Born in the Year of the Rabbit
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Born in the Year of the Rabbit
This resource is based on the article "Born in the Year of the Rabbit" by Peter Miriams in the School Journal, Part 2, Number 3, 2008
The Chinese Calendar
Use the chart on page 13 to find out what animal is named for your birth year.
Complete the sentences …
In 2010 it will be the year of the ____________.
In 1995 it was the year of the ___________.
Extend the Chinese calendar chart to make it go back to 1965. From your new chart find out what animal is named for the birth year of each person in your family.
What is the significance of the animals? What does it mean to be born in the year of the Tiger or the year of the Snake? Use the Internet to find out more information about the Chinese calendar and the belief system behind it.
The Daily Life of Hua Yan
Find Hua Yan’s home town on a world map. Find your own home town.
1 block or cuisenaire rod = 2 million people. Lay out enough blocks or cuisenaire rods to represent the population of Henan. Find out the population of New Zealand (which is nearly the same size as the province of Henan). Use the blocks or cuisenaire rods to show the population of New Zealand. Find out the population of China and add more blocks or cuisenaire rods to represent this.
What do the blocks or cuisenaire rods show us? Consider and discuss how different it would be to live in a country with a very large population. What do you think Hua Yan would notice about New Zealand if he visited?
Pages 16 and 17 describe Hua Yan’s daily life. Draw a weekly timetable to show the following:
- when Hua Yan is at school,
- when Hua Yan is doing his homework,
- when Hua Yan is with his family,
- when Hua Yan is having free leisure time.
Track your daily life for a week and complete a timetable like the one you drew for Hua Yan. Show your time at school, your time doing homework, your time with your family and your leisure time.
Make a graph to compare your weekly timetables. What does the graph tell us about the differences in your lives? Write some statements.
Pretend that you are Hua Yan and you have been asked to describe your daily life to a child living in New Zealand. Summarise the key points from the article and write a one minute speech to share with another class.
Write another one minute speech to describe your own daily life.
