Technology Resources for the New Year

Happy New Year! I love this time of year in the classroom-- kids are into the routine, you can really start digging into the good stuff, and the ideas of resolutions and goal-setting are a perfect segue into the rest of the year!

I am excited to be sharing some technology resources you can use with your students this New Year:

BrainPOP

This is a great video put together by BrainPOP because it describes how other countries around the world celebrate their new year. Other religions and cultures are described (including Chinese New Year) and BrainPOP always does a great job with follow-up quizzes and worksheets. As of this writing, it wasn't free, but they will often offer it for free as the holiday gets closer, so keep your eyes peeled if you don't have a subscription.

Check it out HERE.

Crayola Fireworks Spectacular

This is a fun site by Crayola that allows kids to create their own fireworks show! There are fireworks to preview, then they can drag them along the timer on the bottom to wherever they would like them to appear in the show. At the end, they can Start the Show and enjoy their own New Year's celebration!

To design a show, click HERE.

YouTube: Squirrel's New Year's Resolution

This is a great read-aloud (similar to Reading Rainbow style) about how Squirrel learns to create a New Year's resolution. Watching this is an easy and engaging way to start the conversation in your class.

New Year's Crossword

This activity can be done on the computer or printed off. I love the computer version, though, since it will highlight any incorrect letter in red (see image above). There are also fireworks that go off when you get a word correct. This is a great activity to practice some of the vocabulary words from my Word Work Centers, too!

To play this crossword, click HERE.

If you are looking for some engaging and high-quality literacy activities for this first week back, be sure to check out my New Year's-themed Word Work Centers and Writing Prompts.

Happy New Year!!

Be sure to check out all of my other Holiday Technology Resources below: