Hauntingly Good Halloween Activities to Electrify Your Classroom

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If you are a long time TCEA TechNotes blog follower, then you will know my favorite time of year is coming up soon: Halloween! Creating activities for educators and students ranks in the top three of my favorite things to do at TCEA. So, if you are looking for hauntingly good Halloween activities to electrify your classroom party or a personal party, this blog is just for you!

So fresh out of the bubbling and creative cauldron, are TWO brand new Halloween activities:

Name That Costume | Canva Presentation with 26 Costumes 

Halloween Connections Game | Two Games Housed in Canva

This blog also is your one-stop-shopping-spot for a total refresh of my Halloween edition of “Would You Rather?” and my other spooky-ooky standards. 

Name That Costume

Many full moons ago, I used to play a pencil and paper version of Name That Costume with my fifth and sixth graders, and now I have converted it into a Canva presentation. How does NTC work? A page is set up with a word list of several parts and pieces of a Halloween costume. Students are to guess and identify the costume. The following page contains the answer and a picture of the costume.

The Connections Game (Halloween Edition)

Have you ever played a word association game? The Connections Game is similar, but with a Halloween twist! This word association game is where you must organize 16 words into four categories of four words each. Each group is linked by a common theme. Your job is to figure out what that connection is.

For example:

• Words: bat, pumpkin, skeleton, ghost
• Group topic: Halloween symbols

I have two Halloween-themed Connections games ready for you to try. Each game has a different set of words and a unique connection to discover. See if you can crack the code! For more information, check out this blog. 

Would You Rather: Halloween Edition

I also have revamped my Halloween Would You Rather. The original was set up in Google Slides with only text on each slide. I have transferred this presentation into Canva and added monsterific-graphics. 

If you are not familiar with Would You Rather, it is a fun activity where you’re presented with two hypothetical situations and asked to choose one. It’s a great way to spark conversations, test your preferences, and learn about your students’  thoughts and opinions. The resource has 29 questions. 

Directions

1. Take turns asking questions: One person asks a question, and everyone else answers. Or one person gets a question all to themselves. Your choice or think up another way to play WYR.
2. Explain your choices: After everyone answers, share why you picked your crazy choice. 
3. Have fun! The goal of the game is to have fun and spark interesting conversations. There are no right or wrong answers!

Here are a few examples for WYR:

• dunk for apples or carve a jack o’lantern?
• wear a creative costume or wear a scary costume?
• get attacked by a giant spider or a spooky skeleton?
• explore a corn maze or visit a haunted house
• be a member of the Brady Bunch or the Addams Family?

Two Digital Breakouts

Also, I have two digital breakouts for Halloween. A little history for you, The Boo Breakout was the first digital breakout I ever created seven years ago, in 2017. As I write this blog, 8,217 students and teachers have thus far solved The Boo Breakout!

 And, if you are up for unlocking more fun, check out The Trick or Treat Breakout. This breakout was created in 2020 and it is so close to cracking the 2,000 finish line. 

Halloween Adjective Challenge

Looking for a fun and spooky way to celebrate Halloween? Check out our Halloween Adjective Challenge! This Google Form quiz presents you with ten images. Your task is to read the three sentences below each image and select the sentence that uses the correct adjectives to describe the image.

How to Play:

1. Access the Quiz: Click here to start the Halloween Adjective Challenge.
2. Read the Sentences: Carefully read the three sentences provided for each image.
3. Choose the Correct Sentence: Select the sentence that best describes the image using the correct adjectives.
4. Submit Your Answers: Once you’ve completed all ten questions, submit your quiz.
5. Check Your Score: After submitting, you’ll receive your score and correct answers.

Halloween Synonym Challenge

Get ready to test your vocabulary skills with my spooky Halloween Synonym Challenges! These two quizzes, housed in Google Forms, will put your word knowledge to the test.

Level 1: This challenge focuses on more common Halloween-related words, such as “candy,” “horrible,” and “yell.”

Level 2: If you’re feeling brave, try our Level 2 challenge. This quiz features more advanced words like “afraid,” “gross,” and “shiver.”

How to Play:

1. Access the Quizzes: Click on the links below to start each challenge.
2. Read the Words: Carefully read each word presented in the quiz.
3. Choose the Correct Synonym: Select the word that best means the same as the given word.
4. Submit Your Answers: Once you’ve completed all the questions, submit your quiz.
5. Check Your Score: After submitting, you’ll receive your score and correct answers.

Halloween Charades

Get ready for a frightfully fun Halloween activity! I’ve created 48 Halloween-related words. These cards are housed in Google Slides, ready for print. All you need to do is click on the link and make a copy. The goal of Charades is to act out words without speaking, using only gestures and expressions. Your teammates will try to guess the word based on your performance. You can view the slide deck here or get your own copy of the game here.

How to Play:

1. Divide into teams.
2. Choose a player. This player will be the actor.
3. Select a card. The actor draws a card and reads the words silently.
4. Act it Out: The actor uses gestures, expressions, and mime to convey the meaning of the words.
5. Guess the Words: The actor’s team tries to guess the words within a set time limit (e.g., 30 seconds).
6. Keep Score: Each guessed word earns a point for the team.
7. Switch Players: After a few rounds, switch players and continue the game.

As you gear up for Halloween season, I hope these activities spark creativity and fun in your classroom or personal celebrations. Whether it’s guessing costumes, cracking word connections, or diving into a digital breakout, these resources are designed to engage and entertain students of all ages. From revamped classics like Would You Rather? to fresh takes on challenges, there’s something here for everyone. Don’t be afraid to customize these activities to fit your classroom needs and watch the spooky magic unfold. Here’s to a hauntingly good time for you and your students—Happy Halloween!