Cultural Literacy Workshop
Chinese New Year
Agenda
Preparation: Read over center activities and make
copies of the activities for all
participants
Cut 9x12” red and black construction
paper in half
Cut rice paper in 3 1/2” x 31/2”
squares (for Chinese Writing)
Cut rice paper in 6” strips down the
length of the paper (1 piece of rice
papers should make 3 strips)
Copy panda bear and dragon puppet
patterns
Materials:
Rice paper squares and strips
black & red construction paper 4 1/2”
x 6”
black construction paper 9” X 12”
Watercolors and brushes
Black markers
Scissors
Glue
White paper for drawing
Pencils
6:30-6:45
Sign up (students and parents)
Students choose RIF books
Parent/children read books
6:45-7:15
Introduce Sam and the Lucky Money
Story
Pre-reading: • Background knowledge for setting:
We had Chinese New Year Family
Workshop last
year. Does anyone remember something
about
Chinese New Year?
Chinese New year is the first new moon
of the year. The traditional New Year
celebration lasts fifteen days and
ends on the full moon with the lantern
festival. Every 12 years of the
Chinese calendar is named for a
different animal. The Chinese believe
the animal rules the year in which a
person is born and influences his or
her personality. 2005 is the year of
the rooster. Do you know which animal
you were born under? (See Chinese
Zodiac)
Read the title and show cover of the
story Sam and the Lucky Money, by
Karen Chinn.
• What do you notice about Chinese New
Year
from the cover?
(Accept any guesses)
• The boy seems very happy and he is
holding
some red paper. Do you know
what they are called?
• The boy is holding Leisee or “lucky
money”.
What is “lucky money”?
“Lucky money” comes in a red
envelope.
Children get them from adults during
Chinese
New Year celebration. Chinese people
believe red is lucky so they put the
money in
the red envelopes or pocket. Money
is also a
sign of luck. The literal
translation of “Happy
New Year” (Gung Hay Fat Choy) is
“Congratulations on becoming rich”
• If you received some lucky money
what would
you do with it? Talk it over with a
neighbor
for one minute.
• Let’s read to see how Sam uses his
lucky
money. Also we want to note how
Sam’s
character changes from the beginning
to the
end of the story.
Reading: Tell the audience they will use their
senses to “get into” the story. Tell
them: “Every time you hear words that
say something about smell, point to
your nose. Every time you can see the
picture in your mind, point to your
eyes. When you hear sound in the
reading, point to your ears. Every
time you hear words you can feel, rub
your fingers together. When I read
the Chinese words, you will repeat
them after me. For example, when I
say, “leisee”, you will say “leisee”.
When I read:
• (On page 7), “Everywhere dusty red
smoke hung in the air left by
exploding
firecrackers.” Where would you
point? (eye,
nose, and ear)
• How many of you have heard
firecrackers?
What is it like? Noisy, smoky, and
pieces
of paper scattered on the ground.
• Do you know why Chinese people use
firecrackers for the New Year?
Yes, the noise will scare away the
evil spirits.
• When you read, mention from time to
time,
“Can you see, hear, and smell…” but
don’t over
do it, otherwise you will distract
the audience
from the story.
• Read story with expression
• Page 21- show the audience the
picture of
Sam. Does his expression show his
feelings?
What do you think Sam is thinking
about?
Post-Reading:
Ask the audience the following
questions:
• How many of you saw, heard, smelled,
tasted,
or felt (touched) things from the story
the author
mentioned? Do you find the story more
interesting? Using your senses to read
helps you feel
like you are inside the story. It is a
good reading
strategy to use. Try it next time you
read. Your
story will come alive.
• Fill out a story map together.
 Where is the setting? (time and
place)
Chinese New Year, Celebration in
Chinatown
 Who are the characters? Who is the
main character?
Sam, his mother, and the beggar.
Sam is the main character.
 What is the problem?
Sam was not happy about the amount
of money he got from the “lucky
money”.
He was greedy, ungrateful, and
discontented.
 What is the solution?
He saw how grateful the beggar was
for the quarter he got. Sam
realized how much he had to be
grateful for and understood how
lucky he was.
• Relate to own culture
 What is similar and different
about the way things are done in
our culture and in Chinese
culture? (Answers may vary)
 Similarities:
Sharing is a strong value here and
in
Chinese culture
Respecting elders is important
here and in
Chinese culture
Celebrating by dancing and eating
special
food with family and friends is
done here
and in Chinese culture
 Differences:
Chinese celebrate New Year for 15
days while we celebrate for only
one day
Chinese get “leisee” (Lucky Money)
on New Years while we get presents
on Christmas or at Slaaviq
Chinese write in pictures while we
write with letters
QuickTime™
TIFF
are
needed
(LZW) decompressor
toand
see
athis picture.
Reading
indicators:
 Use our senses while reading text
 Identify cultural influence in
texts (custom, tradition and so
on)
 Identify literary elements and
main idea.
 Make connections between the text
and personal/cultural experiences.
7:15-8:25
Activities
8:25-8:30
Evaluation
• Set up four centers:
1. Make Chinese New Year Card or
picture
a. -Use Chinese characters
b. -Use “papercut” picture
2. Make red pocket
3. Draw Panda Bear
4. Make Panda mask
Door prizes
Year of the Rooster