What is it all about?
Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays and is a time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks and gift-giving. It is a 15-day holiday, beginning on the first day of a new moon and ending with the full moon on the day of the Lantern Festival. This year will be the Year of the Tiger.
Classroom ideas
There are plenty of fun activities you can do with your class to celebrate Chinese New Year, particularly relating to arts and crafts.
Pupils can have lots of fun making paper dragons, lanterns and displays to decorate the classroom in preparation for this special occasion. To provide more background information and context for the celebration you could arrange an interactive presentation to explain about the festivities which take place in China and around the world.
Encourage a class-wide discussion on the different customs and traditions observed for this event which remain very important today. Are there any other celebrations they can think of? Reward pupils for their participation with special tiger-themed treats or fortune cookies.
Help, I have got no time to prepare
The TES website has plenty of resources, activities and craft ideas for Chinese New Year. Visit www.tes.co.ukchinese-new-year to view our collection of resources.
Where do I get more information?
The Activity Village website has useful background information about Chinese New Year as well as plenty of ideas for lessons. For more information, visit www.activityvillage.co.ukchinese_new_year.htm.
