DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

 

LESSON PLAN TITLE

 

Chinese New Year Decorations

BIG IDEA

Make classroom decorations for the mock Chinese New Year celebration.

RELATED NCSS STANDARD

Standard 1: Culture

C: describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture

 

ESSENTIALQUESTION

What piece of art will you make for the celebration?

MATERIALS

  1. Primary documents
  2. Maps
  3. Literary texts
  4. Audio/visual aids
  5. Graphic organizers
  6. Handouts
  • The book “Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year” by Kate Waters
  • Pencil/ Paper
  • Art supplies: glue, construction paper, tape, markers, glitter, scissors, ribbons, string/yarn, paper plates, craft sticks, paint
  • Handouts with each decoration’s instruction on it. The children will get a handout according to the decoration they chose to create.
  • Instructions (courtesy of  http://www.preschoolexpress.com/holiday_station07/chinese_new_year_feb07.shtml)

LANTERNS
Even preschoolers can make these simple lanterns.

 

Give your children a piece of 9” x 12” construction paper.

 

Help them fold it in half, either direction.

 

Then using a pair of scissors, cut slits from the fold to within 1” from the opposite edge all along the fold (approximately 1” apart).

 

You may need to hold the paper for your child and perhaps draw on cutting lines before they begin.

 

Then bend the paper into a cylinder and tape flaps together at the top and the bottom.

 

Two holes can be punched at the top of the lantern and short string can be tied to the two holes for a hanger or holder.

 

These can be strung across your room on a string or they can be attached to a short pole for holding in a lantern parade.
 

FIREWORKS MURAL
Celebrate Chinese New Year with a fireworks mural on your wall.
You will need plastic dish scrubbers, black butcher paper and tempera paints for this activity.

 

Pour small amounts of tempera paints into shallow containers.

 

Place black butcher paper on a long table along with the paint containers and dish scrubbers.

 

Have children dip the scrubbers into the paints and lightly touch them to the butcher paper to make “fireworks” prints.

 

Let them continue until the black sky is filled with exploding fireworks.

 

Hang the mural on a wall or bulletin board.

Variation:  Let your children print fireworks on individual pieces of black paper.

 

CHINESE FANS
You will need some paper plates and large craft sticks for this activity.

 

Cut paper plates in half.

 

Have children decorate a plate half however they wish, using marking pens.

 

Then glue or tape a large craft stick on the back of the plate for a fan handle.

Variation:  Older children could make a simple fan by accordion pleating a piece of paper.


RED AND GOLD DECORATIONS
Let your children make holiday decorations using the colors red and gold, which are thought to bring happiness and prosperity.

 

Cut a piece of red construction paper in half lengthwise to make two long, narrow papers.

 

Invite your children to decorate the papers with gold glitter-glue designs and glued on pieces of gold ribbon or gold gift-wrap scraps.

 

When they have finished, hang their creations around the room.
 

DRAGON PUPPET
A highlight of the Chinese New Year’s Celebration is the Dragon (or Lion) Dance, in which a line of men carry a giant paper and cloth dragon through the streets.  Let your children make a paper version.

 

Have them decorate the bottom of a small paper bag any way they wish to make a dragon face.  Suggestions:  Marking pens or cut paper pieces.

 

Then give your children small ribbon pieces to glue or tape around the dragon face and paper circles to attach to the sides of the bag for dragon scales.

 

Have children slip a hand up into the paper puppet and use their fingers to move the face of the dragon up and down.

 

 

 

GOALS STATEMENT

  1. Basic Skills Development
  2. Procedural knowledge
  3. Information knowledge
  • Students will develop their art skills by creating some decorations used for Chinese New Year.
  • Students will get a better understanding of the Chinese culture by creating the decorations for the class celebration.
  • They will get to see the decorations they read about in the book “Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year” by Kate Waters.

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE

  1. Motivation/attention-getter
  2. Review
  3. Content Presentation
  4. Active Learning
  5. Debriefing
  • Motivation: “Today everybody will get the chance to make decorations that will be used for the Chinese New Year celebration on Monday.”
  • Review: I will ask the students “What decorations do you remember from “Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year?” I will make a list on the board and let the students use the book as reference.
  • Content Presentation: I will have an example of each decoration that I made as a model. Then I will say the names of them, give brief descriptions on why and how they are used, and ask the students which one they would like to create. There will be designated tables for each decoration so when they choose they will go to that table. Everything they need will be at the table for them to save time of them choosing what they want. They will receive the handouts and begin. The students who will be a part of the mini play will use this time to write what they are going to say and practice. I am going to make my way around the classroom so everyone has the opportunity to get help if needed.
  • Active Learning: They will be at a table where everyone is making the same thing but if they finish, they can go to another table to help or to see what their classmates are making. If there is enough time, students can make more than one decoration. The students working on the mini play will have the book and each other to get ideas from.
  • Debriefing: I want the students to show their work in front of the class because even though two people make the same thing they can be very different. As a little challenge I will ask what each decoration is used for and/or when. I will read and help the students with their mini play.

PRACTICE: (IN-CLASS OR H.W.)

Homework

1) Continue collecting books for the library, everything has to be in Monday.

2) Write 3 paragraphs explaining what you learned, like the most about what you learned, and what was your favorite thing (the book, the field trip to the library, learning about the culture, or creating the decorations for the mock Chinese New Year celebration.)

3) I will ask 5 students to be prepared to say something in front of the class during our mock Chinese New Year celebration about Chinese New Year and compare it to how their culture celebrates the New Year. I want them to also explain why they feel it’s important to have learned about the Chinese culture.

4) Students doing the mini play practice over the weekend. Monday morning they will have a chance to practice together before the celebration begins.

ASSESSMENT

I will be assessing the students’ information gathering and their memory of the book I read aloud as they tell me what each decoration is used for. I will also assess their comprehension of written instructions for the piece of art they chose to make.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.