Students can determine the animal that rules the year of their birth by consulting a list of Chinese zodiac animals and the years that they rule. For fifth graders born in 2001, for example, the animal of the Chinese zodiac representing them would be the snake. For those born in 2000, it's the dragon, and for those born in 2002 their animal is the horse.
Once each student has identified his animal, he can create an original poster of the animal. Students can create a collage of photos from magazines that depicts their animal and can place them alongside people who exhibit that animal's distinguishing traits. Then they can write a few paragraphs that provide examples of how their own behavior resembles that of the zodiac animal and attach these to their poster. Display the finished products in your classroom.
Discuss the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac with the students, what years they are associated with and their general characteristics. Ask the students to take notes during the classroom discussion. Then divide the class into teams of three of four and have the teams compete by answering questions about the Chinese zodiac. Some possible questions to ask include: "What animal represents you, if you were born in 2001?" "Which letter of the alphabet begins the most names of Chinese zodiac animals?" and, "Can all Chinese zodiac animals be found on earth today?" You can award a prize to the team that answers the most questions correctly.
For this activity, students can choose any Chinese zodiac animal that interests them. Have each student identify three or four famous people who share the animal the student has chosen. Each student should then research their famous people, making note of careers, hobbies and noted characteristics that fit the zodiac description. For example, a student researching famous "rat" people might look into the similarities between Shakespeare, George Washington, Mozart and Winston Churchill, all born under the sign of the rat. Ask students to share their findings in an informal presentation to the class.
Have your students read the legend of how the Chinese zodiac animals came to be chosen. Discuss the animal characteristics of each Chinese zodiac animal with your students. Each student will then choose at least two of these animals as the characters for a short story. Before they begin writing, students should consider how the characteristics of the animals they select for their story might cause them to interact and what conflicts might arise. Ask students to read their finished stories to the classroom and discuss the different scenarios that students created using the animals of the Chinese zodiac.