Scott Bartz's classroom looked like they were taking yoga classes as they crouched by their desks late last month.
The 24 Wylie Elementary School fourth graders weren't learning about exercise, but about the Chinese New Year.
Bartz's World Cultures class welcomed Carol Stepanchuk, an outreach coordinator with the International Institute Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan, and KT Lowe, a student researcher for the University of Michigan Museum Of Art.
The curriculum is fitting considering Bartz's intentions for the class.
"It broadens the students' view of the world and their place in it in order to make them better informed citizens of the nation and the world and to increase cultural awareness and understanding," he explained.
Stepanchuk said that she has been teaching Chinese for 15 years. With the help of Lowe, she taught the children the importance of the Chinese New year and added that "it is the biggest holiday in the world."
"Considering China's population is at 1.3 billion and there are many other Chinese people in the world," she explained to the classroom with the help of a power point presentation.
Children learned about the importance of lions and dragons in Chinese folklore and how these creatures were depicted in decorative art and legend and how they're used symbolically during the Chinese New Year that is a 15-day celebration period laced with ancient traditions.
It's a tradition celebrated more than 4,000 years ago that marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It usually takes place between late January and late February depending on the second new moon following the winter solstice.
The 2007 celebration will take place on Feb. 18 and considered the Year of the Boar, which promises great plenty, contentment and security, said Stepanchuk.
Besides the festival where the children demonstrated the lion dance stances, they also learned about the Chinese zodiac through reading a play.
Bartz said he was pleased with the outcome of the presentation and was satisfied with the students' response to Stepanchuk's presentation.
"Teaching students about the world will become more important as the effects of globalization and all the challenges that come with it are realized in local communities," he said. "In light of what's happening on an international scale, there is a need for a general appreciation of the values, morals and traditions that operate within the various cultures around the globe."
Staff Writer Sandi Kasha can be reached at 475-1371 or skasha@heritage.com.
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