Welcome to another episode in our occasional series of short “Highly Recommended” episodes, in which we dive into a quick idea, resource, or tip that I hope will have an immediate impact for you. This week, we’re talking about an online treasure trove of authentic audience for your student writers.
Have you happened to peruse the New York Times Contest Calendar lately?
They’ve got not one, not three, not five, but SEVEN different powerful contests to give students in ELA authentic purpose and audience for their work. One of my favorite things about them is how they leverage communication across modes – inviting students to share videos, top 10 lists, protest letters, tiny memoirs, podcasts, AND writing.
What do they say about their own contests? Here’s a snippet from their calendar page: “Why do we run so many contests? We believe in student voice. We want young people to be active content creators, not just consumers. And we’re proud to offer places where they can create for an authentic audience of students, teachers, parents and other readers from around the world.”
I love this so much, and what’s more, strongly agree with it. The New York Times is inviting student to share their ideas and their creativity, to communicate across modes, to send their ideas out into the world and see what happens next.
We’re partway into this year, which means there are still several contests left, including their “Open Letters,” “Audio Stories,” and “Summer Reading” contests.
But you can also start thinking about next year, or if you’re listening to this episode later on, simply click over and see what’s coming up! This contest calendar is a reliable source of solid unit-orienting possibility, so you should definitely have it bookmarked on your computer!
Here’s the link for this year, or search “NYT Student Contest Calendar” anytime: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/learning/our-2025-26-student-contest-calendar.html
