October is full of new words for our youngest English learners: leaves, pumpkins, costumes, “Trick or treat!” It’s a great time to teach them, as long as the lessons are short, visual and easy to adapt for families who don’t celebrate Halloween.
3 ideas for K–2 newcomers
1. Go on a fall picture walk. Show photos (or take a real walk) and name what you see: leaf, apple, pumpkin, tree, chipmunk, scarf. Kindergarten students point and say “I see a ___.” First and second graders stretch it: “In fall, I see a ___.”
2. Describe a real pumpkin. Bring one in. Teach big, small, round, orange, stem, seeds, then pass it around. “It is round.” “The pumpkin is big and orange.” Touching the real thing makes the words stick.
3. Have a dress-up day with friendly costumes. Teach cat, bat, owl, firefighter, doctor, astronaut and the question “Who are you?” / “I am a ___.” Add polite phrases like “Thank you!” and “No, thank you.” If your school doesn’t do Halloween, call it a Fall Festival. The words are the same.
Two tracks, one lesson
Teach the whole group together, then split the practice: Kindergarten traces, circles and draws, while Grades 1–2 match, sort and write sentences. Everyone learns the same words at the same time.
If you want it ready to go
My Fall & Halloween ESL Newcomer Lessons K–2 pack has all three lessons: slides with teacher notes on every slide, a Kindergarten workbook, a Grades 1–2 workbook, 22 picture cards, a teacher guide and a family page in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Lesson 3 includes both a Halloween role-play and a Fall Festival role-play, and nothing is scary.
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