As the leaves turn red and evenings get darker, it’s time to sprinkle some Halloween magic into your online ESL classroom! We’ve brewed up a cauldron of bewitching lesson ideas that celebrate the season of tricks and treats while linking seamlessly into your language curriculum.
Check out these top 10 Halloween-themed lesson ideas to enchant your students and cast a learning-boosting spell on your virtual classroom!
1: Design a Jack-o’-lantern
Children love carving pumpkins for Halloween! Design a scary Jack-o’-lantern to scare away evil spirits, while simultaneously practicing shapes, words for parts of the face and describing feelings. For our ESL learners, this is also a great way to learn more about Halloween culture and traditions.
2: Halloween costume party
Love dressing up? Organise a fun costume party for your students! This is a great way to practice describing clothes, parts of the body and the present continuous tense (I am wearing…). Play fun games such as “guess who” or “charades”, act out a fun Halloween role-play or enjoy spooky review activities.
3: Hide and spook
Teaching your students directions or prepositions of place? Enjoy a fun game of hide-and-seek, Halloween style! Simple hide magical items around your classroom (either on your virtual whiteboard, Koala Go playground or physical teaching space), practicing giving and following directions to find them.
4: Halloween idioms
Intermediate level students will love learning scary idioms for Halloween! Check out this brand new lesson from Abridge Academy, with its fun escape-room format and spooky Halloween adventure story.
5: Ghostly guessing
Who’s hiding behind the Halloween costume? What’s in the mystery treats box? Review new words for objects and people with a “guess who / what” game! With intermediate level students, this is also an excellent opportunity to introduce using “who” and “that” as defining relative pronouns.
6: Halloween debate
Have you been enjoying Abridge Academy’s new debating curriculum? Give your next lesson a spooky twist by discussing controversial Halloween-themed topics:
– Should Halloween be cancelled?
– Should children wear costumes in school?
– Should children be allowed to do trick-or-treating alone?
7: Interview a ghost
A great way to practice the past tense and asking / answering questions! Pick a selection of famous historical characters, and enjoy a lesson interviewing their ghosts. This would work particularly well as a group class, with each student being asked to research their own character beforehand so they are best prepared for the role-play.
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8: Read about Halloween origins and traditions
Develop your students’ reading comprehension and discussion skills by learning about the history of halloween and modern-day traditions. This is also an excellent way to teach about different cultures and history too! Check out Brenda’s awesome Halloween origins and Halloween night lessons to enjoy with your students.
9: Write a spooky story
Halloween is an excellent opportunity to introduce creative writing to your students! Start with a scary prompt (e.g. a ghost in your bedroom / lost in the graveyard / someone stole your treats) and guide your students to write their own short story.
10: Test and treat
A great activity that can be adapted to literally any topic! Review your students’ recent learning with a fun “test and treat” class. This could be with a fun escape room, interactive quiz or Halloween-themed games. Don’t forget some fun Halloween-themed rewards to celebrate their achievements!
Did you enjoy these spooky lesson ideas? Have a howling good time this Halloween with the Abridge Academy curriculum – helping you save time and earn more with pre-made, professional and interactive teaching materials for your online ESL classes! Join us today 👻