Parent guide · Grade 1 Mandarin · Unit 3
Lesson 3.2 生日快乐: Happy Birthday!
Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.
At a glance
- Time
- 3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
- Goal
- Say and sing 生日快乐 (happy birthday). Say 生日 (birthday) and 蛋糕 (cake). Thank God for each day He gives.
- You need
- Folded paper
- Crayons, stickers
- A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
- A King James Bible
- Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (8:28))
Steps
Do this together: Whose birthday is next in your family? What do we do on a birthday? Today we sing Happy Birthday in Chinese!
Read aloud: The story. “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” A birthday is a day to thank God for making you and giving you another year.
Read aloud: How Chinese works. 生日 means birth-day. 快乐 means happy. Put them together: 生日快乐! Chinese children sing it to the same tune as Happy Birthday to You.
Read aloud: Say it out loud. Sing: 祝你生日快乐 (zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè), “wishing you a happy birthday,” four times. Many Chinese families eat long noodles on birthdays as a wish for a long life, and also have cake.
Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.
- 生日 (shēngrì) [shung-RR]: birthday
- 快乐 (kuàilè) [kwai-LUH]: happy
- 生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè) [shung-rr kwai-LUH]: happy birthday
- 蛋糕 (dàngāo) [dahn-GOW]: cake
Show: It is Grandpa’s birthday. What do you say?
Say this: “Birthday is 生日.”
Say this: “Happy is 快乐.”
Answer: 爷爷, 生日快乐!
Show: How many candles for a six-year-old? Say it in Chinese.
Say this: “Six is 六.”
Answer: 六 (liù).
Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Say happy birthday in Chinese.
Listen for: 生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè).
Ask: What is 蛋糕?
Listen for: Cake.
Ask: Sing the first line of the Chinese birthday song.
Listen for: 祝你生日快乐.
1 more on the lesson page.
Read aloud: Make a birthday card for the next birthday in the family.
Steps:
- Draw a cake with candles.
- Write or trace 生日快乐 inside.
- Count the candles in Chinese.
- Give the card on the birthday and sing the song.
Tips for you:
- A parent writes the characters lightly for the child to trace.
Done when your child can say:
- My card says 生日快乐.
- I sang the birthday song in Chinese.
Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.
- Draw a birthday cake. Write 生日快乐 above it.
Read aloud: Long noodles for a birthday are called 长寿面 (chángshòu miàn), long-life noodles. You try not to bite through them!
- Saying 快乐 kuàilè as kwai-lay. The second part is luh.
- Forgetting 生 in 生日. 日 alone means day or sun.
Put “candles” (sticks or crayons) on a play-dough cake. The parent says a number in Chinese; the child puts that many candles on and then sings 生日快乐.
Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”
Listen for: Say and sing 生日快乐 (happy birthday).; Say 生日 (birthday) and 蛋糕 (cake).; Thank God for each day He gives.
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
In the Chinese Bible (Chinese Union Version), this verse reads: <span class="zh-block" lang="zh-Hans">这是耶和华所定的日子，我们在其中要高兴欢喜！</span><span class="py-line">Zhè shì Yēhéhuá suǒ dìng de rì zi, wǒ men zài qí zhōng yào gāo xìng huān xǐ!</span> Every day, and every birthday, is a day the Lord made. Rejoice and be glad in it.
Spread over the week
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
- Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
- Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.