Lunar New Year Activities for 3rd-5th Grade

Introduce your upper elementary students to the vibrant traditions and cultural significance of Lunar New Year with this engaging and standards-aligned bundle. Featuring a mix of informational text, interactive activities, comprehension tasks, and creative outputs, this set supports reading, social studies, and cultural awareness while keeping learners actively involved.

What’s Included?

• All About Chinese New Year PowerPoint
  A classroom-ready slideshow that teaches students about the origins, customs, symbols, and celebrations of Chinese New Year and other Lunar New Year traditions. Easy to present for whole-class instruction or discussion starters.
• Lunar New Year Fact Wheel Activity
  A hands-on graphic organizer that challenges students to synthesize key facts and display them in an interactive format. Great for reinforcing learning and displaying student work.
• Lunar New Year Folding Cards
  Creative printable cards students can color and assemble—perfect for family outreach, bulletin boards, or as a keepsake to celebrate the season.
• Lunar New Year Reading Comprehension (3rd Grade)
  A leveled informational text with questions designed to build reading comprehension and content knowledge appropriate for third graders.
• Lunar New Year Same or Different Reading Activity (5th Grade)
  A comparative comprehension passage and task that encourages higher-order thinking by having older students analyze similarities and differences in Lunar New Year practices.
• Lunar New Year Word Search (3rd–5th Grade)
  A themed vocabulary activity to reinforce key terms related to Lunar New Year celebrations and customs in an engaging way.

Why You’ll Love It

• Culturally Enriching – Helps students learn about an important holiday celebrated across many countries, fostering global awareness and respect.
• Cross-Curricular – Supports both social studies and literacy standards through comprehension, vocabulary development, and informational learning.
• Differentiated & Flexible – Includes appropriate content for both third and fifth grade, making it easy to adapt for mixed classrooms or differentiated groups.
• Student-Centered – Combines reading, creativity, and hands-on activities for an engaging learning experience.

How Can I Use These in My Classroom?

1. Launch your unit with the PowerPoint to introduce key concepts and traditions associated with Lunar New Year.
2. Build content knowledge through the reading comprehension activities, using grade-level texts and thoughtful question sets.
3. Reinforce vocabulary with the word search as a center activity or independent practice.
4. Encourage synthesis and creativity with the fact wheel and folding cards—students can share what they learned with peers or display their work.
5. Extend learning through class discussions about traditions, symbolism, and how students’ own celebrations compare and contrast to Lunar New Year practices.

This Lunar New Year bundle equips you with a meaningful and engaging way to celebrate culture, boost literacy, and deepen students’ understanding of global traditions in your 3rd–5th grade classroom.

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