Thirty-three New Year words, from countdown and confetti to resolutions and fresh starts, on unique cards for the first day back or the last day before break.
33 items · a 5 × 5 card with a free space needs 24 or more. More items make the cards differ.For review bingo, type answer | clue (“56 | 7 × 8”): the card shows the answer, the caller reads the clue. Two columns pasted from a spreadsheet work too. Start a line with an emoji (“🐶 dog”) for a picture square.
Showing 4 of 31 pages. (Print always prints every page.)
To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheets print.
30 different cards. No two are the same. The card number and set number on every card let the caller check a winner (press C while calling).
About this set
New Year is a holiday every class can share because it is about time and hope rather than any one tradition. The words come in two groups. The first is the party: countdown, midnight, confetti, fireworks, noisemakers, balloons, the ball drop in Times Square and the song Auld Lang Syne. The second is the thinking that goes with a new year: resolutions, goals, a fresh start, looking back and looking ahead, turning the page. Calling the second group is a gentle way to start the conversation about goals that most classes have in January, and the cards give students something to do with their hands while they talk.
Grades: Kindergarten to 6th grade. Best in: December, January.
The words on the cards
Countdown · Midnight · Confetti · Fireworks · Noisemaker · Party hat · Balloons · Streamers · Calendar · January · New Year’s Eve · New Year’s Day · Resolution · Goals · Fresh start · Clock · Ball drop · Times Square · Auld Lang Syne · Celebrate · Cheers · Parade · Hope · Dream big · Turn the page · Look back · Look ahead · Happy New Year · Family · Friends · Kindness · Sparkle · Twelve months
How to play, and five ideas
Goal setting: when a student covers “goals” or “resolution,” they say one goal for the new year to a partner.
Countdown call: make the last five items a countdown. Call “five, four, three, two, one” and then the winning word.
Look back: when “look back” comes up, stop and have each table name their best memory from the year so far.
Math link: use the 12 months as a number-line warm-up, and have students count the days from today to the end of the school year.
First day back: give each student a card and a pencil, and let them write a goal in the free space before the game starts.
No. The cards do not name a year, so you can use the same set every January. Add the year to the title box if you like.
Is it only for January?
It fits the last week before winter break and the first week back. The word list includes both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Can I change the words?
Yes. The 33 words are in the box above the cards. Delete, add or edit any line and the cards are rebuilt at once. Nothing is saved on our servers.
How do I call the game?
Press “Call the game”. Each press of the space bar tumbles the ball cage and pops out the next item in very large type, with the list of items already called beside it. Press C and type a card number to check a winner, P to change the win pattern, V to have each call read aloud, and F to fill the projector.
How do I save the cards as a PDF?
Press Print and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. Each page can also be saved as a PNG picture from under its preview.
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