4 Rosh Hashanah Activities To Celebrate Jewish New Year

An overhead view of a wooden table set with traditional Rosh Hashanah foods. There are whole and sliced apples, pomegranates, and bowls of honey, with a honey dipper in one of the bowls.

Christy Walters

August 22, 2025

Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. This two-day celebration is a time for reflection on the past year and anticipation for the next, with a focus on looking at your actions and seeking forgiveness.

Add more lessons that include diverse perspectives to your plans with these Rosh Hashanah activities:

Explore the significance of Rosh Hashanah with ELA activities
Discover the history of Rosh Hashanah with social studies activities

[Explore the significance of Rosh Hashanah with ELA activities](id-ela)

Help students discover why Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar with these ELA activities:

Why do people celebrate Rosh Hashanah?

Millions of Jewish people across the world celebrate this holiday each year. But what do they do to celebrate? And why? Students can learn more about the significance of the holiday by working through this activity:

First, have students read an article about the history of the Jewish New Year to build background knowledge.
Next, ask them to watch an interactive video to explore the ways people celebrate this holiday.
Finally, students can complete a comparing media graphic organizer to answer the focus question, “How and why do people celebrate Rosh Hashanah?” with the main points and evidence from each resource.

Summarizing what students know about Rosh Hashanah

A Newsela ELA graphic displaying an article titled "Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the new year." The image shows a group of people standing on a bridge, looking down at the water below.

Encourage students to practice their summarizing skills while learning more about Rosh Hashanah. Have them follow these steps:

First, ask students to read an article about Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur.
Next, ask students to write a summary of the article in their own words and answer questions like “What is the topic of the article?” and “What are the important pieces of information the article teach about the topic?”
Extend the lesson with a Newsela Writing activity that asks students to provide a short answer to the prompt “How does Rosh Hashanah help individuals reflect on their past year?” using the same article they summarized.

[Discover the history of Rosh Hashanah with social studies activities](id-ss)

Invite students to learn about the history of Rosh Hashanah and the customs of Jewish culture with these social studies activities.

Discover how people celebrate Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world and is one of the two “High Holy Days” in Judaism. Students can learn about the history of the traditions, customs, and celebrations with resources and activities like:

An article that looks at the history and significance of Rosh Hashanah to practicing Jews.
An article that explores how Muslim and Jewish students must choose between observing their religious holidays and attending school.
Having a small group discussion where they consider questions like “What is the meaning of Rosh Hashanah?” or “What is the importance of having a special day focused on reflection and renewal?”

Discover the similarities among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

A Newsela Social Studies graphic displaying an article titled "Comparing Judaism, Christianity and Islam." The image above the article title shows the symbols for Islam (crescent moon and star), Judaism (Star of David), and Christianity (cross).

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are called the Abrahamic faiths because of a belief that all three religions descend from Abraham.

They have unique cultures and holidays that are important to the followers of each religion. Students can explore how these religions and their holidays are similar with resources like:

A comparison article that looks at the similarities and differences of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
An explainer article that looks at the history and traditions of the first holiday of the Christian new year, Christmas.
A fictional story that explores a day in the life of people living in the Islamic world.

Cover all the fall holidays in your classroom

Rosh Hashanah is just one of many holidays celebrated during the fall. With Newsela’s suite of subject products, you can access various content and resources—like news articles, primary sources, literature selections, and interactive videos—to help you teach about all of them!

Not a Newsela customer yet? Sign up for Newsela Lite for free and start your 45-day trial. You’ll get access to our premium content and activities for everything you need to teach about every holiday this spring.