New Year's Activities for the ELA Classroom | Fun Writing Projects for Middle School English Students

We're just a week away from ringing in the New Year and welcoming in 2023. Many English teachers have already started their winter break, while others are still in school. As you write your lesson plans for the first few days after the New Year, I want to share a few fun print-and-go activities that are easy to implement in your middle school ELA classroom. 

New Year's Breakup Letter - Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023! 

My middle school students LOVED this activity last year. Celebrate the New Year by having your students write a breakup letter to 2022. The letter will explain why they're leaving the year behind and moving on to 2023. They will write the date, a salutation or greeting, three body paragraphs, a closing, and their signature.

New Year Around the World Research Poster

Your students will love researching how the New Year is celebrated around the world with this research poster template. Students will select a country, write a common greeting that people say, draw an illustration of a tradition, sketch the country location in the globe, describe food and drinks, write about special traditions and customs, and share a final fun fact about the New Year festivities.

This product also includes a 25-point rubric with directions and a source citation form. Students will write down the URL, article title, author name, and publication date for each source.

One Word Project 

Celebrate the new year by having your students write about their word of the year. The start of each new year is the perfect time to ask students to reflect on their lifes, celebrate their personal growth, and brainstorm how they would like to change in the upcoming year. One way to consciously set the tone for the upcoming year is to have students select a word to focus on. Some example words include create, explore, joy, and forgive.

Roll a Story New Year's Narrative Writing Activity

Ring in the New Year with this roll-a-story activity. Students will roll a die to get their story started. They will start with the “Character” column. The number they roll will determine which character(s) their story will be about. Then, they will roll the die again for each of the other categories.

Categories include:

• Character (Example: a news reporter)
• Time (Example: At 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve)
• Place (Example: In the calendar aisle of a grocery store)
• Problem (Example: The fireworks are too loud)

This narrative writing activity is perfect for a January class party, early finisher challenge, writing workshop, etc.

How will you celebrate the New Year with your students? Leave a comment below to share your ideas!