Here are 30 new year writing prompts for the classroom and home: fresh-start stories, goal-setting pieces, time capsule letters and funny new year tales. The goal prompts follow two research-backed ideas that work at any age: write goals as something to move towards, and plan for the obstacle before it shows up.
January is a gift for writing lessons. Children come back from the holidays with stories to tell, and the idea of a fresh start makes even reluctant writers a little more willing. These prompts suit primary and secondary classrooms and families at home. I've included goal-setting prompts, because new year writing almost always involves resolutions, and I've made sure they teach children a goal-setting skill rather than just a wish list.
Two goal-setting ideas children can use
The WOOP method, built on twenty years of motivation research by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen, asks people to picture a wish, then the inner obstacle that might stop them, then a plan. The WOOP site notes that children and adolescents have used it too. A PLOS ONE experiment on New Year's resolutions adds a second tip: goals framed as something to move towards, like 'read every night', succeeded more often than goals framed as something to avoid, like 'stop watching so much TV'.
| Idea | What children write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wish (WOOP) | One thing they'd like to achieve | I want to get better at swimming |
| Obstacle (WOOP) | What inside them might get in the way | I get cold and want to give up |
| Plan (WOOP) | If the obstacle comes, then... | If I feel cold, I'll swim one more length |
| Approach wording (PLOS ONE) | Goals that start with do, try or learn | 'I'll learn to dive', not 'stop being scared' |
Fresh start story prompts
Imaginative prompts about new beginnings.
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On New Year's Day, you wake up with a new talent you've never had before. What is it?
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A calendar falls through a crack in time and lands on your desk, showing next January. What's written on it?
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The town's clock tower strikes thirteen at midnight on New Year's Eve. What happens next?
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Write about a character who gets one chance to start the year again.
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A snow globe shows a different future every time you shake it. Describe three.
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Father Time takes a holiday and asks you to look after the new year for a day.
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Write a story about two friends who make a promise at midnight.
Goal-setting prompts for students
Use the WOOP steps and approach wording from the table above.
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Write one wish for the new year, starting with 'I want to learn...' or 'I want to try...'
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What might get in the way of your wish? Write it honestly.
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Write an if-then plan: 'If my obstacle happens, then I will...'
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Rewrite a 'stop' goal as a 'start' goal.
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Who could help you with your goal, and how will you ask them?
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How will you know you're making progress?
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Write about a goal you reached over the past year and how you did it.
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Choose one word to describe how you want this term to go, and explain it.
Looking back prompts
Reflective writing about the year that's just ended.
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What were the three best moments of the past year?
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What's something you learnt that you're proud of?
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Who helped you the most over the past year, and how?
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What was the funniest thing that happened to you?
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What challenge did you face, and how did you get through it?
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If the past year were a book, what would its title be?
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What would you tell yourself on the first day of last January?
Time capsule and funny new year prompts
Light-hearted ideas to finish the lesson on a smile.
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Write a letter to yourself to open on the last day of the school year.
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List five things you'd put in a time capsule to show people in the future what life is like now.
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Write a news report from New Year's Day a hundred years from now.
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Your pet makes New Year's resolutions. What are they?
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Write a funny resolution for each member of your family.
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The new year arrives late because it overslept. Tell the story.
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Write a recipe for the perfect year.
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Interview the old year as it packs its bags and leaves.
A forty-minute new year lesson
Here's a lesson shape that works from about age seven up. Warm up for five minutes with a funny prompt, like a pet's resolutions. Spend ten minutes on looking back, choosing one prompt and writing quickly. Teach the WOOP steps in five minutes with an example on the board. Give fifteen minutes for each child to write a wish, an obstacle and an if-then plan in approach wording. Use the last five minutes for a sealed time capsule letter. Children leave with a story, a reflection and a plan, and you've got letters to hand back in the summer.
How to get better new year writing
- Mix imagination and reflection: one story prompt, one goal prompt.
- Teach the WOOP steps before the goal prompts, so resolutions turn into plans.
- Encourage approach wording: start, learn, try, build.
- Seal the time capsule letters and return them at the end of the year.
- Display goals somewhere visible so children see them all term.
For grown-ups planning their own fresh start, my piece on keeping your resolutions has practical tips, and teachers might enjoy my piece on why people choose to teach elementary school.
My advice for new year writing lessons
Start the first week back with a funny prompt to ease everyone in, then move to the goal-setting prompts with the WOOP steps on the board. Finish with a time capsule letter that you collect and keep. When you hand those letters back at the end of the year, children see how far they've come, and that's a lesson in itself.
Frequently asked questions
What are good new year writing prompts for kids?
Mix imaginative prompts, like waking up with a new talent, with goal-setting prompts and a time capsule letter to open at the end of the year.
How do I teach children to set goals?
Try WOOP: a wish, the best outcome, the inner obstacle and an if-then plan. The WOOP site notes children and adolescents have used it too.
Should resolutions be positive?
Yes. A PLOS ONE study found approach-oriented goals, such as starting a habit, succeeded more often than avoidance-oriented goals.
What is a time capsule letter?
A letter children write to their future selves, sealed and returned later, often at the end of the school year.
Can new year writing prompts be funny?
Yes. Pet resolutions, a new year that oversleeps and interviewing the old year are all good light-hearted options.
