Hi there!
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 Halloween is getting close and… you know how much I love teaching English in ways that engage all children’s learning pathways! And what better way to do this than with songs combined with games and hands-on activities?
Halloween songs are a great way to practice specific vocabulary, learn useful expressions and get children moving. But why not take the fun a step further and recreate the games and actions from the songs in your classroom?
So, here are five Halloween songs with simple activities you can try with your young learners. Let's sing, move, play and learn together! 👻
1. Knock Knock, Trick or Treat? 🍬
Ask children to stand in a line and take turns going trick-or-treating. Prepare picture prompts, Halloween character cards, real sweets or Halloween stickers to give them when they reach the end of the line.
Encourage children to use expressions such as “Knock, knock!”, “Trick or treat!” and “Thank you!”
2. Who Took the Cookie from the Cookie Jar? 🍪
Let's play the game together!
Arrange the children in a circle and recreate the familiar cookie jar game, using the song to guide the activity. You could even move to the school gym to give everyone more space!
This is a fun way to practise rhythm, listening, turn-taking and simple questions and answers in English.
3. This Is the Way We Carve a Pumpkin 🎃
Let's make a paper pumpkin!
Prepare a worksheet featuring a large pumpkin. As you sing the song, children cut out one piece at a time, following the actions in the lyrics until their pumpkin is ready.
This simple activity combines listening, fine motor skills and Halloween vocabulary. Remember to prepare the outlines in advance and supervise children when using scissors.
4. Skeleton Dance 💀
Let's learn about the human body!
Turn the song into a Science activity! Prepare a printable skeleton model for children to cut out and assemble using paper fasteners (split pins) at the joints.
Once the model is ready, children can move its arms and legs while revising the names of the bones and body parts. Finish with a labelling activity to consolidate their learning.
It's a lovely way to connect English, Science and hands-on learning!
5. If I Were a Ghost 👻
Let's sing and dance like ghosts!
Play the song and invite children to sing along, dance and act like little ghosts. Encourage them to copy the movements and use gestures to show what the ghost is doing.
Movement, repetition and a little imagination make it easier for young learners to remember new words and expressions.
Bonus Speaking Game: Halloween Guess Who? 🧙♀️
After singing and dancing, keep the Halloween fun going with a Guess Who? game using cards featuring Halloween characters.
One child secretly chooses a card while the others ask questions to identify the character.
For example:
Is it a witch?
Has it got a hat?
Is it scary?
Can it fly?
Children practise asking questions, describing characters and using Halloween vocabulary while playing together.
Happy Halloween and happy teaching! 🎃👻
