After returning from holiday break, ring in the new year with some fun New Year’s activities for students. You can practice fine motor skills in elementary with crafts and coloring. You can promote a growth mindset among high school students through goal-setting activities. You can even differentiate with new year-themed reading passages! There are countless ways to celebrate the new year in school, but let’s countdown 12 New Year’s activities you can easily use.
8 New Year Activities for Elementary Students
Help your students have a happy new year by writing resolutions with them, creating vision boards, or doing arts and crafts. Whichever way you choose to celebrate, your students are bound to enjoy these eight engaging new year activities.
New Years 2023 | New Years Resolution by That Fun Reading Teacher
Grades: K – 2nd | English Language Arts
This free New Year writing activity includes drawing, tracing, and numbers work to teach students about the changing of the year. It can be printed or used digitally with Easel by TPT™.
New Year’s Resolutions Activities 2023 – New Year’s Resolutions Writing FREE by Fun Times in First
Grades: K – 3rd | Writing
Check out this free resource that includes interactive flap resolutions, resolutions writing, crown decorating, and a coloring sheet. After students complete the activities, you can use their resolutions as a new year bulletin board.
New Years 2023 Activity – Print & Digital Options by Keep Your Chin Up
Grades: K – 3rd | Writing
What is more celebratory than balloons? These colorful balloon-shaped goal templates come as a printable PDF and digital Google Slides™. They come in both English and Spanish and can also be transformed into a bulletin board display when printed.
New Years 2022 Coloring Pages | New Year Color by Code Phonics
Grades: K – 3rd | English Language Arts
It’s an interactive puzzle, it’s a new year craft, and it’s an ELA resource! Practice spelling patterns with your elementary students with these fun new year-themed coloring pages. Students will color by code based on word endings, families, and more.
New Years Resolution Lesson Plans – New Year 2023 January Activities by The Core Coaches
Grades: 1st – 2nd | Reading
A hybrid learning quest is an exciting way to ring in the new year at school. This comprehensive lesson includes reading passages with audio, interactive activities, reflective writing exercises, and a short quiz. It can be used as a print resource or a digital activity with Seesaw, Google Slides, or Easel by TPT.
New Year Poster Craftivity by Cara’s Creative Playground
Grades: 1st – 4th | Creative Writing, Writing
Help your students self-reflect on the past year and look forward to the next using this fun poster project. With its interactive flaps, these large posters are bound to get your elementary school students excited about the new year.
New Year’s Resolutions | Speaking & Writing | Great for ESL by A Teachable Year
Grades: 2nd – 4th | EFL – ESL – ELD, Writing
Engage your English learners with this New Year’s grammar pack about future predictions. Build their vocabulary, work on oral language skills, and practice with speaking and writing activities.
New Year’s Activities 2023 Freebie in English and Spanish and TPT Easel Digital by Reading Past Bedtime-Norma Lewis
Grades: 2nd – 6th | English Language Arts
Download this free 2023 resource that can be printed or used online with Easel by TPT. The set includes drawing sheets for phone selfies, short goal-writing activities, and growth mindset bookmarks. Best of all, it comes in both English and Spanish!
4 New Year’s Activities for Students in Middle and High School
Use these educational yet fun ideas and resources to start the new year off on the right foot with your secondary classes. Have your students write down their goals for the year or learn how various cultures celebrate the new year. Check out these four New Year’s activities that will work with your middle school and high school students.
New Year 2023 New Year’s Resolutions Differentiated Reading Passages by Read Write Middle
Grades: 6th – 8th | English Language Arts, Reading
Differentiate your new year ELA lessons with this scaffolded reading comprehension passage about resolutions. This resource includes two reading levels and works as a printable PDF, a Google Slides assignment, or an Easel activity.
One Word of the New Years 2023 Resolutions Goal Setting Activity Kit by Let’s Cultivate Greatness
Grades: 6th – 12th | Character Education
This easy-yet-meaningful activity kit requires no prep and nurtures your students’ personal reflection and vision setting skills. It can be adapted to work for back to school or the start of a new semester. This way, students can work on their goals not just during New Year’s, but all year.
New Year 2023 Codebreaker | Goal-Setting & Reflection Activity | Growth Mindset by Pagecraft ELA
Grades: 8th – 11th | English Language Arts
Use this lesson in January to establish student-led goals for 2023, either as an independent activity or a scavenger hunt! This print and Easel resource is a great escape room alternative and focuses on fostering a growth mindset in students.
Año Nuevo Las Doce Uvas 12 Grapes Activity for Spanish New Year with DIGITAL by Sra Cruz
Grades: 9th – 12th | Spanish
Teach your high school students about the Año Nuevo and Noche Vieja tradition of eating 12 grapes for luck. Included in this digital and print resource are three writing templates that allow students to come up with 12 deseos, or wishes, for the new year — one for each grape.
And that’s 12! Happy new year to you and your students! For more resources to help you thrive in 2023, browse new year resources on TPT.
