American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

Issue: May/June 2009

Integrating Multicultural Education: Activities to Celebrate the Chinese New Year
Wei Bian, Jianyu Wang, & Betsy McKinley

Abstract: Holiday and festival celebrations are a unique form of cultural expression. Physical activities associated with cultural traditions offer the perfect opportunity for physical educators to integrate interdisciplinary teaching in their programs. This article focuses on the application of a multicultural perspective by introducing 12 station tasks and activities that relate the Chinese calendar animal signs with the theme of the Chinese New Year celebration. Each station—named after an animal of the Chinese calendar—introduces the animal, the birth years represented by it, and specific characteristics of the animal. The article also describes the organization of each station activity and the equipment needed. Many of the activities included are games that Chinese children have played for generations such as the Dragon Dance, Chinese Yo-Yo, and the Tai Chi stance. Physical education teachers can apply selected activities in class for a cultural appreciation day or for movement and fitness development in their classes.

Article category: Curriculum