Ed Tech Ideas

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 恭喜發財

Chinese New Year (CNY) occurs this year on the 3rd of February. In preparation for the wonderful festivities, here are some sites to help your students gain a better understanding of the significance of this holiday.

• The Holiday Spot – Lots of great information here with links to CNY history, traditions, zodiacs, festivals,music, quizzes, and much more.
• Apples4Teachers – Find out which animal you are, have fun with crafts, play some CNY computer games, learn some Chinese proverbs from Confucius, and cook up some great Chinese food.
• EdHelper – Lots of activities, worksheets, printables, and lesson plans.
• Chinese New Year books – a good list here for ages 3 up to adults.
• Lunar New Year in Taiwan – learn about how the Taiwanese celebrate the holiday.
• CNY Crafts and Activities – from Enchanted Learning, learn how to make tangram puzzles, a lion dance toy, and a plethora of printable materials.
• The Chinese Calendar – Learn about what the Chinese calendar looks like, how it’s calculated, when it started and what is so strange about the year 2033.
• Jackie Chan’s CNY Activities – Learn how to say “Happy new year!” and “May prosperity be with you!” in Cantonese and Mandarin. Print out some coloring pages, or enter a drawing contest.
• CNY Activities for Kids and Teachers – Some basic facts about Chinese New Year, along with some links to lesson plans and other activities.
• From the University of Victoria, this site offers some basic facts about CNY along with traditional food, decorations, taboos, and superstitions.
• The British Council offers up this story site that has cute little cartoon character animations explaining CNY.

Know of other great sites for Chinese New Year? Leave ’em in the comment section below.

Xie xie! 谢谢