Primary Chinese | Speech and inner thought lesson plan (for tutors)

Primary Chinese | Speech and inner thought lesson plan (for tutors) | Dialogue that sounds like a person

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary Chinese

Every dialogue a student writes is “he said: I am angry” – one reporting verb, one emotion word. This lesson swaps the emotion word for an action and the long explanation for a short line.

Objectives — Students can: (1) replace a single “said” with three kinds of reporting clause (action, expression, tone); (2) rewrite 6 lines of dialogue at 3 minutes each, 18 minutes in total; (3) write inner thought in three layers – body, thought, action – at 5 minutes each, 15 minutes; (4) keep practice at 73 percent of the 45-minute lesson.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Quotation marks	What do the marks contain?	Only the words spoken
Emotion words	What kind of word is “angry”?	An adjective; never enough alone
Punctuation	What follows a reporting clause?	A colon before the quote

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	One bad line	Board “he said: I am angry”	Students name what is missing
6-14 min	Three reporting clauses	Action, expression, tone, one demo each	Each student rewrites one line
14-32 min	Dialogue drill	6 lines at 3 minutes	18 minutes
32-44 min	Three layers	Body, thought, action at 5 minutes	15 minutes
44-45 min	Exit check	Three oral questions	Collected at the door

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Reporting clauses: stop saying “said”

Replace it with an action: he lowered his head, he pushed the cup away, he waited two seconds. Within one exchange the clause must vary: action first, expression second, and the third can be dropped if the reader knows who speaks.
The clause tells how it was said, not who said it.

Ask students to replace every “said” in a four-line exchange without repeating a type.

Scene 2: Dialogue rhythm: short lines push, long lines drag

Real anger is short, broken, repetitive; grief is long, trailing, off topic. Count words with students: under eight words reads as urgent, over twenty-five as heavy.
Use short lines for a quarrel and long lines for an apology.

Note: “he said loudly” does not make a line faster; only length does.

Scene 3: Three layers: body, thought, action

Body first: damp palms, hot ears. Thought second: if I speak now I will cry. Action third: he closed the lunch box and walked out.
All three layers show the reader how nervous the character is, better than ten statements of nerves.

Ask students for one sentence per layer about their most nervous moment.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Reporting clause rewrite	Replace “said” with action or expression	A different type each line	No repeats
Dialogue completion	Four lines from a situation	Short lines signal urgency	Punctuation counts
Three layers	Write a nervous moment in three layers	Body, thought, action	Missing layer means redo
Emotion word removal	Delete “very angry”	Replace with action	No information lost

Sanity check (teach this): Check the arithmetic: 6 lines times 3 minutes is 18 minutes; three layers times 5 minutes is 15 minutes; together 33 minutes, 73 percent of a 45-minute lesson, leaving 12 minutes for modelling and the exit check. If time runs short, cut the reporting-clause demo, never the three layers.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Rewrite “he said angrily” as an action	He pushed his chair back a foot	Is it an action
Write four quarrel lines under eight words each	Short, repeated, overlapping	Check line count and length
Write “waiting for results” in three layers	Shaking hands, worst case, checking the door	All three layers

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Reporting clause as a list	Said, said, said, said	“Four saids and the reader cannot tell them apart.”
Emotion words instead of description	“He was very nervous”	“Nervous is your conclusion; give me the evidence.”
Dialogue too tidy	Every line complete with a subject	“People interrupt and trail off.”
Inner thought as a lecture	“He understood that life is hard”	“That is you talking, not him thinking.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

P5 Chinese practice paper — Write 100 words of dialogue with no repeated reporting clause
P6 Chinese practice paper — Reading: find two passages of inner thought
Primary Chinese chapter index — All chapters

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Name three kinds of reporting clause.	Action, expression, tone	One missing means redo
Name the three layers of inner thought.	Body, thought, action	One layer means redo
Quarrel: long lines or short?	Short	Answering long means redo

09 Tutor FAQ

Should dialogue be in written Chinese?

Narration yes; quoted speech may keep spoken flavour.

How many paragraphs of inner thought?

One is enough; more slows the story.

When is a reporting clause repeated?

Twice in one exchange counts as repetition.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.