It’s time to trick-or-treat! Put on your Halloween costume! Why do people wear costumes on Halloween?
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The History of Halloween Costumes
Learn about the fascinating story of why people wear Halloween Costumes!
By Meg Richardson
From the October/November 2024 Issue
Learning Objective: Learn about the fascinating story of why people wear Halloween Costumes!
Lexile® measure: 530L
Vocabulary: disguised, traditions, varieties, premade
Topic:
Social Studies,
Standards
The First Halloween Costumes
People have worn Halloween costumes for more than 2,000 years! Halloween started in Ireland. People celebrated it right before winter started.
Long ago, winter was hard. It was dark and cold. There were no electric lights or heaters. It could feel scary.
People were scared of bad luck. They thought that bad luck could not find them if they disguised themselves. So they wore costumes.
The costumes were made of animal skins and animal horns.
Homemade Costumes
About 150 years ago, many people moved from Ireland to the United States. They brought Halloween traditions with them. Other people in the U.S. started celebrating Halloween too.
They made homemade Halloween costumes. They used sheets to make ghost costumes. They used paper bags to make masks.
Costumes From Stores
About 100 years ago, movies became popular. People wanted to dress up as movie characters. Stores started selling costumes of characters like Mickey Mouse and Popeye.
Costumes Today
Today there are many fun varieties of Halloween costumes. There are so many kinds! You can buy premade costumes from stores, or you can make your own. Will you dress up for Halloween?
Halloween Costume Timeline
clu/Getty Images (Homemade); Bettmann Archive/Getty Images (Store Costumes); Sabrina Helas (Fun Costumes)
150 Years Ago: Homemade costumes
100 Years Ago: Costumes from stores
Today: So many fun costumes
Activities
(3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key
(1)
In-Person Lesson Plan
Implementation
- Small group; whole group; independent reading
Pairings and Text Connections
- From the Storyworks 2 archive:
“The History of Jack-o’-Lanterns” (October/November 2023)
Students can compare the histories of two Halloween traditions.
“The History of Jack-o’-Lanterns” (October/November 2023)
Students can compare the histories of two Halloween traditions.
Before-Reading Resources
- Text Preview Bookmarks
(10 minutes) Kids can cut out the nonfiction bookmark and use it to preview the text.
- Play the Vocabulary Slideshow
(5 minutes) Help students become familiar with vocabulary words they will see in the article.
(10 minutes) Kids can cut out the nonfiction bookmark and use it to preview the text.
(5 minutes) Help students become familiar with vocabulary words they will see in the article.
Suggested Reading Focus
Nonfiction text features (20 minutes)
- Point out the bar on the right side of the page. Do students know what this is? Hint: It says in the headline. (It’s a timeline.)
- Explain that a timeline shows the order in which things happened. You can see how long ago each thing happened on the arrow.
After-Reading Skills Practice
(15 minutes for each activity)
- Quiz: Comprehension check
- Design Your Own Costume: Students can draw and write about their own Halloween costume designs.
Text-to-Speech