Students prepare the previous week to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which occurs on Monday, January 23, 2012. The coming Chinese lunar year will be the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar.

In addition to the celebration on the first day of the Chinese New Year, there is the Lantern Festival, which comes on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The highlight of Lantern Festival is the Dragon Dance. In the United States, the Dragon Dance is scheduled for a weekend and is usually less than two weeks after the first day of the New Year.

Students Will:

1. Assist in planning and preparing for the celebration.
2. Work together cooperatively in small and large groups.
3. Have fun!

Directions

ACTIVITIES:

Here are a few activities for the Chinese New Year from which you can choose. You may want to start small and add additional activities each year.

 "Fu" Good Luck Sign for Door
The symbol "fu", good luck, when hung upside down means "the luck has arrived."
It is displayed on a red square turned diagonally.

Materials:
Oak tag cut into 6" squares, red marker, black permanent marker, and gold metallic pen. Yarn for hanging.

Directions:

• Find the symbol online at chinapage.com or on a door of a Chinese restaurant.
• Make a sample to show students. From the sample make a tracing pattern of the character.
• Trace the character onto oak tag. This simplifies the activity for children.
• Show sample and explain that the character will be hung upside down.
• Children color and attach yarn for hanging. While they are working, I read books about China aloud.

Dragon Puppets
Once we put together our dragon puppets students form small groups and make up New Year's skits using their puppets as characters.

Materials:
Pattern for head and tail (PDF document)
Red construction paper (12" X 18") cut the long way and folded like an accordion
Colored markers, glitter glue, sequins, and stapler.
Shish-kabob sticks or chopsticks for handles

Directions:

• Make a sample ahead of time.
• Show sample as you explain the directions. 

Large Dragon for Dragon Dance
If there is only one thing you can do, this is it! It's so much fun!

Materials:
Red poster board for dragon head, additional poster board to make feet for dragon. Metallic pipe cleaners, sequins, glue, stapler, string, yards of colorful cloth, enough so most children are under the dragon.
We borrow large cymbals, and a variety of drums and other percussion instruments from the music teacher for musicians who dance along with dragon.

Directions:

• Our art teacher helps with this project. Construction takes place during several art classes. When planning big projects like this, it's helpful to enlist other teachers as well as parents. 
• Once the dragon head is complete, we staple on cloth and practice with dragon. Some children don't want to be inside the dragon and those students are the musicians.
• On the day we celebrate, we parade around the entire school in and out of classrooms.

Banners Around the Classroom Door

Materials:
Red bulletin board paper cut into long, narrow strips, black permanent marker, gold metallic pen.

Directions:

• Locate examples of door banners, chun lian, on www.chinapage.com
• Decide if you will use Chinese characters or write spring poems in English.
• If you use characters, sketch them on red paper ahead of time.
• If you write in English, students can do the writing.

Red Envelopes for New Year's Wishes
It's traditional that children receive red envelopes with money from their parents or grandparents. We write notes with Happy New Year messages to exchange with one another. Red Envelopes can be made or purchased online.

Lucky Money Envelopes (PDF)

Practicing with Chopsticks
We use chopsticks for our New Year's feast so we practice with them ahead of time.

Using Chopsticks (PDF)

Cooking Fried Rice

Materials:  
Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley (see booklist) has a recipe for fried rice in the back.

Directions:
Read book aloud and plan for ingredients and tools needed. I donate the ingredients and make fried rice in an electric fry pan. There's lots of chopping so children need close supervision. It's a good idea to have a second adult to assist.

Additional Foods for Feast
I supplement the meal with meat and vegetable dumplings, sesame noodles, white and fried rice, mooncakes, and fortune cookies from a Chinese restaurant. I serve students tiny portions which they are encouraged to try and then come back for second helpings.

Supporting All Learners

When we think back on our own school experience, it’s the plays, parties, musicals, and assemblies we remember. As children celebrate a special day of one of our nation’s cultural groups, they honor its people. All learners are included and part of the action. Children learn respect and appreciation of another culture and the Chinese New Year becomes a memorable experience for all.

Lesson Extensions

Contact a college or university in your area and connect with a Chinese or Chinese American student who might visit your school and teach your students a few words of Chinese.

Or ask an owner of a Chinese restaurant for help. A local restaurant donates free chopsticks and fortune cookies for my class and gives us a fancy calendar.

Home Connection

In addition to China, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in Korea and Vietnam. I don't have Asian families in my school, but if I did I'd involve them. Even in communities where language is an obstacle, reach out and include Asian families, especially in food preparation.

Assignments

Students work in small and large groups on a variety of projects as they prepare for and celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Evaluation

Here are a few questions to consider:

Was I:

1. Realistic in the number and complexity of the activities I selected?
2. Organized and prepared with the appropriate materials?
3. Aware of what children were doing when I wasn’t directly supervising them?
4. Making sure everyone was included?
5. Flexible, patient, and able to adjust when things went wrong?
6. Finally, what would I change, add, or delete next year?