As October approaches, the excitement of Halloween is everywhere—shops are decorated, costumes are on display, and students’ minds are buzzing with thoughts of spooky fun. For teachers, this creates a challenge: how do you keep your students focused on writing when their minds are consumed by candy and costumes? Coming up with engaging, creative, and educational writing prompts during this festive time can be tough.
The October Writing Struggle
- Halloween distractions: Everywhere your students turn, they see Halloween décor, which leads to excitement and less focus in the classroom.
- Post back-to-school slump: The initial excitement of the new school year has worn off, and now it’s harder to get students to put in effort.
- Limited time for planning: With October being a busy month for teachers, finding time to create fun and meaningful writing prompts can be a challenge.
The Solution: 10 Fun Halloween Writing Prompts to Reignite Engagement
To keep students focused on writing during October, provide them with Halloween writing prompts and activities that tap into the Halloween spirit they’re already surrounded with. Here are 10 exciting prompts that include a blend of storytelling, opinion writing, and narrative writing to reignite your students’ enthusiasm for writing.
1. What Should My Teacher Be for Halloween
This is such a fun opinion writing prompt where YOUR students get to decide what you should wear as a Halloween costume this year. Have them draw you in the costume (you can even add a print-out of your face if you dare) and then persuade you why you should dress up in it. The results are hilarious, and the kids get a huge kick out of this prompt! You can get ready-to-go templates & slides for this activity here.
2. Your Scariest Halloween Night
A personal narrative prompt where students recount their scariest or most thrilling Halloween experience. Whether it’s a spooky trick-or-treat adventure or a haunted house visit, this idea encourages students to connect real-life experiences to their writing.
3. Create a Villain
Halloween is the perfect time to let your students’ imaginations run wild! In this narrative writing activity, students create their own villain, choosing character traits, inventing backstories, and crafting evil plans. It’s all ready to go—just display the slides and watch your students develop storytelling and character-building skills that tie perfectly into the spooky season. Check out the Create a Villain activity here!
4. Defend a Villain
This persuasive writing activity turns students into defense attorneys, arguing that their favorite fairy tale villain—whether it’s the Big Bad Wolf or another classic bad guy—isn’t guilty after all. This activity makes persuasive writing fun and relevant by adding a Halloween twist. Check out the Defend a Villain project here!
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5. Best Halloween Candy Debate
Students choose their favorite Halloween candy and write a persuasive piece on why it’s the best. This opinion-based Halloween writing prompt taps into the students’ passion for candy while teaching the elements of persuasive writing.
6. Simile Monster For Sale
Give figurative language practice a spooky spin! In this activity, students design their own monster and describe it using similes, making figurative language come to life. A cross between a fun craft and writing, your students will love creating their own unique monsters. As a bonus, they make for an eye-catching bulletin board display. Try the Simile Monster activity here!
7. How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
In this fun how-to writing Halloween writing prompt, students explain step-by-step what they would do if their school were taken over by zombies. From finding safe hiding spots to gathering supplies, students will practice expository writing while unleashing their creativity.
8. Unsellable Spooky House Challenge
In this persuasive writing activity, Your students will step into the roles of real estate agents at a failing haunted real estate company, complete with spooky characters, and will be tasked with selling one of 12 unique “unsellable” houses/ locations, including options like a haunted house, an abandoned science lab, and a house covered in slime. Can they convince someone to buy the creepiest house on the block? It’s a perfect Halloween-themed writing project that gets students practicing persuasive writing in a fun and creative way. Check out the Unsellable House activity here!
9. Hilarious Halloween News Headlines
Here’s a fun Halloween writing prompt idea for your students: have them come up with their own spooky and hilarious news headlines, such as “Local School Principal Turns Into a Pumpkin” or “4th Grade Class Turns Into Frogs Overnight!” You can then let them create AI images to pair with their headlines and encourage them to write their own imaginative news stories.
Or, if you’re short on time, you can grab my 10-pack of ready-made, print-and-go Halloween writing prompts right here! They include fun headlines and images, so your students can dive straight into creative writing.
10. The Best Halloween Costume Contest
Have students write a story about a Halloween costume contest with a twist! Whether it’s a magical costume that comes to life or a spooky surprise at the event, this Halloween writing prompt allows students to develop a fun and imaginative narrative.
Why These Ideas Work
These writing prompts are more than just fun—they are designed to solve real challenges teachers face in October. Here are three reasons why they are perfect for your classroom:
- No planning needed: Each of these Halloween writing prompts comes with a ready-to-go resource that’s easy to implement in your classroom, saving you valuable time during the busy Halloween season.
- Unique and engaging ideas: These Halloween writing prompts are designed to get students excited about writing. With Halloween themes and creative spins on traditional writing tasks, students will be eager to participate, keeping their focus and effort high.
- Aligned with learning goals: These Halloween writing prompts allow you to hit important writing objectives while keeping students engaged. Whether it’s persuasive writing, narrative skills, or figurative language, each activity meets the needs of a well-rounded writing curriculum.
Ready to Engage Your Students in October?
Halloween is the perfect opportunity to turn writing into a fun and creative experience for your students. With these ready-made Halloween writing prompts, you can easily keep students focused and practicing essential writing skills—all while having a spooky good time!
Check out a full collection of Halloween-themed activities here.
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