Mid-Autumn Food Stall

Overview

Students review and learn six Chinese characters linked to Mid-Autumn Festival foods and ingredients: 果, 瓜, 花, 豆, 米 and 食. Through picture matching, character-tile menu building and a buying-and-selling role-play, students connect written characters with meaning and pronunciation, then write one simple Mandarin sentence.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• recognise and pronounce six food-related Chinese characters
• match each character to its meaning and a relevant picture
• use simple Mandarin phrases to buy and sell food
• write one sentence describing a chosen ingredient

Success criteria

• I can recognise at least five of the six target characters.
• I can say the meaning and pronunciation of the characters I use.
• I can use a polite buying-and-selling exchange in Mandarin.
• I can write a sentence using a target character and sentence pattern.

Curriculum links

• Communicating in familiar situations through short, practised spoken exchanges
• Understanding how Chinese characters represent meaning and how pronunciation supports communication
• Reading and writing familiar words and short sentences for a meaningful purpose
• Exploring Chinese cultural practices through Mid-Autumn Festival foods and celebrations

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook and cultural context Open with the Mid-Autumn Festival food-stall hook. Show a striking image of a colourful festival food stall and ask: “What might people buy here?” Briefly explain that families celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with food, lanterns and time together. Share the learning intentions and success criteria.

2. 5–13 minutes – Character and pronunciation review Use the character teaching slides to introduce or review the six characters:

• 果 guǒ – fruit
• 瓜 guā – melon
• 花 huā – flower
• 豆 dòu – bean
• 米 mǐ – rice
• 食 shí – food/eat Model each sound and tone clearly. Students echo, then show thumbs-up when they hear a target character. Clarify that the same character may appear in longer words, but today students are learning its core meaning.

3. 13–21 minutes – Match meaning, sound and image Place students in mixed-ability groups of four or five. Distribute the character matching and sentence worksheet and display the matching instructions in the group activity slides. Students match character tiles or teacher-prepared cards with picture cards, English meanings and pinyin. Each group rehearses the pronunciation before checking with another group. Circulate and listen for accurate tones.

4. 21–29 minutes – Build a festival menu Give each group a stall name and a set of character tiles and food pictures. Using the menu-building slides, groups create a small Mid-Autumn Festival food-stall menu containing at least four target items. They place the character beside its picture and pinyin, then practise saying: “这是___。” (This is ___.) Each group presents one menu item to the class.

5. 29–39 minutes – Buying and selling role-play Model the exchange with a confident student, using the dialogue on the role-play slides:

• Customer: “你好！我想买米/豆/瓜。” Hello! I would like to buy rice/beans/melon.
• Seller: “好的。给你。” OK. Here you are.
• Customer: “谢谢！” Thank you!
• Seller: “不客气！” You’re welcome! Groups divide into sellers and customers. Customers visit two stalls and buy different items, pointing to the correct character as they speak. Swap roles after four minutes. Encourage polite eye contact, clear pronunciation and complete phrases.

6. 39–43 minutes – Write one sentence Students complete the writing task on the character matching and sentence worksheet. Model: “我喜欢米。” (I like rice.) or “这是瓜。” (This is melon.) Students choose one ingredient, copy the character accurately and write one sentence with pinyin support if needed. Invite two or three students to read their sentences aloud.

7. 43–45 minutes – Review and exit check Return to the review and plenary slides. Hold up three character cards in quick succession; students say the character, pronunciation and meaning with a partner. Ask: “Which character was easiest? Which needs more practice?” Collect worksheets and note one pronunciation or character-recognition success for each group.

Resources

• the Mid-Autumn Festival Chinese character and role-play deck
• the character matching and sentence worksheet
• Teacher-prepared character tiles: 果、瓜、花、豆、米、食
• Picture cards showing fruit, melon, flower, beans, rice and festival food
• Pinyin and English meaning cards
• A4 paper or mini-whiteboards for group menus
• Blu-tack, glue or reusable adhesive
• Six group signs or simple stall labels
• Board and marker pens

Assessment

• During matching and menu building, check whether students connect each character with its meaning, picture and pronunciation.
• During role-play, use a quick class list to record participation, intelligibility, use of the target vocabulary and polite exchange phrases.
• Mark the final sentence for a recognisable target character, appropriate meaning and a comprehensible sentence pattern.

Differentiation

• Support: provide colour-coded character, picture and pinyin cards; allow students to read from the dialogue; pair learners with a supportive speaker and rehearse privately before performing.
• Support for EAL/SEN: use large-print cards, uncluttered worksheet sections, gesture and repetition; accept pointing followed by a spoken word before expecting the full exchange.
• Core challenge: require students to use at least four different characters and visit two stalls using complete phrases.
• Extension: invite confident students to add “我喜欢……” (I like …), ask “你要什么？” (What would you like?) or create a two-item order.