chinese new year story "nian"

Pets

Hello everyone. After reading the two stories (the Little Red Hen and The Hare and the Tortoise), do you get interested in animals now? I hope you do because today our lesson is about pets.

First off, what is pet? Pet is actually tamed animal that is kept for companionship or pleasure and treated with care and affection. Some people buy them from pet shop, some people adopt them from animal care center, and some people just bring them back home if they saw them got abandoned somewhere outside by other owner or the parents.

What kind of pets do people usually keep? In my mind, I think dogs and cats are the most common choice of pets. Birds, fishes, hamsters and rabbits are often kept as pets as well. Reptiles like turtles, snakes and lizards can be kept as pets too but not everyone like them. But remember, do not own animals like panda or tiger as they are endangered species and not suitable to be kept as pets. They belong to the wildlife and can hardly be tamed.

Now you have a clear idea of what pets are, we move on to their physical appearance. What color is your pet? Is it white, black, mixed colours, or dotted? If you do not own any pet, you can imagine one for yourself first. How about a white rabbit with two big red eyes? Or a puppy with black-dotted body? Anyway, you can discuss with your friends or siblings and see what is their dream pets.

How about their food? What does your pet eat? Some people like to feed their pet with only pet food, and some people like to feed them with rices mixed with vegetables and meats. Depending on your pets, their appetite might be different. For examples, chicken prefers corn or rice, rabbit prefers carrot and vegetable, and fish prefers worms or fish food.

So what are you waiting for? Make a brief description of your own pet and compare it with your friends. You can visit your friends and take a look at their pets too. You might come across with some cute pets! Have fun!

Story: The Hare and the Tortoise

Hi students. It is story telling session again. I hope you are able to catch up with the lessons and exercises. Today, I am going to share a story titled "The Hare and the Tortoise". Do you know what is a hare? A hare is a fast-running, long-eared mammal that looks like a rabbit. How about a tortoise? It is actually a herbivorous turtle that lives on land.

                       
                       The Hare and the Tortoise

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me."

The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."

"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."

"Keep your boasting till you've beaten," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"

 So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, believing that the Tortoise could never catch him, lay down by the wayside to have a nap. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course.

When the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post. The Hare ran as fast as he could, but it was too late. He saw the Tortoise had reached the goal. Then said the Tortoise:

"Slow and steady wins the race."

Exercise 5

A. Write down the correct answers.

1. 10 -> t_n

2. 8  -> e_g_t

3. 6  -> _ _x

4. 3  -> th_ _ _

5. 9  -> _i_e

6. 7  -> _ _ _ _ _

7. 1  -> _ _ _

8. 2  -> _ _ _

9. 4  -> _ _ _ _

10. 5 -> _ _ _ _

B. Count and write the numbers in word form.

1.

(     ) table

2.

(     ) books

3.

(     ) rulers

4.

(     ) ducks

5.

(     ) brooms

Answers:

A.

1. ten         6.  seven

2. eight      7.  one

3. six         8.  two

4. three      9.  four

5. nine       10. five

B. 

1. one

2. six

3. five

4. two

5. three

Counting One To Ten

Below is two simple and easy songs for you to learn to count from one to ten in English. Sing along with your friends in school. I love the second one more because the Ducky is just too cute.

Numbers: One To Ten

Hello everybody. Today, I am going to teach you about numbers. What is number? Number is actually used to express a value or quantity in terms of words or figures. It is often used in counting, making calculations, for identification and for showing order in a series.

You should have learn how to count in your Mathematics lesson, right? So let’s show me how good you are at counting. Look at the picture below and tell me how many balls you see.


That’s right. There is a total of five balls in the picture. You can do it by pointing your finger at each ball as you count along all the balls. You will eventually stop pointing at the fifth ball and said five balls. Then that’s your answer: five!

Do you know how to write number one to ten? Maybe you know them as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. How about in English words? Let us learn together. Please pay attention at the spelling for each number.

1: One
2: Two
3: Three
4: Four
5: Five
6: Six
7: Seven
8: Eight
9: Nine
10: Ten

Remember to pronounce correctly for number one to ten. Look for the video titled “Numbers” in the Learning Videos section in my blog. It will teach you how to count from one to ten.

Story: The Little Red Hen

I always reminded my students to take a break after long hours of study. Reading story book is one of the activities you can do during the break. Now in this blog, I would like to share some short stories with you. This not only helps to relax your mind, but also helps to develop your interest in reading.

The story below is about little Red Hen and some of her friends (the Goose and the Duck).

The Little Red Hen

   

The little Red Hen was in the farmyard with her chickens, when she found a grain of wheat. 

"Who will plant this wheat?" she said.

"Not I," said the Goose.

"Not I," said the Duck.

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she planted the grain of wheat.

When the wheat was ripe she said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

"Not I," said the Goose.

"Not I," said the Duck.

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she took the wheat to the mill.

When she brought the flour home she said, "Who will make some bread with this flour?"

"Not I," said the Goose.

"Not I," said the Duck.

"I will, then," said the little Red Hen.

When the bread was baked, she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

"I will," said the Goose

"I will," said the Duck

"No, you won't," said the little Red Hen. "I shall eat it myself.  Cluck! cluck!"  And she called her chickens to help her.

  

Songs for You

Another video session! This video here includes four songs which are suitable for children in primary school. They are easy to sing so you should give it a try and sing it in front of your family and friends.

Song list:

Pop! Goes The Weasel

Chipmunk Family

Little Toad Little Toad

Crawdad

Little Fox

Exercise 4

Look at the picture below and name the things.

1.                     5.

2.                     6.

3.                     7.

4.                     8.

Answers:

1. clock

2. cupboard

3. table

4. ruler

5. board

6. desk

7. chair

8. pencil

Look at the pictures and answer the questions.

1.

What is this? This is a ___.

2. 

What is this? This is a ___.

3. 

What is this? This is a ___.

4. 

What is this? This is a ___.

5. 

What is this? This is a ___.

Answers:

1. sharpener

2. cupboard

3. eraser

4. desk

5. bag

Inside the Classroom

How are the lessons in school so far? Are you familiarize with your classroom yet? I hope you are comfortable with your surrounding in school by now. Today I am going to guide you around a classroom.

Look at the picture below. Is this a classroom? Yes it is. Your exact classroom might be a little bit different than this but the things inside the classroom should be somewhat similar.

So what can you see in this classroom? Do you recognize any of them? These are the things you always see in your classroom, isn't it? Alright now let us learn their names.

The big rectangular object that hangs on wall is called board.

The object with two doors that we store stuff in it is called cupboard.

The object that teacher put his/her things on is called table.

The object that we sit on is called chair.

The object that students put their things on is called desk.

The object that we use to measure is called ruler.

The object that we use to write is called pencil.

The object that we use to rub off words we wrote is called eraser.

The object that we put books into it and bring to school is called bag.

After this lesson, you should be able to name a few things in your classroom. Remember to add “s” to the end of object’s name if the object is more than one. Examples: the chairs and desks in classroom.

Exercise 3

Read and fill in the blanks with words in the box.

Mother: _____(1) give me the umbrella.
Boy    : Here you are, Mother.

Girl    : May I _____(2) you, Mother?
Mother: Yes, please get me some sugar.

Grandfather: Mun Chong, please ___(3) on the fan.
Mun Chong: Of course, grandfather.

Boy : Thank you for the bread.
Man: You are _____(4).

Siti    : I took your pen by mistake. I am _____(5).
Ai Lin: It is all right.

Randy   : Let me help you, Teacher.
Teacher: _____(6), Randy.

Answers:
1. Please        2. help        3. on
4. welcome    5. sorry      6. Thank you

Making Friends: Continue with Polite Phrases

Hello. I hope you are getting along pretty well with your new friends. Today I am teaching you to say polite phrases in your daily conversations, which are: thank you, you are welcome, may I, and please.

Thank you:

Say it when someone helps you, e.g. lend you a hand when you fall

Say it when someone praises you, e.g. say something good about you

Say it when someone gives you a present, e.g. gives you christmas gift

Say it when someone does something for you, e.g. close the door for you

You are welcome:

Say it when someone thanks you for helping, e.g. help him/her to take something

Say it when someone thanks you for praising, e.g. say something good about him/her

Say it when someone thanks you for the present, e.g. give him/her birthday gift

May I:

Say it when you are requesting something from someone, e.g. when you borrow a pen from your friend

Say it when you need permission from someone, e.g. when you need to go out and you have to ask your parents.

Please:

Say it when you are asking someone to give you something, e.g. asking for spoon from waiter

Say it when you are asking someone to do something for you, e.g. help you to close the window

Make sure you use these polite phrases when you are making requests or thanking someone. It makes people feel warm and kind when you use them correctly. Moreover, this will make your friends and other people to like you even more. So use them more often in your daily conversations.