Hear the poetry. Discover the beauty of Chinese.The Farmer’s Toil (II)
Discover the care and hard work behind a grain of rice.
Choose one activity and enjoy a little time together.
Listen together. Share a word, a movement and a little time.
Listen to the sounds of poetry
Listen with music, then practise with voice-only audio and pauses for your turn.
Having trouble playing? Open audio ↗
Listen to the recording and follow the pinyin.
A note for grown-ups
At noon, a farmer is still hoeing the field, sweat falling into the soil beneath the crops. Every grain of food on the plate comes from hard work.
Read together, one turn at a time
Say the first syllable of a line, then let your child continue.
Where are the hidden lines? Let’s find them.
Start with two syllables as a clue, then try just one. Swap roles when you are ready.
Words for grown-ups
Play the Mandarin recording, then use these prompts together.
New to Chinese? Listen, point and move together.
Play your way through three days
Listen, read and play. Follow your child’s curiosity.
The journey of rice
Tap the stages in order.
These are three main stages of a longer journey.
Try it together.
Find 土 (tǔ, soil). Say: “Thank you, ____, for giving us ____.”
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Bring the poem to paper.
Choose a page to read, draw or write together.
The print pack contains pages 4, 9 and 10 from the workbook: the poem, a game and an extension activity.
These are the current Chinese-led worksheets with English support. The fully English guide is on this webpage; an English-localised PDF edition is still in preparation.
POETRY BUDS
Let’s keep in touch
Questions about reading together, a correction to share, or an idea for working together? We’d love to hear from you.
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