GRADE 8 Mandarin Chinese Family- WRITING – Guided Writing Notes
Guided Writing — Family (家庭) • Mandarin Chinese
Age group: 13 (Kenyan context) • Focus: grammatical structures for writing about family.
Specific learning outcomes
- Compile key words and phrases from short texts about family (提取关键词和短语).
- Compose simple Chinese sentences on family topics (写简单句子描述家庭).
- Use self-evaluation to improve writing (自我评估提高写作).
- Understand categories: guided writing, paragraph writing, composition (掌握写作类别).
1. Key family vocabulary (家庭词汇)
Each item: Chinese character — pinyin — English
- 家 / jiā / family, home
- 爸爸 / bàba / father
- 妈妈 / māma / mother
- 哥哥 / gēge / older brother
- 姐姐 / jiějie / older sister
- 弟弟 / dìdi / younger brother
- 妹妹 / mèimei / younger sister
- 爷爷 / yéye / (paternal) grandfather
- 奶奶 / nǎinai / (paternal) grandmother
- 叔叔 / shūshu / uncle
- 阿姨 / āyí / aunt
- 家人 / jiārén / family members
- 住 / zhù / live
- 有 / yǒu / have, there is
- 和 / hé / and
2. Core grammar points for writing about family
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Possession: 的 (A 的 B = B of A)
Example: 我是小明的妹妹。/ Wǒ shì Xiǎomíng de mèimei. / I am Xiaoming's younger sister.
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有 (have/there is) and 没有 (do not have)
Example: 我家有五口人。/ Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. / My family has five people.
-
是 (to be) for identification and descriptions with 很 (very)
Example: 爸爸是老师。/ Bàba shì lǎoshī. / Dad is a teacher.
奶奶很可爱。/ Nǎinai hěn kě'ài. / Grandma is very cute. -
Location verbs: 在 (at/located in)
Example: 妈妈在家。/ Māma zài jiā. / Mom is at home.
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Negation: 不 (habit/ability) vs 没(有) (past/possession)
Example: 他不在家。/ Tā bù zài jiā. / He is not at home.
我家没有猫。/ Wǒ jiā méiyǒu māo. / My family doesn't have a cat. -
Questions: ...吗? and question words 谁、哪儿、几？
Example: 你家有几口人？/ Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? / How many people in your family?
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Connectors for simple composition: 和 (and), 也 (also), 然后 (then), 因为... 所以... (because... therefore...)
Example: 我和弟弟去公园，然后回家。/ Wǒ hé dìdi qù gōngyuán, ránhòu huí jiā.
3. Guided writing categories & templates
Use these templates to help students build sentences and short paragraphs.
4. How to write a short paragraph (段落写作)
Structure (3–5 sentences): Topic sentence → 1–2 supporting sentences → Closing sentence.
我家有四口人。
Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén.
My family has four people.
爸爸是司机，妈妈在学校工作。
Bàba shì sījī, māma zài xuéxiào gōngzuò.
Dad is a driver; mom works at a school.
我有一个弟弟，我们周末常一起做作业。
Wǒ yǒu yīgè dìdi, wǒmen zhōumò cháng yīqǐ zuò zuòyè.
I have a younger brother; we often do homework together on weekends.
我爱我的家。
Wǒ ài wǒ de jiā.
I love my family.
Tips: use linking words (然后, 也, 和), keep sentences short and correct grammar (use 的 for possession, 有 for existence).
5. Guided writing exercise (step-by-step)
- Read this short text and underline keywords:
我家住在内罗毕。家里有爸爸、妈妈、一个哥哥和我。爸爸是司机，妈妈是护士。周末我们常去公园。 (Wǒ jiā zhù zài Nèiluóbǐ. Jiālǐ yǒu bàba, māma, yīgè gēge hé wǒ. Bàba shì sījī, māma shì hùshì. Zhōumò wǒmen cháng qù gōngyuán.)
- Compile keywords/phrases (提取关键词):
Example: 内罗毕, 爸爸, 妈妈, 哥哥, 司机, 护士, 周末, 去公园, 家里有...
- Use sentence starters to write 3–4 sentences about your family:
Template: 我家有...。爸爸/妈妈是...。我喜欢和...一起...。我常在...。
- Check grammar and punctuation using the self-evaluation checklist below.
6. Self-evaluation checklist (自我评估)
After writing, tick each item and correct mistakes.
- □ 我用了正确的词汇（爸爸, 妈妈, 哥哥 等）
- □ 我用了“的”来表示所属 (e.g., 我的家)
- □ 我用了“有”表示家里有多少人
- □ 主谓宾结构正确（例如：爸爸是司机）
- □ 时间或地点词放在句首或动词前（比如：我家在内罗毕 / 妈妈在家）
- □ 我用了合适的连接词（和 / 然后 / 因为…所以…）
- □ 标点正确（句号“。”、逗号“，”）
- □ 句子通顺，段落有主题句和结尾
Quick scoring: 8 ticks = very good; 5–7 = needs revision; <5 = rewrite with teacher help.
7. Additional short tasks (练习)
- Write 4 sentences describing your family members (name, job/age, where they are).
- Transform statements into questions: 他是老师。→ 他是老师吗？
- Negate sentences: 我家有两只狗。→ 我家没有狗。
- Use 因为…所以… to give a reason: 因为妈妈很忙，所以我和爸爸做家务。