Halloween Classroom Rotations: Fun Table Activities for Groups
- Isabella Key
- Oct 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 8
Looking for quick, engaging ways to bring Halloween fun into your classroom? This guide shares six ready-to-use Halloween rotation activities designed for elementary students across ELA, math, and science. Each table station—like Ghostly Word Sort and Monster Writing Prompts—encourages collaboration, creativity, and hands-on learning while keeping setup simple for teachers. Whether you’re planning a festive day of learning or a themed Friday review, these ideas make your rotations easy to organize and memorable for students.
Looking to Take Your STEM Teaching to the Next Level?
Our STEM Education Certificate is designed for you! Gain hands-on experience and expert guidance to bring makerspaces, robotics, coding, and novel engineering into your lessons using research-backed strategies. Join our Spring 2026 virtual session, January 13–April 28, Tuesdays from 5:00–8:30 p.m. Register for $990—or earn 6 credit hours for an additional $720. Questions? Contact groberts1@maryville.edu or visit our website to learn more!
Table of Contents:
ELA:
Science:
Math:
Ghostly Word Sort (ELA – Phonics/Vocabulary)
Objective: Students will practice phonics and vocabulary skills by sorting Halloween-themed and classroom vocabulary word cards into categories based on parts of speech, sounds, or word relationships.
Resources Needed: Word cards, small baskets/cauldrons for sorting.
Setup/Steps:
Prepare a set of word cards that include both Halloween-themed vocabulary (e.g., spooky, witch, pumpkin, bat) and general classroom vocabulary words.
Place small baskets or cauldrons, each labeled with a sorting category (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives or short/long vowels).
Give students a set of cards and have them place each word into the correct basket or cauldron.
Example Questions:
Which of these words fit in the adjective cauldron?
“Can you find a spooky word that has a long vowel sound?”
"Which words fit in the noun cauldron?"
Monster Writing Prompts (ELA – Creative Writing)
Objective: Students will strengthen creative writing skills by responding to Halloween-themed monster prompts.
Resources Needed: Pens/Pencils, notebook paper.
Setup/Steps:
Provide instructions to students to write a short story, journal entry, or dialogue.
Encourage imagination and descriptive writing.
Example Prompts:
“Design your own monster: what does it look like, what colors is it, and what makes it unique?”
“A friendly monster showed up at school today. What happened?”
“Your monster wants to be in the school talent show. What is its act, and how do the students react?”
“You wake up to find a tiny monster hiding in your shoes. How does it interact with its surroundings?”
Batty Word Match (Vocabulary – Synonyms & Antonyms Simplified)
Objective: Students match spooky words with their opposite or similar meanings.
Resources Needed: Bat-shaped word cards (two sets: synonyms, antonyms), Cauldrons/mats/buckets for sorting.
Setup/Steps:
Create bat-shaped cards: half with Halloween words and half with matching synonyms or antonyms.
Students find the “bat pairs” that belong together.
Example Matches:
Spooky ↔ Eerie (synonym)
Creepy ↔ Welcoming (antonym)
Mysterious ↔ Puzzling (synonym)
Sinister ↔ Harmless (antonym)
Skeleton Assembly (Science)
Objective: Students will reinforce their knowledge of the human skeleton by matching bone names and functions.
Resources Needed: Bone cutouts labeled with names/clues
Setup/Steps:
Students match the bone name to the correct skeleton space using prior knowledge or help with the clues.
When completed, they’ll have a full skeleton puzzle assembled.
Example Clues:
“I protect your brain — who am I?” (Skull)
“I’m the longest bone in the body!” (Femur)
“I help you lift things with your arm — where do I go?” (Humerus)
Candy Corn Categories (Science - Animal Sorting & Classification)
Objective: With a candy corn theme, students practice sorting, grouping, and classifying animal classifications.
Resources Needed:
Candy corn cutouts with different animal types (mammals, birds, reptiles), sorting mats/cauldrons/buckets labeled with categories
Setup/Steps:
Each candy corn has a different animal type on it.
Students sort them into cauldrons or mats by category.
On the back can be a hint if students are lost. (For example: "the gecko lizard has dry, scaly skin and lays eggs. What type of animal am I?")
The activity can also have different categories. (For example: nouns vs. verbs, even vs. odd numbers, shapes, solid/liquid/gas).
Example Questions:
“Which group does the sea turtle belong to?”
“Where would you place the bat: mammal, bird, or reptile?”
Jack-o’-Lantern Art (Art/Math - Shapes & Symmetry)
Objective: Students will strengthen their understanding of geometric shapes, symmetry, and spatial reasoning by designing jack-o’-lantern faces using cut-out shapes.
Resources Needed: Orange paper pumpkins, cut-out shapes, glue, scissors, rulers.
Setup/Steps:
Introduce the concept of symmetry and encourage students to try making one side of their pumpkin match the other.
Example Questions:
“How many triangles did you use in your jack-o’-lantern?”
“Which shapes were hardest to fit on your pumpkin and why?”
“Did you try to make your pumpkin symmetrical? How did you do it?”
Witch’s Brew Measurement Lab (Math – Measurement & Volume)
Objective: Students will practice measuring and comparing liquid volumes using standard units while following “potion recipes”.
Resources Needed: Plastic cups, measuring spoons/cups, colored water, juice, vegetable oil.
Setup/Steps:
Students will “brew a potion” by measuring colored water or juice into clear cups using spoons, teaspoons, and measuring cups.
Compare volumes and discuss what happens when certain liquids are combined.
Example Questions:
“How many teaspoons are in 1 tablespoon?”
“If you pour 1/4 cup of green potion and 1/4 cup of red potion, how much liquid do you have total?”
“Compare: is 1/2 cup of potion more or less than 8 Tbsp? How do you know?”
“If you double a recipe that calls for 1 Tbsp of potion, how much do you need? How many tsp's is that?"
Halloween rotations don’t have to be complicated—just purposeful, playful, and easy to manage. With these six activity ideas, you can keep students moving, thinking, and laughing while reinforcing key skills across subjects. Every station blends seasonal excitement with academic value, making this an ideal classroom plan for teachers seeking structured fun that still meets learning goals. Try one or all six activities this October to bring a little extra magic to your classroom.
Stay in the loop on the latest STEM teaching tips, resources, and upcoming courses! Sign up for our newsletter and get expert insights, hands-on ideas, and exclusive updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Comments