Halloween ESL Activities & Worksheets
Monster Maker
ESL Halloween Activity - Listening and Speaking: Describing, Drawing - Pair Work
In this free Halloween activity, students take turns describing and drawing scary Halloween monsters. First, read the description of a monster to the class, pausing between sentences. Students listen to the description and draw the monster on...
A Spooky Story
ESL Halloween Worksheet - Grammar, Vocabulary and Writing Exercises: Matching, Changing Tenses, Writing Sentences
In this engaging Halloween worksheet, students learn Halloween verb-noun collocations and write a short story using verbs in the past simple. First, students match each verb with a noun or...
Find Someone Who...
ESL Halloween Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice
In this insightful Halloween speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about Halloween. To begin, students go through the items on the worksheet and create the yes/no questions they need to ask...
Halloween Crossword
ESL Halloween Activity - Vocabulary: Listening to Clues, Describing, Guessing - Pair Work
In this useful Halloween vocabulary activity, students complete a crossword by listening to clues and guessing Halloween vocabulary. In pairs, students take it in turns to ask their partner for a clue to one of...
Halloween Vocabulary
ESL Halloween Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Gap-fill, Matching, Identifying
This free Halloween worksheet helps to teach students Halloween vocabulary and traditions. Students begin by reading a Halloween conversation and filling in gaps using Halloween vocabulary from a box. Afterwards, students read the...
The History of Halloween
ESL Halloween Worksheet - Vocabulary and Reading Exercises: Word Search, Matching, Gap-fill, True or False Questions
In this productive Halloween worksheet, students learn Halloween vocabulary and use it to complete a text about the history of Halloween. First, students find 12 Halloween words in a word search...
Creepy Clues
ESL Halloween Activity - Vocabulary: Writing Crossword Clues, Describing, Guessing - Group and Pair Work
In this rewarding Halloween vocabulary activity, students complete a crossword by describing and guessing Halloween words. In two groups, students invent and write down clues for the Halloween...
Halloween Word Wizardry
ESL Halloween Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Unscrambling, Gap-fill - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice Pair Work
This handy Halloween vocabulary worksheet helps students practice words related to Halloween. First, students match verbs with the correct endings to make...
Tales from the Crypt
ESL Halloween Worksheet - Reading and Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Categorising, Identifying, Writing Sentences, True or False
This enjoyable Halloween worksheet helps students learn and practice more advanced vocabulary related to Halloween. Students start by reading a Halloween...
Using Halloween Vocabulary
Halloween vocabulary includes words for costumes, characters, decorations and activities associated with the celebration. Learning phrases such as 'wear a costume' and 'carve a pumpkin' helps students describe pictures, tell stories and talk about Halloween experiences.
This page has nine resources across A1-A2, A2, B1, B2 and C1, including worksheets and speaking activities, with two free downloads.
The table shows Halloween words and phrases in short, practical examples.
| Word or phrase | Meaning or use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wear a costume | Dress as a character or creature | 'She wore a vampire costume.' |
| carve a pumpkin | Cut a design into a pumpkin | 'We carved a face into the pumpkin.' |
| go trick-or-treating | Visit homes in costume to ask for treats | 'The children went trick-or-treating with an adult.' |
| haunted house | A house said to contain ghosts | 'The story takes place in a haunted house.' |
| spooky | Strange and slightly frightening | 'We heard a spooky noise outside.' |
| dress up as | Wear clothes to look like someone or something | 'He dressed up as a skeleton.' |
How to Use Halloween Vocabulary
Make descriptions precise: Combine a character or object with details about its appearance. 'The witch has a pointed hat and a long broom' gives a listener more to picture than simply naming a witch.
Build a story: Connect Halloween words with actions and a sequence of events. 'We opened the door and saw a ghost' places the vocabulary in a scene rather than presenting a list of spooky things.
Discuss different experiences: Ask whether someone celebrates Halloween before assuming they do. Students can describe local customs, explain that they do not celebrate or talk about an imagined event.
3-Step Framework for Teaching Halloween Vocabulary
This sequence suits an intermediate class, combining vocabulary recognition, supported story writing and conversation. Choose separate tasks from the page for beginners or advanced learners.
1. Establish Meaning through Pictures and Reading: Students find Halloween words in a word search, match them to pictures and use them to complete a reading text. Checking statements against the text then links word recognition with understanding, preparing students to use the vocabulary in their own sentences.
2. Turn Phrases into a Story: Students match verbs with nouns or noun phrases and connect the resulting collocations to pictures. They change the verbs into the past simple and write a picture-supported story, adding their own final picture and ending. This moves from recognising language to organising it into events.
3. Ask about Experiences: Students prepare yes/no questions from prompts and ask classmates about Halloween. After a yes answer, they record a name and ask a follow-up question before reporting their findings. This shifts from a written narrative to listening and responding to another person's experiences.
Common Mistakes with Halloween Vocabulary
Missing as after dress up: Use 'dress up as' when naming the character or creature represented by a costume. Incorrect: 'She dressed up a witch' when describing her own costume. Correct: 'She dressed up as a witch.'
Confusing scared and scary: Use 'scared' for someone's feeling and 'scary' for something that causes fear. Incorrect for this meaning: 'I felt scary when I heard the noise.' Correct: 'I felt scared when I heard the noise.'
Common Questions About Teaching Halloween Vocabulary
What Halloween activity can I use for speaking practice?
The free activity Monster Maker combines Halloween speaking practice with drawing. Students first listen to a monster description and draw what they hear. They then create their own monster, write a description and read it to a partner who draws it, giving their descriptions a clear purpose and a visible result.
What worksheet helps with teaching Halloween vocabulary?
The free worksheet Halloween Vocabulary introduces words through a Halloween conversation. Students complete gaps, match costume words to pictures and identify who is wearing each costume. They then label Halloween images and complete information about the celebration, giving teachers several ways to check meaning through context and visual support.
How can students practice Halloween vocabulary?
In the activity Halloween Crossword, students ask a partner for clues to missing Halloween words. They listen, guess and write the answers, with additional clues when needed. Comparing completed crosswords provides a final spelling check, so students practice recognising words from descriptions as well as writing them accurately.
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