The Great Race Activity

Tell the story about The Great Race to kids with a fun play activity.

The Great Race is a captivating tale that narrates the origins of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac, making it one of the most renowned stories shared during Chinese New Year. In this activity, we watched a short film illustrating the Great Race, allowing us to identify the twelve animals in English, Tagalog, and Dutch.

How to create The Great Race activity:

Materials needed:

Recycled cardboard
Colored papers
Colored popsicle sticks
Red design paper
Black marker
Scissors
Glue gun and stick
Small round label sticker
Pencil

Instructions:

Sketch and cut the different parts of the animals from the colored papers.
Glue the pieces together.
Attach each animal to the popsicle sticks.
Write the numbers 1 to 12 on the label sticker and stick them under each animal. This is based on the order of The Great Race’s winners.
Cut out two rectangles from the cardboard and attach around 2 inches of red pattern paper to the bottom.
Divide each red paper into six sections.
Place the names of each animal into each section and write the numbers 1 to 12 on the top part of the cardboards.
For the river, sketch some wave shapes and cut them out from the blue colored paper.

How to play:

While reading the book or watching The Great Race film, say the name of the animals (in English or any language you prefer) before placing them in their proper numbers.