This Chinese New Year zodiac story presentation for schools introduces the traditional tale of the Great Race. Use it as part of your whole-class guided reading or as part of your Chinese New Year topic.
Children will love the beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. It’s an engaging way for primary students to learn about the origins of the Chinese zodiac and the 12 animals that represent each year.
Chinese New Year story
This Chinese New Year story presentation explains how the Jade Emperor in China organised a race to help measure time.
He invited 13 animals to compete. The order in which they finished would determine the order of the zodiac years. However, he would only select 12 animals, assigning each one assigned a specific year.
The story recounts the cleverness of the rat, who, despite not being a strong swimmer, manages to win the race by riding on the ox’s back and then jumping ahead to cross the finish line first.
The other animals follow, including the tiger, rabbit, dragon and snake, each with their own reasons for finishing in their respective places.
The last animal to arrive is the pig, who had taken a nap during the race, while the cat, famously pushed into the water by the rat, does not make it at all.
This activity is useful for teaching children about Chinese New Year and cultural traditions. It encourages comprehension and sequencing skills as students put the events of the story in order.
This Chinese New Year story presentation provides a great opportunity to discuss values like teamwork, cleverness and perseverance, as demonstrated by the various animals.
This resource also supports cross-curricular learning, linking literacy, geography and cultural studies.
Mrs Mactivity is an early years and primary learning resources site, with new resources uploaded every week. Browse more Chinese New Year activities for schools.
