Halloween lesson plan: 25 minutes for ages 4–6, 45 minutes for 7–11
Aylara A.
Kids' teacher · founder of AylaraTalks
Two lessons, one shape. Both run on the five blocks every plan on this site uses (warm-up, words, play, speak, land): the 25-minute one for ages 4–6 keeps six words and the Spooky Wheel, the 45-minute one for 7–11 takes all nine words, bingo, a word search, a reader and a trick-or-treat scene at the door. Nothing scary, no costume and no party needed: it is a vocabulary lesson in orange and black, and it works in a room where some families do not mark the day.
Each block below gives both versions with their minutes and the exact English to say. Print what the first section lists, in that order, and every link opens with the Halloween words already loaded.
Before the lesson: print in this order
- Ages 4–6 (one sheet): the Halloween Lesson's flashcards, cut, keep six (pumpkin, ghost, witch, bat, spider, candy); and Spooky Wheel open in a tab for the last block, with the same six words typed in.
- Ages 7–11 (four sheets): the flashcards on screen; the 3×3 bingo cards, one per child, plus the caller's list; the word search, one per pair; the reader, printed or on screen. Keep the Let's Talk About Halloween! sheet open in a tab for the speaking block.
- Both: the planner preset for this topic builds the same lesson with your own length and group size, if 25 or 45 minutes is not your slot.
1. Warm-up (4–6: 0–3 min · 7–11: 0–5 min)
- Ages 4–6, 0–3 min: your fixed hello (wave, name, hello song). Then hold one flashcard behind your back and say 'Boo!' as it appears: 'A… pumpkin!' Three cards, three boos, the class echoes each word. No new words yet, just the voice of the lesson.
- Ages 7–11, 0–5 min: 'Halloween in three words.' Each child says one English word they already know for the topic, round the room, no repeats: pumpkin, ghost, candy… Write them on the board; the list shows you which of the nine are new.
- What you say: 'Ready? Boo! Who is it?' / 'Tell me one Halloween word. No repeats!'
2. The words (4–6: 3–9 min · 7–11: 5–15 min)
- Ages 4–6: six cards, one at a time: show, say, the class echoes twice (the second time in a ghost voice), tap the card on screen to hear it. Then 'Who's hiding?': cover the card with your hand, show a corner, they guess. Six words, nine minutes, no more.
- Ages 7–11: all nine on screen with the flashcards, in two rounds. Round one, show and say; round two, say the word with your back to the screen and the class points. Then Flip Cards for three minutes: picture up, name it, flip to check. The words from the warm-up list are theirs already; spend the time on the others.
- What you say: 'Look. Pumpkin. Say it: pumpkin. Ghost voice: puuumpkin!' / 'Point to the bat. Point to the spider. Which one is new for you?'
Six is the honest limit for a four-year-old. All nine in one lesson works from seven because the warm-up list took the known words out of the count and because the pictures (pumpkin, ghost, spider, bat) need no explaining at all.
3. Play (4–6: 9–16 min · 7–11: 15–28 min)
- Ages 4–6, 9–16 min: Pumpkin pass, then one screen game. Sit in a circle, pass a pumpkin to 'Pumpkin, pumpkin, pass it on!', say 'Stop!', the child with the pumpkin names the card you show. Three minutes. Then Memory with Halloween loaded, picture↔word, teacher against the class, every flip said aloud. Four minutes.
- Ages 7–11, 15–28 min: Bingo, then the word search. Give out the sheets; before each word give a clue ('It flies at night and it is not a bird') and only then say it. Two winners, seven minutes. Then the word search in pairs, six minutes: the first pair to find every word reads them out to the class.
- What you say: 'Pumpkin, pumpkin, pass it on! Stop! What is it?' / 'Listen. It is black and it has eight legs. Spider! Tick it.'
4. Speak (4–6: 16–21 min · 7–11: 28–38 min)
- Ages 4–6, 16–21 min: Boo! freeze dance, standing: music on, everyone moves like a witch, a bat, a zombie; you shout 'Boo!' and show a card: 'Freeze like a… skeleton!' Then 'What are you?' with three flashcards: you hold a card, they ask 'What are you?', you answer 'I'm a bat!'; now a child holds it and the class asks.
- Ages 7–11, 28–38 min: the 'What are you?' round in pairs with the flashcards (every child asks and answers twice), then Pip the Bat: read the six lines together, then pairs read it to each other, then two questions: 'Is Pip big?' 'Is Pip fun?' Finish with the Let's Talk About Halloween! questions, one per pair.
- What you say: 'What are you? — I'm a witch! — A witch? Boo!' / 'Read with me. Pip is a bat. Now you. Is Pip big?'
5. Land (4–6: 21–25 min · 7–11: 38–45 min)
- Ages 4–6, 21–25 min: the Spooky Wheel goodbye. The six words are already on the wheel: one child at a time spins, says the word and acts it out, and you ask 'What are you?' so the lesson's one sentence is said once more by everyone. Eliminate each word once it has been said, until the wheel is empty. Goodbye song.
- Ages 7–11, 38–45 min: trick or treat at the door. Put the five lines on the board: 'Knock, knock! Trick or treat!' — 'Who are you?' — 'I'm a ghost!' — 'Here you are.' — 'Thank you! Happy Halloween!' The door is the house; two children at a time, the candy is a flashcard. Everyone knocks once. Last minute: 'One word you are taking home?' round the room.
- What you say: 'What are you? — I'm a pumpkin. — Beautiful pumpkin!' / 'Knock, knock! Trick or treat! Who are you?'
Take this with you
Same five blocks, two ages: six words and the Spooky Wheel in 25 minutes, all nine words and a scene at the door in 45. Teach it the week before the 31st, and the next lesson starts with 'What are you?' before anything new.
Put it into play
Everything here pairs with our free classroom games — no prep, no accounts.
About the author
Kids' teacher · founder of AylaraTalks
Aylara is a kids' teacher who spent years hand-making every classroom game — cutting cards and drawing boards on paper sheets. She created AylaraTalks so no teacher has to start from a blank page again.
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