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The best collection of spooky Halloween activities for high school students perfect for getting older students excited about the scariest holiday of the year.
Halloween is a time of year when high school students can let loose and have so much fun.
Halloween season is also a perfect time for teachers to get inspired in the classroom and engage their students in creative and spooky ways.
From telling scary stories and Halloween writing prompts to creating spooky DIY décor and doing Halloween word searches or I Spy activities, we’ve collected a huge collection of fun Halloween activities for high school students perfect for younger and older students alike!
These interesting activity ideas are a simple way to incorporate a Halloween activity or two into your class time or lesson plan.
Here are over twenty spooky Halloween activities for high school students that will keep your high school and middle schoolers entertained and learning throughout the spooky season of October.
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Are you an English teacher?
Then, I bet you already know that Edgar Allan Poe was a master of horror and suspense, and his works are perfect for reading aloud and creating Halloween themed lesson plans for older students.
“The Raven,” “Tell Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are all great Poe stories and poems to start with.
Also, you can have students retell one of Poe’s stories or poems in their own words, or write their own horror story in the Poe style.
The best part? These Halloween activities can be easily adapted to any grade level making it a great choice for middle school students or higher level high schoolers.
You’re never too old for a wacky hair day. Encourage kids to come up with creative and wacky hairstyles for Halloween. It’s such a fun way to make doing other Halloween activities with teens even more fun.
This is one of our favorite Halloween activities for high school students!
Halloween time is the perfect time of year to get your students’ creativity flowing.
One fun activity is to have secondary students create Halloween themed art.
Here are some of our favorite Halloween themed art projects for older students because even big kids love to get creative in the classroom!
Another of our favorite Halloween activities for high school students is a Halloween scavenger hunt.
It’s a great way to get students up and moving around the classroom and school (or even outside, weather permitting).
Make a list of Halloween-themed items for students to find, such as a black cats, Halloween candy, skeletons, ghosts (the possibilities are truly endless and a great time is guaranteed).
You can also make it a Halloween challenge by splitting students into teams or small groups and seeing who can find all the items on the list first.
Set time limits to really get kids moving!
Halloween is a great opportunity to do some spooky science experiments with your whole class.
There are so many great Halloween themed science experiments out there, but here are a few of our favorites science focused Halloween activities for high school students.
Get your high school students into the Halloween spirit by having them make their own Halloween decorations for the classroom.
These DIY Halloween decorations are perfect for any high school classroom, whether you want to keep it simple with a few pumpkins or go all out and turn your classroom into a haunted house (See #10 if building a haunted house is on your to-do list)
Escape rooms are all the rage right now and what better way to get into the Halloween spirit than by building your own Halloween themed escape room.
We just love escape rooms as a choice for Halloween activities for high school students since they can be cross-curricular.
If you’re feeling extra creative, try incorporating some of the other ideas on this list (like making your own Halloween decorations, creating blackout poetry, writing Halloween themed riddles or jokes, close reading of famous texts like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, analyzing Edward Gorey or Edgar Allan Poe) into your escape room.
This is a big project so a graphic organizer might help the class stay organized and on task throughout the project.
This is a good idea for Halloween, but it will take a few class periods to complete so plan to do this one until the end of October.
Perfect for a language arts Halloween lesson plan, have your students write their own spooky Halloween story.
This is one of those spooky activities that can be as long or as short as they want, but make sure to encourage them to use descriptive Halloween vocabulary throughout.
These stories can be shared with the class during a ghost story telling activity to get everyone in the Halloween spirit.
If you want to take this a step further, have them illustrate their story and bind it into a Halloween themed book.
This is another of our favorite Halloween activities for high school students because it is so versatile and fun!
This Halloween activity is perfect for a high school drama class or art club.
Work together to design and build a haunted house that can be used during your classroom Halloween celebration or as part of a Halloween fundraiser where younger students are invited to walk through.
Make sure to include plenty of spooky elements like Halloween decorations, painted or carved pumpkins, Halloween music, and Halloween props (think bloody severed body parts!) to really set a spooky tone.
You could even have a few actors dressed up in Halloween costumes to jump out and scare people as they walk through.
This Halloween activities for high school students is perfect for science class.
Work together to create a crime scene using Halloween props, true facts, Halloween decorations, and Halloween makeup.
Then, have students work together to try to figure out who did it and why.
This Halloween activities for high school students is a great idea for a history class.
Discuss the history of Halloween and how it has changed and evolved over time.
You could also have students do some research on the origins of Halloween, Halloween costumes and trick or treating and present their findings to the class.
It would also be neat to compare Halloween traditions across the globe by exploring and discussing how Halloween is celebrated in different countries.
Check out the history channel and PBS kids for some freebies on this topic!
Get your students into the Halloween spirit by having them make their own Halloween treats.
This is one of the best Halloween activities for high school students taking a home economics class!
There are tons of easy Halloween recipes that your students can choose from, like these Halloween cupcakes, spooky Rice Krispie treats, Halloween snack boards or these Halloween party food recipes and ideas.
A proper Halloween holiday isn’t complete without a good ghost story!
So, gather your students around and tell them a spooky Halloween tale. If you’re feeling extra creative, you could even have them write their own ghost stories to share with the class.
Halloween calls for a pumpkin carving party!
This is one of those great Halloween activities for high school students since it’s a bit more challenging than just painting a pumpkin.
You could even have a Halloween pumpkin carving contest with prizes for the best carved pumpkins.
If you’re looking for a quiet Halloween themed activity, these Halloween word searches are a great choice.
Just print them out and let your students have at it. They can work on them individually or in teams.
Play some Halloween music in the background to really set the spooky mood.
These Halloween brain teasers are perfect for a Halloween themed lesson plan and are another of our favorite Halloween activities for high school students.
Brain teasers are a great way to get students thinking critically and using their problem solving skills.
Plus, they’re just plain fun! You could even have a Halloween brain teaser contest with prizes for the people who get the most correct answers in a given time limit.
Another great choice for Halloween activities for high school students are these Halloween crossword puzzles. Again, just print them out and let your students have at it.
We love crossword puzzles because they’re a great way for students to review Halloween vocabulary words.
Dark satire is a Halloween classic and is a great choice for Halloween activities for high school students . And what better way to get into the Halloween spirit than by reading some darkly humorous Halloween satire?
Or, better yet creating it? Ask students to write their own Halloween dark satire pieces. They could be short stories, poems, or even just Halloween themed jokes.
Urban legends are always a hit around Halloween time.
Get your students talking about famous urban legends and see if they can separate facts from fiction.
You could even have them do some research on popular urban legends and share their findings with the class.
Tim Burton is a Halloween icon and his movies are perfect for a Halloween movie marathon.
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly option, try The Nightmare Before Christmas.
And if you want to go all out, watch Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It’s a Halloween masterpiece and is one of the best Halloween activities for high school students.
If you’re looking for a Halloween themed activity for your high school math students try using Halloween themed word problems.
This is a great way to review important concepts while also getting into the Halloween spirit.
You could even have a Halloween math contest with prizes for the students who get the most correct answers.
Halloween isn’t complete without a good old fashioned costume contest or wacky hair day! Print off our free costume contest voting ballots to have classmates vote for their favorite costumes.
This is one of those Halloween activities for high school students that’s really fun because it gets them thinking creatively and also allows them to show off their Halloween costumes.
You could even have a Halloween themed photo booth for people to take pictures in their costumes.
Or, create a Halloween costume theme like dark satire costumes, your favorite American writer or character, or Halloween costumes from your favorite horror movie or short story.
What are your favorite Halloween activities for high school students? Share in the comments below! Have a Happy Halloween!
Even More Halloween Ideas We Think You’ll Enjoy:
🎃 Halloween Jokes – over 70 really cute jokes that really get kids laughing in honor of Halloween.
🎃 Halloween bingo – free printable Halloween bingo perfect for hosting a bingo game in the classroom.
🎃 Halloween Charcuterie Boards – spooky themed grazing and snack boards perfect for Halloween parties and pot lucks
🎃 DIY Halloween Party Decor– cheap and easy ways to decorate your home for Halloween
🎃 Halloween Finger Food – creepy finger foods that are perfect for celebrating Halloween
🎃 Halloween Movies – scary and not so scary Halloween movies perfect for kids of all ages
🎃 Halloween gifts for teachers – boo-tiful gift ideas for spoiling the teachers in your child’s life.
