Halloween ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 0A · Unit 18Starter · Ages 4–6

Halloween

This Halloween ESL lesson combines monster and costume vocabulary with counting practice. Children sing Five Little Monsters, count down, match shadows and navigate a simple monster maze. They decorate a pumpkin hat and describe their own funny monster before a freeze-and-dance goodbye.

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Lesson format

2 × 45 minutes

Level

Starter

Age group

Ages 4–6

Main focus

Speaking first

What students will learn

• Recognise Halloween characters and costumes
• Practise counting 1 to 5
• Match monsters to their shadows
• Build vocabulary: witch, ghost, pumpkin, monster
• Practise fine motor skills through colouring and decorating
• Sing and move along to a spooky counting song

Lesson flow

Children count Halloween monsters and sing along to Five Little Monsters on the Bed, jumping and counting down together, then complete a monster-counting and shadow-matching worksheet. The second lesson has children decorate a pumpkin hat, complete a monster maze, and describe their own monster to the class, finishing with a freeze-and-dance goodbye game.

Target language

  • • Counting 1-5
  • • 'How many monsters?'
  • • Halloween vocabulary
  • • Simple descriptions

Key vocabulary

  • witch
  • ghost
  • pumpkin
  • bat
  • spider
  • costume
  • trick
  • treat
  • Halloween
  • scary

Speaking questions students answer

  • • How many monsters?
  • • What colour is your monster?
  • • Who remembers the green one?
  • • What is this costume?
  • • Tell me about your monster!

Recommended teaching contexts

• Starter ESL and EFL classes• Ages 4–6• Primary school classrooms• Language schools• Private and small-group lessons• Teaching holidays vocabulary• Pair and whole-class speaking• Interactive whiteboards and online teaching

Why this lesson works

The lesson follows a clear progression: Count monsters and sing along to a Halloween song, match monsters to their shadows, decorate a pumpkin and describe a monster. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.

This lesson includes

• Interactive lesson slides
• Teacher guide
• Printable worksheets
• Speaking practice: "How many monsters?"
• Classroom games
• Videos
• Vocabulary practice
• Pair work
• Extension activities

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