Venn Diagram, Who Live in Water & Who Lives on Land?

Venn Diagram, Who Live in Water & Who Lives on Land?-  This is a cute idea to help review animal names and the characters 水 (shuǐ; water) and 土 (tǔ; land).  It also introduces the character 都 (dōu; both).  Cut and paste animals into the correct section in the diagram.  Who lives in water; who lives on land; who can do both?  The pictures and the idea come from http://kinder-pond.blogspot.com/. I've adapted it to make it Chinese friendly.

The Magic Brush

The Magic Brush- This story is a wonderful way to introduce a child to both Chinese characters and its culture.  "Jasmine loves spending time with her agong -grandfather- while her little brother, Tai-Tai, is napping.  Agong teaches her calligraphy, and through the Chinese charactes they draw together, they create a magical world full of flying fish, monkeys, and mythical dragons.  And when the time is right, Jasmine will pass on the traditions to Tai-Tai too . . ."

Inside the book, characters take on life and children can see the pictures behind the pictographic characters:  月, 星, 山, 林, 川, 舟, 水, 魚, 炎, 朋, 馬, 龍, and 公.  At the back of the book is a pronunciation key of each of these characters as well as their meanings.

I should also point out that is available at the North liberty Public Library; The title is The Magic Brush and the call number is under PRIMARY, Author Yeh.

Rhythms and Tones

Rhythms and Tones- This is a wonderful book to expose kids who are learning Chinese as a second language.  It includes a CD with 24 songs that reinforce learning things such as:

• How to say hello/goodbye,
• Using tones,
• Asking basic questions,
• Titles of family members,
• Actions,
• Body parts,
• Numbers and measure words,
• Animals,
• Common phrases,
• Food,
• Radicals and how they look in characters,
• Weather,
• Asking for and saying the time,
• Days of the week,
• Seasons,
• Colors, and
• Chinese holidays.

At the back of the book, the piano music for each song is provided as well as a dictionary of the characters covered in the book.  This book uses mainland pinyin and simplified Chinese characters.  I should also point out that is available at the Iowa City Public Library; The title is Rhythms and Tones and the call number is j495.1834.

2kids学汉字

2kids学汉字- This app is worthy of mention. The instructions are all in Chinese but I didn't let that stop me from downloading this app- don't let it stop you! I've only had this app for a few days, but my four-year old keeps coming back to it. It has been wonderful at helping us to review characters she's seen already since it covers many common characters.  This app is aimed at children who already speak Mandarin and so the primary objective of this app is to teach them character recognition and writing (stroke order).  However, I've found it useful as an immersion tool for teaching character recognition in my kids (who are learning Chinese as a foreign language).

*There is a companion app by the same company called 2Kids学拼音.


General Organization- Each Unit covers 6-8 characters and most Units are taught across 2 Lessons.  Only one Lesson can be completed each day.  This helps to ensure that a child is retaining character recognition over time.

Specific Organization- The first Unit covers 6 characters: 大，小，人，口，上，and 下. The kids are introduced to pictures that correlate to each of the characters in the lesson. Then they are shown how to write the character using the correct stroke order. Next, much like in the popular TV show Dora and Diego, they help four story characters solve problems  by correctly identifying the target character from several choices. The graphics and animation is high quality.  Kids are rewarded with short animation clips, with virtual stickers, and by watching the story characters progress through the story. The makers of this app had young children in mind!

Update 1- Just bought the first extension (Content Package 1).  The characters covered and the incentives (digital stickers and animation clips) have expanded.  It appears there will be 6 simplified characters per Unit.  I'm still recommending this app even if you are teaching your children traditional characters because most people who read Chinese will need to recognize the simplified forms (which Mainland China primarily uses). Don't let learning two forms of the same character intimidate you. Often the two forms are very similar. Consider English and all the fonts a proficient reader must be able to navigate: two forms of lowercase 'a,' uppercase versus lowercase, cursive versus print, etc. As native speakers, we pick up these variations and accept them on the path to English literacy. Use this same concept to help your child become proficient in reading Chinese; expose them to variations!

Below is an example of how similar the simplified and traditional forms can be:

妈 --> 媽 ("mother")

Of course, not all of the characters will have such obvious similarities between the two fonts,
but give your child some credit.  If they are a native speaker, they've probably already figured out
that "soda/pop," "T.V./television," and "picture/photo" refer to the same thing.
只--> 隻 (a common Measure Word for animals)

Keep in mind that many Chinese characters look exactly the same in their simplified and traditional forms.
大-->大 ("big")

Update 2-　The characters covered in each Content Package aren't revealed until the child has learned all of the previous Units.  So I can't post subsequent characters until my kids pass their lessons, but I'll try to post as I have access to them.  Future Units include the following simplified characters:

• Content Package 1 (Lessons 1-5) 
• Unit 1- 大, 小, 人, 口, 上, 下
• Unit 2- 爸, 妈, 天, 太, 一, 二
• Unit 3- 中, 月, 哭, 笑, 阳, 水
• Unit 4- 三, 亮, 星, 火, 云, 地
• Content Package 2 (Lessons 6-15)
• Unit 5- 个, 和, 四, 我, 心, 有
• Unit 6- 明, 木, 山, 石, 头, 土
• Unit 7- 耳, 好, 花, 牛, 田, 五 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 8- 聪, 眉, 目, 手, 树, 羊 
• Unit 9- 鼻, 风, 日, 六, 叶, 的 
• Content Package 3 (Lessons 16-25)
• Unit 10- 草, 多, 少, 雨, 孩, 七 & 2 Short Stories (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 11- 红, 黃, 白, 家, 是, 吃 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 12- 愛, 不, 唱, 奶, 爷, 子
• Unit 13- 朋, 歌, 八, 在, 学, 书 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Content Package 4 (Lessons 26- 35)
• Unit 14- 宝, 生, 贝, 儿, 九, 友
• Unit 15- 看, 里(里面), 气, 十, 这, 字 & 2 Short Stories (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 16- 来, 你, 听, 只, 做, 会, 女, 去
• Unit 17- 见, 今, 男, 鸟, 说, 坐, 期, 走
• Content Package 5 (Lessons 36-45) 
• Unit 18- 鱼, 早, 车, 飞, 鸡, 绿, 青, 雪 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Note to 2Kids Publishers:  The last two characters in this list cannot be seen when you first go to the "stories" icon at the bottom of the page and then to the "flashcard" icon at the top of the page.
• Unit 19- 他, 夏, 秋, 春, 冬, 跑, 要, 们
• Unit 20- 李, 狗, 也, 真, 开, 蓝, 猫, 都
• Unit 21- 黑, 关, 哥, 马, 米, 姐, 面, 出 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 22- 跳, 着(睡着), 了, 又, 弟, 妹, 东, 就(就是他的)
• Content Package 6 (Lessons 46-60)
• Unit 23- 快, 还, 得(得到), 西, 乐, 到, 起,玩 and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)
• Unit 24- 捉, 迷, 球, 很, 高, 鸭, 方, 兴 (高兴), 
• Unit 25- 向, 对, 能, 叫, 晚, 问, 电, 门
• Unit 26- 只(一只), 打, 冷, 热, 新, 再, 回, 急
• Unit 27- 请, 过, 吗, 左, 右, 前, 外, 里(里面) and a Short Story (see Update 3 below)

Update 3- I'm becoming more and more impressed with this program. Starting in Lesson 5, children are occasionally given a short story to read. My daughter was giddy with delight to realize she can now read a short story in Chinese.  Here is the "story."  The characters that aren't covered by the iPad app lessons have a speaker icon above them.  The kids can tap on those characters and the word is read for them.

 

Update 4- This app is going on my top recommendation list!  Starting in Lesson 6, the user is asked to retain in memory a short sentence that uses the characters taught in this app.  The user is then suppose to arrange the characters in the same order as the sentence.  What a great way to practice listening skills!

Comments-  My son has now completed all six of the currently available Content Packages.  So I've decided to make some comments about my observations.

• The purpose of this app is to teach character recognition and that is why I decided it was still a good buy for my son who is learning the characters introduced here as a second language.  However, I've noticed one issue that parents of non-native Chinese-speaking children should be aware of- Sometimes a character is introduced with one meaning within the flashcards, but then is reused as a word with the same character BUT A DIFFERENT MEANING later in the Unit.  For example, 得 is introduced in the flashcards as being related to the phrase "得到".  However, later it is used as part of the phrase "我们玩得很高兴。"  In these two instances the "得" has a different meaning, a different grammatical function, and a different pronunciation!  Native speakers would probably assimilate this just fine; however, it can be a bit of a hang-up to non-native speakers.  Where this has occurred within this app, I've tried to make note of it below:
• 得 introduced as "得到" and later seen in phrases such as "我们玩得很高兴。"
• There are a couple of places where the same character (same pronunciation and same meaning) is repeated:
• Unit 15 and Unit 27- 里

Make a Calendar

The New Year is fast approaching and it's time for a new calendar, but before running out and buying a new one consider making your own.  This is a great way to review numbers and the character 月 (ㄩㄝˋ, yuè, moon or month).  The reason for this is simple- in Chinese the names of the months are simply 一月, 二月, 三月, etc.  If you already have a calendar, use a piece of paper to stick the name of the month in Chinese next to the English name.

• January       一月
• February     二月
• March         三月
• April           四月
• May            五月
• June            六月
• July             七月
• August        八月
• September  九月
• October      十月
• November   十一月
• December   十二月

If your kid finds this interesting or if you want to add a little bit more to this short lesson, show them how the Chinese write/say the names of the week.  Notice that the week starts on Monday, not Sunday as in the Western calendar.  Also point out that the days of the week follow a pattern until you reach Sunday.

• Monday=      星期一 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 一, Xīng qí yī)
• Tuesday=      星期二 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄦˋ, Xīng qí èr)
• Wednesday= 星期三 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄙㄢ, Xīng qí sān)
• Thursday=    星期四 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄙˋ, Xīng qí sì)
• Friday=        星期五 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄨˇ, Xīng qí wǔ)
• Saturday=    星期六 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄌ一 ㄡˋ, Xīng qí liù)
• Sunday (written)=      星期日 (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄖˋ, Xīng qí rì)
• Sunday (spoken)=     星期天  (ㄒ一ㄥ  ㄑ一 ㄊ一 ㄢ, Xīng qí tiān)

You may also notices several other common characters and radicals.  See if your child can find the following radicals/characters inside the days of the week:

• 日(ㄖˋ, rì, sun )
• 生 (ㄕㄥ, shēng, to be born)
• 月 (ㄩㄝˋ, yuè, moon/month)
• 天 (ㄊㄧㄢ, tiān, day/sky)
• 一 (一, yī , 1)
• 二 (ㄦˋ, èr, 2)
• 三 (ㄙㄢ, sān, 3)
• 四 (ㄙˋ, sì, 4)
• 五 (ㄨˇ, wǔ, 5)
• 六 (ㄌㄧㄡˋ, liù, 6).

Below is an example of a calendar you can make with Chinese characters.  Please, feel free to print this off and use it for your home.  Consider this another way to "Point Out" Chinese characters to your child in your home.  Each day cross of the last day and talk about what the new date is.

• Calendar

Dragon Board Game

Dragon Board Game- This comes directly from my days in grad school when I was practicing to become an Speech-Language Pathologist.  Kids love games and sometimes turning a rote task into a game is the best way to keep a child's attention.  I found this board online and have adapted it to suit the situation and I hope you find it useful for practicing ㄅㄆㄇㄈ, radicals, characters, or whatever you need to study.

Click below to open and download the board game I used with my kids.  Of course, you can use modify something you already have like Candy Land or Shoots and Ladders.  The key is to find something that gets your kid(s) excited and motivated about learning Chinese.

• Dragon Board Game- Blank Template
• Dragon Board Game- Example

Chutes and Ladders

Here's another great opportunity to review ㄅㄆㄇㄈ and Chinese numbers.  Print off the pdf below, and then follow these directions:

1.  After printing, cut and tape the four board pieces together.
2.  Next cut out the ㄅㄆㄇㄈ cards and the dice.  Cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted lines.  Then tape the die together to form a cube.
3.  Use anything you have in the house for the playing pieces (Legos, erasers, marker lids, etc.).

This version of Chutes and Ladders is played similarly to the original version with a few extra twist:

1. Roll the die and move the indicated number of spaces.  
2. Next, blindly choose a ㄅㄆㄇㄈ card.  If the card is read correctly, you stay on that spot.  If not, then go back 2 spaces.  
3. If you roll the die and land at the bottom of a ladder, you cannot go up unless you get the sound correct.  
4. If you land at the top of a chute, you must go down before reading your card.  If you misread the card, go back an additional 2 spaces.

Notes:

• If your child is overwhelmed by the number of ㄅㄆㄇㄈ letters, limit the number you play with and just focus on a few letters at a time.  You can print of extra of the cards you need or just spread them upside down on the table and draw them randomly as in "Go Fish."
• You could also use this to review radicals or characters; just make your own cards.
• Need to move the game along a little faster to keep your child's attention?  Print off two dice and roll both to determine how far a piece will travel.

• Chutes and Ladders with ㄅㄆㄇㄈ
• Chutes and Ladders with Pinyin

YouTube Videos about Charactes and Radicals

YouTube Videos- Don't ignore the power of videos to help teach kids the connections between really objects, the ancient forms of characters, and the way in which those same characters are written today.  Below is a small selection of what you can find.


1.Imvolunteer's YouTube Videos- This are an awesome resource, especially if your child is a visual learner.  The videos made by "Imvolunteer" provide an excellent opportunity to really show your child how radicals have been changed and adapted into today's characters.  Below are some of the links to these videos:

• Video List

2.  Unknown Creators . . . or at least they are unknown to me.  The video(s) below has/have been uploaded by several people so I'm not sure who is the actual author of the video.  It's very well done and is a great way to reinforce characters your child is studying.  This particular video really makes Chinese come alive!

• 三十六个字  

3.  Yu Ji has created some wonderful videos detailing characters.  The author lists his/her email as "asi2004asi@hotmail.com."

•  2009 漢字動畫 天气 Weather  
• 2008 漢字動畫 十二生肖 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals
• Look for more online!
  

  
  

Keep Looking for More!  And don't forget to share (in the Comment Section below) any other videos you find helpful for studying characters and radicals.

Learning 100 Chinese Radicals

Learning 100 Chinese Radicals- This is a wonderful site to help reinforce the radicals you are teaching.  Not all the radicals are examined in this website, but the 100 that are displayed are gone over in detail.  Each character review contains three parts:  Basic Info, Exercise 1, and Exercise 2.

In Basic Info, the meaning, ancient script (original character), and pronunciation (audio and pinyin) are provided.  In addition, the stand-alone radical and how it can be seen within other characters is provided.  The stroke order of these characters and their component pieces can be played as an animation.

Exercises 1 and 2 all vary slightly.  The opportunity is given to look for the radical component pieces inside other characters.  This is done in isolated characters and in photographs.  Some exercises ask you deduce the meanings of novel characters based on the radical components within them.  Other exercises ask you to deduce the pronunciation based on the components of novel characters.