Bibliotherapy by Shannon Draper

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Bibliotherapy by Shannon Draper
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Overview

• Chin Chiang has long dreamed of dancing the
  dragon's dance, but when the first day of the
  Year of the Dragon arrives and he is to dance
  with his grandfather, he is sure he will shame
  his family and bring bad luck to everyone.
• This is a wonderful story about overcoming
  one's fears and trying one's best. It is also a
  contemporary story about Chinese New Year as it
  is celebrated in a large Canadian city.

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Objectives

• Students show empathy for the character and his
  fears and can share relevant examples from their
  own lives
• Students demonstrate an understanding of what
  makes the character and themselves special and
  unique
• Students will learn that families express their
  cultures through traditions, rituals and
  celebrations
• Students will recognize that different groups of
  people celebrate holidays unique to them
• Students will appreciate and value their own
  heritage and that of others
• Students will learn about important traditions,
  rituals and celebrations in other countries

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Grade Level and Classroom Setting

• Grade 2
• 7 8 year olds

• This bibliotherapy will be used as part of a
  Grade 2 thematic unit done at the beginning of
  the year called All about Me. During this unit
  students explore the things that make them unique
  and special. Students will investigate their own
  cultural heritage and traditions. The end of the
  unit focuses on cultural traditions and
  celebrations of people in different parts of the
  world.

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Synopsis
From the time Chin Chiang was small he dreamed
of dancing the dragons dance. Now the first day
of the Year of the Dragon has arrived and his
dream is going to come true. But instead of
being excited, Chin Chiang is so scared he wants
to melt into his shoes. He knows he could never
dance well enough to make his grandfather proud
of him. Though Chin Chiang has practiced and
practiced with Grandfather, he still feels too
clumsy. While everyone is busy preparing for
the evenings festivities, Chin Chiang runs away
down the street to the public library. He races
up to the roof where no one will find him. But
someone does come someone who helps Chin Chiang
solve his problems. He meets the janitor who
cleans the library. She used to dance the
dragons dance many years ago and Chin Chiang
thinks he has found a replacement to dance for
him as long as he can convince her. Together
they practice and when they hear the start of the
parade they go to see. The dragon is coming out
to dance and Chin Chiang, encouraged by his
grandfather, decides to dance. Chin Chiang does a
great job and the family and Chin Chiangs new
friend celebrate with traditional food and
presents.
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Themes Explored in the Book

• Facing your fears
• Chinese culture and traditions
• Perseverance
• The kindness of strangers
• Making friends when you least expect it

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Introductory Activities

• Before we share the book students will have
  talked about the meaning of the words tradition
  (A long-continued practice or custom ) and
  celebration (a joyful occasion for special
  festivities to mark some happy event) .
• Interview Have the children interview their
  parents about traditions that they have in their
  families. Have the children ask their parents how
  this tradition was started and what special
  meanings it has. Encourage children to ask about
  traditions connected to holidays or celebrations.
  Have children draw a picture about their
  tradition and write a short sentence about it.
  These pictures will be shared with the class,
  then bound together as a "Traditions" book that
  can be enjoyed by the class.
• Tell the students that they will be listening
  to a story that tells of a special tradition and
  celebration in one boys family. Have them look
  at the front cover of the book and share ideas
  about what they think the book is about.
• Ask the students where they think the boy is
  from and why they think that (while they read the
  book the students will reflect on their answers).

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Discussion Questions

• What are some of the things people do to
  celebrate Chinese New Year?
• Where do you think the story takes place and
  why?
• Where is Chin Chiang from? Was your guess at
  the beginning right? Can you assume that someone
  is from somewhere in particular just because of
  how they look or what their name is?
• Does your family celebrate any cultural
  traditions or holidays from another country other
  than Colombia?
• Why does Chin Chiang run away? What did you
  think when he did that? Have you ever
  experienced a time when you were scared like Chin
  Chiang? What did you do?

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• What Does Chin Chiang learn from Pu Yee?
• What does Pu Yee learn from Chin Chiang?
• What do you think is special about Chin Chiang?
  Pu Yee?
• Can you think of something you have done that
  involves lots of practice and persistence? How
  did you feel when you finished and were
  successful?
• Do you think that Chin Chiang will remember this
  celebration for a long time after? Why or why
  not?
• What else would you like to learn about Chinese
  New Year?

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Follow-up Activities
Integrated Thematic Enrichment

• Guest Speaker If possible find someone of
  Chinese descent, or someone who has visited China
  or been involved in a Chinese New Year
  celebration somewhere. Have them talk with the
  class about the things they heard, saw and did
  during the celebration. Encourage the speaker to
  bring any artifacts and pictures they may have.
  Have them individually write the speaker thank
  you notes. Have them include specific things that
  they learned from the speaker.
• Dragon Dance Let children work in groups of
  3-4 to make their own dragon costume. Paint a
  large dragon's head on a grocery bag. Attach a
  long piece of butcher paper for the body.
  Decorate it with glitter, sequins and feathers to
  make it more fancy. Have the children make up
  dances and take turns being the head and the
  body.  

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• Making Red Envelopes Have the children make
  money out of foil and paper to put in the
  envelopes. Give them squares of red paper. Have
  them fold in the corners to meet in the middle
  and seal it with a gold sticker. If they wish,
  they can decorate the envelope to make it more
  special. The envelopes could be given to friends
  or family members.  
• Painting Fireworks Give the children pieces of
  black paper. Have them put small drops of paint
  on their picture and then blow these drops with a
  straw. Before the paint is dry, have them
  sprinkle glitter on the pictures. Have the
  children see if they can think of other ways to
  paint fireworks.  
• Making good luck symbols In China, the word
  for good luck is fu (FOO). (Explain to the
  children that Chinese characters are like our
  alphabet.) People paint signs with this character
  to hang in their homes and in the streets. These
  signs are painted in the traditional red and gold
  colors and are hung upside-down. The Chinese word
  for upside-down rhymes with the Chinese word for
  arrive. So it is kind of a play on words that by
  hanging the sign upside-down, good luck will
  arrive. Have the children use red squares to make
  their own fu sign. They can either draw the
  character themselves or decorate a pre-made sign
  using gold and red paint and glitter.

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• Compare and Contrast This activity is to help
  children compare Chinese New Year celebration
  with the New Year celebrated on January first.
  Have children take a piece of paper and construct
  a Venn Diagram (two overlapping circles). Have
  them title one circle "Chinese New Year" and the
  other circle "January 1st New Year" label the
  overlapping piece "same". Have them fill out the
  diagram with information that is unique about
  each celebration, and have them fill out the
  overlapping section with things that each
  celebration has in common. After they work on it
  alone, let them get into small groups and share
  their ideas with each other
• Further Reading Lion Dancer Ernie Wan's
  Chinese New Year by Waters, Kate and Madeline
  Slovenz-Low. (1990)
• Group Project After learning about Chinese
  New Year as a whole group students will break
  into 4 or 5 small groups to investigate
  traditional celebrations in other countries.
  Each group will research a different country and
  one of its traditional celebrations. They will
  then share what they learned with the class.
  After all the groups have shared students will
  each write about what celebration they liked best
  and why.

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Bibliography
Wallace, Ian. (1984). Chin Chiang and the
Dragon's Dance. Toronto Groundwood.