolls), paper, or craft materials to create their own “Spooky House.” Emphasize creativity: whether they draw it or build it in 3-D, the goal is to engage them in imagining a spooky setting.
You might even try a quick paper-mâché recipe: 2 parts white glue + 1 part water. Mix ahead of time, keep in a zip-lock bag overnight, and reuse for a second coat the next day.
Step 2: Create a Five-Senses Spooky House Anchor Chart
Once the houses are done, launch a discussion: “What creepy/spooky/silly things might you hear, see, smell, taste or touch if you walked into the Spooky House?”
Use an anchor chart together. Pass out spooky-themed picture cards, let students place them under the appropriate sense category, and talk about why they chose them.
This anchor chart scaffolds the writing activity by getting students thinking about sensory details—so that their writing is richer and more vivid.
Step 3: Writing the Activity
Now comes the writing flap-page part. Students use the writing pages to describe their Spooky House using the five senses.
- Level 1: For students who can write and develop ideas independently. They fill in the blank flap pages with their sensory descriptions.
- Level 2: For students needing more support (fine motor, language). This uses a cut-and-paste format with picture support—three error-free picture choices for each of the five senses.
Step 4: Sharing & Celebrating
Once the writing is done, it’s time to share! Students take turns showing their Spooky House craft and reading their five-senses description. This builds confidence, gives purpose to their writing, and helps them practice presenting to peers.
🎯 Bonus: Digital Version for Google Slides
If you’re teaching remotely or using a hybrid model, I’ve got you covered. The resource includes a digital version compatible with Google Slides.
- Screen-share the anchor chart activity in your virtual classroom.
- Ask students to build a Spooky House at home (or on-screen) using boxes, paper, or other materials.
- Assign the Google Slides activity where students complete the five-senses writing directly in the slide deck.
- Once submissions are in, pull up each student’s work, share with the class, and let everyone present virtually.
✅ Why It’s Perfect for Special Ed
- Designed with differentiation in mind: supports a range of motor, writing and language abilities.
- Visual supports and structured flap pages help scaffold the writing process.
- Using sensory input helps make abstract descriptive language more concrete and meaningful.
- Craft + writing makes the lesson multisensory — beneficial for many special-education learners.
- Digital option adds flexibility for any teaching model.
🔍 Want to Use It?
Visit my TPT shop to grab the activity:
“Inside My Spooky House — Five Senses Writing Activity”
This resource is ideal for October/Halloween, but you could also adapt it anytime you want to get students writing descriptively about a “space” or “house” they’ve built.
Also — if you like this activity, check out my other Halloween writing / craft resources in my TPT shop!
Final Thoughts
When students build something, sense it, and then write about it, the learning sticks. With this Spooky House Writing Activity, you’re giving your special-education learners a meaningful, fun, differentiated way to practice descriptive writing using the five senses.
If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes! Leave a comment below or shoot me an email. And if you’d like more differentiated and visual-supported writing activities for special ed, check out my shop and free resource library.
Happy writing — and happy spooky crafting!
— Ashlee
CLICK HERE to check out more Halloween resources in my TPT Shop!
