Halloween activities for online classes can be simple, playful, and incredibly effective at getting students talking. Use the excitement of the season to build vocabulary, storytelling skills, and confidence. Below are four no prep activities I use in real online lessons that work for any level, require almost zero materials, and get even shy students describing ghosts, monsters, and silly costumes.
Why Halloween works so well for language learning
Bring imagination into the lesson and the language follows. When students are curious about costumes, candy, and spooky stories, adjectives like spooky, slimy, and silly come alive. I always choose one clear learning goal for a Halloween lesson so it stays fun but purposeful. That might be sequencing words, descriptive adjectives, storytelling, or practicing numbers and dates.
Activity 1: What’s in the pumpkin? — Quick Warm Up
This is a fast, interactive warm-up perfect for vocabulary and full-sentence practice. Drop small pictures or words into a virtual pumpkin and have students guess. Encourage full sentences: “I think it is a ghost. It can fly.” No props needed beyond one image on screen.
Activity 2: Silly Story Chains and Mad Libs
Take the vocabulary list from your unit and use it to build a haunted-house story together. Start with a story starter like “It was Halloween night…” and let students add one sentence at a time. This is a great review activity and it works at any level. Expect laughter mid-sentence — that is the goal.
Activity 3: Describe the costume — speaking and adjectives
Have students give three clues about a costume: “I am wearing a black hat. I have orange shoes. I carry a broom.” Others guess. For lower-level students, show a set of costume images and ask them to describe the one they want. For older students, move to deeper discussions: origins of Halloween, ghost hunting, or the psychology of fear.
Activity 4: Halloween invitations and writing activities
Writing an invitation is brilliant for beginners learning numbers, addresses, dates, and times. Use a simple template from Canva or create one on the spot and fill it out with your student. Remember to blur any personal info before sharing. You can also adapt a party template as a free trial marketing piece for new students.
Keep it structured
Pick one clear objective per lesson and let imagination fuel the language practice. When parents see a focused goal, they know the lesson is still educational. That balance keeps Halloween lessons magical without derailing learning.
Favorite classroom moment
My student showed up in a witch hat waving a broom and said, “Teacher, today we make a spooky story.” It turned into one of the funniest, most language rich classes I have ever taught.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much prep do I need for these Halloween activities for online classes?
Very little. Most activities use images you already have, a blank slide, or a simple Canva template. Story chains and describe-the-costume need no new materials.
What platforms work best for these activities?
Zoom, Koala Go, ClassIn, or any platform that allows screen sharing and simple image display will work fine.
How do I adapt these ideas for very young or very advanced students?
For young learners, focus on pictures, colors, and simple phrases. For advanced students, use discussion prompts like cultural traditions, Dracula, or the psychology of fear to spark deeper conversation.
Give these Halloween activities for online classes a try and watch your students play with language. Happy Halloween teaching!
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