Looking for Lunar New Year activities for your classroom? We loved learning about it in our classroom and I’ll share some class favorites in this post.
Going to the Chinese New Year parade in New York City had been on my to-do list for years and I finally got the chance to check it off!
Last year, my family and I drove to NYC for the parade and we were not disappointed (well, except for the jacked-up parking costs)!
We watched from Chatham Square (about the halfway point) as dancers, band members, politicians, and activists marched down the street to celebrate this exciting holiday.
It was incredible to see the lion dancing, the dancers under it coordinating their moves seamlessly.
Here’s another up close. The eyes have mechanisms to make them blink.
People hold the dragon up with long sticks, which they move to make the dragon “dance.”
And, it was the year of the pig, so there were also pigs marching!
Chinese and Lunar New Year in the Classroom
| We loved celebrating in our classroom also, so let me share a few Lunar New Year activities with you, a freebie, and a look inside my Chinese & Lunar New Year resource! In first grade, each class in our school made a long dragon using paper bags and streamers. Then, we paraded around the building playing Chinese instruments, while the other grades sat in the hallways and cheered us on! In your freebie, you’ll find more information on how we celebrated (find link below). |
Learning About the Lunar New Year
We were lucky enough to have a student from China a few years ago that shared with us her traditions and even showed us some pictures from her visit to China.
We also read books and watched video clips to learn more. This is one of our favorite books about Chinese and Lunar New Year and the students are always fascinated by the long dragon that unfolds at the end of the book. It’s called The Dancing Dragon, by Marcia Vaughan.
| After reading about the Lunar New Year, we discuss what we learned and color-code lucky oranges to show true and false statements. |
Then, students practice finding the main idea in these differentiated reading passages, and color-coded to show their evidence! **Although the pictures show Chinese New Year, I’ve edited the resource to include a Lunar New Year version of all activities.
| It’s interesting to compare the Lunar New Year to our American New Year and this differentiated Venn diagram has cut and paste slips to help us do that (also includes a blank diagram for use with any country.) Note: There are Chinese and Lunar New Year versions of the activities in the pack. |
After learning all about the Lunar New Year, students make a fact web and write about their learning.
| They love finding the mystery pictures in these color-by-code practice sheets for vowel sounds, addition, and subtraction! |
And, more word work in these unscramble pages reviewing rhymes, cvc words, blends and digraphs.
Lunar New Year Game
One of our favorite games is the Chopsticks game. I usually had class moms come in after the parade and we played this game and had some Chinese food.
Lunar New Year Freebie
Here is your freebie! This word wall and stationery are perfect for a writing center. Download freebie here!
| You can find all of these activities and more in my Chinese and Lunar New Year pack! You can also purchase it from my TPT store here: Purchase on TPT. As usual, I welcome your ideas and ways you celebrate in your class! |
I enjoyed reading about Chinese New Year in NYC. Last year my family and I went to the one in Boston, and the weather cooperated which makes for a much better experience. Your activities look really fun and well thought out. I would love to go again this year, but we’ll see what the weather is…as always!
Hi, Susan! Thanks! It was cold and windy, but we still had a great time and we’ll try to again this year. We visited Boston last year and absolutely loved it. My 6-year-old daughter keeps asking when we’re going back to see the dog parade again (we went around Halloween and they had a dog costume parade). I’m sure they do a great Chinese New Year parade as well!