Celebrating Chinese New Year in the Classroom
Engaging Activities to Foster Cultural Appreciation and Learning
Celebrating Chinese New Year (or learning about China during a cultural study) in the classroom is a vibrant opportunity to explore and appreciate Chinese culture while fostering tolerance and understanding among students.
Art Project: Traditional Chinese Hats
Students can create traditional Chinese hats using the following materials and instructions:
Materials Needed:
Red tag paper
Scissors
Stapler
Small brushes
Black ink or paint
Instructions:
Draw and cut out a large circle from the red tag paper.
Bend the circle into a cone shape and staple it.
Decorate the hat with designs or write a Chinese character, such as "love."
This craft not only engages students but also introduces them to artistic elements of Chinese culture.
Preparing for Gung Hay Fat Choy
To prepare for the celebration, I gather books and supplies early in the year: There are some great titles available!
Red Envelopes: Give to students as symbols of luck and prosperity. They love making and/or receiving these fun gifts.
Chopsticks: Used for activities like reading exercises.
Musical Elements
Music plays a crucial role in the celebration. I introduce a special song related to the New Year and lead students in a fun, simplified version to the tune of "The Noble Duke of York."
Chinese New Year Activities
Activities include:
Literature: Reading and discussing stories about Chinese New Year.
Music: Singing traditional songs.
Art: Crafting Chinese hats.
Literacy & Math: Incorporating New Year themes into exercises.
Creative Writing: Writing stories or poems about the festival.
Word Wall: Highlighting relevant vocabulary.
Reading: Using themed texts for comprehension.
These activities are easy to implement and provide a well-rounded learning experience, inspiring students to appreciate the richness of world cultures.
Also available at Teachers Pay Teachers!
Product Description
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Are you looking for the perfect Thematic Unit that relates to China and the Chinese culture? This unit will allow the students in your classroom or homeschool setting to learn more about China and Chinese New Year in a fun way.
This Chinese New Year unit is divided into areas of literature, music, art, literacy, math, independent practice, creative writing, word wall, and guided reading. The activities are clearly written, easy to use, and need limited amounts of preparation.
The Contents:
Literacy Activities
Karate School-Kicking Vowels: Vowels
Chinese Blossom Festival: Demonstrating Graphophonemic Knowledge of Alphabet Letters
Beware The Chinese Dragon: Replacing Initial Consonants
The Lantern Race: Naming Alphabet Letter Sounds Fluently
The Lantern Race: Naming Sight Words Fluently
Lantern Walk: Writing Letters
Lantern Letters: Writing Lowercase Letters
Middle Sounds: Identifying Middle Sounds in Words
Math Activities
Dragon Squeeze: Identify a Given Number by Using Greater Than and Less Than
Building Teen Number: Building Numbers Using Tens and Ones
Light The Lanterns: Comparing Numerals to 20
The Missing Dragons: Ordering Numbers 0-20
Dragon Squeeze
China Number Hunt: Write the Room Math Journal Activity
Art Projects
Chinese Dragon Fan
Chinese Dragon
Paper Chinese Lantern
Songs
Gung Hay Fat Choy
Dragon Dance
Writing Prompts/Word Wall
China Word Wall Words
Chinese New Year Zodiac Chart
What I Know About China
Gung Hay Fat Choy
Guided Reading Books
The Dragon
Gung Hay Fat Choy
This research and writing Chinese New Year project is a great opportunity for students to gain cultural awareness of world celebrations. This fun workbook and craft activity contains
Workbook Cover
Gung Hay Fat Choy Chinese Writing
Connections with Nian The Dragon
The Chinese Zodiac
The Zodiac Animals and Symbols
Chinese Celebration Traditions
Paint the Hidden Design
Make a To Do List
Family Feast
What I Know about Chinese New Year
Dragon Design
Art Chinese Lantern
Art Chinese Dragon
Tikki Tikki Tembo is a great picture book to celebrate cultural awareness and diversity. It is a fun book to do any time of the year, but is a great compliment to the study of Chinese New Year.
Contents Include:
Lesson 1: Visualize to Build Listening Comprehension
Lesson 2: Retelling a Story and Identifying Characters
Lesson 3: Retelling a Story Using Story Elements
Lesson 4: Peer Discussing to Build Comprehension and Retelling Skills
Lesson 5: Creating Story Retell Cards to Share the Story
Lesson 6: Comprehension Questions
Lesson 7: Extend the Learning with Celebration Crown
© Kathy Crane Kindergarten Kiosk
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