Halloween will be here before we know it! It’s no secret that I love incorporating a bit of seasonal fun into middle and high school ELA. Getting into the Halloween spirit can be a great way to build relationships with your students and add a creative twist to your daily routine. 

If you’re looking for some creative ideas to add some Halloween flair to your classroom this year, I’ve got you covered. I’ve rounded up my favorite no-prep and last-minute Halloween resources for middle and high school ELA.

Looking for some no-prep Halloween resources to support and reinforce reading in your middle or high school ELA classroom? Whether you’re looking to dive into a short story unit, reinforce essential reading skills, or help students brush up on nonfiction reading strategies, I have a ton of creative ideas to bring the Halloween spirit into middle or high school ELA!

Spooky Short Stories:

Is there a better way to get into a Halloween mood than by sharing a spine-tingling story with your class? Scary, surprising, or unexpected short stories can be a great way to keep your middle or high school ELA students engaged – with a seasonal twist! 

Halloween Short Story Unit Plan – vol. 1 contains everything you need to teach the following short stories:

• “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Open Window” by Saki
• “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl
• “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
• “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Halloween Short Story Unit Plan – vol. 2 contains resources to teach the following texts, including spooky short stories, a suspenseful teleplay, and a creepy radio play (both of which are ideal for readers’ theatre-style activities!):

• “Click Clack the Rattlebag” by Neil Gaiman
• “The Hitchhiker” (radio play) by Lucille Fletcher
• “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
• “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (teleplay) by Rod Serling

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Halloween Nonfiction Reading Comprehension:

This bundle contains five high-interest nonfiction articles to help students dive more deeply into the history, science, and cultural impact behind some of the most fascinating Halloween traditions and legends. Each article is paired with a comprehensive reading comprehension assignment, as well as visually engaging presentation slides, discussion prompts, and a teacher answer key.

TEACHING TIP: These articles and comprehension tasks can be used as a bell-ringer-style warm-up activity in the days leading up to Halloween, as activities for Halloween-themed reading centers, or for a whole-class or small-group lesson!

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Reading Mysteries:

It’s no secret that I love reading mysteries! They’re the perfect way for students to practice essential literacy skills – including close reading, making inferences, and finding text evidence – in an engaging and collaborative way. 

Themed reading mysteries offer a fun way to get into the seasonal spirit in middle school ELA, while keeping students on task and engaged with their learning! Here are three of my favorite Halloween reading mystery activities to share with students at this time of year…

Who Was Abducted by Aliens? Reading Mystery:

The local government of Collingwood, Oregon, hears from an outside source that there was an alien abduction at the local baseball field. It appears that this alien species has superhuman abilities and that their abduction method is to take over the abductee’s body. Students must apply their close reading and inference skills as they examine the evidence and determine who was abducted!

Who Stole The Candy? Reading Mystery: 

It is the morning after Halloween. Alex, who had a great night trick-or-treating, wakes up and heads straight for his bag to stuff his pockets with candy before school. However, his bag is empty – someone stole his Halloween candy! Working collaboratively, students need to sift through a variety of reading clues to figure out who took Alex’s Halloween candy!

Toilet Paper Prank Reading Mystery:

The Hendersons are hosting a Halloween Fright Night costume party! As a pre-party game, partygoers drop hints for what costumes they will be wearing, using puns and wordplay, in a group chat. When a house is toilet-papered, these clues become essential to solving the case! Students must read carefully, comb through the group chat, and use their critical thinking skills to find out who pulled off the toilet paper prank!

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Spooky Superstitions Reading Comprehension:

Ever wonder where some of the “spookiest” superstitions came from? As students read this series of one-page nonfiction articles, they will learn about the origins of common superstitions, including:

• The mysteries of black cats
• The fear of breaking a mirror
• The ominous reputation of the number 13
• The age-old taboo of walking under ladders

Working alone, in pairs, or in small groups, students will then answer a series of comprehension questions about each article. This nonfiction reading bundle is perfect for classroom stations, peer-teach or jigsaw-style activities, or as a standalone whole-class learning task!

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Halloween-themed writing activities can be an absolute blast in middle and high school ELA! These low-prep Halloween writing activities allow students to tap into their creativity and practice essential writing skills, including generating ideas, considering the audience, and following through with a plan!

Ghost Rant Writing

Perfect for students with a sense of humor, this low-prep Halloween writing activity is an imaginative way to practice persuasive and creative writing, with a spooky twist! In this task, students step into the shoes of an overworked, underappreciated ghost who works in a haunted house. From pulling endless all-night haunt shifts and rattling chains on command, to dealing with inconsiderate guests who refuse to be scared, students will channel their spectral frustrations into a compelling, humorous rant, directed at the house’s owner!

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Haunted House for Sale

In this no-prep Halloween writing assignment for middle school ELA, students apply their descriptive writing skills to create a real-estate listing for a haunted house! This print-and-go resource contains everything you need to support middle and high school students through every stage of the writing process. 

This engaging bundle includes:

• A clear 20-slide lesson to introduce the assignment and review descriptive and persuasive writing techniques
• Graphic organizers to support idea generation and planning for writing
• Multiple template options for the real estate listing, including one where students generate their own visual of the haunted house!

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Halloween Picture Prompts

One of my favorite no-prep Halloween writing activities for middle or high school ELA involves tapping into students’ creative side! This collection of 36 eye-catching Halloween picture prompts and story starters can be used in a variety of different ways in ELA. You can print them as cards to inspire a variety of spooky narratives. Alternatively, you can share one prompt per day at the beginning of each class to kick-start a daily free-writing activity, building stamina and creativity!

TEACHING TIP: If you plan to use these prompts as cards, I recommend printing them in color and laminating them (so they can be used over and over again!).

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Crumpled Pumpkin Collaborative Writing Activity

Engage even the most reluctant writers with a high-energy, collaborative, Halloween-themed writing activity! The Crumpled Pumpkin task offers an unexpected twist on narrative writing that students always love!

To begin, each student receives one of 30 different Halloween-inspired story starters. Using the prompt, they begin to write a creative story. But after a pre-determined amount of time (ten minutes works well for me), instruct the students to crumple their handout into a “pumpkin” and throw it to the front of the room! From there, students retrieve a new “pumpkin” and continue the “new” story! You can repeat this process as many times as you like (I like to do this two or three more times). Eventually, the completed stories can be returned to their original creator or shared with the group!

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Some of my favorite low-prep Halloween resources for middle and high school ELA include activities that are perfect for ice-breakers, team-builders, bell-ringers, or early finishers! I also love activities that allow students (and me!) to share our personalities, and encourage teamwork, as well as creative and critical thinking!

Zombie Escape Room

Holidays like Halloween are the perfect opportunity to build and reinforce a strong classroom community! Team-building games, such as the Zombie Escape Room, encourage students to work together as they solve a series of puzzles! In this task, students must imagine that their teacher has turned into a zombie (the included hand-drawn video by John Spencer is the perfect way to set the scene)!

From here, students work in teams to complete a series of stations, each containing puzzles, riddles, and challenges. Will they find all the “ingredients” to turn their teacher human again before time runs out?

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Halloween Grammar Practice

Who says grammar has to be boring? Sometimes, all you need is a seasonal twist to inject new life into your regular ELA lessons! This low-prep Halloween grammar resource includes everything you need to reinforce and practice key grammar skills. Targeted skills include spelling, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, commas, sentence fragments, and more!

Each of the 10 ready-to-print worksheets includes a Halloween-themed backstory, which puts students in the middle of a spooky, grammar-themed adventure! From haunted houses to creepy forests, each page contains sentences with a mix of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes for students to correct!

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No-Prep Halloween ELA Games and Skill-Builders

Halloween Word Puzzles: This collection of 40 rebus-style Halloween word puzzles encourages students to think outside the box! You can display one brain-teaser to the whole class each morning, or print them as a set of cards. They’re an ideal challenge for early finishers! Sweeten the deal by offering a Halloween-themed prize for the first student or group to answer them all!

Halloween Riddles and Brain-Teasers: Encourage problem-solving and teamwork with this set of 20 engaging Halloween-themed brain-teasers and riddles! Working together, students must examine each riddle carefully as they race to solve the challenge! A detailed answer key is included!

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Halloween Would You Rather? Discussion Prompts: Would you rather dress up as a clown or dress up as a banana? These light-hearted questions help students articulate their reasoning and engage with their peers. Perfect for an ice-breaker at the beginning of class, or as prompts for free-writing, this bundle includes 20 prompts that are sure to spark lively discussion and debate!

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TEACHING TIP: If you want to inject a bit of Halloween fun into your daily attendance routine, Would You Rather? can be a great way to start the day with a smile!

I hope this round-up gives you lots of ideas for no-prep Halloween resources to use this year! Looking for more ways to get your students into the Halloween spirit? Check out my post on 5 Ways to Bring Halloween Into Middle School ELA!