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Parent guide · Grade 2 Mandarin · Unit 5

Lesson 5.1 春夏秋冬: The Four Seasons

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 春天, 夏天, 秋天 and 冬天. Tell one thing about each season. Say 我喜欢… (I like…).
You need
  • A paper plate, crayons, a paper arrow, a brass fastener
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:52))

Steps

  1. Do this together: What season is it now? What do you see outside? What do you wear? What do you like to do in this season?

  2. Read aloud: The story. King Solomon wrote, “To every thing there is a season.” God planned spring for planting, summer for growing, autumn for harvest and winter for rest. Each season shows His care.

    Read aloud: How Chinese works. Each season is one character + 天 (day, sky): 春chūn天tiān, 夏xià天tiān, 秋qiū天tiān, 冬dōng天tiān. To say what you like, use 我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan: 我喜欢夏天!

    Read aloud: Say it out loud. chūn (chwun), xià (shyah), qiū (chyoh), dōng (dong). Chant them in order: 春, 夏, 秋, 冬!

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

    • 春天 (chūntiān) [chwun-TYEN]: spring
    • 夏天 (xiàtiān) [shyah-TYEN]: summer
    • 秋天 (qiūtiān) [chyoh-TYEN]: autumn; fall
    • 冬天 (dōngtiān) [dong-TYEN]: winter
    • 喜欢 (xǐhuan) [SHEE-hwahn]: to like
  4. Two plump brown doves with blue-gray heads sit close together on a thin branch covered with white pear blossoms and pale green leaves; Chinese writing and red seals fill the left side.
    Doves and Pear Blossoms after Rain, Qian Xuan, late 13th century (Yuan dynasty). Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Qian Xuan was a painter who lived about seven hundred and fifty years ago. He painted two doves resting on a pear tree after a spring rain. The writing on the left is a poem, and the red marks are seals stamped by people who owned and loved the painting.

    Point and find:

    • How many doves do you see? Say it in Chinese.
    • What color are the blossoms?
    • Find the red seal stamps.
    • What season is it in this painting?

    Ask:

    • “Why do you think the doves sit so close together?”
    • “What do you like best about spring?”

  5. Show: In which season do leaves turn red and fall?

    Say this: “That is autumn.”

    Say this: “Autumn = 秋天.”

    Answer: 秋天 (qiūtiān).

    Show: Say “I like winter.”

    Say this: “I like = 我喜欢.”

    Say this: “Winter = 冬天.”

    Answer: 我喜欢冬天.

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

    Ask: Say spring in Chinese.

    Listen for: 春天 (chūntiān).

    Ask: Say summer in Chinese.

    Listen for: 夏天 (xiàtiān).

    Ask: Name the four seasons in order.

    Listen for: 春天, 夏天, 秋天, 冬天.

    1 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a wheel of the four seasons.

    Steps:

    1. Divide the plate into four parts.
    2. Draw a picture for each season and write 春, 夏, 秋, 冬.
    3. Fasten the arrow.
    4. Point to the season now and say 现在是…天 (now it is…).

    Tips for you:

    • Go around in order: 春, 夏, 秋, 冬.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My wheel shows four seasons.
    • I can say them in Chinese.

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

    1. Draw your favorite season. Write 我喜欢 and the season name.

  9. Read aloud: The old Chinese farming calendar divided the year into twenty-four little seasons, with names like Grain Rain and Insects Awaken, to tell farmers when to plant and harvest.

    • Mixing 秋 qiū (autumn) and 九 jiǔ (nine). 秋 is high and level.
    • Saying 喜欢 with two strong beats. The huan is light.

  11. Play music. When it stops, the parent calls a season in Chinese and the child freezes in a pose: 春天 (a growing flower), 夏天 (swimming), 秋天 (raking leaves), 冬天 (shivering).

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

    Listen for: Say 春天, 夏天, 秋天 and 冬天.; Tell one thing about each season.; Say 我喜欢… (I like…).

  13. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

    Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

    In the Chinese Bible (Chinese Union Version), this verse reads: <span class="zh-block" lang="zh-Hans">凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。</span><span class="py-line">Fán shì dōu yǒu dìng qī, tiān xià wàn wù dōu yǒu dìng shí.</span> God has a time for everything. The seasons come and go just as He planned.

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. Picture study and 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.