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Parent guide · Grade 2 Mandarin · Unit 3

Lesson 3.2 星期几? Days of the Week

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 星期一 to 星期六 (Monday to Saturday) and 星期天 (Sunday). Ask 今天星期几? (what day is today?). Know that God made a day of rest.
You need
  • A paper plate, a paper arrow, a brass fastener
  • Crayons
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (8:23))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Say the days of the week in English. Which day do we go to church? Today we learn the days in Chinese, and they are easy, because they use numbers!

  2. Read aloud: The story. God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day He rested and blessed it. Christians gather to worship on Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead.

    Read aloud: How Chinese works. Monday is week-one: 星xīng期qī一yī. Tuesday is 星期二, Wednesday 星期三, and so on to Saturday, 星期六. Sunday is not seven; it is 星xīng期qī天tiān or 星期日.

    Read aloud: Say it out loud. Ask 今jīn天tiān星xīng期qī几jǐ? Answer: 今天星期三 (today is Wednesday).

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

    • 星期 (xīngqī) [shing-CHEE]: week
    • 星期一 (xīngqīyī) [shing-chee-EE]: Monday
    • 星期六 (xīngqīliù) [shing-chee-LYOH]: Saturday
    • 星期天 (xīngqītiān) [shing-chee-TYEN]: Sunday
    • 今天 (jīntiān) [jin-TYEN]: today

  4. Show: Today is Friday. Say it in Chinese.

    Say this: “Friday is the fifth day.”

    Say this: “Week-five.”

    Answer: 今天星期五 (jīntiān xīngqīwǔ).

    Show: What day is 星期天?

    Say this: “天 is the special name, not a number.”

    Answer: Sunday.

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

    Ask: Say Monday in Chinese.

    Listen for: 星期一 (xīngqīyī).

    Ask: What day is 星期三?

    Listen for: Wednesday.

    Ask: Ask what day it is today.

    Listen for: 今天星期几?

    1 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Make a wheel of the days of the week.

    Steps:

    1. Divide the plate into seven parts.
    2. Write 一 to 六 and 天 in the parts (a parent helps).
    3. Draw something you do on each day; draw a church on 星期天.
    4. Each morning, turn the arrow and say 今天星期….

    Tips for you:

    • Start with 星期一.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My wheel has seven days.
    • I say the day each morning in Chinese.

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

    1. Draw your favorite day of the week. Write its Chinese name.

  8. Read aloud: The word 星期 means “star period.” Chinese also uses 礼拜 (lǐbài), “worship,” for the week: Sunday can be 礼拜天, the worship day.

    • Saying 星期七 for Sunday. Sunday is 星期天 (or 星期日).
    • Thinking 星期一 is Sunday. In Chinese the week starts with Monday.

  10. The parent says a day in Chinese; the child says the next day. 星期二 → 星期三. 星期六 → 星期天!

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

    Listen for: Say 星期一 to 星期六 (Monday to Saturday) and 星期天 (Sunday).; Ask 今天星期几? (what day is today?).; Know that God made a day of rest.

  12. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

    Genesis 2:3 (KJV)

    In the Chinese Bible (Chinese Union Version), this verse reads: <span class="zh-block" lang="zh-Hans">神赐福给第七日，定为圣日</span><span class="py-line">Shén cì fú gěi dì qī rì, dìng wéi shèng rì</span> God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He gives us a day to rest and worship.

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.