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Getting Started Observed by people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Mongolian heritage, the Lunar New Year is a time of modern festivity and ancient tradition. As the celebration became widespread in America, the U.S. Postal Service responded with stamps that illustrate some of its most notable symbols and signs, including a tiger, an ox, and a rat. In this set of four lessons, students examine the stamps and learn some of the back story. The lessons are divided into grades K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. The youngest students build their vocabulary by describing what they see on the stamps. Older students read the book My Chinatown: One Year in Poems to deepen their understanding. Download Lesson and Materials for grades K–2 (ZIP file, 1 Mb) Download Lesson and Materials for grades 3–5 (ZIP file, 5 Mb) Download Lesson and Materials for grades 6–8 (ZIP file, 8 Mb) Download Lesson and Materials for grades 9–12 (ZIP file, 8 Mb) These lessons are produced by the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. Teachers may duplicate the materials for educational purposes. Development of this lesson plan was sponsored by Target.