The Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac.

Like the Western calendar, The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Therefore, because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. This year it falls on February 14th. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each.

The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart."

Assign a report of at least 100 words (or a presentation of at least five slides) that cites at least two resources. Student reports/presentations should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):

• What is the Chinese Zodiac and how is it useful to the Chinese?
  
  
• How is the Chinese calendar related to the movements of the sun and the moon?
  
  
• How is the Chinese calendar different than the western calendar used in the U.S.?
  
  
• What does the year of the Tiger symbolize to persons born under that sign?

Type "Chinese Calendar" in the Keyword Search box.

Use our custom ProQuest models for written or PowerPoint reports written and PowerPoint-style reports.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated February 14, 2010, and is designated as the Year of the Tiger. The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries. It predates the currently used International Calendar (based on the Christian or Gregorian Calendar) which goes back only some 430 years.

Basically, a calendar is a system we use to measures the passage of time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to intervals of time measured in days, months, years and centuries. These are fundamentally based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars. Days are measured by the duration of time of one rotation of the earth. Months are measured by the duration of time that the moon circles once around the Earth. Years are measured by the duration of time it takes for the earth to rotate once around the Sun.

Chinese calendar is a lunar-solar calendar based on the motions of the sun and the moon as observed on the earth. While each month is determined by the moon and thus is lunar, the solar terms, are determined by the positions of the sun. That's why the date of the first day of a lunar month varies but the date of a solar term stays relatively fixed.

The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of its twelve year cycles after an animal. This is called the Chinese Zodiac and is similar in its function with western astrological signs and their attributes. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived.

The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart." The children born in 2010 will have a tiger in their hearts.

eLibrary Elementary BookCarts are flexible lesson plans for inquiry-based learning activities. Instead of sending students out to search eLibrary Elementary, and often spend limited research time in finding and selecting topic-appropriate resources, assign students to open a BookCart learning activity.

You'll find that this saves frustration and classroom time that can be used more effectively for learning and presentation. You can edit the existing student directions and essential questions in the Cart to customize it for your students. You can also add the call number of your library print resources to make it easier for students to find resources in the library.

ProQuest has created a BookCart learning activity for your students to use: "Chinese Calendar and Zodiac.

It includes examples of essential questions for critical thinking that you can use to guide your students to think critically about the topic. Here are the instructions for you to copy this BookCart learning activity into your local collection for students to use:

• Logon to the TEACHER EDITION to access BOOKCART EDITOR.
• Click the BOOCART ADMIN link to the right.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "Chinese Calendar and Zodiac" in the SEARCH box
• Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

This BookCart can easily be edited to differentiate the assignment for your students:

• Click the new BookCart TITLE with the prefix "COPY OF".
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your first and last name in the AUTHOR boxes.
• Type your initials in the EMAIL box (required filler).
• Option: Edit the sample of STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Option: Type call numbers for print resources related to this topic.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click MY LOCAL CARTS tab to see your newly edited and ready to use learning activity.

ProQuest recommends that you copy and assign the BookCart learning activity outlined above as your best option. BookCart learning activities save valuable classroom/library time and help reduce any confusion about what students should do. Editor-selected resources, essential questions, and student directions combine in a one-stop, inquiry-based BookCart learning activity.

If you prefer the traditional search learning activity, know that it is similar to the BookCart learning activity. However, it depends on students finding and selecting the best information from the Search results—not always easy at the K-8 level.

Assign students to learn more about calendars and specifically the Chinese calendar system. Students should create a report of at least 100 words or a presentation of at least five slides that cites at least three resources. These reports/presentations should address the following examples of essential questions for critical thinking (you can create or substitute others):

• How is the Chinese calendar related to the motion of the moon and sun?
  
  
• How is the Chinese calendar different than the calendar that we use in the US?
  
  
• What is the Chinese zodiac and how do the Chinese use it in everyday life?
  
  
• What does it mean to persons born in the year of the Tiger?

1: Type "Chinese Calendar" in the SEARCH box > type "Chinese or Calendar" in the TITLE box of ADVANCED SEARCH.

2: Type "Chinese Zodiac" in the SEARCH box > type "Chinese or Zodiac" in the TITLE box of ADVANCED SEARCH.

Use our custom ProQuest models for written or PowerPoint reports written and PowerPoint-style reports.