Nothing screams Halloween more than scary stories. Throughout fall and October, engage your English language arts classes with eerie reading passages and haunting writing activities. Use resources that are directly Halloween-themed, tales that are generally ghoulish, or lesson plans that celebrate Latinx and Hispanic culture and Halloween all at once. While your students may or may not still be trick-or-treating, they’ll love getting into the spooky spirit with these middle and high school Halloween reading activities.
10 Halloween Reading Comprehension Activities for Middle and High School
Teach your middle and high school students eerie classics like “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Macbeth,or bring modern urban legends into the classroom through a format known for its creepy explorations — podcasts. The first half of October is not only Halloween season, but also Latinx Heritage Month, so take the opportunity to bring in spooky stories like “La Llorona” or important cultural celebrations like el Día de los Muertos. No matter what you decide to teach, these Halloween activities are sure to engage your middle and high school English classes.
Inference Middle High School Special Education Gripping Reading Comprehension Stories by Catch-Up Learning
Grades: 6-11
Keep your students hanging in suspense with this comprehensive, differentiated ELA bundle. Each gripping story has comprehension, inference, and spelling activities, plus a graphic organizer, to ensure your students’ success.
Tell Tale Heart. Adapted Close Read Halloween Fun. Full Unit for ELA ESL Sp. Ed. by Textsforesl
Grades: 6-12
This adapted text version of “The Tell-Tale Heart” makes Poe’s classic accessible to more readers, including ESL, ENL, and Special Ed. The unit includes 5 days of lessons plans and can be assigned digitally with Easel by TPT™.
The Monkey’s Paw Short Story Unit by Teaching Muse
Grades: 7-9
Take your students through the twists and turns of this haunting short story by using these reading activities about vocabulary, plot, sequencing, theme, and mood. This resource can be used as print-outs or digitally with Google Apps™.
La Llorona – Halloween Lesson – Hispanic Heritage Month – Spooky Stories by MrsReaderPants Library Lessons
Grades: 7-10
Engage your students with this spooky Mexican folktale “La Llorona.” This unit includes an illustrated story, discussion questions, and a creative writing prompt and can be used with Google Apps™.
The Tell-Tale Heart: Reading Quizby Onto the Next Chapter
Grades: 7-10
This free digital knowledge check or assessment will help you gauge just how much information your students can tell you about this tale. Use this convenient quiz with Google Apps™.
Día de los Muertos: Spanish interactive reading (Boom Cards; Distance Learning)by Brighter Day Classroom
Grades: 7-12
Teach your Spanish-speaking students all about the Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos, with this set of Boom™ Cards that includes a reading passage with audio, vocabulary and comprehension exercises, and a memory activity.
Scary Short Story Units – Horror Stories – Halloween Reading Comprehension by Creative Classroom Core
Grades: 7-12
This bundle contains three scary short stories, including “The Birds” by Daphne DuMaurier, “The Elevator” by William Sleator, and “Click Clack the Rattle Bag” by Neil Gaiman. Each is a Halloween reading comprehension unit with questions, annotations activities, graphic organizers, answer keys, and more, and can be used digitally with Easel by TPT™.
MACBETH Introduction History Informational Texts, Activities PRINT and EASEL by Diana Bailey
Grades: 9-11
Get spooky with Shakespeare this fall through his tragic play, Macbeth. This resource includes historical context, vocabulary activities, and critical thinking questions and can be assigned digitally with Easel by TPT™.
LORD OF THE FLIES FINAL EXAM by SchoolinLife32 X TeachLove
Grades: 9-12
Test your students’ reading skills with this final assessment of the eerie book, Lord of the Flies. While not explicitly Halloween-themed, the creepy motifs and themes certainly meet the criteria for haunting.
Scary Podcasts: Lore and Urban Legends by Engaging and Effective
Grades: 9-12
The murder mystery podcast is a modern day phenomenon that can make your high school Halloween lesson plans more engaging than ever. Bring a historical twist to the format by using it to teach students about urban legends. This scary unit can be used as a PDF or with Google Apps™.
Find more spooktacular middle and high school Halloween reading activities that will delight your students on TPT.
