ESL Halloween Games, Activities, Lesson Plans & More

If you’re looking for some fun ESL Halloween activity and game ideas, then you’re in the right place. We have all the top ideas, along with lesson plans, worksheets and more. Make Halloween this year extra special with these top picks.

ESL Halloween Games and Activities

Let’s get into the best Halloween ESL games and activities.

#1: Guess the Candy

This is one of my favourite activities to play with all my classes. I fill up a jar with candies that I’ve counted and then seal it tightly. All the students in my classes get a guess as to how many they think are in the jar. The closest one gets the entire jar!

Try it out to create a bit of fun and excitement around Halloween at your school. You could also consider doing a smaller jar for each class to have multiple winners in the school.

#2: Halloween Taboo

I’m sure you’ve played Taboo with your family or friends before. You have to describe a word without using a related set of words. I’ve adapted it a little bit for my English learners.

It’s a nice activity for Halloween vocabulary. Check it out here:

ESL Taboo Game.

#3: Word Association

It’s likely the case that your students already know a good bit of Halloween vocabulary before you teach them! That’s why a nice warmer activity is something like Word Association. It helps students activate their prior knowledge before adding new words into the mix. Check it out:

#4: Halloween-Themed Dictogloss

This is an extremely versatile activity for more advanced-level students that can be used with just about any kind of grammar or vocabulary, including Halloween words.

Choose a story related to this popular holiday. In this case, I talk about a funny memory I have of trick-or-treating with my friends when I was a kid. Then, put students into pairs and read the story out at a faster than normal pace. Students have to take notes and then work together to recreate what they heard.

Read the story again and students do the same thing. Finally, they can compare their Halloween story with the original one. Learn more about it here:

ESL Dictogloss Activity.

This activity works well for most holidays. Here are even more ideas: Teaching holidays.

#5: Halloween Charades

Charades is a fun party game that’s ideal for holiday-themed lessons. Depending on the level, you could have students either act out simple words like witch, broom, or candy or phrases like eating candy, riding on a broom, ringing a doorbell, etc.

Find out more about it here:

ESL Charades Activity.

#6: Halloween ESL Vocabulary Auction

This is one of my favourite activities to help students make better sentences and/or review new vocabulary. Students have to bid on words to make grammatically correct sentences related to Halloween.

It does require a good amount of preparation, so I’ll generally only do it if I can use it for multiple classes. Or, at the very least, laminate the words and save it for next year. Check it out:

ESL Vocabulary Auction.

It’s certainly possible to use this activity for just about any holiday, including New Year’s or Easter vocabulary.

#7: 120-90-60 ESL Speaking Activity

This is a great activity for higher-level students who have some experience celebrating Halloween. Students will have to speak about their Halloween experiences for a full two minutes to a partner without stopping.

Then, they have to switch partners and include all the same information in 9o seconds, and then do it again for 60 seconds. It’s a nice way to help students speak more fluently. Find out more:

Speaking Fluency Activity.

#8: What am I?

This is a simple ESL warm-up activity that’s ideal for reviewing new vocabulary words from previous classes. It can certainly be used with Halloween vocab as well. Find out all the details you need to know about it here:

What am I ESL Warmer.

#9: Halloween-Themed Running Dictation

Try out this fun, 4-skills ESL activity for all ages:

#10: 5 Senses Activity

5 Senses is a nice ESL warmer activity that can be done with either speaking or writing. It’s ideal for use as a holiday activity as well if you bring in objects that are related to Halloween.

In this case, I usually bring in some kind of familiar Halloween candy. Or, if students aren’t familiar with it (Candy corn for example), I’ll give them each a piece to touch and taste to see what they think.

Find out more details about this fun Halloween activity here:

5 Senses ESL Activity.

#11: Dialogue Substitution Activity

It’s often the case that new vocabulary, including ones from Halloween, are introduced in a dialogue of some kind. But, maybe your students are kind of like mine and just blow through it without really paying attention to what they’re reading?

It’s not the students’ fault. It’s just that I haven’t really given them a reason to read. To combat this, I remove some of the key words so it’s more than a simple reading activity but one that involves meaning as well. Try it out with your students. It’s a nice fit for any Halloween ESL lesson:

Dialogue Substitution ESL Activity.

#12: Chain Spelling Activity

If you’ve just taught some new Halloween words, this is a fun game to review the spelling of them. It’s competitive, interesting and students love it. Find out more:

ESL Spelling Activity.

#13: Describing Something Guessing Game

This is an activity that I generally use for people but it’s also ideal for Halloween vocabulary like candy, cauldron, witch, broom, costume, etc. Students have to describe these words to a partner who has to guess what they are.

Want to give it a try with your students? Have a look here at this Halloween speaking activity ESL:

Describe Something Guessing Game.

#14: I’m an Alien

It’s often the case that students know a good bit about this popular holiday already, so consider using this simple eliciting activity:

#15: Halloween Song for Kids

If you teach children, then you’ll know what a life-saver songs and chants can be. Kids love them and they’re a nice way to teach grammar or vocabulary.

If you’re like me and aren’t musical, not to worry! There are a ton of great Halloween songs and chants on YouTube.

#16: Just One Question ESL Halloween Activity Adults

This is a fun activity to do if you live in a place where students generally celebrate Halloween as it will be asking about their past experiences.

Students team up to come up with an interesting question to ask their classmates about Halloween, asking some follow-up questions and then compiling their results to report to the class. Have a look here:

Just One Question.

#17: Guess the Pumpkin Weight

Try out this simple activity! Bring in a pumpkin and get students to try to guess how much it weighs. You can make it more interesting by having another object of similar weight with a known weight for students to compare.

The winner gets to take the pumpkin home to carve or gets another small prize.

#18: 3 Things Writing Activity

To use this activity for a lesson like this, just require that the words students choose be related to Halloween:

ESL Halloween Worksheets

There are a ton of great ESL Halloween worksheets to choose from, which can save a busy teacher so much time! Here are some of the best options to choose from:

ISL Collective

Boggles World

ESL Worksheets

Halloween ESL Lesson Plans

If you’re a teacher, then you’ll know how much time a ready-made Halloween lesson plan can save you. Here are some of our top picks:

ESL Kids Stuff

ESL Library

Lingua House

Have some fun with these Halloween ESL lessons.

ESL Halloween Vocabulary

Here are some of the most popular words to consider including in your lesson:

• bat
• black cat
• broom (broomstick)
• candy
• carve
• casket
• cauldron
• cemetery
• coffin
• costume
• creepy
• decorate
• face paint
• fireworks
• full moon
• ghost
• jack-o-lantern
• magic
• mummy
• party
• pumpkin
• scarecrow
• scare
• spider
• trick-or-treat
• witch

Halloween ESL Lessons FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about this holiday. Here are some of the most popular ones.

What is Halloween for ESL students?

A simple definition of Halloween for ESL students is the following: It’s a holiday celebrated on October 31st each year. It has religious roots (All Saints’ Day/All Hallows’ Eve) but these days, most children dress up and go door-to-door to trick-or-treat (ask for candy).

What are some fun ESL Halloween activities?

There are lots of fun ESL Halloween activities to consider playing with your students. Some of them include:

• Costume contest
• Bobbing for apples
• Haunted house classroom
• Candy jar guess
• Guess the pumpkin weight

How do you make ESL fun?

A nice way to make ESL fun is to have some holiday-themed classes or lessons. This can be a nice change of pace from just following the textbook in each class.

Did you like these ESL Halloween Games?

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Kids. The key to better English classes with children is a wide variety of engaging, interactive, and student-centred games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Consider taking the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some serious lesson planning on the go. Or, keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Whatever the case, you’re going to love this book!

Head over to Amazon to pick up your copy today, but only if you want a serious dose of ESL teaching awesome in your life.

Have your say about these ESL Halloween Activities and Games

What’s your top pick for an ESL Halloween activity? Is it one of the options from this list or do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself who are interested in holiday activities for their students.

Last update on 2022-04-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API