Now that we’re all settled in after our winter breaks, it’s time to celebrate Lunar New Year! I love celebrating Lunar New Year in my classroom because it’s the perfect time to incorporate learning about a culture that’s different from our American New Year. Students are always so surprised to hear that the Lunar New Year is a two-week long event! In this week’s video, I’m sharing some of my favorite activities and lessons for Lunar New Year!
Mr. DelGaudio’s Fan Dance
I did this activity with my 1st and 2nd graders, but I think it would be great for 3rd grade as well! You can make a fan out of printer paper or construction paper and then perform a fan dance! I think this would work best with 2nd and 3rd graders, but 1st grade CAN do it. I found that they could fold the paper, but struggled with the taping/stapling. If you’re short on time, maybe make the fans ahead of time or just make them with one class and reuse them!
“Runaway Wok”
“O For Tuna Orff” has a great blog and Facebook page where she shared a book called “Runaway Wok”. It’s about a magical wok that takes you through the story and traditions of the Lunar New Year.
While the wok travels to different parts of the story, music from different parts of Asia plays in the transitions! It’s a great movement lesson and could be perfect for some of your younger classes.
Shadow Puppets
The “Story of the Zodiac” is told by shadow puppets, and the narrator uses really fun voices that the students love! This video talks about the traditions behind the zodiac and would be great for Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Lion Dance and Dragon Dances
Did you know they’re two different things? The Lion Dance is performed with two people and the Dragon Dance is performed with 9-15 inside of a very large puppet. The dances are meant to bring in luck and good fortune for the New Year. You could have students create their own Lion and Dragon dances!
“Gong XI”
“Decolonizing the Music Room” shares an amazing blog about Lunar New Year and how to appropriately approach learning about the celebration with your students. The blog also has a video link that teaches the proper way to sing “Gong Xi”, which is a Chinese celebration song that means “Best Wishes”!
Lunar New Year is such a beautiful and unique holiday that deserves to be celebrated, especially in our music classrooms! I’m interested to hear how you celebrate with your students and to learn more about your favorite lessons. If you don’t yet celebrate Lunar New Year with your classes, I can’t wait to hear about how you use these ideas to get started!
If you want to hear me talk a little more in depth about these ideas, be sure to check out this week’s video. I would also love to connect with you on Instagram!
Have a great week!
