Haunted House for Sale! | Descriptive Writing Workshop: Ad Writing for a Real Audience | Grades 3–4

Haunted House for Sale! is a descriptive and informative writing workshop for Grades 3–4: a 28-page student workbook and a 12-page teacher guide. Students write an advertisement for an imaginary house, aimed at a particular imaginary buyer, and revise it using specific feedback from a partner.

Students begin by looking closely at the house picture and separating what they can see (a tower, an orange door, steps, fall trees) from what they imagine, such as an invisible owl in the tower. They sort words into nouns, adjectives and verbs and replace “nice” with something precise. Then they choose a reader (a book-loving ghost, an owl family or a keen gardener) and pick the best of three house cards for that reader. Each card lists facts, such as House B with three rooms, a dark sleeping room, a tall tower and no garden. Students study a model advertisement with a headline, house facts, a benefit and an invitation, and compare it with a weak one that names no specific facts. They write a draft of four to six sentences, swap with a partner, and revise. The finished advertisement goes on a page with a small house drawing.

What's Included

• 28-page student workbook with six writing blocks, a final advertisement page and a writer's reflection
• 12-page teacher guide with expectations, sample answers, a feedback rubric and differentiation
• Three house cards (p. 13) and a model advertisement (p. 15)
• Sentence starters on every writing-step page
• Editable DOCX text version (pagination may differ)
• Print-ready A4 PDF that prints on US Letter with fit-to-page

Six Writing Steps

1. Look closely — separate observation from imagination and mark each in a different color.
2. Words that create a picture — use nouns, adjectives and verbs well; not every noun needs an adjective.
3. Who are our readers? — match a reader to a house card and describe an unwelcome fact honestly.
4. How an advertisement works — find the headline, facts, benefit and invitation, and improve the weak ad using House B.
5. Draft and give feedback — start with something that works, then give one suggestion the writer can act on.
6. Revise and share — check facts, structure, words and spelling in that order, then read the advertisements in a house gallery.

Students Will Learn To

• Tell what they see from what they imagine
• Choose precise nouns, adjectives and verbs
• Write for a specific reader using only the facts on a house card
• Give and use feedback that points to a specific spot

Perfect For

• Halloween writing in Grades 3–4, or the fall-themed alternative The Mysterious Fall House
• A writing workshop that combines creative and informative writing
• Peer-feedback practice with a clear model
• Sub plans: the model, house cards and sentence starters are all in the workbook
• UK and Australia: roughly maps to Year 3–4 writing for a specific audience

Why Teachers Choose This Unit

• The rubric covers audience fit, accuracy to the house card, structure and clarity, so spelling is not the only criterion
• Students may not hide or change inconvenient facts, which keeps the writing honest
• Feedback examples show why “I need to know the number of rooms” beats “Make it better”
• The teacher guide gives SUPPORT, CORE and CHALLENGE guidance
• The house market is imaginary: no prices and no real addresses

Pair it with Haunted House Classroom Adventure and Haunted House Math for a Halloween week across math and writing.

Created with AI assistance: ChatGPT (OpenAI). Illustrations were generated with OpenAI image generation as friendly discussion prompts; they are not photographs. Edited for classroom use before publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which grades and standards does this fit?

It is written for Grades 3–4. It sits closest to Common Core W.3 and W.4 (informative and opinion writing, writing for an audience, revising with peer feedback). No alignment or endorsement is claimed. In the UK and Australia it roughly maps to Year 3–4 writing for an audience.

How long does it take?

Allow about six to eight lessons for the six writing blocks. Start with shared observation and oral description, and give planning and peer feedback their own time. Students finish with a revised final advertisement.

What materials do I need?

Pencils, colored pencils and dictionaries if needed. The house cards are on student page 13 and should stay available during planning and writing. The model advertisement is on page 15. Partners may share the reading pages.

Is it only for Halloween, and how is it delivered?

No. The Halloween theme is friendly and optional, and the unit can be called The Mysterious Fall House. The houses and buyers are fictional, with no prices or real addresses. You get an instant digital download with the PDF and an editable DOCX text version.