• Halloween is great time for fun and parties. With some advance planning, a school party can be a great success. It is best to have a mix of games with varying levels of skills so there is bound to be something that everyone will have fun with. While many games can be made by the parents or teachers, plenty of store bought games are available. An easy mix is to purchase games or pieces and modify for Halloween keeping the fifth grade student in mind.
  
  

Hunting or 'Haunting' Games

• Fifth graders enjoy various types of 'hunt' games. Place a large die in a jar and close the lid. Take six pieces of cardboard and draw a ghost or other Halloween theme monster on them and in the middle, write the numbers 1--6. Mix up the cards and turn them face down in a random pattern. Have the kid shake the jar and see what number comes up on the die. They then have anywhere from two to four tries to find the monster with that number.
  
  Draw a large spider on a piece of poster board, but leave off some or all of its legs. Make spider legs from pieces of poster boards and place sticky tape or double-sided tape on them. Blindfold the kids and just like pin the tail on the donkey, have them place legs on the spider.
  
  

Physical Games

• Cutouts of ghosts, cats, bats and monsters can be placed on weighted bottles and then used in a spooky bowling game. Vary the distance and ball size/type depending on the skill of the players or available play space. Make three beanbags and gather several smallish buckets, Halloween trick or treat plastic pumpkins would work great for this, for a game of tic-tac-toe. If the party is held outdoors on the playground, draw spooky hopscotch boards and have a contest.
  
  

Contests

• Contests for fifth graders can be held as well. Have a coloring contest of either pre-printed Halloween scenes or one where the kids draw their own scenes, ask other teachers or adults to be the judges so it is impartial. The results can be announced during the party with various prizes. Place some type of candy that can be counted in a jar and have the children guess how many pieces are in the jar, with the jar being the reward. Place various Halloween related objects in a pillowcase before the party and tie it closed. Have the kids take turns trying to guess what items are in the pillowcase by using their hands. The winners are the ones who guess the most items.