1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on the Microsoft Educator Network.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location, take a Skype lesson on today’s topic, or invite a guest speaker to expand on today’s subject. And if you are using Windows 8, the panoramas in the MSN Travel App are great teaching tools. We have thousands of other education apps available on Windows here.
Nell Bang-Jensen is a teacher and theater artist living in Philadelphia, PA. Her passion for arts education has led her to a variety of roles including developing curriculum for Philadelphia Young Playwrights and teaching at numerous theaters and schools around the city. She works with playwrights from ages four to ninety on developing new work and is especially interested in alternative literacies and theater for social change. A graduate of Swarthmore College, she currently works in the Artistic Department of the Wilma Theater and, in addition to teaching, is a freelance actor and dramaturg. In 2011, Nell was named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow and spent her fellowship year traveling to seven countries studying how people get their names.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Reading—Literature
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

2. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian?
© Walter Nussbaumer/Corbis
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian?
If January 1 didn’t work out so well for you, perhaps you can try again by celebrating the start of Chinese New Year. With a calendar based on both the phases of the moon and position of the sun, the start of a new lunisolar year varies from year to year.
And if you’re wondering what all of this has to do with a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, refer to the Chinese zodiac, which identifies this as the year of the ram. You may haear it referred to as the year of the goat or sheep as well, primarily because the Chinese word designated in the zodiac chart can mean either sheep, goat, or ram.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 1
Web Search/Thinking
Who are the characters in the myth of the Nian? How would you describe them? 2
Why do people put red lanterns and scrolls on their houses to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 3
Why do people set off firecrackers to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 4
Why is it a tradition for people to clean their homes to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 5
Video Search/Thinking
Watch a video of people celebrating the Chinese New Year. Do you notice any aspects of the myth of the Nian in their celebration?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 1
Web Search/Thinking
Who are the characters in the myth of the Nian? How would you describe them? 2
Why do people put red lanterns and scrolls on their houses to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 3
Why do people set off firecrackers to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 4
Why is it a tradition for people to clean their homes to celebrate the Chinese New Year? 5
Video Search/Thinking
Watch a video of people celebrating the Chinese New Year. Do you notice any aspects of the myth of the Nian in their celebration?

7. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 1
Web Search/Thinking
Who are the characters in the myth of the Nian? How would you describe them?
(Possible Search Queries: “Chinese New Year, myth of the Nian”, “myth behind the Chinese New Year”).
Students should first read a short version of the myth of the Nian, such as the one found here:
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
After reading the myth, students should be able to articulate that the main characters are the god, Nian, the villagers, and Hongjun Laozu. They should then think of some adjectives to describe each of them. Answers will vary but they should be able to explain their choices with concrete evidence from the myth. For example, they might describe the Nian as “aggressive”, “hungry”, or “mean.” They might describe the villagers as “scared”, “resourceful”, or “hopeful.” The monk Hongjun Lazou might be described as “heroic”, “ancient”, or “successful.”

8. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 2
Web Search/Thinking
Why do people put red lanterns and scrolls on their houses to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
(Possible Search Queries: “Chinese New Year, myth of the Nian”, “myth behind the Chinese New Year”).
Students should first read a short version of the myth of the Nian, such as the one found here:
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Students should understand that people put red lanterns and scrolls on their houses to celebrate the Chinese New Year because of the original myth of the Nian. As the story goes, a god visited a villager and told him to put red paper on his house because the Nian was scared of the color red. When the villager tried this, the Nian left his house alone.

9. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 3
Web Search/Thinking
Why do people set off firecrackers to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
(Possible Search Queries: “Chinese New Year, myth of the Nian”, “myth behind the Chinese New Year”).
Students should first read a short version of the myth of the Nian, such as the one found here:
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Students should understand that people set off firecrackers to celebrate the Chinese New Year because of the original myth of the Nian. As the story goes, a god visited a villager and told him to place firecrackers outside his house because the Nian was scared of the color red. When the villager tried this, the Nian left his house alone.

10. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 4
Web Search/Thinking
Why is it a tradition for people to clean their homes to celebrate the Chinese New Year?
(Possible Search Queries: “Chinese New Year, myth of the Nian”, “myth behind the Chinese New Year”, “how do people celebrate the Chinese New Year?”).
Students should first read a short version of the myth of the Nian, such as the one found here:
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Students should then conduct an additional search to find why people clean their homes on the Chinese New Year, and connect this practice to the myth. From
It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck.
Students should connect the myth of the Nian to the idea of sweeping away ill-fortune. Although people may not actually be scared of the Nian today, the Chinese New Year is a chance for them to cleanse themselves of any other bad luck or fears and focus on the idea of good things to come.

11. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian? 5
Video Search/Thinking
Watch a video of people celebrating the Chinese New Year. Do you notice any aspects of the myth of the Nian in their celebration?
(Possible Search Queries: “Bing/Videos: Chinese New Year celebration”, “Bing/Videos: parade for Chinese New Year”).
Students should first read a short version of the myth of the Nian, such as the one found here:
According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack any more people. One day a villager decided to get revenge of the Nian. A god visited him and told him to put red paper on his house and to place firecrackers. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Students should then watch a video, such as the one found here: and think about if they notice aspects of that myth in the video. Answers will vary. In this particular example, the beast of Nian is featured prominently. Students might also notice the use of the color red and the loud, crashing sounds in the background (maybe to emulate the sound of firecrackers).

12. What are three ways people celebrate the Chinese New Year today that come from the original myth of the Nian?
Students should be able to tell the story of the myth of Nian in their own words, and understand that many of the ways that the Chinese New Year is celebrated today come from that myth. For example, the color red and the lighting of firecrackers were all thought to scare the beast of the Nian away. Houses were cleaned to avoid bad omens and make way for good things ahead. This is an opportunity for students to recount a myth from another culture, and also see it’s influence in the lives of many people today in the way they celebrate this holiday.