I’m pretty sure that I love Halloween as much as most students (if not more), so I am always looking for an excuse to incorporate fun Halloween grammar and language activities into my lessons. I also love creating lessons, so I am often inspired by my favorite holiday to come up with new ideas. Here are some of my favorite Halloween-themed classroom activities!
Halloween Story Starters Writing Prompts
A really fun way to incorporate the holiday and get students developing their creative skills is using story starters. Simply give them a sentence or two to get the story started and let them use their imaginations to decide what direction the story will take.
Not sure what kind of story starters to use? Check out these ideas where you can also get a FREE sample of story starter prompts.
Prefer to have ready-to-go writing prompts? This set of 32 spooky story starters includes a variety of intriguing scenarios that are sure to get their creative juices flowing. Choose from print-and-go task cards in a variety of printing options, or go paperless and assign your students the digital version with just a couple of clicks.
Halloween Grammar Fun
It can often be a challenge to give much-needed grammar practice in a way that is fun for students. That’s why including a Halloween theme while teaching or practicing grammar can be a great way to engage them in learning!
One of the biggest grammar and writing challenges I have with my students is avoiding sentence fragments! So I have put together a resource that will give students a quick refresher on what fragments are and how to avoid them plus practice activities. This resource contains printable and digital options to offer flexibility in your teaching. You can check them out below:
Digital Boom Cards
Are you using Boom Cards with your students? If so, you will love these fun Boom Cards to practice homophones, homographs and subject-verb agreement. If you are not familiar with Boom Cards and how they work, check out these 9 things to know about Boom Cards and discover why students and teachers love them!
Fun word puzzles
Something that I love as much as Halloween is word games and puzzles! So I love to make activities that include both a Halloween theme and a fun game or puzzle.
But puzzles are not only fun, but they are perfect for practicing spelling, vocabulary, critical thinking skills, and more!
My students absolutely LOVE this puzzle pack that includes cryptograms, rhyming puzzles (hink pinks and hinky pinkies), and other fun word puzzles. Grab this pack for plenty of festive Halloween fun that will also get your students thinking!
One of my favorite quick, no-prep activities for Halloween is this picture word search puzzle. Students love word search puzzles, but what I don’t love about most of them is that students are just circling words. This puzzle offers a more challenging twist: students first build the list from the pictures (great spelling practice!) and then find the words in the puzzle. When the puzzle is completed, a hidden message is revealed.
I have created a bundle of seasonal and non-seasonal picture word search puzzles, but you can get a free sample of the puzzle for my favorite holiday!
Click the image below to grab this FREE resource, and keep reading for even more fun Halloween themed grammar and language activities.
Also discover more ideas for using games and puzzles to for fun spelling practice.
Halloween Escape Room
No student can resist the fun of an escape room, and they will be so engaged they won’t even realize they are learning! In this this all-digital escape room, students will use context clues to discover the codes to escape a haunted mansion. Students are presented with a series of short challenges using unique puzzles with a spooky haunted house theme.
Halloween fun for the whole class!
Other fun activities for building critical thinking skills are these Halloween themed Bingo Game and Would You Rather questions.
The bingo game includes several options for differentiation, including versions to practice listening and inferencing skills. The Would You Rather activity is a fun way to get students to discuss their preferences and give their reasoning.
Or for fun class activity that also becomes a classroom decoration for Halloween, try a collaborative poster. Each student colors and decorates an individual block and then students work together to assemble the poster. These are perfect activities for a fun October treat or Halloween party!
If you love all things Halloween like I do, then you might want to check out this Halloween Games, Puzzles, and Activities Bundle. This resource includes all the writing prompts, puzzles and games, and just-for-fun activities mentioned in this post – all at an incredibly discounted price! Check out the bundle here:
I hope you have found some fun ideas to use in your classroom this Halloween! Be sure to grab your Halloween Picture Word Search Puzzle freebie above!