A Fresh New Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

As a fresh year begins, our slates are clean.  I'm not sure about you, but that is an exciting prospect for myself.  Thinking back to my years as a student, I don't remember learning about New Years traditions, resolutions, or cultural differences at all.  Because of the fact that New Years is a world-wide celebration that doesn't infringe on religious or cultural beliefs, I have taken it upon myself to teach a mini-unit on what it means to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

When I began to embark on my New Year adventure, I had my hopes high for activities I could plan or ideas I could teach.  However, I decided to get a little inspiration from fellow teachers first.  Low and behold, I was overly impressed and found several knock-out ideas.  So, instead of sharing my own lessons, activities, or projects, I'm going to share the work of other teachers that will hopefully inspire you!  The best part is, they are ALL totally FREE!

1) 2013 New Year Creative Writing Activities {FREE} by Tracee Orman

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2013-New-Year-Creative-Writing-Activities-FREE

Once more, she does it again!  Tracee has countless amazing resources that I totally love.  This activity pack had some great ideas.  My favorite activity is one in which students come up with a "Top 20" and a "Bottom 13" list of things they want to do (top) and don't want to do (bottom) in 2013.  

2) My 2013 New Year's Activity Poster FREE by Valerie King

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-2013-New-Years-Resolution-Activity-Poster-Freebie

I LOVE a cute graphic organizer.  This is one of them!  If you use this poster, you can teach a mini-lesson about resolutions.  Surprisingly, a lot of my students had no idea what resolutions were really about.  What better way than to use this to help them come up with their own?

3) 2013 New Year's Poem and Writing Activity by Panicked Teacher

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2013-New-Years-Poem-and-Writing-Activity

This one has five great activities, and they are all on super cute worksheets.  The best part is that this teacher made up an adorable New Years resolution poem for students to read.  Then, students can use this poem as a basis to help them write their own about their 2013 resolutions.  How neat is that?

Here's hoping that you can begin the New Year with a great, fresh start.  I'm already excited to see what this year brings for me and what I can accomplish and learn in 2013.

Happy New Year!

Emily   :)

http://www.yepenfield.com/2012/12/31/happy-new-year/