Halloween is definitely at the top of the list when it comes to kids’ favorite holidays. Thinking about costumes, candy, and gatherings gets them super excited on the days leading up to the holiday. As teachers, it helps to go with the flow instead of trying to go against it. This is why I am sharing some fun and engaging Halloween activities for the classroom that have proven to keep kids engaged and learning through the excitement.
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1. Flashlight Reading
Halloween and the dark are synonymous. Therefore, make your reading block or students’ independent reading time more engaging by covering the windows, turning off the lights, giving each student their own independent flashlight, and have them read using the light from their flashlights.
This is one of the easiest Halloween classroom activities to set up that will have your students begging to continue to read throughout the day.
2. Book Bites – Book Tasting Activity
Introducing students to new genres and different choices of books can help motivate and get them excited about reading. Turning it into a Halloween book tasting activity can really set the stage to engage.
If you have students who do not celebrate Halloween, turn it into a Fall themed book tasting event.
Setting up your Book Bites:
- Set up a different genre at each station or group of desks. Placing a sign is helpful.
- Place a pile of books related to the genre in the middle or in a basket (make sure to have a few more books than students so that everyone gets to choose and isn’t ‘stuck’ with a book).
- Give each student a recording sheet to write down the title of their book and a sentence or two about it.
- After a few minutes, have the students rotate to the next station. Continue moving them on until they have had a chance to visit each of the genres you have set up.
If you’d like something a little less spooky, you can go with a fall theme instead. It’s a great option when you have students in your class who do not celebrate Halloween.
3. “Sweet” Candy Corn Halloween Idioms
If you’re looking for a “non-spooky” Halloween Activity for your upper elementary students, this idiom activity is perfect. Students naturally love idioms, so this activity will have them engaged while still allowing you to cover the standards.
Introduce your students to idioms that include the word ‘sweet’ or are related to candy. Have them write the figurative meaning of the idiom, write a sentence that includes the idiom, and then illustrate the idiom onto a candy cane shape.
Have the students then turn them into a booklet, wreath, or candy corn bag.
4. Halloween Word of the Day Vocabulary
Take some time to break away from your regular vocabulary wordlist and introduce your students to words focused on Halloween. I like to choose words they may not have heard about before and can use throughout the year, but I tend to stay away from gory words.
Give students the meaning of these new words and discuss them. Then, show them how to search for synonyms and antonyms using a dictionary or online resources. Next, help them identify when to use the words by creating brainstorming webs. Finally, have them create sentences and illustrations related to the words.
Once students are finished, have them share their sentences and illustrations with a partner and assess their understanding with a quick quiz.
5. Candy Corn Punctuation
Take advantage of the season and use candy corn to have students practice the use of commas and quotation marks.
You can use them after a lesson to help students master the skill or at centers as a review of skills you have previously taught.
Ideas for practice:
- comma work mats
- write sentences on sentence strips
- have students use dry erase markers to copy sentences onto their desks and add commas and/or quotation marks using candy corn
5. Halloween Themed Spelling Activities
One of the easiest ways to add a little change to ELA centers is to add new theme based activities. Create spelling activities that students are already used to working on, but add a new spin to them by making them Halloween themed spelling activities.
Some ideas are:
- Spooky Spelling Handwriting: Create two columns. On the left, the students write their spelling words in their regular handwriting. On the right, the students write their spelling words using spooky handwriting.
- Candy Corn Alliterations: Students draw one candy corn per spelling word. They write a two word alliteration in each candy corn.
- Witches’ Hats Pyramids: Students write each spelling word adding one letter per line to make a pyramid. Then, students make a triangle around the finished pyramid and make it look like a witch’s hat.
I hope these ELA Halloween Activities for the Classroom help you keep your students engaged. Happy Halloween, my Co-Teacher.
