Gong hei fat choy! Celebrate Chinese New Year with a variety of activities that introduce learners to the Chinese myth of the race that determined which animals earned their place the zodiac.

Concepts

chinese culture, the chinese calendar, the chinese new year, the lunar cycle, the chinese zodiac

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Include the resource as part of a study of how various cultures celebrate the new year
• Either share with the class one of the many picture books of the tale (consider Anne Wilson's illustrated version The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac) or show one of the many videos available on the Internet

Classroom Considerations

• Requires considerable prep time to prepare materials for the various games and activities
• Zodiac game cards need to be printed in color

Pros

• Resource includes a variety of activities, games, and songs

Cons

• None