Center Focus

Chinese Symbols

  1. Obtain copies of the Chinese zodiac; placemats from Chinese restaurants work perfectly.
  2. Have students find the animal that matches their year of birth and decide which characteristics are true for their personality and which they think are false.
  3. The symbols for the animals come from the groups of stars that the Big Dipper point to. Have your students compare the predictions of Chinese astrology with those of Western astrology. Provide horoscopes from magazines or newspapers or the Internet to use as a basis for comparison.
  4. Let your students come to some general conclusions about the truth/falsehood of the predictions that arise from both methods of astrology.