Halloween Teacher’s notes

Age: Teenagers/Adults 3. Ask students if they have found the hidden words
Level: Intermediate (B1) - Upper in the puzzle and point out, if they haven’t, that
intermediate (B2) the phrase ‘Trick or treat’ runs down the centre
Time: 45 minutes + of the puzzle. Ask students if they know what
 this means. (This is what children say when they
Activity: In this lesson, students will: ring people’s doorbells on Halloween. People give
1. do a Halloween word puzzle; them sweets – the treat – or else the children
2. read a horror story; will play a trick on them. It is traditional for the
3. write a horror story. children to dress up in scary costumes when they
 go trick or treating.) Have students ever been
Language focus: vocabulary associated with trick or treating themselves?
Halloween; past simple, past continuous,
past perfect 4. Ask students to look at the Horror story worksheet.
Materials: one copy of the worksheet per student First, they read the Halloween horror story and put
the sections in the correct order. When they have
Procedure finished, check the answers as a class. You could
ask students to read the story aloud.
1. Ask students what special occasion is celebrated on
31st October (the answer is Halloween). Find out if, LANGUAGE TIP: If you have time, ask students 5.
and how, Halloween is celebrated in your students’ to identify which grammatical structures are used
home countries. Do they know how it is celebrated in the story (answer: past simple, past continuous, 6.
in other countries too? Write key vocabulary on past perfect). Elicit the form and use of these tenses,
the board as it comes up, and model the correct making sure students are clear on how to use each one. 7.
pronunciation if necessary.
Key:
2. Hand out the worksheet. Ask students to look at the 1. j
Halloween word puzzle worksheet. Pre-teach any 2. c
new vocabulary from the definitions (broomstick, 3. e
horns, carve, transparent, patch). Ask students to 4. i
complete the puzzle alone or in pairs. When they 5. a
have finished, check the answers as a class. 6. g
7. f
Key: 8. b
1. witch 9. h
2. vampire 10. d
3. devil
4. candy 8. Explain to students that they are now going to write
5. pumpkin their own horror story in small groups, using four
6. ghost steps. Go through the steps, using the sample story
7. pirate to illustrate points.
8. bat
9. October Step 1: Set the scene
10. cemetery Describe where the story takes place and the events that
11. mask lead up to it. Answer the questions: When did it happen?
12. costume Where were you? Who were you with? What were you
doing? What was the weather like? How were you feeling?

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Celebrations: Halloween 1
 Halloween Teacher’s notes

(It happened last Friday. It was raining and I was story, or round off with a discussion about horror
walking home from the cinema alone. I had been to see stories. Do they like them? Why/why not?
the film Psycho.)

TECH TIP: To help illustrate the four steps,

Step 2: Start to spook
in preparation, you could write the steps and
Introduce some spooky elements to make the reader a
parts of the example story that illustrate each step in a
little scared and uneasy. Answer the questions: What
‘movable’ text box on an interactive whiteboard page or
happened next? How did you feel? What did you do?
a PowerPoint slide. Read out part of the story from the
teacher’s notes and ask students to identify the correct
(I reached the crossroads and was waiting for the traffic
step. Ask them to match them up on the board.
lights to change when suddenly I heard a noise beside me.
‘Who’s there?’ I called. No one answered, but I could feel
someone or something watching me. I was very scared.)

Step 3: Get scary

Terrify the reader. Answer the question: What
happened next?

(Then I heard a voice. ‘I am going to kill you,’ it said.

Suddenly, my heart started beating faster and faster.
The traffic lights changed to green and I started running
across the road. The next thing I knew, a car was
speeding towards me and I was flying through the air.)

Step 4: The end

End your story so that the reader knows that the horror
can and will strike again. Answer the questions: Why
did it happen? Why will it happen again?

(I woke up in hospital with a broken leg. They told me

that the traffic lights had a malfunction and had caused
the accident. I don’t believe it was a malfunction. I know
those traffic lights tried to kill me and I know they’ll do
it again.)

9. Students write their stories. Remind them that,

if they need inspiration, they could use the
vocabulary from the Halloween word puzzle to help
them. If they are struggling, you could remind them
of the questions that go with each step and write
them on the board.

10. When students have finished writing their stories,

each group can read them to the class. Set the
scene, if possible, by placing candles in the
classroom and turning off the lights! At the end, you
could ask students to vote which was the scariest

© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015

Celebrations: Halloween 2
 Halloween Worksheet

Halloween word puzzle

Are you ready for the scariest night of the year? Try this Halloween word puzzle to find out. Read the
definitions and write the letters in the spaces. When you have finished, can you read the secret message
hidden in the words?

Definitions

1. She wears a big black hat and rides on a broomstick. 1

2
2. It has long teeth. It drinks blood and hates sunlight.
3
3. It has horns and a tail. It is usually red or black. It
4
lives in hell.
5
4. Children love to eat this at Halloween. It is another
word for sweets.

6
5. A big, round orange vegetable. At Halloween, people
carve it and put it outside their house. 7

6. It is white or transparent. It is the spirit of a

dead person. 8

9
7. He wears a scarf on his head and a patch on his eye.
He lives on a ship. 10

11
8. It has black wings and claws. It is blind. It is
an animal. 12

9. The month of Halloween, the tenth month.

10. This is the place where dead people are buried. In

some cultures, the dead come back to this place to
visit on 1st November.

11. You wear this on your face so people can’t

recognize you.

12. You wear this to a Halloween party.

© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015

Celebrations: Halloween 1
 Halloween Worksheet

Horror story

Can you put this Halloween horror story into the correct order?

a. No one answered, but I could feel someone or something watching me. I was very scared. Then I heard
a voice.

b. The next thing I knew, a car was speeding towards me and I was flying through the air.

c. I had been to see the film Psycho.

d. I don’t believe it was a malfunction. I know those traffic lights tried to kill me and I know they’ll do it again.

e. I reached the crossroads and was waiting for the traffic lights to change when suddenly I heard a noise
beside me.

f. The traffic lights changed to green and I started running across the road.

g. ‘I am going to kill you,’ it said. Suddenly, my heart started beating faster and faster.

h. I woke up in hospital with a broken leg. They told me that the traffic lights had malfunctioned and had
caused the accident.

i. ‘Who’s there?’ I called.

j. It happened last Friday. It was raining and I was walking home from the cinema alone.

In small groups, write your own short horror story. Make it as scary as possible!

© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015

Celebrations: Halloween 2