这是我的家
zhè shì wǒ de jiā — This Is My Family
📐 Standards alignment
ACTFL World-Readiness: Communication (presentational, interpersonal) · Cultures (grandparents in Chinese family life) · Comparisons (word order in Chinese and English)
Can-Do targets (NCSSFL-ACTFL, Novice Low):
- I can name my grandparents in Chinese.
- I can introduce one family member using a full sentence.
- I can say “I love you” to someone in my family.
Learning objectives
- Add 爷爷 and 奶奶 to the family words from Lesson 1
- Build a sentence with the pattern 这是 + person
- Say 我爱你 to someone at home and mean it
Materials
The drawing or photo from Lesson 1. Optional: a paper plate and lolly stick to make a simple family puppet.
Prior knowledge
Unit 5 Lesson 1 — the six family words. Review them quickly before starting; this lesson builds straight on top.
Key vocabulary
爷爷 奶奶 家 家人 这是 我爱你
Family words, fast round
Sixty seconds only. The grown-up says an English family word and your child fires back the Chinese one, as quickly as they can: Mom, Dad, older sister, younger brother… Getting stuck is fine, just say the word together and move on. This warm-up is what makes the new sentence pattern feel easy in a moment.
Grandparents, home, and a sentence
Tap each card to flip it over. Look at the characters, say the word out loud, then check the back for the meaning — and press 🔊 to hear it.
这是 — “This is…”
Here is your child’s first real Chinese sentence. 这是 means “this is”, and 我的 means “my”. Put them together and you get 这是我的妈妈 — “This is my mom.” Swap the last word for any family member and the sentence still works: 这是我的爸爸, 这是我的爷爷, 这是我的妹妹. Notice that Chinese puts the words in the same order as English here, which makes this pattern a gift for beginners.
Introduce your family
Hold up the photo or drawing from Lesson 1. Your child points at each person in turn and introduces them with the full sentence: 这是我的 … Do the whole family, one person at a time. Then have them introduce the family to a stuffed animal, a grandparent on a video call, or the dog — performing it to someone real is what turns a pattern into speech.
Memory game — find the pairs
Every Chinese word has its English meaning hiding somewhere in the grid. Tap two cards to see if they match.
Find the matching pairs!
Listen and choose
Press each play button and pick what you heard.
1. Press play. Who did you hear?
2. Press play. What did you hear?
3. Press play. What did you hear?
Family puppet show
Make three quick puppets — paper plates, socks or just drawings on folded paper. Give each one a family name. Now put on a two-minute show where the puppets greet each other with 你好 and introduce themselves with 这是我的. Finish the show with every puppet saying 我爱你. Silly voices strongly encouraged.
Show what you know
1. Which word means “Grandma”?
2. You are pointing at your dad. What do you say?
3. What does 家 mean?
Great work!
Your child can now name eight family members and put them into a real sentence: 这是我的 + person. That pattern comes back again and again — in Unit 7 it becomes “this is my dog”, and in Unit 9 “this is my pencil”. Learning it once here pays for itself all year.
Take it home
Make a family poster
Draw your whole family in the box, grandparents included. Under each person write their Chinese word. Then show the poster to someone and introduce all of them out loud, one at a time, using 这是我的.
Name: Date:
Say it three times
Say 我爱你 to three different people in your family this week — a grandparent on the phone counts. Colour in a star for each one.
Note for teachers & parents
Pacing: the sentence pattern in step 3 is the heart of this lesson. If time runs short, skip the memory game rather than that step.
Watch for: children often drop the 的 and say just “this mom”. Rather than correcting mid-sentence, repeat the full version back to them warmly and move on — they will pick it up from hearing it.