Tết Lunar New Year Lanterns

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Tết Lunar New Year Lanterns 

Red lanterns hanging for Lunar New Year decorations

Author: Tori Phù
Grade: 4

Suggested Amount of Time: 60 - 75 Minutes
Area of Study: Vietnamese Resettlement and Community Building

Compelling Question

  • What is Vietnamese America?

Lesson Questions
  • What does the lantern symbolize for Tết Lunar New Year?
  • What is the significance of Tết Lunar New Year to the Vietnamese American community?
Lesson Objective

Students will explore and describe the meaning of Vietnamese Tết Lunar New Year and the major symbol for the holiday by gathering facts from a video clip and creating a lantern. 

Lesson Background

Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian countries and marks the start of spring, according to the lunar calendar. In the Vietnamese community, Lunar New Year is referred to as Tết. The community members use this celebration as a time for renewal and a fresh start. Not only do Vietnamese people use this time to pay respects to their ancestors that have passed, but they also welcome in the New Year with their family. Celebrations are often decorated with bright flowers, red and yellow decorations, lanterns, and much more. 

Image Citation: Media Storehouse. (2024, May 22). Prints of Vietnam, Hanoi, Tet Lunar New Year, red lanterns. Media Storehouse Photo Prints. https://www.mediastorehouse.com/danita-delimont/asia/vietnam/vietnam-hanoi-tet-lunar-new-year-red-lanterns-13924993.html

Ethnic Studies Theme

This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of community and solidarity from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students analyze community resistance and alliances between communities, as well as the complexities within these experiences. Students can discuss how new year and cultural celebrations, regardless of differences, bring people together across the world. 

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2021)  https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

Historical Thinking Skills

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in historical significance, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). Students make personal decisions about what is historically significant, and then consider the criteria they use to make those decisions. Students consider how events, people, or developments have historical significance if they are revealing. That is, they shed light on enduring or emerging issues in history or contemporary life.

Supplies
  • Brightly Colored Construction paper (yellow, red, orange)
  • Scissors
  • Glue/Tape
  • Markers 
Videos
  • “Lunar New Year for Kids”
  • “Super Simple Lunar New Year Craft: Colorful Chinese Paper Lantern”
  • “How To Make A Chinese Paper Lantern | Fun Kids Activities”
  1. Cultural Energizer - Favorite Holidays (5 minutes)
    1. Ask students to share their favorite holiday(s), and what they typically do to celebrate that holiday. 
    2. Explain to students that each culture celebrates different holidays, and even within one holiday, everyone might celebrate it differently. 
    3. Teachers can list out holidays if students cannot think of any: New Years, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Dia de los Muertos, Lunar New Year, Easter, etc. 
    4. Inform students that today’s focus will be on Lunar New Year. 
  2. Warm-Up (10 minutes) 
    1. Teachers can display common icons and symbols for each holiday on the screen. 
      1. Potential list of icons or symbols: fireworks, pumpkin, turkey, Christmas tree, heart, skull, lantern
    2. Have students see if they can quickly identify what symbol represents which holiday. 
      1. Teacher to point out the lantern and ask if any students know the meaning or context of that. 
  3. Interaction with first source (15 minutes)
    1. Provide an overview of Lunar New Year to students utilizing the lesson background, and the following Youtube video, “Lunar New Year for Kids” (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm9LJC_5g2o) 
      1. First View: Ask students to share one thing that stood out to them
      2. Second View: Ask students to pose a question or wondering of something from the video
      3. Third View: Teacher to ask students to compile a list of symbols, icons, colors that seem to be representative of this holiday 
        1. Students might respond with: dragons, red, flowers, lantern, red envelopes, yellow
      4. Teacher to place emphasis on the bright lantern 
  4. Interaction with second source (15 minutes)
    1. Teacher to provide a list of ten fun facts about the lantern for students to read. This list can be provided on a hand-out to students with visuals, or made accessible on the screen for the whole class to read. Teachers can also read these facts out loud to class.
    2. List suggestions about lantern fun facts:
      1. Lanterns represent good luck.
      2. Lanterns are a way to honor our ancestors that have passed.
      3. Lanterns bring hope to the new year.
      4. Lanterns get rid of the darkness. 
      5. Lanterns symbolize a bright year.
      6. Lanterns are often used for decorations.
      7. Lanterns are usually the color red, for energy.
      8. Lanterns can come in different shapes and sizes.
      9.  Lanterns may be used to help pray for fortune in the new year.
      10.  Children sometimes hold lanterns in parades.
      11. Teachers can add additional context on this holiday by paraphrasing and sharing the following quote: "Tết is a huge holiday in Vietnam marking the start of the Lunar New Year. In the first few years of the Vietnam War, there had been decreased fighting around the holiday, so US troops and its allied forces thought that would continue in 1968. But enemy leaders saw it as the perfect time to pounce. Not only would the Allies be unprepared, but holiday travelers would provide good cover for the Viet Cong to make their move." From the US Department of Defense. 2024, January 23. Highlighting history: How “Tết” began The end of Vietnam. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/3291950/highlighting-history-how-Tết-began-the-end-of-vietnam/ 
  5. Cultural Production (20 minutes)
    1. Provide materials to students to create their own paper lanterns. Alternatively, students can draw their lanterns. The final product can be open to a written, visual, or audio narrative. 
      1. Teachers should make the lantern before hand to show a sample. Teachers should also model how to create the lantern as the video tutorials are being shown. 
    2. The following are video tutorials that may serve as a guide:
      1. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFNtNdcGABA 
      2. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZKYGmuZn0 
      3. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCnDOF3M9u4 
    3. If time permits, students can draw designs on their lanterns or hopes and wishes for the new year. 
      1. Alternatively, students can also write five new facts they learned about Lunar New Year or lanterns on their product.
  6. Share Time (15 minutes)
    1. Have students share their lanterns with their classmates. Students should also be prepared to share two or three facts about the symbolism behind lanterns as it relates to Lunar New Year, as well as facts about the holiday. 

Students will create lanterns and present to the class where they express the symbolic meaning of lanterns as it relates to Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Alternatively, students can draw their lanterns.

  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Vary the social demands required for learning or performance, the perceived level of support and protection and the requirements for public display and evaluation
    • Involve all participants in whole class discussions
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Bridge concepts with relevant analogies and metaphors
    • Use multiple examples and non-examples to emphasize critical features
    • Use cues and prompts to draw attention to critical features
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Compose in multiple media such as text, speech, drawing, illustration, design, film, music, dance/movement, visual art, sculpture or video
    • Provide models or examples of the process and product of goal-setting

 

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST, 2018 http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

  • Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:
    • Listening: Use physical gestures to accompany oral directives
    • Listening: Ask for Total Physical Responses from students 
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Listening: Use wait time 
    • Listening: Provide graphics or objects to sequence steps in a process 
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Listening: Confirm students’ prior knowledge of content topics 
      • With a focus on meaning­-making, students are prompted to think about what they already know in effort to help them learn something new.

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

  1. Mid-Autumn Festival - Teachers can introduce students to another recognized holiday by the Vietnamese community: Mid-Autumn Festival. (See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKMkKnMonV0). Students can draw connections between the symbol of the lantern in both holidays.
  2. Red Envelope (Lì Xì) - Teachers can provide background information about the special red envelopes used for Lunar New Year. Similar to this activity, teachers can have students make and design their own red envelopes for good luck. 

American Initiative. 2022. Asian American Studies K-12 Framework.  https://asianamericanresearchinitiative.org/asian-american-studies-curriculum-framework/ 

Britt, K. 2020, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents.  https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

California Department of Education. 2021. Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education.  https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

CAST. 2018. The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

How To Make A Chinese Paper Lantern | Fun Kids Activities. (n.d.). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZKYGmuZn0

Lunar New Year for Kids | Educational Video. (n.d.). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm9LJC_5g2o 

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding.  https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Super Simple Lunar New Year Craft: COLOURFUL CHINESE PAPER LANTERN. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved November 21, 2023.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFNtNdcGABA

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

U.S. Department of Defense. 2024, January 23. Highlighting history: How “TET” began The end of Vietnam. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/3291950/highlighting-history-how-tet-began-the-end-of-vietnam/

 

Supplementary Sources

Tết Tết Tết đến rồi - Ngày Tết Quê Em Cover Nhạc Tết Thiếu Nhi 2022 - Vietnamese Lunar New Year Song. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved November 21, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SYOP9IhC_I

Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival: the “Children’s Festival” | Lacàph | Coffees for the curious. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved November 21, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKMkKnMonV0

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

HSS 1.3 HSS K.6 WL.CN2.N: Diverse Perspectives and Distinctive Viewpoints RI.1.7

Grade(s)

Grade K Grade 1