Qing Ming Festival: Lesson Plan

Suitable for Grade K - 3

Look at these seven
images that
represent an
important Chinese
festival.

Predict: What might
the festival be about?

• What might happen at
  this festival?

Qingming Festival, which is known as Tomb Sweeping Festival is an important festival in Chinese culture that
acknowledges Chinese ancestors who have passed away.

Popular activities during this festival include:

• Sweeping and decorating ancestral graves
• Making food offerings
• Burning paper money
• Having picnics and kite flying
• Eat Qingtuan - green dumplings made from
  glutinous rice and mugwort of barley grass

Activity:

• Watch the video to learn more about the festival
  and associated activities.

Popular activities for children on this day, other than visiting
and sweeping the graves of their ancestors, are kite flying and
admiring the Spring blossoms that come out this time of year.

Activity:

Watch and listen to the Kite song. Learn the Kite Song and sing
it together!

Activity:

Make a kite! Use this video, or your own resources, to build a
kite in pairs or groups. Then take your kites outside and fly
them on a windy day.

Qing Ming literally means ‘clear’ and ‘bright’ which describes the
weather in China at this time.

Spring blossoms are out around the time of Qing Ming Festival
and are beautiful to look at.

Activity:

Create your own blossom painting using cotton buds.

Extension Activity:

Discuss which plants and animals you see in your local
community and habitats during Spring. You can use these
questions:

• What changes do you notice during Springtime?
• Why do you think these changes happen?
• Do you think these changes are the same everywhere else in
  our country? In the world? Why/why not?

Share!

Post!

• Share your students’ fantastic work with your school community to show them the great intercultural
  learning taking place in your classroom!

• Create a Learning Wall for all the learning your class makes about this festival and their new cultural
  knowledge!

• Prepare a short piece to share at assembly or even to other classrooms to educate others about this
  festival.

• Tag @MegGlobalEd on school posts so we can celebrate your students’ wonderful work. Find Meg on
  Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Instagram.