9 Easy Halloween & Fall Lessons for Secondary ELA (That Aren't Just Fluff)
October is here, and with it comes the annual challenge for secondary ELA teachers: how do you bring seasonal fun into the classroom without derailing the curriculum map?
Your students are buzzing with Halloween energy, but you have standards to teach. You can’t afford to spend a week on a "fluff" activity, but you also don't want to be the only room in the school ignoring the holiday.
The solution? Don't stop your unit. Instead, plug in a high-interest, rigorous, seasonal activity that matches the exact skills you're already teaching. Here is a quick guide to easy, "spooky season" lessons that keep the critical thinking rolling.
START WITH A Rigorous Freebie!
Want to try a "Read the Room" activity with a classic spooky text? I've created a complete, text-based analytical activity for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death." Hang the text and analysis questions around your room and let students move, read, and collaborate as they dig deep into Poe's allegory.
Grab this complete, free "Masque of the Red Death" activity right here.
Prep: Print & hang text/questions
Time: 1 class period
If you're teaching... Literary & Reading Analysis
Short Story Unit on Mystery and Suspense: If you're ready to lean into the season, this full unit is built around the essential question, "Which is the better way to view others: trust or skepticism?" and teaches students to analyze craft, tension, and plot turns using high-interest novel excerpts.
Prep: Print handouts or share digital files
Time: 1–2 week unit
Gothic Literature Digital Choice Board: Already in a Gothic Lit unit? This digital board gives students 25 options—from poems and stories to pop culture clips—all centered on a core inquiry question. It's a fantastic way to give students agency.
Prep: Share one link (No-prep!)
Time: 1–2 class periods (or as ongoing bell-ringers)
Fall-Themed Literary Polaroid Activity: Use this creative formative assessment with any text you're reading. Students connect a fall-themed image to a piece of textual evidence, then write a defense of their pairing.
Prep: Print & cut photos
Time: 1 class period
If you're teaching... Argument & Persuasion
Argument Writing Prompt on Culture and Costumes: This is a must for older students. It poses the timely question: "to what extent can cultural lines be crossed in costume?" Students analyze synthesis sources to build a nuanced argument in writing or for a socratic seminar. Every year, there are new costumes coming out that require careful consideration about their intended effect. And every year, this engages ALL students, regardless of their skill level and interest in the class. TIP: head to a Spirit Halloween store and take some pictures of the most trendy costumes and add them to the source list!
Prep: Print or share source packets & handouts
Time: 2–3 class periods
Rhetoric Roll the Dice: Halloween Haunted House Argument: This is a brilliant way to review the rhetorical situation, SPACE CAT and the rest of the rhetorical argument strategies. Using a fictional scenario (below), students are given various stakeholders in the Frightmare Factory business and must build their claims using the rhetorical devices, tone words, and appeals that they roll.
Prep: Print handouts, provide dice
Time: 1 class period (can be extended if you want more time for writing!)
Scenario-based rhetorical analysis practice is one of the most highly effective strategies out there!
If you're teaching... Research & Informational Texts
Day of the Dead Poetry and Research Assignment: This mini-project has students practice biographical research by learning about the holiday and honoring a deceased poet or author, creating a beautiful "Author Altar" handout.
Prep: Print handouts, ensure student research access
Time: 2 class periods
Vampires and Monsters Around the World TED-ED Lesson: Got a single day? This lesson uses a fascinating video to explore the history of monster myths, allowing students to analyze informational text while discussing deeper themes like "otherness," fear, and culture.
Prep: Share link (digital) or print worksheet
Time: 1 class period
If you're teaching... Writing & Language Skills
Halloween "Write the Room" Activity - FREEBIE: When students are too antsy to sit still, try this! This post explains how to set up spooky image stations around your classroom that students use as inspiration to build a story, paragraph by paragraph, as they move. This is perfect especially if your students are feeling restless and need to stretch their legs. Simply print the free lesson plan all prepped for you, hang the images, and let students lean in to their creative, imaginative side!
Prep: Print & hang images around the room
Time: 1 class period
Fall-Edition Figurative Language Color-By-Number: If you just need a quiet, seasonal day to review key terms, this is a lifesaver. It’s a relaxing, low-stakes way for students to practice identifying terms like personification, metaphor, and alliteration (see below).
Prep: Print handouts (need crayons/markers)
Time: 1 class period
This easy print-and-go review activity can last you all week long!
Want Even More Spooky, Skill-Based Ideas?
If you love these ideas and want to stock your digital file cabinet for all of October, you can grab many of these resources and more in the Complete Halloween Spooky ELA Bundle.
This entire collection of Halloween-themed resources is designed to help you maintain skill-building momentum in argument, creative writing, and reading, all while letting your students enjoy the season.
