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Mandarin Animals — 动物

Fourth graders learn animal words in Mandarin — 狗 (gǒu), 猫 (māo), 鸟 (niǎo), 鱼 (yú), 马 (mǎ) — so they can name the animals around them in Chinese.

Grade 4Dòngwù40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name animals.
  • ✓Say each animal.
  • ✓Match animals to meanings.
  • ✓Talk about pets.
Essential Question

Woof, meow, neigh! What are the animals called in Mandarin?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Animal

Project this and match each Mandarin animal to its English meaning — tap the Mandarin, then tap the English.

🐾 Match each animal to its meaningTry it
中文 Mandarin
English
Now tap the English!
The Lesson · Communicative Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Woof, Meow, Neigh

4 min

What are the animals called in Mandarin?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Make an animal sound.
  • Ask its Mandarin name.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Guess.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Dòngwù

10 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present each animal.
  • Say the pinyin.
  • Show the characters.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Repeat.
  • Look.
3

Practice — Match Them

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Animal.
  • Match each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

10 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a pet.
  • Say “我有一只狗” (I have a dog).
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name it.
  • Say it.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name an animal.
  • Say what it means.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice).

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand animal words.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: name animals.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to science.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare animal words.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Animal picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “这是 ___.”
  • Use animal images.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with 狗 and 猫.
  • Match one pair at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add 熊猫 (panda) and 龙 (dragon).
  • Describe your pet.
  • Make animal sounds.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🐾Animal cards
  • 💻Match the Animal
  • 🗣️Audio
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

动物 (dòngwù)animal狗 (gǒu)dog猫 (māo)cat鸟 (niǎo)bird鱼 (yú)fish马 (mǎ)horse熊猫 (xióngmāo)panda龙 (lóng)dragon
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does “狗 (gǒu)” mean?
Dog.
QUESTION 2
What does “猫 (māo)” mean?
Cat.
QUESTION 3
What does “马 (mǎ)” mean?
Horse.

Reflect: 动物.

Have students name two animals in Mandarin (like 狗 gǒu and 猫 māo). A printable animals sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Mandarin Animals (Dòngwù)Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Mandarin Animals (Dòngwù)Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Mandarin Animals (Dòngwù)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: 动物 (dòngwù), 熊猫 (xióngmāo), 狗 (gǒu), 猫 (māo), 马 (mǎ), 鱼 (yú), 鸟 (niǎo), 龙 (lóng)
  1. bird
  2. dog
  3. panda
  4. horse
  5. fish
  6. animal
  7. dragon
  8. cat

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does “狗 (gǒu)” mean?
  2. What does “猫 (māo)” mean?
  3. What does “马 (mǎ)” mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) 鸟 (niǎo) · 2) 狗 (gǒu) · 3) 熊猫 (xióngmāo) · 4) 马 (mǎ) · 5) 鱼 (yú) · 6) 动物 (dòngwù) · 7) 龙 (lóng) · 8) 猫 (māo)
Part B: 1) Dog. 2) Cat. 3) Horse.