中国有多少邻居？
How many countries border China?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 七 | qī | seven |
| 岁 | suì | years old; year (of age) |
| 她 | tā | she; her |
| 家 | jiā | home; family |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; there are |
| 两 | liǎng | two (of something) |
| 个 | gè | the general measure word for people and things |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 喜欢 | xǐhuan | to like; to be fond of |
| 他们 | tāmen | they; them |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today |
| 爸爸 | bàba | dad; father |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 1 · How many countries border China?. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 七 and 岁 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 中国有多少邻居？ on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “How many countries border China?”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 七 (qī, seven), 岁 (suì, years old; year (of age)), 她 (tā, she; her), 家 (jiā, home; family), 有 (yǒu, to have; there is; there are), 两 (liǎng, two (of something)). 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/how-many-countries-border-china: 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 tell a partner in two sentences of Chinese what it says.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 七 and one with 岁, 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)
Nini is seven. Her family has two neighbours, and she likes them a lot.
Today, Dad asks her, “Nini, how many neighbours does China have?”
Nini says, “China has neighbours too?”
Dad says, “Yes. Every country right next to China is one.”
Dad turns on the computer. Nini goes through them one by one: “Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, India… Fourteen!”
Dad says, “That’s right, fourteen! That’s the most. Russia has fourteen too.”
Nini says, “And China and Russia are neighbours too!”
Dad says, “That’s right! Look, right here.”
Nini thinks for a moment and says, “Our home is in China. Our home has two, and China has fourteen. So I have sixteen neighbours!”
Dad hears this, thinks for a moment, and says, “What you say is right too!”
What about you? How many neighbours do you have?