A Fun Halloween ELA Review Activity for Middle School

Keeping middle school students focused right before Halloween can feel nearly impossible. But what if you could channel all that excitement into meaningful ELA review?

In this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Caitlin and EB Academics curriculum writer Pat share a creative house design activity that turns multiple-choice review questions into an interactive drawing challenge.

Students answer questions about pronouns, figurative language, vocabulary, or another ELA skill. But instead of simply selecting an answer, each choice tells them to add a specific detail to their house.

By the end, every student has a unique design that reveals how they answered the questions.

It's easy to prepare, fun to complete, and flexible enough to use long after Halloween.

HERE ARE THE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1. Turn ordinary ELA review into a creative design challenge.

Start with a simple house outline and a set of multiple-choice questions.

Each answer choice corresponds to a drawing or coloring instruction. For example, students might draw a full moon, crescent moon, or half moon depending on which answer they select.

As students work through the questions, their houses begin taking shape.

The activity works with almost any ELA skill, including grammar, vocabulary, figurative language, spelling, and reading comprehension.

2. Use the finished designs to spark meaningful discussions.

Here's where the real learning happens.

Before class, complete your own house using only the correct answers. Once students finish, reveal your design and have them compare it with theirs.

Students will immediately notice differences and start wondering which answers they got wrong.

Let students work in small groups so they can discuss their choices, but give each student an individual house to complete.

Then review the questions together, explain the correct answers, and clear up misconceptions.

3. Make the activity reusable for any season or skill.

You don't have to limit this activity to Halloween.

Swap the spooky house for a cozy fall cottage, replace ghosts with pumpkins, or create an entirely different seasonal design.

You can also reuse the same format throughout the school year by changing the questions and drawing instructions.

To create your own version, all you need is a simple outline, approximately 10 multiple-choice questions, drawing instructions for each answer choice, and a completed answer key.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• House Design Pronouns Review Activity

• EB Teachers ELA Portal

• EB Academics Ready-to-Use ELA Resources

• Join the EB Teachers ELA Portal Priority List

MORE FROM EB ACADEMICS

At EB Academics, we help middle school ELA teachers create engaging, rigorous classrooms without spending every evening and weekend planning.

Inside the EB Teachers ELA Portal, you'll find ready-to-use grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing resources, including creative review activities that make practicing essential ELA skills more engaging.

Join the EB Teachers ELA Portal Priority List to be among the first to know when membership opens again.

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you're looking for more ways to make ELA review engaging without sacrificing instructional time, make sure you're subscribed to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast.

Each week, we share practical teaching strategies, creative classroom activities, and time-saving ideas you can put to work right away.

And if you're enjoying the podcast, we'd love for you to leave a quick review. Your review helps more middle school ELA teachers discover ideas that make teaching easier and learning more meaningful.

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