Qing Ming Festival: Lesson Plan
Suitable for Grade K - 3
Ignite Curiosity!
Look at these seven images that represent an important Chinese festival.
Predict: What might the festival be about?
What might happen at this festival?
Explore Ideas!
WHAT IS TOMB SWEEPING DAY?
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.
Create!
MAKE a Kite
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.
Make a spring bossom painting
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!
- 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.
Post!
- Tag @MegGlobalEd on school posts so we can celebrate your students’ wonderful work. Find Meg on Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Instagram.
