熊猫去外国

Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)

HSK 1 · Why does China send pandas to other countries?. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 是 and 中国 in sentences of their own.

1. Warm-up 5 min

   Write 熊猫去外国 on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “Why does China send pandas to other countries?”.

2. Key words 10 min

   Teach 是 (shì, is; am; are (links two things); yes), 中国 (zhōngguó, China), 的 (de, sentence-final 的: affirms the statement — "that is how it is"), 在 (zài, to be present; to exist; to be alive), 你 (nǐ, you), 也 (yě, also; too; as well). 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.

3. Listen 10 min

   Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-china-sends-pandas-abroad: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.

4. 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.

5. Use it 10 min

   In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 是 and one with 中国, 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.