In need of fun fall and Halloween activities for ESOL students? Look no further!
October is hands down one of my favorite times of the year here in the Midwest! The weather becomes crisp and cool, colorful leaves decorate the trees, and it’s spooky season (even though I’m not a big fan of being scared!)
I will admit- I LOVE Fall/Halloween time and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with it. I also want to share my love for this season with my students!
HOWEVER… As an ESL teacher, I’ve learned over the years that many people around the world don’t celebrate Halloween. In fact, participating in this holiday is forbidden by many religions.
The good news is that there is still PLENTY of things you can do with your students to celebrate fall, including several activities that don’t involve Halloween.
Here are a few activities to do with your students during the Halloween season. Some activities focus on literacy and vocabulary skills, while others are more kinesthetic. Most of these ideas are geared for upper-elementary and middle school students, but can be easily adjusted to fit the needs of language learners of any age.
ESOL Halloween Activities
History and Popular Traditions of Halloween: Whether or not your students have celebrated Halloween before, it can be fun and interesting to learn about the history of Halloween (did you know that this holiday is over 2,000 years old and originated from Europe?!). Additionally, it may be fun to teach students about the popular customs and traditions of Halloween here in the United States.
Each year, I always have students (especially Newcomers) ask me about these traditions. Why do people dress up? What is Trick-or-Treating? Haunted Houses? Ghosts? Witches? Therefore, I always try to turn it into a learning moment that sparks fun and engaging discussions!
Of course, I Always make sure my students feel comfortable talking about Halloween prior to having discussions. I highly recommend you do the same.
Halloween Vocabulary and Idioms: Another way you can integrate Halloween fun into your language instruction is by teaching common terminology associated with this holiday. For my Newcomers, I usually teach them basic Halloween words (ex: pumpkin, ghost, candy, etc.). I do this by showing them pictures of the words, and then having to do basic activities such as word searches or writing sentences that include each word.
For my intermediate/advanced students, I like teaching them common Halloween idioms/expressions and their meanings. Here are a few Halloween idioms that you can teach your students!
- Scaredy Cat- A person who is afraid of something
- Ghost Town- A town that nobody lives in
- Witching Hour- Midnight
- Zombie- Someone who is extremely tired
- Witch- A women who is perceived as mean or rude
Carving Pumpkins: If your students have never carved a pumpkin before, this could be another fun activity to do together. It can also be a great activity for any age!
Check out our Halloween Reading Comprehension & Idioms Activity Pack here!
Fall Activities
Nature Walk: If you would prefer to only focus on fall activities, one idea is to take a nature walk outside to observe changes in nature during autumn. Students can collect leaves or other items and later describe what they found.
Fall-Themed Idioms: Just like for Halloween, it can be fun to also teach your students about popular idioms and expressions used during the fall season. Here are a few examples:
- Burst of Color- Something that becomes bright and colorful for a short period of time
- Sweater Weather- Refers to the cool temperatures that are perfect for wearing sweaters
- Autumn Years- Refers to a person’s years of retirement/ later years in life
- Harvest Time- When someone is rewarded for their hard work
- Turning Over a New Leaf- Making a fresh start or change, usually at the beginning of a season
I love teaching my students about seasonal/holiday idioms because there are many different literacy activities you can do with them!
Check out our Fall Idioms & Expressions pack here!
Idiom Activities
Speaking of Halloween and fall idioms, here are a few activities that you can do with students:
Bingo: Have students fill a bingo sheet with idioms. Then, read the meanings of different idioms aloud until someone gets a bingo.
Sentences: Have students practice using idioms by writing them in sentences
Pictionary (My personal favorite!): Instruct one student to draw an idiom on the board. Then, have others guess which idiom it is!
Whatever you choose to do with your students to celebrate Halloween and/or the fall season, make sure to have fun with it! There are SO many ways to incorporate the fall season into your language-based instruction. Plus, your students will appreciate it- regardless of their age!
If you want to save yourself time, be sure to check out our Fall Holidays Reading and Idioms Bundle! It is packed with ready-to-go scaffolded materials that you can use with your language learners! It includes reading passages, color-by-code worksheets, idiom activities, and MUCH more! Check it out here!
Cheers!!
Morgan
If you enjoyed this article, click here to read about diverse decor for multilingual classrooms.