中国人只能有一个孩子吗？
Does China still have a one-child policy?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
很多人都想问：中国人家里只能有一个孩子吗？
现在不是了！
一九八〇年，在中国，很多家只能有一个孩子了。
这些孩子没有哥哥姐姐，也没有弟弟妹妹。中文叫他们“独生子女”。
一个独生子女，有爸爸妈妈，有爸爸的爸爸妈妈，还有妈妈的爸爸妈妈。六个人，都爱这一个孩子！
二〇一六年，一个家可以有两个孩子了。二〇二一年，一个家可以有三个孩子了。
现在，有三个孩子的家不多。
一九九〇年，有一个小女孩，她也是独生子女。现在，她是妈妈了。她可以有三个孩子！
你家有几个孩子？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 多 | duō | many; much |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; in every case |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think; to believe; to think about |
| 问 | wèn | to ask |
| 中国 | zhōngguó | China |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; there are |
| 一 | yí | one; a; an |
| 个 | gè | the general measure word for people and things |
| 孩子 | háizi | child; kid |
| 吗 | ma | question particle: turns a statement into a yes/no question |
Questions
一九八〇年，中国很多家可以有几个孩子？
In 1980, how many children could many families in China have?
一个独生子女，有几个人爱他？
How many people love an only child?
二〇一六年，一个家可以有几个孩子？
In 2016, how many children could a family have?
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 1 · Does China still have a one-child policy?. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 很 and 多 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 中国人只能有一个孩子吗？ on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “Does China still have a one-child policy?”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 很 (hěn, very; quite), 多 (duō, many; much), 人 (rén, person; people), 都 (dōu, all; both; in every case), 想 (xiǎng, to think; to believe; to think about), 问 (wèn, to ask). Say each one, the class says it back, then ask for its meaning with the word covered. The rest are in the handout’s table.
Listen 10 min
Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/does-china-still-have-a-one-child-policy: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.
Read and check 10 min
Students read it alone, then answer the 3 questions on the handout. Go through them together; the answers and the line that proves each are on the teacher’s page.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 很 and one with 多, and reads one to the class.
Homework. Students read it again at home and Review its words. Put it in a free class (mandarinthewild.com/teachers/class) and you see who read it.
English (for the teacher)
Many people want to ask: can Chinese families have only one child?
Not any more!
From 1980, many families in China could have only one child.
These children had no older brothers or sisters, and no younger brothers or sisters either. In Chinese they are called 'only children'.
An only child has a mum and dad, Dad's mum and dad, and Mum's mum and dad too. Six people, all loving this one child!
In 2016, a family could have two children. In 2021, a family could have three children.
Today, not many families have three children.
In 1990, there was a little girl who was an only child too. Now she is a mother. She can have three children!
How many children are there in your family?
Answers
- A. 一个: 一九八〇年，在中国，很多家只能有一个孩子了。
- B. 六个人: 六个人，都爱这一个孩子！
- A. 两个: 二〇一六年，一个家可以有两个孩子了。