Halloween Candy Short Vowel Graph

📝 This post, Halloween Short Vowel Candy Graph, was originally published in 2012 and has been updated with new information and resources.

Halloween Candy: Short Vowel Graph

Halloween is such a great time to be a teacher- well, not the day after, but the day after! There are so many teaching opportunities related to Halloween. I love asking my kids to choose a Halloween costume for me, writing the steps to carving a pumpkin, or doing some Halloween syllable activities. But my very favorite of all is my Halloween Short Vowel Candy Graph.

But this activity takes some prep time- you have to collect candy wrappers, which means eating a lot of candy BEFORE Halloween. Over the years, I have gathered quite a few candy wrappers and actually laminated them to use year after year. I also added to my collection over the years. When picking candy for this activity, you need to be sure the candy’s name has a short vowel sound in it. For example, Snickers has a short i and Kit Kat has both a short i and a short a. 

Once you have a decent collection of candy wrappers, you are ready to try this activity. 

Halloween Short Vowel Candy Graph

Materials Needed

🍬candy bar wrappers
🍬cardboard or card stock
🍬glue
🍬scissors
🍬laminator, contact paper, or clear packing tape

Preparing the Halloween Short Vowel Graphing Activity

📝NOTE: Students should have prior experience identifying short vowel sounds before completing this activity. If you need ideas for introducing or reviewing short vowels, check out our post, The Best Short Vowel Activities and Games for K-2.

🍬Cut out the wrappers and mount them on cardboard or laminate them for durability

🍬Create a large graph on the board or on chart paper called, Our Short Vowel Halloween Candy Graph. I made a graph on poster board, laminated it, and used it for almost 10 years!!  There should be one column for each short vowel. See image below for ideas.

Activity Directions

🍬 Gather the group together and explain they are going to sort and graph the names of candies by the short vowel sound in their name.

🍬 Give each student one candy wrapper card. Ask them to read the candy name and identify the short vowel sound they hear. The student then places the wrapper in the correct column on the graph.

🍬Continue working your way through the pile of candy wrappers until they are all placed on the graph.

📝NOTE: Some candies can go in more than one column, so you can allow students to choose where to put the wrapper or have two on hand for both columns.

Analyzing the Data

After the graph is complete, discuss the data! Ask questions such as:

❓Which short vowel appears most/least in candy names?
❓How many candies fit in more than one column?
❓How many more/fewer short __ wrappers are there than  short __ wrappers?
❓Were there any ties?
❓And of course, which candy is your favorite?

This Halloween Short Vowel Graph has always been a favorite in my classroom because it combines phonics practice with a little holiday fun. Students stay engaged, conversations about vowel sounds happen naturally, and the completed graph provides plenty of opportunities for meaningful math and literacy discussions.

👉🏼 Grab the Halloween Short Vowel Graphing Activity here!

Have you tried this activity with your students? I’d love to hear how it went! Leave a comment below and share your favorite Halloween literacy activity.