Kindergarten Spring History — Calendar Time, Holidays Across Traditions, and Mapping Our Neighborhood
Lesson 6 25 min hist.gK.s.lesson_06

Lunar New Year — a holiday many families celebrate

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students can identify Lunar New Year as a holiday celebrated by many families.
  • Students can name one tradition associated with Lunar New Year (red envelopes, dragon dance, family dinner, sweeping the house, lanterns).
Vocabulary
Lunar New Yearlunarmoonlanterndragontradition

Lesson plan

Warm-up

4 min

Daily Calendar Circle. Then preview: 'Today we meet a holiday that uses the MOON to mark when it begins. It is called LUNAR NEW YEAR.' Show a calendar of the Lunar New Year date for this year.

Teacher moves
  • Point to Lunar New Year date on the wall calendar (varies year to year)
  • Show photo of full moon as anchor
  • Affirm any child whose family celebrates

Direct instruction

9 min

LUNAR NEW YEAR is a holiday many families celebrate, especially families with roots in China, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, and other places. It begins on a different day each year, because it follows the moon — that's what LUNAR means. Listen to Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin. Notice how the family in the book gets ready.

Key examples
  • Notice the family in the book — they are doing things TOGETHER as a family to welcome the new year.
    model Tradition 1: sweep the house clean before the new year. Tradition 2: hang up red lanterns. Tradition 3: have a big family dinner. Tradition 4: watch or dance the dragon dance.
    prompt Read Bringing in the New Year (Grace Lin) — pause on the sweeping, lantern, dragon, and dumpling pages
Checks for understanding
  • What does LUNAR mean?
  • Name one Lunar New Year tradition.
Sourcework
Source type
picture book as class source
Routine
Read-aloud -> identify 3 traditions -> add to Holidays-We-Share Wall
Details
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin (2008) — a Chinese-American family preparing for Lunar New Year.
Media
M-K-S-CUL-06-A Illustration
Reproduction of Grace Lin cover — a Chinese-American family in red clothing, dragon dance in foreground, lanterns above,

Reproduction of Grace Lin cover — a Chinese-American family in red clothing, dragon dance in foreground, lanterns above, all in bright red and gold. Cover lettering 'BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR' in 3-inch warm red. Style: Grace Lin's signature flat illustration with patterned details.

Guided practice

7 min
Tasks
  • Pass red envelope samples; in pairs, discuss 'what do you think goes inside?'
    scaffold Show picture of red envelope with small money inside; explain it's a wish for luck
  • Watch 90-second dragon dance video clip
    scaffold Children can sway or move arms with the music if seated
Media
M-K-S-CUL-06-B Manipulative Physical / non-image

Set of 12 empty red envelopes (hong bao) approximately 3.5x7 inches each, with traditional gold Chinese characters meaning 'good fortune' or 'spring'. One sample with a paper coin inside for show-and-tell. Cards explain envelope tradition in English and Chinese.

M-K-S-CUL-06-C Video Physical / non-image

90-second video of a multi-person dragon dance at a community Lunar New Year celebration. Bright red and gold dragon with 6-8 dancers underneath; drumming and cymbal soundtrack at child-safe volume; daylight outdoor setting; close-ups of the dragon's head and the dancers' feet visible. Captioned 'Dragon dance — many cities hold these parades for Lunar New Year.'

Formative assessment

2 min
Exit ticket
  • Name one Lunar New Year tradition. Use a full sentence: 'During Lunar New Year, some families ___.'
scoring Names tradition with sentence frame = mastery; names without frame = practicing; cannot name = re-teach with picture cue

Closure

Moves
  • Add Lunar New Year tile to Holidays-We-Share Wall
  • Preview: tomorrow we'll meet Eid

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • If your family celebrates Lunar New Year, tell us one thing you do. If your family doesn't, ask a family member: 'What is OUR family's new year like?'

Exercises in this lesson

hist.gK.s.cul.holidays_traditions.ex_02
Match each holiday to one of its traditions: Lunar New Year, MLK Day, Eid, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa.
 match holiday to tradition · diff 2

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Tradition picture cards (sweep / lantern / dragon / dumpling) for matching
  • Sentence frame on tables
  • Bilingual book copies
Extensions
  • Find Lunar New Year on the calendar for this year and next year
  • Name a tradition not in the book (firecrackers, money envelopes, special clothes)
English Learners
  • Bilingual Mandarin/Vietnamese/Korean/English vocabulary cards
  • Invite children/families who celebrate to share — but only if they choose
Ieps 504s
  • Allow drawing instead of speaking
  • Pre-printed tradition cards
  • Extended time

Teacher notes

Lunar New Year is celebrated by many families — Chinese, Vietnamese (Tet), Korean (Seollal), Mongolian (Tsagaan Sar), Tibetan (Losar). Acknowledge this multiplicity. Date varies each year — anchor on the actual calendar. If a child's family celebrates, invite them to bring something to share NEXT WEEK (don't pressure same-day). Be aware: not all East Asian / Southeast Asian families celebrate (some Korean Christian families do not; some Vietnamese-American families have stopped). Never assume. The book Bringing in the New Year is widely available and developmentally appropriate for K.