Languages and literacy
My first Chinese characters
Introduce six Chinese characters through stroke names, stroke order, pinyin and repeated writing in a tian grid. The four-page A4 pack moves from tracing to word building, then reserves its final page for teacher answers and teaching notes.
Watch the character grow stroke by stroke, then trace it yourself. The example grids stay as supplied.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Introduce six Chinese characters through stroke names, stroke order, pinyin and repeated writing in a tian grid. The four-page A4 pack moves from tracing to word building, then reserves its final page for teacher answers and teaching notes.
Complete resource. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
Page 1
NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL I can write six Chinese characters with the strokes in the right order. SUCCESS CRITERIA I can name the strokes 横 竖 撇 捺. I can write strokes in order, starting at the dot. I can fit a character neatly in a tian grid box. MEET THE STROKES: START AT THE DOT, FOLLOW THE ARROW 横 héng horizontal 竖 shù vertical 撇 piě left-falling 捺 nà right-falling 横折 héng zhé across, down 竖折 shù zhé down, across rén person WATCH IT GROW: 2 STROKES 撇 piě 捺 nà kǒu mouth WATCH IT GROW: 3 STROKES 竖 shù 横折 héng zhé 横 héng dà big WATCH IT GROW: 3 STROKES 横 héng 撇 piě 捺 nà Chinese character and stroke-order grid · Characters 1 to 3 Page 1 of 4 MANDARIN CHINESE AGES 7 TO 11 CHARACTERS AND STROKE ORDER My first Chinese characters 汉字 Watch each character grow, trace the grey ones, then write your own in the tian grid 田字格 tiánzìgé. 人 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 口 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 大 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 人 1 2 人人人 口 1 2 3 口口口 大 1 2 3 大大大
Page 2
shān mountain WATCH IT GROW: 3 STROKES 竖 shù 竖折 shù zhé 竖 shù rì sun, day WATCH IT GROW: 4 STROKES 竖 shù 横折 héng zhé 横 héng 横 héng mù tree, wood WATCH IT GROW: 4 STROKES 横 héng 竖 shù 撇 piě 捺 nà ? Write from memory Cover the page. Read the pinyin, write the character. mù rén shān dà rì kǒu ! Stroke order rules you used today Top before bottom 日: the middle 横 comes before the bottom 横. Left before right 口: the left 竖 comes before the 横折. 横 before 竖 木: across first, then down. 撇 before 捺 人: the left foot comes before the right foot. Middle first 山: the tall middle peak comes before the two sides. Close the box last 口 日: the bottom 横 shuts the door. Chinese character and stroke-order grid · Characters 4 to 6 Page 2 of 4 MY FIRST CHINESE CHARACTERS CHARACTERS 4 TO 6 Mountain, sun and tree Say the pinyin out loud each time you write a character. 山 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 日 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 木 PICTURE TO CHARACTER 山 1 2 3 山山山 日 1 2 3 4 日日日 木 1 2 3 4 木木木
Page 3
1 Match each character to its picture 6 marks Join each character to the picture it grew from. Write its pinyin with the tone mark on the line. PINYIN BANK shān rén mù kǒu rì dà 2 Join two characters to make a word 4 marks Trace each word once, then write it twice. Keep both characters the same size. 大山 dà shān big mountain (big + mountain) 人口 rén kǒu population (person + mouth) Think about it: why might "person" + "mouth" mean population? Think of mouths to feed. 3 Check my writing Write your best character, then tick. It sits in the centre. It fills the box but not the edges. Strokes in order, from the dot. Straight strokes, sharp corners. Not yet Getting there Got it GO FURTHER One tree is 木 mù. Two trees side by side make 林 lín, woods. Write 林 below. Make each tree thinner so both fit in one box. How many strokes does 林 have? Chinese character and stroke-order grid · Total 10 marks Page 3 of 4 MY FIRST CHINESE CHARACTERS USE YOUR CHARACTERS Use your characters Match, build words and check your own writing. 山 人 日 口 木 大 1 2 3 4 5 6 大山 人口 林
Page 4
The six strokes on this sheet STROKE NAME HOW TO WRITE IT USED IN 横 héng horizontal 大 木 竖 shù vertical 山 木 撇 piě left-falling 人 大 捺 nà right-falling 人 木 横折 héng zhé across, down 口 日 竖折 shù zhé down, across 山 Stroke order at a glance CHARACTER STROKES ORDER 人 rén 2 撇, 捺 口 kǒu 3 竖, 横折, 横 大 dà 3 横, 撇, 捺 山 shān 3 竖, 竖折, 竖 日 rì 4 竖, 横折, 横, 横 木 mù 4 横, 竖, 撇, 捺 Answers Q ANSWER 1 山 shān to picture 4; 人 rén to 5; 日 rì to 6; 口 kǒu to 2; 木 mù to 1; 大 dà to 3. One mark each for a correct match with correct pinyin and tone. 2 One mark per correctly ordered word written twice, both characters equal in size. Look for 人 written 撇 then 捺 and 口 closed last. Go further 林 lín has 8 strokes. In the left 木 the last stroke shrinks to a short dot, so it does not crash into the right tree. Chinese character and stroke-order grid · Teacher page · Standard mainland stroke order Page 4 of 4 TEACHER PAGE DO NOT HAND OUT Stroke names, answers and teaching tips TONES TO LISTEN FOR 人 rén (2nd, rising), 口 kǒu (3rd, dipping), 大 dà (4th, falling), 山 shān (1st, high and level), 日 rì (4th), 木 mù (4th). Ask pupils to show the tone with a hand movement as they write. COMMON MISTAKES 口 in one loop. Pupils draw a circle or a single square. It is three strokes: left 竖, 横折, bottom 横. The corner of the 横折 should be sharp. Wrong order in 山. Many start with the left side. The tall middle 竖 comes first, then the 竖折, then the right 竖. 日 closed too early. The bottom 横 is always last; the middle 横 goes in before the box is shut. 人 and 大 crossing. In 人 the 捺 starts part way down the 撇, not at the top. TEACHING TIPS Air-write each stroke with the class, saying its name aloud: "横 héng, across". Use the dashed cross: the vertical in 木 and 山 sits on the centre line. Show the picture first, then the character, so the meaning sticks. Watch pupils write 口 and 山 live: order and direction matter more than neatness at first. SUPPORT AND STRETCH Support: trace with a finger first, then with a pencil; complete page 1 only. Stretch: try 森 sēn, forest (three trees), and 从 cóng, follow (two people). TALK PARTNER QUESTION 大 is a person with arms stretched wide. Which picture would you draw for "small", and why?
A teaching sequence
Write six Chinese characters with the stated stroke order, say or recognise their pinyin and use them in two-character combinations.
Watch the character grow stroke by stroke, then trace it yourself. The example grids stay as supplied.
Read the complete materialTrace the first three characters
Name the stroke from its visual direction, then trace 人, 口 and 大 while saying the pinyin and tone.
Which stroke direction begins the supplied model?
Practise the next character set
Continue with 山, 日 and 木, applying the printed order rules and fitting each form inside its grid.
Does each form follow the printed order and fit the grid?
Match pictures and build words
Match each character to a picture, then write 大山 and 人口 with the two characters kept at the same size.
Are both characters kept at the same size in 大山 or 人口?
Check with the separate teacher page
Check centring and character-specific stroke order against the separate teacher page. Have a fluent Mandarin teacher review the responses and the support or stretch choice.
Which stroke or tone helps recognition after specialist review?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Check that pupils can identify the six characters, say the pinyin with tones and follow the stated order in each grid. The teacher page gives answers and common mistakes; ask a fluent Mandarin teacher to confirm language and stroke guidance before relying on it.
Give a little support
Use finger tracing, enlarged stroke arrows and oral repetition before pencil writing. Page 4 suggests starting with page 1 only; keep the teacher page separate and use it to identify a common stroke-order error.
Take the idea further
Use the teacher page’s stretch characters only after checking them with a Mandarin specialist. Pupils can compare the stroke pattern for 林 with 木 and explain what changes to fit two trees in a character.
Things to keep in mind
Page 4 is explicitly teacher-only and contains answers and instructional notes. The three pupil pages teach a particular set of Mandarin characters and simplified stroke rules; a language specialist should review their accuracy and fit for the class before wider use.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas for using this resource
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet a creator whose teaching interests connect with this template.
Chalk & Chai
Across four pages, pupils meet stroke names, then six characters (人, 口, 大, 山, 日 and 木) with pinyin, tracing and tianzige practice. The examples call attention to character-specific order, including closing 口 and placing the middle stroke in 山.
Clear Example
The sequence moves from recognising horizontal, vertical, falling and turning strokes to writing forms from pinyin memory and using character combinations. The tianzige boxes make position part of the task alongside stroke count and order.
Extra Page
The “watch it grow” models and grey tracing forms provide a gradual route from observing to copying. Keep the pinyin immediately beside its character and model one character at a time so tone marks and stroke direction remain visible.
Page-Turner Planner
These are basic Mandarin forms for ages 7 to 11, and the page’s stroke rules are tied to the characters shown. A teacher should verify pronunciations and character-specific conventions against the taught course before extending the sheet to other forms.