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Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the classroom, the Play-Doh monsters arrived.

On the day before Halloween, outfitted with an Amazon-delivered box of 32 plastic jars of Play-Doh, I launched a hands-on creature creation lab that kept my sixth graders busy for half the class period. First, they came forward and collected their individual 3 ounce jars, and then they got busy molding their Play-Doh creatures–all of which were based on our previous day of monster-sized brainstorming. They got 15 minutes for this artistic endeavor.

While spooky music set the scene, the kids chattered and crafted outlandish creatures–some spine-tingling monsters and others cuddly critters that you’d take home to Mom and Dad. What I loved most was watching a roomful of inspired young authors put their pencils to paper and have to be told to stop. You read that right…told to stop. Many students wrote 2-3 pages and complained loudly when I called time so we could share out our stories. Better still, many returned this week to report that they’d finished their spooky tales.

Will this creature feature become a perennial event in my classroom? You betcha. Give it a ghost of a chance in your classroom, too. You’ll be amazed at the spirited writing that results.