Lesson 5.2 下雨了! Rain, Snow, Wind, Hot and Cold

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Look outside. What is the weather like today? Is it sunny, rainy, snowy or windy? Hot or cold?

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. After the flood God promised that as long as the earth remains, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not stop. God sends the rain and the snow, and He makes the grass grow on the mountains.

   Read aloud: How Chinese works. Chinese says rain and snow “come down”: 下xià雨yǔ, 下xià雪xuě. Add 了 (le) for “it’s raining now!”: 下雨了! To say it’s very hot, say 很hěn热rè; very cold: 很hěn冷lěng.

   Read aloud: Say it out loud. xià yǔ (shyah YÜ), xià xuě (shyah SHWEH), guā fēng (gwah FUNG), rè (ruh), lěng (lung). Ask: 今天天气怎么样? (jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?)

3. New words

   Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

   • 下雨 (xià yǔ) [shyah YÜ]: to rain
   • 下雪 (xià xuě) [shyah SHWEH]: to snow
   • 刮风 (guā fēng) [gwah FUNG]: to be windy
   • 热 (rè) [ruh (falling)]: hot
   • 冷 (lěng) [lung (dipping)]: cold
   • 天气 (tiānqì) [tyen-CHEE]: weather
4. Show how

   Show: It’s raining outside. Say it in Chinese.

   Say this: “Rain falls: 下雨.”

   Say this: “Add 了 for now.”

   Answer: 下雨了! (xià yǔ le)

   Show: It is a snowy winter day. Is it 热 or 冷?

   Say this: “Snow means cold.”

   Say this: “Cold = 冷.”

   Answer: 冷 (lěng). 很冷!

5. Practice together

   Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: Say hot in Chinese.

   Listen for: 热 (rè).

   Ask: Say cold in Chinese.

   Listen for: 冷 (lěng).

   Ask: It’s snowing. Say it in Chinese.

   Listen for: 下雪了 (xià xuě le).

   1 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: Weather wheel

   Read aloud: Make a wheel to show the weather each day.

   Steps:

   1. Divide the plate into four parts.
   2. Draw sun, rain, snow and wind, and write 太阳, 下雨, 下雪, 刮风.
   3. Fasten the arrow in the middle.
   4. Each morning, turn the arrow and say the weather.

   Tips for you:

   • Add 热 or 冷 out loud.

   Done when your child can say:

   • My wheel has four kinds of weather.
   • I tell the weather in Chinese each day.
7. Sketchbook

   Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

   1. Draw today’s weather. Write the Chinese words for it.
8. From history

   Read aloud: China is so big that on the same day it can be snowing in the north while people swim at the beach in the south.

9. Watch for
   • Saying 热 rè like English “ray.” It is closer to ruh, with the tongue curled.
   • Saying 下雨 like “sha you.” 雨 is yü, with rounded lips.
10. Game: Weather actions

    The parent calls a weather word: 下雨! (wiggle fingers down), 下雪! (float like snowflakes), 刮风! (sway like trees), 热! (fan yourself), 冷! (shiver).

11. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Say 下雨 (rain), 下雪 (snow), 刮风 (wind), 热 (hot) and 冷 (cold).; Ask 今天天气怎么样? (how is the weather today?).; Thank God for every season.

12. Scripture

    While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

    In the Chinese Bible (Chinese Union Version), this verse reads: <span class="zh-block" lang="zh-Hans">地还存留的时候，稼穑、寒暑、冬夏、昼夜就永不停息了。</span><span class="py-line">Dì hái cún liú de shí hou, jià sè, hán shǔ, dōng xià, zhòu yè jiù yǒng bù tíng xī le.</span> God promised Noah that the seasons would keep coming: cold and heat, summer and winter. He keeps His promise every year.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.