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Chinese New Year Dragon Parade

Chinese New Year Dragon Parade

Learn about Chinese New Year and create dragon puppets to use in a Chinese New Year parade.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Sticks
  • Paper Cups
  • Paper Plate(s)
  • Recycled Plastic Containers

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have students learn about Chinese New Year celebrations. What are some of the traditional holiday foods? Why are red banners hung from homes? What other customs are there? Talk about the significance of dragon dances, which have been used in ceremonial events since the Han Dynasty (202 BCE to 220 BCE). They are performed by a dance team that manipulates a long flexible dragon puppet. The dragon is thought to bring good luck and is believed to possess qualities associated with dignity and wisdom.

  • Step 2

    To create a dragon puppet, have students use recycled containers and cups as segments of the body. They can decorate pieces of construction paper and glue them to the body segments, then attach a craft stick to each segment. A paper plate and recycled cup can be used to create the dragon's face.

  • Step 3

    Have students parade around the classroom to present their creations.

Standards

SS: Culture: Create, learn, share, and adapt to culture.

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities.

Adaptations

Invite someone with expertise on Chinese culture to come and speak to the class. Have students prepare questions in advance of the visit.

Dragons are mythical creatures, but there are real creatures that have segmented bodies. An arthropod is an invertebrate that has a segmented body and jointed appendages. Have students investigate some of these, such as ants, bees, spiders, centipedes, and shrimp.