10 Halloween ESL Activities for a Spooktacular Classroom

Halloween in the classroom does not have to be all about sugar-loaded treats and dressing up. Used thoughtfully, it can become a rich language-learning theme that develops speaking, listening, reading andwriting while also giving students opportunities to move, create and collaborate. The highly visual nature of Halloween vocabulary also makes many Halloween ESL activities especially accessible for Beginner and Emerging English learners.

1. Play Halloween Vocabulary Bingo

Bingo works especially well with English learners because students hear the same vocabulary several times without the repetition feeling boring.

Choose familiar words such as witch, ghost, bat, pumpkin, spider, mummy, vampire, monster and haunted house.

For Beginner students, say the word aloud and ask students to cover the matching picture.

Teacher: “Ghost.”

For more confident learners, describe the picture instead:

It is white. It can float. You might see it in a haunted house.

Students listen for meaning and cover the correct picture.

Skills practised: vocabulary, listening comprehension and receptive language.

2. Use a Halloween Word Search

A Halloween word search is easy to prepare and useful for reinforcing new vocabulary.

Choose words students have already met. You can focus on different parts of speech:

Adjectives: spooky, scary, dark, creepy
Nouns: pumpkin, witch, vampire, spider
Verbs: fly, crawl, hide, chase

Read the words together before students begin. Beginner learners may benefit from picture support.

Word searches encourage students to notice letter patterns and practise spelling. You can extend the activity by asking students to use two or three words in sentences.

Skills practised: vocabulary recognition, reading and spelling.

Download FREE Halloween wordsearch worksheet here.

3. Describe a Halloween Picture

Picture description is one of my favourite Halloween ESL activities because one visual can be adapted for many English levels.

Choose a busy Halloween scene with a haunted house, ghost, owl, witch, pumpkins and bats.

For complete Beginners, provide a word bank and one simple frame:

I can see a ______.

Students can then write:

I can see a witch.
I can see a pumpkin.

Emerging learners can use:

There is a ______ near the ______.

Developing learners can add detail:

A small black cat is sitting beside the witch.

You can also practise prepositions:

Where is the ghost?
The ghost is above the house.

Where is the owl?
The owl is in the tree.

Skills practised: vocabulary, expressive language, grammar, speaking and writing. Download Halloween writing activities here.

4. Create a Mini Halloween Escape Room

An escape room does not need complicated locks or expensive equipment.

Create several short Halloween language challenges students solve in teams.

One clue might ask students to unscramble T A B to make BAT. Another could be:

I fly at night. I have wings. What am I?

Students can also match clues to pictures, answer short reading questions or collect letters to reveal a mystery word.

For Beginner learners, keep clues visual and simple. More advanced learners can solve short reading or grammar puzzles.

Skills practised: reading, problem-solving, vocabulary, teamwork and speaking.

5. Combine a Halloween Craft with Vocabulary

Crafts can be much more than cutting and colouring.

One idea is a haunted house vocabulary craft. Students create their own haunted house and glue Halloween-themed pictures or words inside.

While students work, keep the language going:

Who is this?
What colour is the pumpkin?
Where is the bat?
Is the ghost inside or outside the house?

Students can label the characters or write simple sentences underneath.

The finished haunted houses can be taken home or used for a classroom display.

Skills practised: vocabulary, speaking, listening and fine-motor skills. Download Haunted House craftivity here.

6. Go on a Halloween Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is perfect for students who benefit from movement.

Hide Halloween picture cards or written clues around the classroom. Students can work individually or in small teams.

Beginner learners might find a picture and write the matching word.

Emerging learners can complete:

I found a ______.

More proficient students can follow clues:

Find something that flies at night.
Find something with eight legs.
Find something a witch can fly on.

This gives students a break from seated work while still practising English.

Skills practised: reading, vocabulary, teamwork and kinaesthetic learning.

7. Turn Halloween into a Writing Activity

Halloween can provide a useful prompt for several writing genres.

Students might write a description of a haunted house, a recount of a Halloween event, a procedure for making a pumpkin craft or a short imaginative story.

Provide visual prompts, word banks and sentence starters such as:

I can see…
First… Next… Then… Finally…
Yesterday, I…
The haunted house was…

Beginner learners may write two or three supported sentences, while Developing learners can write a full paragraph.

Skills practised: expressive language, sentence construction, vocabulary and genre writing.

Download FREE Halloween lined paper here.

8. Play a Halloween Associations Game

This is a fun oral-language activity that requires almost no preparation.

Write a Halloween word on the board, for example:

pumpkin

Ask students to suggest associated words:

orange, garden, Halloween, jack-o’-lantern, round

Choose one and continue the chain:

orange → colour → rainbow → sky

Beginner learners can give single-word answers. More advanced students can explain:

I chose garden because pumpkins grow in a garden.

Skills practised: vocabulary, speaking, word associations and verbal reasoning.

9. Perform a Halloween Reader’s Theatre

Readers’ Theatre is always popular because students get to become a character.

Add simple headbands, masks or props and repeated reading suddenly feels like a performance.

Choose a Halloween story with short roles, repeated phrases and predictable language.

Students read the same lines several times while practising pronunciation, phrasing and expression. Repeated reading also supports comprehension because students become more familiar with the text.

Afterwards, ask students to retell the story using:

First… Then… Next… Finally…

Skills practised: reading fluency, expression, pronunciation, comprehension and speaking confidence. Read about benefits of Reader’s Theatre here or download a Halloween-themed Reader’s Theatre here.

10. Use a Halloween Vocabulary Word Mat

A Halloween vocabulary word mat is an easy way to combine vocabulary and grammar.

Students can learn the words, then sort them into nouns, verbs and adjectives. They can also practise spelling and create oral sentences.

For example:

A scary ghost floats in the sky.
The black cat jumps.

Beginner learners can name and sort the words, while more confident students can combine adjectives, nouns and verbs to create detailed sentences.

Skills practised: vocabulary, spelling, grammar, parts of speech and speaking.

You can get your FREE Halloween ESL Vocabulary Word Mat worksheets here. The pack includes illustrated nouns, verbs and adjectives, sorting activities and sentence-building support.

Sign up to my email list to download the free vocabulary mat and receive more practical ESL/EAL/D resources and teaching ideas straight to your inbox.

Final Thoughts

Halloween can be much more than costumes, sweets and classroom decorations.

These Halloween ESL activities can build vocabulary, strengthen receptive and expressive language, develop reading and writing, reinforce grammar and give students plenty of opportunities to move, create and communicate.

Some activities need some preparation, while others require nothing more than a picture, a few vocabulary cards or a word written on the board.

Which Halloween activity would you like to try this year? Or which one has already been a success in your classroom? Please, share in the comments!

About the author

 Ilvira is an experienced EAL/D and ESL teacher who creates practical English-language resources for primary teachers, New Arrivals students and multilingual learners.