Vietnamese American History Part II

This lesson falls under our home school curriculum on Asian American History. We recommend that this lesson be taught after the lesson on Vietnamese Americans I.

1. Internet Access – Pull up the following:

1. YouTube Access on “How to Make Tet New Year’s Scroll”

2. “New Year” design

3. Two extra long straws (like the long "Slurpee" straws at 7-Eleven)

4. Stapler

5. Yarn or ribbon

6. Crayons/Markers

1. Teacher: Last lesson we learned about Asian Americans called the Vietnamese Americans. The Vietnamese Americans brought their tradition of celebrating their New Year, called “Tet” [if you need help on how to pronounce this word, click here. Click the red speaker symbol to hear how the word is pronounced].

2. Teacher: Just like our American New Year, Tet is a giant celebration with lots of food, candy, and something that is different than our New Year, bowing to your parents and family members older than you to get money!

3. Teacher: All you have to do is bow down to your parents and older family members while saying “Happy New Year”, then your parents and older family members give you money in red envelopes. Do you think that a good idea? [Engage the Student in conversation but make the point that the act of bowing is an example of how respected older people are in the Vietnamese family].

4. Teacher: Today, we’re going to make and decorate a Tet scroll that says, “New Year”. Here is the way you write “New Year” in Chinese [give Student the “New Year” design]. Now, why do you think the Vietnamese use Chinese to write “New Year”? [Engage the Student in conversation].

5. Teacher: The reason why “New Year” is written in Chinese is because China is Vietnam’s neighbor and since China is such a big country, it gave Vietnam a lot of its own things, like the alphabet. Even though Vietnamese has it own written alphabet today, long time ago Vietnam used the Chinese way to write stuff. And so, since New Year’s Day was celebrated from a very long time ago, Vietnamese write the word “New Year” using Chinese.

1. Teacher: [Pointing to the “New Year” design] Ok, so this is the symbol for “New Year” used during Tet. First let’s decorate this word using crayons and markers. [Wait until the Student finishes coloring the words].

2. [Refer to the YouTube video link above on how to make a New Year's scroll or click video below. Make sure the Teacher is helping and guiding the Student along with her scroll].







3. Teacher: Great job! That’s a great looking scroll.

Next Week's Lesson: Indian Americans >>