October 31st. It's Halloween! Halloween isn't just costumes and candy; it's a cultural holiday rich in tradition!
When you think of the holiday, what images come to mind? Do you think of pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns? Do you picture costumed kids running from house to house yelling, "Trick or treat?"
LISTEN HERE to know more about the history of Halloween (03:11). You'll find a worksheet to check your students' comprehension of the text HERE
Do you believe in ghosts? Do you enjoy scary stories? Do they give you nightmares?
You can divide the class in groups of 4 max. and give a different scary story to every student in the group, so that every student can read and retell a story to the rest of the group. (You'll find many ghost stories HERE)
LET'S TALK! Questions to promote interaction in the English class
Do you celebrate Halloween?
Do you think all countries should celebrate Halloween?
Do you think it’s dangerous for children to go trick-or-treating?
Why don’t Christians celebrate Halloween?
What do you think is the best costume for Halloween?
Do you think Halloween was better a few decades ago or is it better now?
How old is too old to go trick-or-treating?
Do you think Halloween is scary?
What would an alien think of humans if it came to Earth and saw Halloween?
What do you think the black and orange colors of Halloween mean?
What do you think about Halloween?
What do you know about the history of Halloween?
How does Halloween affect American culture?
What do pumpkins have to do with Halloween?
Why do people trick-or-treat on Halloween?
Do you think it’s dangerous these days to open your door to a trick-or-treater?
How did Halloween get its name?
What’s the best Halloween movie you’ve seen?
What are the best Halloween games?
What is the best Halloween food?
Some optional exercises for those whose classes are not up to speaking that much:
A spooky activity to practise past tense verbs!
Complete the story with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
It was a dark and stormy night, just after midnight. It 1__________ (rain) heavily and every time the lightening 2__________ (flash), you could see the outline of the dark, winter trees. Earlier in the evening, Ron and his five friends had collected a bag of candy and were excited about eating it. They 3__________ (hop) over the locked fence and ran through the muddy schoolyard on their way to the empty old school. Then, they suddenly 4__________ (remember) stories of the ghost teacher. “We shouldn’t go in!” Ron shouted, but the others 5__________ (not stop). He had to follow. They 6__________ (find) an empty classroom. It was cold and dark. The boys 7__________ (break) the old wooden desks so they could build a fire. Some boys 8__________ (build) the fire, and others put on loud music. They started playing - throwing chalk, yelling, drawing pictures on the board and singing. They 9__________ (not notice) that a dark, scary form was slowly appearing behind the desk. It was the ghost teacher! He 10__________ (frown) and his eyes were red. He screamed loudly as he rushed towards the boys. The frightened boys 11__________ (run) out of the building. They never went there again
Idioms related to the topic:
Read the sentences below. The underlined words are idioms. Match the idiom with its meaning:
1. I don’t recommend that horror film. It will scare the living daylights out of you!
2. My old car finally gave up the ghost, so I’ll have to buy a new one.
3. When she saw the dark shadow in the moonlight, she was scared stiff.
4. What’s the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!
5. Oh, don’t be such a scaredy-cat. Nothing bad is going to happen.
6. That spooky old house gives me the creeps.
7. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It will come back to haunt you.
8. No one lived there anymore. It was a ghost town.
be a mistake
very frightened
coward
make (someone) uncomfortable
make (someone) scared
very white, pale
deserted
stopped working
Online Horror Story Plot Generator.
Advanced students can write their own spooky story following a template. You'll find it HERE
Advanced students can also read books full of scary stories. Click HERE to read online or download some of them.
Listening Practice Set 1: Conversation and Questions – Track 1 (MP3)