Language:
Various ways to say Happy New Year in context are:
Family member:
奶奶，新年快乐! (nǎi nǎi, xīn nián kuài lè)
“Grandma, Happy New Year!”
Authority figure:
王老板，新年好。(wáng lǎo bǎn, xīn nián hǎo)
“Mr. Wong, Happy New Year.”
Friend:
小南，新年快乐！ (xiǎo nán, xīn nián kuài lè)
“Nan, Happy New Year.”
Also:
新年好！(xīn nián hǎo)
Have a good New Year!
新年快乐！(xīn nián kuài lè)
Have a Happy New Year!
Music:
Happy New Year song with English translation
Art:
Cut out each symbol of the Chinese zodiac and place at the easel or art table in the classroom for children to practice copying the symbols. Materials include: white paper, and black paint and paintbrushes or black markers.
Teaching Activities:
A strategy to connect family and the classroom could include sending home some of the texts listed in this mini-unit, and request that parents or family members create a shareable audio recording of themselves reading the text. This is possible using the record function on any smartphone device or by using an application like SoundCloud.
Articles For Reference:
Lambert, Megan Dowd. Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake Up Storytime and Get Kids Talking about What They See. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2015. Print.
Louis, Catherine, and Shi Bo. My Little Book of Chinese Words. New York: NorthSouth, 2008. Print.
Orgel, Doris, and Meilo So. The Cat's Tale: Why the Years Are Named for Animals. New York: Roaring Brook, 2008. Print.
Wang, Gabrielle, and Sally Rippin. The Race for the Chinese Zodiac. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2013. Print.
Young, Ed. Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac. New York: Square Fish/Henry Holt, 2012. Print.
