In the West, we call it the Chinese New Year. In the East, they most commonly refer to it as the Spring Festival ( 春节 ). Whichever way you choose to say it, this celebration will take place from Tuesday, February 1, 2022, until Tuesday, February 15, 2022. At Language Lizard, we put together a lesson plan to pair with our bilingual book, Li’s Chinese New Year.
The Year of the Water Tiger
The Chinese New Year begins this week with the Spring Festival. Around the world, Chinese families have been getting ready for this event with Little Year preparations. The Spring Festival begins on the night of a new moon and culminates with the Lantern Festival, a celebration that takes place under the light of the full moon. Moon gazing, lighting lanterns, riddles, lion dances, and eating rice balls are just a few of the activities that you can enjoy during this holiday.
According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. The calendar follows a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs and each year there is a fixed element which can determine your compatibility with others. People born in the year of the Tiger tend to have strong self-esteem, be optimistic, and have a lot of energy. Interestingly, people born in the year of the Water Tiger tend to have strong interpersonal relationships, especially with their family.
Multicultural Lesson: Li’s Chinese New Year
The bilingual children’s book Li’s Chinese New Year is a great resource to make your multicultural classroom welcoming to all students and instill an appreciation for diversity in your kids. It introduces students to the Chinese New Year celebrations and ties concepts together in the lesson plan. Not only is the story a highlight for children, but teachers can also introduce students to Chinese characters in the bilingual English-Chinese version of the book while reading the story out loud in English.
We prepared a free Chinese New Year lesson plan which takes students on a journey through the Chinese New Year by utilizing geography, crafts and discussion. A Venn Diagram is used to help compare similarities and differences between the Chinese New Year and the American New Year. The lesson also includes suggestions for teaching about world geography and population density.
The objective of this lesson plan is to cultivate your children’s appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity. Through collaborative activities and discussions, students will build positive relationships with one another while learning to appreciate our world’s global diversity.
Phrases to Celebrate 春节
We collected a few useful phrases you can share with your students this Chinese New Year:
恭喜发财 / Gong Xi Fa Tsai / Wishing You Prosperity
新年快乐 / Xin Nian Kuai Luh / Happy New Year
春节 / Chun Jie / Spring Festival
虎年 / Hu Nian / Tiger
How are you introducing your students to the Chinese New Year? Please share your experiences! Did your students read the book, Li’s Chinese New Year? What did they think of it?