Halloween Reading Activities Your Students Will Love

Every time a holiday rolls around, I definitely like to use it as an excuse to bring in seasonal ELA activities. Not only does this keep our activities fresh and new, but it also helps me plan and explore activities outside of our usual routine. Same goes for Halloween reading activities!

I wanted to share some of my go-to Halloween reading activities in case you too wanted to spice it up with seasonal activities! These activities work best for middle school-aged kiddos, but some can be adapted for upper elementary and high school.

Halloween Short Stories

I recently wrote a blog sharing my six favorite Halloween short stories, so if you haven’t read that yet – definitely do so! Halloween is a great excuse to read suspenseful and spooky stories. Actually, I see a lot of my reluctant readers thrive during my Halloween unit because they can’t help but get sucked into a good story.

In the blog, I also gave some suggestions for what you can do after reading the short story, such as talking about irony with “Lamb to the Slaughter” and practicing theme with “The Monkey’s Paw”.

Figurative Language

I’ll take any excuse to practice figurative language because it’s usually a struggle for my students. So why not incorporate it into my Halloween reading activities? To start our review, I give my students a Halloween themed figurative language guide. For example, next to metaphor I put the example, “He was a zombie in the morning, especially on Mondays.” 

I have students glue this into their journals, and then we use it throughout our Halloween themed ELA unit. Plus, it just gives them more examples of figurative language to draw from in the future. (PS. You can get his figurative language reference sheet inside my Halloween ELA Activities Bundle.)

Then, I have students apply their knowledge of figurative language, of course. In my Halloween ELA Activities Bundle, I included a practice page with several Halloween-themed sentences, such as, “She was as sick as a sailor from all the Halloween candy she ate.” Students have to determine the type of figurative language and the meaning of the sentence.

I also have them apply their figurative language knowledge to the short stories we read, and for fun, I even have them search for figurative language in Halloween songs.

Spooky Independent Reading Time

I try to incorporate independent reading into my classroom as often as possible, but it can definitely get boring for students. I like to make things fun and fresh by adding in some ambiance! There are a few ways you can make this a true Halloween reading activity.

To start, find a video on YouTube that has instrumental Halloween music and even a nice, spooky background – like this video. You can also turn off the lights in the room and have students read with flashlights or set led candles around the room for light.

These little changes bring a whole new experience to independent reading time. Kids are always dying to come to class once word gets around that we are having a cozy reading session.

Horror Book Would You Rather

Think book tasting, but with a Halloween twist! Speaking of independent reading time, why not help students select a new book – especially one with some spooky elements? There are a few ways I like to introduce my students to Halloween-esque novels.

First, we will do book tastings with some spooky books. These can be mysteries, dystopias, science fiction, and even nonfiction books about strange events.

Second, I have my students complete a Horror Book Would You Rather. This is always fun. You can make it an independent activity or pair it with Kahoot! (or a similar platform) to make it interactive. Essentially, you give students the option between two Halloween themed books, and they have to pick one. I like to show them the cover and give a synopsis. I have print-out and digital sheets for these, which I include in my Halloween ELA Activities Bundle.

Halloween Poems

Similar to reading short stories with students, you can pick out several Halloween poems to engage students in poetry. Plus, you can use the Halloween figurative language reference sheet with it, which you can find in the Halloween ELA Activities Bundle.

A few popular poems to use as a Halloween reading activity include “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “The Only Ghost I Ever Saw” by Emily Dickinson. But let’s be real – you can never go wrong with anything Edgar Alllen Poe during Halloween!

Halloween TV Commercials 

Don’t ask me why – but anytime I bring TV commercials into my classroom, my students are hooked! Maybe it’s that they are just hooked on TV in general (same, kids, same). As a Halloween reading activity, I like to bring in seasonal commercials. It may not seem like a reading activity, but I have my students work on reading skills.

For instance, I will have my students watch the commercials and analyze the rhetorical devices they use. Not only do they have to identify the rhetorical device, but they also have to explain how it is used.

I have also my students analyze the mood and tone in the commercials. Many of the commercials start with a scary or even intense mood and tone, but then become humorous and lighthearted.

I include several commercials, along with rhetorical analysis and mood and tone, in the Halloween ELA Activities Bundle.

Want even more Halloween reading activity ideas? I have a middle school ELA Halloween Bundle with thirteen different activities. Many of the activities I mentioned in this blog, plus many more, can be found inside this bundle. 

Students will review mood and tone, figurative language, rhetoric, and more in these Halloween-themed activities! Plus, it’s already made for you – so you have the perfect print-and-teach activity for the chaotic Halloween season. It also comes in a completely digital version.