SESSION PLAN
OASIS Intergenerational Tutoring Program
Talk Together – Write Together – Read Together
Date_____________________
Student___________________
Tutor_____________________
__Talk about an activity you are sharing
__Write together
__Read the student’s writing together
__Work with the student’s writing
__Review journal writing and vocabulary words
__Read a book to your student
1. Look at the front cover of China’s Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan. Before
reading the title, ask the student to look at the pictures and tell what he sees. Point to the
title and read it. Then point to the title written in Chinese and “read” it. Take time to
pause and look at the beautifully illustrated pictures with their bright colors and many
details. Notice that the tale is also written in Chinese characters in a box on the left side
of each page.
2. Talk together about the story. Many American children have seen the Disney video
version of Mu Lan and may want to talk about that experience. Ask questions about the
story to check for comprehension. Look at pages 11 and 25 and notice the differences in
Mu Lan’s clothes and hair when she is dressed as a woman instead of a soldier.
3. Ask the student to dictate a recommendation to other students about this book. Write his
recommendation in the journal. Remind him to include a sentence about the storyline
and a sentence about why he liked the book. Why might other children enjoy this book?
4. Read his recommendation to him. Have him read it back to you.
5. Tell him Chinese characters are read going from the top of the page to the bottom, not
across. Ask him where we begin when we read a page in a book. Tell him to watch as
you rewrite, in English, his recommendation on a sheet of paper, going down the page
instead of across. Laugh together at how hard this is for us to understand since we are so
accustomed to our own way of reading. You can use construction paper to make the ends
of a scroll, a type of book in ancient China. (Tightly roll a piece of construction paper
into a wand about the size of your finger. Tape it closed. Repeat. Use the two “paper
dowels” to form the ends of the scroll. Tape the dowels to each side of a thin sheet of
paper. Roll each side together so that they meet in the middle). Let the student use a
paintbrush to copy the Chinese characters (enclosed) on the scroll.
6. Read a past journal story.
Folk Tales - Introduction
Chinese Writing Tools
The ancient Chinese refer to them as "The Four Treasures of the Studio." The brush, ink stick,
ink stone and paper are the four essential tools of a scholar's most compelling pursuits - reading,
writing, and painting. These are the scholar's lifelong companions, objects to be cherished.
Chinese ink was made from a mixture of glue and pine soot, then molded into a hard, water soluble
stick. Using an ink stone, a scholar would make liquid ink just before writing or
painting . The scholar would drop a small amount of water on the rubbing
surface, then rub the ink stick against the wet stone. The ink stick would
mix with the water to create rich black liquid ink. Vegetable or mineral
pigments were sometimes added to the ink for color.
Calligraphy is the art of writing with a brush and ink. At one time, Chinese
children began learning this art at the age of six, but now more and more
children write only with pencils and pens.
The Chinese Language
Written Chinese has no alphabet but uses
individual characters to stand for sy llables
or whole words. It is made up of ideographs, pictures of ideas,
rather than letters of the alphabet. All educated Chinese can read,
write, and understand the same characters, but they may not be
able to understand one another 's spoken dialects, since spoken
Chinese can vary greatly by geographic region.
Folktales
In China, as in many countries, stories are used for moral instruction, as a means of motivating
people to act correctly. Stories are used as a teaching tool; the reader should learn from the mistakes of the 'bad" characters and follow the examples of the "good" characters. Often these stories
become part of a country's folklore, the traditional beliefs, practices, legends and tales of a people,
passed down orally. This suitcase contains two well known stories from Chinese folklore, retold
and written down by modern authors.
OASIS Tutors See The World:
A Visit to China
Sample Chinese Characters
sun
moon
horse
heart
fish
odd
make
copied from Hands-On Heritage, China, Edupress,1995
OASIS Tutors See The World:
A Visit to China