Planning a Halloween lesson for adult beginners is quite a challenge. They have plenty of ideas, but very little English to express them! This lesson combines Halloween vocabulary, an animated poem and a scary short film, with visual support to help students understand and enjoy the experience.
Level: A1 — adult learners
Materials: Downloadable worksheet, animated poem and short film linked in the worksheet.
Lesson outline
1. Halloween quiz
Begin with the quiz in pairs or small groups. Encourage students to share what they already know and help with unfamiliar language.
2. Vocabulary
Students match the Halloween words to the pictures. Check answers together and practise pronunciation.
3. Animated poem
Play the animated poem once for students to watch and enjoy. On a second viewing, they complete the missing words. Let them compare answers before checking together.
4. Reading
Students complete the short text about Halloween with verbs from the box. The text recycles the vocabulary introduced earlier. Although students may not have studied the present simple yet, pictures and context help them understand the meaning.
5. A little speaking
Use the prompts to talk about Halloween habits. Model short answers and let students practise in pairs.
6. A scary short film
Give students time to read the true-or-false statements before watching each section. The film lasts approximately 16 minutes and has little dialogue, so students can use the action and visual clues to follow the story.
Stop at 14:30, before the final twist, and ask students to predict what happens next. They can discuss their ideas in Spanish: the aim here is to enjoy the suspense and show that they can follow a story without understanding every word. Play the ending and compare predictions.
7. Your Halloween rating
Students give typical Halloween activities one to three stars, then compare their choices using the examples provided: “I like…”, “I don’t like…” and “I love…”.
Download the worksheet below and enjoy a little Halloween suspense with your beginners!