Seven Education-Themed Halloween Costumes for Teachers

Nothing spices up a school’s Halloween festivities like teachers getting into the spirit along with their students. Students love seeing a different side of their teachers and sharing a laugh together. Standard costumes like a ghost or a witch are always an option. But, if you want to stand out from your colleagues, try one of these creative ideas, all built around the theme of education.

An iPad

Take a poster board or canvas, attach some straps or cut out a hole for your head, and print out icons from your favorite apps to tape on the front. Want to get a laugh out of your colleagues and students? Attach a Wi-Fi “no-signal” notification as well—just be ready for some eye rolls from administration and IT!

Wikipedia page

This has the same basic setup as the iPad costume, but for this one, print out a big version of a Wikipedia page. If you make it the page for a topic that was just studied in class, your students will recognize it immediately (from their “research”) and love it.

Bloom’s Taxonomy (group costume)

Six colleagues dress in six bright colors (like the classification diagram), with a label for each level. For added fun, throughout the day, the educators are only allowed to make statements or ask questions that correspond to their level, from remembering to creating.

Your classroom before/after

This is an easy one for the teacher who forgot about Halloween this year. Simply tape a bunch of paper, chewed gum, and broken pencils to the back of your outfit. Leave the front pristine. For added clarity, affix labels to the front and back reading “before” and “after.” Your students may not understand, but fellow teachers will!

A Mad Scientist

Find an old lab coat, cut or tear a few holes in, and give it a few “burn” marks using charcoal or black chalk. Wear a pair of lab goggles around your next, and smudge up your face with black chalk or make-up (wear the goggles while you’re applying your face make-up to make it look authentic!). Walk into your classroom with the shell-shocked expression of having just completed a less-than-successful experiment and you’ll be sure to get a few laughs out of your students.

Ms. Frizzle

Let’s be honest—the mind behind the Magic School Bus was everyone’s favorite teacher (next to you). Even the older students will love it.

Recent book characters

If your students have just finished reading a particular book as a group, mine it for costume ideas. You can even have a classwide costume contest based on the theme.

Looking for more ideas to celebrate Halloween in your classroom? Check out these Halloween Lessons That Don’t Use Candy!