With Halloween just a few days away I can feel the excitement in the air with my own kids at home and my students at school. I personally love holidays and special events when I teach. Themes are a fun and easy make to make learning engaging and a productive way to build on the excitement. Today, I’m excited to share this Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt with you.

Scavenger hunts are a great way to develop problem solving skills and team work. Within a classroom setting, they’re a great way to get kids up and moving and learning through play.

If a scavenger hunt for home is also something you’re looking to try for Halloween, make sure to visit the companion activity: Free Printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt

This free printable classroom scavenger hunt will transform your traditional learning environment into an adventure filled with exploration, collaboration, and fun. Whether you’re a teacher, educator, or student, this scavenger hunt promises a dynamic experience, where learning becomes an exciting quest, and the hunt is designed specifically to play at school.

Halloween is a great time to get creative and have fun with your child’s learning. A DIY escape room is also a great experience this time of year. Check out the popular “Make a Halloween Escape Room at Home“.

Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt

To prepare the hunt, simply print all of the riddle pages. Once you print the riddles you will hide each clue around the classroom. The clues are hidden/placed in the following spots:

• The Word Halloween (On a sign or decoration in the room).
• Books
• Window
• Lunchboxes
• Teacher’s Desk
• Computer
• Pencils
• Coats (Where jackets etc. are stored)

If you don’t have some of these locations in your room, don’t worry. There are printable pictures that match each of the pictures on the riddles. You can place these in the room to help guide children where they need to look.

You do not need to use the picture cards. I’ve included them because I used them in my classroom. They can help children identify if they are in the correct spot to then look for the riddle.

The game can be played as a whole class or small groups.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt Clue #1

The first clue can be set in the room for children to find, or you can start the hunt by giving children the clue and reading it out loud to them.

Once the riddle has been read, children then brainstorm where to look for their next clue. The first riddle tells them to find the word “Halloween” somewhere in the room.

Classroom Scavenger Hunt Clue #2

You can place the second clue on a decoration with the word Halloween, or on the printable picture card that has the word Halloween. Attached to the back, place the next riddle.

The printable picture card works well in classes with young children. For example kindergarten children who may not recognize the word Halloween yet are more likely to notice the picture card with the border.

This clue talks about books and witches! Kids are off to where the books are stored in the classroom.

Free Halloween Scavenger Hunt Clue #3

Within the class library, students will find their next clue. If you have an older group, you can make the game more challenging by hiding the riddle among the books. Depending on the size of your classroom library, you could make sure to put the riddle with the Halloween books.

The riddle suggests for children to find the place that lets in the sun – the windows!

Free Scavenger Hunt Clue #4

Place the clue somewhere children can easily, and safely find and read (or be read) the clue.

The riddle talks about a friendly monster and the place the children keep their lunch. If you have a lunch program, you can place the clue where lunches are set or stored in the room before or after eating.

You can also extend the free classroom Halloween scavenger hunt and go down to a lunchroom with students to find their next clue. It’s up to you where you place the clues.

Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt

I simply set the riddle amongst the lunch boxes. This is a good clue to use the printable picture clue because you can put the monster picture where the lunches are found. This tells children that’s the area they need to search.

Once children find the riddle, they are next directed to check around their teacher’s desk.

Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt

On the desk, the next clue is easy to find. The clue talks about spiders and their fuzzy legs! Perfect for Halloween.

Children make the connection between spiders and webs and the world wide web as they find and check around a classroom computer.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt Clue #7

Once they find the clue at the computer they will also find the image of the spider. This way they know they’re in the right place.

This clue tells children to look where you store the things that you use to write.

Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt

At the pencils, children will find their next clue. If children use something else, like pencil grips or something different, you can place the clue wherever it will make sense for your students.

Among the pencils, students will find their last riddle. It talks about candies and treats and then suggests for children to check around where their coats are stored.

School Scavenger Hunt

If children don’t have coats at school when you do the hunt, that’s okay. Simply place the riddle where they would typically store their jacket or even backpack.

In this final spot you can place a small treat or prize for your class. It can be candy or a certificate for something you know your students would love, like an extra gym period or movie. There is a completion certificate included as well that you can print and hand out.

The certificate is a great idea to send home to encourage children to talk about their day and all of the fun learning experiences they had!

As I dress up and enjoy the excitement of the day with my students next week, I hope all of your Halloween celebrations go well with your students too. I hope this scavenger hunt gives you some ideas for your celebrations or that you are able to print and use the full activity.

Halloween Activity Extension Ideas

My students love write the room type activities. So I integrated it into this free classroom Halloween scavenger hunt. I taped each of the picture cards near the riddle and gave students the list sheet on a clipboard.

As you travel around the room and find each clue, have children print the Halloween word on the bottom of the picture card onto their list sheet.

This is completely optional and the scavenger hunt can be done without these cards, but they are included as an option or to use separately as just a write the room activity.

Halloween Activities

Halloween is a great time to make your activities and learning experiences have a fun theme. Click the image, or link below to visit my collection of Halloween ideas for kids at home, or school, from crafts, games, STEM challenges and lots of freebies!

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More Teaching Ideas

If you like the Free Classroom Halloween Scavenger Hunt, you’ll love these other related ideas. From exploding pumpkins science experiments to more scavenger hunts and scavenger hunt ideas, there’s a bit of everything to check out below.