春节单元+Chinese+New+Year+Unit

Unit Overview


 * Goal: The unit provides students with a general understanding of the cultural event - Chinese New Year.

In this unit, students will learn 第二课：春节的传统 Lesson Two: Chinese New Year traditions 第三课：十二生肖是什么？Lesson Three: The twelve Zodiac animals 第四课：我们一起庆祝春节 Lesson Four: Let's celebrate Chinese New Year
 * People and Country
 * Decorations, traditions, and food during the celebration of the festival
 * The twelve zodiac animals
 * Songs and greetings for elebrating Chinese New Year || 第一课：春节是哪个国家的节日？Lesson One: Who celebrates Chinese New Year?

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Chinese New Year Project

In this project, you are going to use voice thread to create a project about Chinese New Year based on what we have learned and some of your research. In your thread, you will need to talk about the tradition and customs of the New Year celebrated by Chinese people. Please read the following instructions carefully while working on your project.

Steps for creating your project.


 * 1)  You have registered an account in Voice Thread in the past. Please log in using your user name and password.
 * 2)  Google some pictures related to Chinese New Year from Internet save the pictures in your tablet. Select a few pictures that you are going to use and upload the pictures into your voice thread account.


 * 1)  Prepare for your presentation. Your presentation needs to include a beginning, middle, and an end, just like any other type of writing.


 * 1)  Write down what you need to record. The content needs to include but not limited to the following:


 * Who celebrates the Spring Festival?
 * What is the other name for Spring Festival?


 * When do people celebrate the festival each year according to Chinese Lunar Calendar?


 * How do people celebrate the festival? (eg. food, decorations, performance, greetings, Chinese zodiac animals …)


 * How do you like the festival?


 * 1)  Record your writings in voice thread. After you finish the project, post your VoiceThread in your blog. Tag: Chinese6, lund


 * 1)  The due date for the project is Wednesday, Feb. 27th. Make sure you post your project prior to the due date. If your project was not posted on the due date prior to the class, your project will be deducted by 5 points. If for some reason, you are not able to post your project, you need to communicate with your teacher one day before the due date in order to avoid the deduction of your final grade.

Chinese New Year Background Knowledge

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.



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