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Mandarin Weather — 天气

Fourth graders learn to talk about the weather in Mandarin — 天气 (tiānqì), 太阳 (tàiyáng), 下雨 (xià yǔ), 热 (rè), 冷 (lěng) — so they can describe the day in Chinese.

Grade 4Tiānqì40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Describe the weather.
  • ✓Say sun/rain.
  • ✓Say hot/cold.
  • ✓Talk about the day.
Essential Question

今天天气怎么样? (How’s the weather today?) How do you describe the weather 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
Explore · Interactive

Mandarin Weather Check

Project each item and have students answer about the weather in Mandarin.

☀️ Understand Mandarin weatherTry it
Answer each question about Mandarin weather.
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 — 今天天气怎么样?

4 min

How do you describe the weather in Mandarin?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask today’s weather.
  • Ask how to say it.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Tiānqì

10 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Mandarin Weather Check.
  • Note 太阳 and 下雨.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer.
  • Note it.
  • Repeat.
3

Practice — Practice

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say today’s weather.
  • Say 热 or 冷.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Say.
4

Speak — Speak

10 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe the weather.
  • Say your favorite.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Describe.
  • Say it.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “天气好.”
  • Say “冷.”
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say 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 weather words.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: describe weather.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to weather and seasons.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare weather words.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Weather picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “今天 ___.”
  • Use a weather chart.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with 太阳 and 下雨.
  • Use pictures.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add 风 (wind) and 下雪 (snow).
  • Give a forecast.
  • Describe each season.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • ☀️A weather chart
  • 💻Mandarin Weather Check
  • 🗣️Audio
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

天气 (tiānqì)weather太阳 (tàiyáng)sun下雨 (xià yǔ)to rain下雪 (xià xuě)to snow热 (rè)hot冷 (lěng)cold风 (fēng)wind云 (yún)cloud
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 “今天天气好” mean?
Today’s weather is good.
QUESTION 2
What does “下雨 (xià yǔ)” mean?
It’s raining.
QUESTION 3
What is the Mandarin word for sun?
太阳 (tàiyáng).

Reflect: 天气.

Have students describe today’s weather in Mandarin (like “今天天气好” or “热 rè”). A printable weather 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 Weather (Tiānqì)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 Weather (Tiānqì)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 Weather (Tiānqì)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: 下雨 (xià yǔ), 下雪 (xià xuě), 云 (yún), 冷 (lěng), 天气 (tiānqì), 太阳 (tàiyáng), 热 (rè), 风 (fēng)
  1. to snow
  2. sun
  3. hot
  4. weather
  5. to rain
  6. wind
  7. cold
  8. cloud

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does “今天天气好” mean?
  2. What does “下雨 (xià yǔ)” mean?
  3. What is the Mandarin word for sun?
Answer key — Part A: 1) 下雪 (xià xuě) · 2) 太阳 (tàiyáng) · 3) 热 (rè) · 4) 天气 (tiānqì) · 5) 下雨 (xià yǔ) · 6) 风 (fēng) · 7) 冷 (lěng) · 8) 云 (yún)
Part B: 1) Today’s weather is good. 2) It’s raining. 3) 太阳 (tàiyáng).