9 New Year’s Activities for High School English

Starting school again in January is hard. Most of us have had a long(ish) break. In my part of the country it can be anywhere from a 6 days to two full weeks depending on where the holidays fall. In other parts of the country, the break is sometimes three weeks. And, to top it off, it’s January. It’s dark. The weather isn’t great. But what if you had a pile of New Year’s Activities for students to get everyone back into the flow of everything school.

Don’t Jump Right Into Instruction

As school teachers and students, we are lucky enough to have two new years. We get the new school year in August or September and then we get the new calendar year in January. Often at the start of the school year, we are so focused on establishing routines that we don’t have time to be reflective. Starting January with New Year Activities give us the perfect opportunity to be reflective and focus on what’s ahead.

Additionally, sometimes the few weeks we have in January are timed awkwardly between having finished a unit before leaving in December and the start of a new semester (which sometimes means new groups of students).

And let’s face it, everyone likes to ease back into school, especially in the deepest part of winter.

9 New Year’s Activities for High School English

I have invited some guests to share some ideas along with a bunch that are mine.

New Year’s Reflection Activities

The first days after the return from winter break are the perfect time to do a little New Year’s reflection. These New Year’s Activities all include a New Year’s reflection allowing students to look back at the old year and then set intentions for the New Year.

The One Word Project

This is a great opportunity to focus on choosing a word for the new year instead of a making New Year’s Resolutions. In a true one word project, students go beyond just selecting a word. Instead, they take some real time to explore the word.

In the post where I introduced how I use The One Word project in high school English, I talk about how I start them out selecting a word in September and then once a month, we return to the word with a writing prompt. However, in the reviews for the TPT product, teachers have shared using it over a shorter time frame, completing it in a week, a month or over the course of two months. The important thing is for students to really spend time with their word so that it becomes part of their experience.

New Year’s Activity: Word of the Year Digital Vision Board for Middle or High School

Amber Walther of Success through Literacy has a variation of The One Word Project with her vision board activity. This is a no prep lesson to help with back from break blues with a digital word of the year vision board for middle school or high school.

Begin by teaching students what a word of the year is. Then they can choose from the over fifty words included in the vision board assignment.

Instructional videos walk students through the lesson and through the technology skills needed to create a digital vision board. Videos allow the activity to be done asynchronous or in centers while the teacher can individually check in with students while they are working. This is especially helpful if you have students who may not have had an enjoyable break at home.

Mrs. Walther loves using this lesson with her students as a way to help them set an intention for the new year. Self-reflection questions are provided to use throughout the year to help students check in on their word. By having students select a word, it provides a grounding framework for students as the school year progresses that you, as their teacher, can help guide them along to.

A list of 9 New Year's Activities to do in High School English classes including the one word project, digital vision board and several poetry ideas.

New Years Activity: Top Ten One Pager

This is how I am starting on January 2 this year. Students will spend the period reflecting on last year. They will use this one pager template to focus on a variety of “Top 10s” for the previous year including events, music, books, songs, movies, etc. Most importantly, they will reflect on their most important moments in the previous year.

Additionally, they will set a few goals for themselves. Not New Year’s Resolutions, but long-term goals for the year. These are big ideas that they will have to work toward.

The template is all set up for them, and they can choose from a variety of layouts in addition to being able to choose to count up or down depending on how they are thinking about the lists.

They will use color and use The Top Ten One Pager to celebrate the previous year. It’s a great visual way to reflectively look at the year that has passed as well as the year to come. This would also be a great activity to use at the end of the school year.

Get your Top Ten One Pager New Year’s Activity.

Teaching Reset: Exploring It’s a Wonderful Life for Reinforcing Classroom Community

Danielle at English Classroom Architect is passionate about helping teachers to combat and avoid burnout through streamlined systems, collaborative and engaging lessons and units, and support for maintaining appropriate boundaries.

If you want a way to start the year that is low stress for you and gives students opportunities for context building, thoughtful reflection about their goals for the year, AND connections to previous and future themes, some activities around the heartwarming holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life may be the approach you didn’t know you needed.

In her FREE It’s a Wonderful Life private podcast series, listeners can expect an enriching exploration of It’s a Wonderful Life designed to provide ideas and resources for teachers to start the year off right. Each episode is carefully crafted to offer a seamless transition plan, providing educators with the tools needed to ease students back into learning after breaks without overwhelming themselves.

Not only will teachers have a plethora of ideas to start the year with this classic film, embedded in the podcast is an activity for students to reflect on the goals and challenges of the characters in the film and also think about their own lives and set some goals and create an action plan for the new year.

Looking Back to Move Forward: The End of the Semester Reflection Your Students Need

Coming back from break can feel overwhelming. But Becca from The Teacher Rewrite has just the resource for you. Whether you are nearing the end of your course or reaching the halfway point, this End of the Semester Reflection is perfect for you.

This reflection isn’t just your run-of-the-mill survey. In this one-pager, students answer prompts that allow them to share their favorite parts of the class and their proudest moments. This resource includes easy-to-use directions that help students offer advice, ponder their success, and suggest improvements.

Now, why is this gem particularly awesome for the new year? As students bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, this activity helps them set intentions, refine their goals, and step into the upcoming year with a clear vision. It’s not just about looking back; it’s about gearing up for success in the months ahead. So, if you’re looking to infuse thoughtful reflection into your classroom and set the stage for a fantastic new year, this resource has your back!

New Year's Poetry Activities for high school English.

Focus on Poetry for the New Year

New Year’s Poetry is a perfect way to reengage students in January. Students can use the poetry to ease back into academics while using it for New Year’s Reflection and more.

New Year’s Poetry Mini Unit

There is so much poetry written about the new year. It’s incredible actually. A quick New Year’s Poetry Unit can be a great way to engage students in New Years activities while still being semi-academic.

You can use the New Year’s Poetry to focus on reader response, collaborative annotations, close reading, term review and so much more. This works well following one of the more reflective activities like Top Ten One Pagers and Vision Boards.

I start with the Top Ten One Pager and then move into some close reading on New Year’s Poetry.

New Year’s Poetry gives students the opportunity to examine how other people are thinking about the transition to the new year. It can help them to work on social emotional learning by looking at the New Year through another’s eyes. And it is another way to ease students back into academics. For more, check out my New Year’s Poetry Mini Unit.

New Year’s Activities Including Poetry Analysis and Personal Affirmations Activity

Embarking on a new year often calls for a unique approach to engage students from the get-go, and Julia at Around the World With Mrs. C’s favorite way to kickstart the learning journey is through a three-day exploration focusing on the renowned poem “Invictus”. This specially crafted activity seamlessly intertwines literary analysis with Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), offering students a robust start while setting the tone for a positive and supportive classroom environment.

Day one dives deep into the poem “Invictus,” unraveling its layers through thorough analysis and discussions. Delving into the poet’s intent, students also uncover how the poem serves as a personal affirmation, nurturing mental fortitude during challenging times.

On day two, a segue into the concept of affirmations for inner strength unfolds, igniting the students’ enthusiasm as they craft their own empowering mantras. The classroom comes alive with enthusiasm and creativity.

Day three fosters a Schaffer paragraph analysis, delving into the poem’s tone, thus refining the students’ analytical skills and deepening their understanding of the poem’s emotional resonance.

What Mrs. C especially loves about this activity is that it’s not just about understanding poetry – it’s about boosting your emotional smarts too. It’s setting up a classroom that’s all about supporting each other and starting strong in academics. It also gives students the tools to set their intentions for the year ahead!

What can the new year bring? More poetry to start!

Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 loves poetry! She writes about it all the time on her blog and includes tons of ideas to include poetry throughout the year.

And there’s no better time than the start of the new year to focus on poetry! “The Year” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox is short, impactful, and accessible to students. We’re not talking about a Shakespearean sonnet to get back into learning in January! It is the perfect New Year’s Activity for High School English.

Present the poet — her life is fascinating — and share the poem. Students read it and make note of figurative language, the tone/mood of the poem, as well as the overall message. You could have them complete a scaffolded analysis activity using a TP-CASTT graphic organizer.

The subject of the poem is also perfect for the new year because it’s all about what is to come that’s good (or not) for the new year! Use this to extend the lesson by having students set goals, predict highlights for their year, or even offer advice to their future self (SEL activity).

Lesa’s advice for the new year? Grab this ready-to-go lesson plan to start your year with poetry!

New Year Poetry for High School English in the New Year.

Create a New Year’s Activities Mini Unit

It is really easy to take a few of these and combine them to make a 1-2 week unit. This year, my students will be starting with the Ten Things One Pager on the day we come back from break and we will follow it up with a few New Year’s Poems. Then we will do our January One Word Project prompt which is to revisit our words and choose a new one if they want to. You can easily build a unit that will help you to reengage your students through activities to ring in the new year. And if you are just looking for something that can set a relaxing, meditative tone, you could offer your students New Year’s Coloring Pages with Inspirational New Year’s Quotes.