Halloween offers the perfect opportunity to bring excitement, creativity, and cultural learning into the English classroom. For studentsstudents, it’s not only a fun seasonal celebration, it’s also a chance to build confidence in English through songs, games, and stories.
In this post, I’ll share a lesson plan I’ve used for my elementary school students grades 2 through 6. The activities combine language learning with movement, imagination, and cultural understanding, making English memorable and meaningful. As the level of students differs across grades modifications can obviously be made to make it more challenging or less challenging depending on the grade being taught, however, this is the general framework I use. Some preparation is needed but not to the extent that planning takes too long.
Target learners: Japanese elementary school students (Grades 3–6)
Time: 40 minutes (my school has 40 minute lessons, for longer lessons you can add extra activities)
Language focus: Halloween vocabulary, simple phrases (“I’m a…,” “Trick or treat” etc), listening and speaking
Materials: Flashcards, Halloween music, simple picture cards, and optionally, small treats or stickers
Overall Lesson Goals
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
● Recognize and say basic Halloween words (e.g., ghost, witch, vampire, pumpkin, bat).
● Use simple English phrases like “I’m a ghost!” and “Trick or treat!”
● Participate in a short Halloween role-play and games in English.
● Understand Halloween as a Western cultural tradition (this point depends on the level and age of students and I focus more on this with my older students).
Lesson Procedure
1. Warm-Up: “What Day Is It?”
tart with your usual greeting routine (“Hello everyone! How are you today?”), then ask,
“Do you know what day is coming soon?”
Show a pumpkin or ghost flashcard to elicit “Halloween!” from students.
Briefly explain:
“In many countries, children wear costumes and say ‘Trick or treat!’ to get candy.”
I show a short picture slideshow of Halloween costumes and decorations to set the mood.
2. Vocabulary Presentation
Introduce some Halloween words using flashcards or pictures:
pumpkin, ghost, witch, vampire, bat, black cat, skeleton, monster etc.
Use gestures, sounds, or small props to make the words come alive (especially with the younger grades).
Example:
● “Ghost” – make a spooky “Oooo!” sound.
● “Witch” – pretend to stir a potion.
● “Bat” – flap your arms like wings.
Repeat each word 2–3 times as students echo you.
Then, play a simple gesture game. Teacher says the word, and students act it out. This works really well with my grade 2 classes.
3. Listening Game: “Who Am I?”
Describe each character using simple clues:
“I can fly. I wear a black hat. Who am I?”
“I say ‘Oooo!’ I’m white. Who am I?”
Students point to the correct flashcard or raise their hand to answer in English: “Witch!” “Ghost!”
This game reinforces comprehension and pronunciation in a fun, low-pressure way. This is also a game pattern students are familiar with from the curriculum we use throughout the year so time doesnt need to be spent explaining how it’s done.
4. Speaking Practice: “I’m a ___!”
Once students are confident with the vocabulary, model a short pattern:
“I’m a ghost!”
“I’m a witch!”
Invite students to choose their favorite Halloween character and say:
“I’m a ___!”
I often make this a small performance where students mime walking or acting like their chosen character while saying the phrase aloud.
For older or more advanced students i add more o the phrases and give students some extra time to come up with these. With some of the less confident students I let them work in pairs or groups with friends to build their confidence.
A variation of this I sometimes include is to make it a who am I quiz, the same as the teacher focused one above, with the students instead being the teacher/presenter
5. Game: Trick or Treat Relay
Divide the class into small groups. Set up “checkpoints/houses” (desks or cards) around the room with picture cards.
Students walk around the room in pairs, knocking and saying:
“Trick or treat!”
The teacher (or other students acting as “homeowners”) respond:
“Happy Halloween!” and hand them a sticker or card.
This activity gives students a chance at real communicative use of English and captures the spirit of the holiday.
6. Cool Down: Halloween Song (optional)
End the lesson with a simple Halloween-themed song. The two I like to use are both from Super Simple Songs and are easily found on Youtube. This is better for younger grades and with older students I find this time is filled by earlier activities as I give them more planning time above instead to create more interesting phrases.
● Go Away, Big Green Monster! (Super Simple Songs)
● Knock Knock, Trick or Treat! (Super Simple Songs)
This is a very basic framework I use every year and I run a similar type of class at Christmas. It’s fun for students and gets them into the seasonal spirit while allowing them chances to use what they’ve learned to communicate. As an Australian Halloween wasn’t a huge event for mew growing up so I don’t go into as much depth as some others might but if anyone has any examples of fun things they do or have tried then I’d love to hear from you. It doesn’t have to be Halloween specific, Christmas ideas would also be welcome.
I look forward to hearing what other teachers do for Halloween or other seasonal events, even if it’s for junior high or high school.
