This flexible resource provides materials to introduce primary children to aspects of Chinese language and culture. These materials can be linked to the creative curriculum and used to promote the Global Dimension, as well as providing evidence for the International School Award. The materials provide geography, art, drama and language activities which the teacher can use according to his/her particular programme of study. To ensure progression, the language topics should be covered in the suggested order.

Here are two suggestions of how you might use the materials, but it is really up to you to select the resources which best suit the activities you want to use with your children.

An Introduction to Chinese Language and Culture

Lesson A

• Show the children the PowerPoint ‘Introduction to China’ in which Jie introduces her country, her family and herself
• Show the children the ‘Map of China’ and give them ‘Colour the Map’ to work on
• Upper KS2 children could then read the ‘China Fact File’ and complete the ‘China Fact File Dossier’

Lesson B

• Show the ‘China and UK Mirror Book’ on the whiteboard or print it out. Discuss with the children the differences between the two countries. Are there other pictures that they would include to represent the UK?
• Show the ‘Greetings’ PowerPoint with sound files and teach the children (and yourself!) how to say ‘Hello’, ‘My name is ..and you?’, ‘Good-bye’.
• Show the children the short video clip ‘Hello, My name is, goodbye’ of Jie saying these words. Encourage the children not only to listen, but also to look at how she forms the sounds.
• Children to begin their own mirror book

Animals, the Four Animals Story

Lesson C

• Show the ‘Four Animals Story’ PowerPoint and look at which animal of the zodiac the children are (Slide 2) and their characteristics
• Teach the children the words for Rabbit, Dragon, Chicken and Monkey using the PowerPoint ‘Animals of the Zodiac’ with sound files
• Song (‘Four animals Story’ Slide 16)

Lesson D

• Practise the words for the zodiac animals using the ‘Animal activities’
• Give each child a flashcard of one of the four animals
• Show the 4 animals PowerPoint from Lesson C again. Children hold up their animal flash card when their animal is mentioned in the story
• Make a paper dragon and rabbit with the children using the templates and photographs in the ‘Paper folding’ folder

Materials to continue learning Mandarin Chinese can be found in ‘the Complete Course in Primary Chinese’ which provides detailed schemes of work with lesson plans and resources.