GRADE 8 Mandarin Chinese GETTING AROUND - Writing – Guided Writing Notes
Mandarin Chinese — GETTING AROUND (Writing)
Subtopic: Guided Writing (适应写作)
- Enumerate vocabulary in a given context (transport & directions).
- Utilise contextually appropriate vocabulary in written communication.
- Develop an appreciation for Chinese characters (structure & common radicals).
- Demonstrate guided writing skills (scaffolded sentences → short paragraph).
(Write characters, pinyin and meaning. Use these when you write directions.)
- 🚌 公交车 — gōngjiāo chē — bus
- 🚕 出租车 — chūzū chē — taxi
- 🚲 自行车 — zìxíng chē — bicycle
- 🏍️ 摩托车 — mótuō chē — motorcycle
- 🚆 火车 — huǒchē — train
- 🚇 地铁 — dìtiě — metro
- 🏫 学校 — xuéxiào — school
- 🛒 市场 — shìchǎng — market
- 🚏 车站 — chēzhàn — station/stop
- 路 — lù — road
- 左 — zuǒ — left
- 右 — yòu — right
- Basic word order (SVO): 我坐公交车去学校。 (Wǒ zuò gōngjiāo chē qù xuéxiào. — I take the bus to school.)
- Location words & prepositional phrases
在...前面 / 在...后面 / 在...旁边 / 在...对面
Example: 学校在车站的旁边。 (Xuéxiào zài chēzhàn de pángbiān. — The school is next to the bus stop.) - Direction verbs & complements
去 / 来 / 到 + directional complements: 走 (zǒu) + straight: 直走 (zhí zǒu), turn: 转 (zhuǎn), arrive: 到 (dào)
Example: 从学校往前直走，然后右转。 (Cóng xuéxiào wǎng qián zhí zǒu, ránhòu yòu zhuǎn.) - Serial verbs (common in travel): 坐 + vehicle, 下车/上车, 骑 + bike
Example: 先坐车，上车后告诉司机下车。 (Xiān zuò chē, shàng chē hòu gàosu sījī xià chē.) - Sequencing and connectors: 先... 然后... 最后... (first... then... finally...) — useful for writing directions clearly.
- Measure word for vehicles: 一辆车 (yí liàng chē) — used when counting vehicles in sentences.
Look for radicals and movement-related parts — they help you remember meaning.
- 车 (chē) — vehicle; appears in many transport words: 车站 (chēzhàn), 出租车 (chūzūchē).
- 走/辶 (movement radical) — appears in 路 (lù, road), 这 (zhè), 过 (guò). It hints at movement/direction.
- 站 (zhàn) = 立 (stand) + 口 (place for people) — means stop/station.
Simple stroke practice: write 车 three times, focus on left-to-right and top-to-bottom strokes. Stroke order helps you recognize characters when reading maps and signs.
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Task 1 — Enumerate vocabulary (Outcome a)
From the list above, write 8 words (character + pinyin + English). Then group them into: (a) vehicles, (b) places, (c) direction words.
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Task 2 — Short sentences (Outcome b)
Use these sentence frames. Fill in the blanks and write 5 sentences.
- 请问，_____ 在哪里？ (Qǐngwèn, ____ zài nǎlǐ?) — Excuse me, where is ____?
- 从 _____ 到 _____ 要多长时间？ (Cóng ___ dào ___ yào duō cháng shíjiān?)
- 先在 _____ 旁边， 然后 _____。 (Xiān zài ___ pángbiān, ránhòu ___.)
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Task 3 — Character appreciation (Outcome c)
Pick three characters (车, 站, 路). For each: write the character three times, write pinyin, count strokes, and write one English meaning.
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Task 4 — Guided paragraph (Outcome d)
Write a short paragraph (5–8 sentences) giving directions from your school to the nearest market. Use: at least 5 vocabulary words, one location phrase (在...旁边/对面), one directional complement (直走/右转/左转), and connectors 先...然后...最后.
Chinese: 我们的学校在车站的旁边。先从学校门口向右走，直走两百米。然后在第一个路口左转，过马路后就看到市场了。坐公交车也可以：在学校旁边坐一辆公交车，三站下车，再往前走就是市场。最后，到市场需要大约十分钟。
Pinyin: Wǒmen de xuéxiào zài chēzhàn de pángbiān. Xiān cóng xuéxiào ménkǒu xiàng yòu zǒu, zhí zǒu liǎng bǎi mǐ. Ránhòu zài dì yī gè lùkǒu zuǒ zhuǎn, guò mǎlù hòu jiù kàn dào shìchǎng le. Zuò gōngjiāo chē yě kěyǐ: zài xuéxiào pángbiān zuò yī liàng gōngjiāo chē, sān zhàn xià chē, zài wǎng qián zǒu jiù shì shìchǎng. Zuìhòu, dào shìchǎng xūyào dàyuē shí fēnzhōng.
English: Our school is next to the bus stop. First, walk to the right from the school gate and go straight 200 meters. Then at the first intersection turn left; after crossing the road you will see the market. You can also take the bus: board beside the school, get off after three stops, then walk forward to the market. Finally, it takes about 10 minutes to reach the market.
- Vocabulary: used at least 5 target words correctly. (Yes / No)
- Grammar: correct use of location phrases (在...旁边/对面) and directional verbs (直走, 转). (Yes / No)
- Sequence: used connectors 先...然后...最后. (Yes / No)
- Characters: wrote at least 3 characters with reasonable stroke order and correct form. (Yes / No)
- Clarity: directions are clear and can be followed. (Good / Fair / Needs improvement)
Marking suggestion (out of 10): Vocabulary/words 3, Grammar & connectors 3, Characters 2, Clarity & structure 2.
- Start with a quick matching game: cards with Chinese characters, pinyin and pictures (vehicles, places). Pupils match triples.
- Map activity: give pupils a simple map of a Kenyan township (school, market, bus stop). In pairs, write directions in Chinese using the sentence frames.
- Character workshop: practice stroke order for 车, 站, 路; discuss radicals and meanings.
- Guided writing: teacher models a short paragraph on the board; pupils complete one with scaffolding (sentence starters provided).
- Peer review: swap paragraphs and use the checklist to give feedback.
- Homework: describe how to get from home to the nearest boda-boda stage (or matatu stage) in Chinese (5–6 sentences).
- Use simple clear verbs: 走, 坐, 下车, 上车, 转, 到.
- Start with place names and end with time/distance: "先...然后...最后..." makes directions easy to follow.
- Practice characters slowly — stroke order helps reading and writing.
- When unsure of a character, write pinyin plus Chinese radicals to show understanding.
Designed for Kenyan learners (age 13). Focus: grammatical structures for writing directions and transport-related texts in Mandarin.