Primary Chinese: Descriptive Writing with Five Senses (Tutor Lesson Plan)

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary Chinese

Pupils write a whole paragraph with their eyes only, so every sentence says pretty or busy. This lesson turns the five senses into a ten-cell grid and forces five different senses into one short paragraph.

Objectives — By the end pupils can: (1) name the five senses and two observable items for each, filling all 10 cells; (2) turn three cells into a three-sentence paragraph, one sense per sentence; (3) delete vague adjectives such as pretty and busy and replace them with a concrete detail; (4) complete 2 passages independently in 16 minutes (36 per cent of the lesson).

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Adjectives	Which is more concrete: nice or bright red?	Bright red gives colour and light
Sense words	Do sweet, fragrant and rough belong to taste, smell or touch?	Taste, smell, touch
Complete sentences	What two parts does a sentence need?	A subject and what it does

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-4 min	Hook: thirty seconds eyes closed	Ask pupils to name three sounds	Name three sounds
4-9 min	Act 1: open the five senses	Write the five senses, two examples each	Copy the five-sense line
9-14 min	Act 2: fill ten cells	Ask one sense at a time about the picture	Fill two cells per sense
14-19 min	Act 3: three sentences	Model three sentences, one sense each	Write three sentences
19-35 min	Two timed passages (16 min)	2 passages x 8 minutes, timed	Grid first, then sentences
35-40 min	Share and peer check	Read two paragraphs, ask which sense each uses	Name the senses used
40-45 min	Exit check	Three oral questions	Rewrite one sentence if wrong

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Open the senses: start with hearing, not sight

Pupils default to sight, so block it first. Thirty seconds with eyes closed, naming three sounds: the air conditioner, footsteps, a bus outside.
Then write the five senses on the board: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Ask only two examples per sense, for example burnt rice and disinfectant for smell, cold and sticky for touch.

Pupils must: copy the five-sense line with two examples each and keep it for every future description.

Scene 2: Fill ten cells: one concrete observation per cell

Show a picture or the window, ask one sense at a time, two cells each, 10 cells in total. The rule: no adjectives in the grid, only nouns or actions. Write cicada noise, not very noisy; write rusted railing, not very old.
A half-filled grid of concrete cells beats ten vague ones.

Reminder: if a sense finds nothing, write none. That is also an observation.

Scene 3: Three sentences: one sense each, no repeats

Pick three cells and write 3 sentences, one sense per sentence, and at least one sentence must use hearing or smell because pupils skip both.
Model: The railing feels sticky. Cicadas press their noise in layers from far away. The air tastes of something burnt and sweet. Three senses, no use of pretty.

Pupils must say: which sense is each sentence? If they cannot say, they used sight three times.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Name the sense	Which sense is stinging?	Can it be smelled?	Smell
Rewrite a cell	Turn the flowers are pretty into one concrete line	Choose one sense and one detail	The petal edges are scorched and dry
Delete vague words	Remove every very plus adjective	Scan for the word very	Replace each with a detail
Three-sentence paragraph	Write three sentences, three senses	One sense per sentence	Three senses, no vague words

Sanity check (teach this): Check the numbers: five senses x two cells = 10 cells, and a three-sentence paragraph uses only three of them, so observation is more than three times the writing demand. Modelling takes 15 minutes, timed practice 16 minutes (36 per cent), introduction 4 and exit 5, leaving 5 minutes to share, which fits two passages at 8 minutes each.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Fill the grid for the classroom	Sight: strip light. Hearing: air conditioner. Smell: chalk. Touch: desk.	More than three vague cells
Write three sentences, three senses	Three senses, one must be hearing	Sight used twice
Delete vague words from a paragraph	Each deletion replaced by a detail	Deleted but not replaced

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Sight only	The park is pretty and has many flowers	What can you smell? Give me one sentence with your nose.
Vague adjectives	Very busy, very comfortable	Busy is which sound? Write that sound.
Sense list	I see… I hear… I smell…	Drop I hear. Write the sound itself.
Simile as a shortcut	The cloud is like cotton candy, then stops	And then what? Is it moving fast or slow?

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

P4 Chinese paper — Writing: one three-sentence paragraph from the grid
P5 Chinese paper — Writing: four sentences using at least two senses
Primary Chinese chapter index — All chapters

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Name the five senses	Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch	Any missing sense is retaught
What is the rule for three sentences?	One sense per sentence, no repeats	Three sight sentences is wrong
What replaces pretty?	One concrete detail	Deleting alone is unfinished

09 Tutor FAQ

What if there is nothing to smell?

Write none, then add a hearing or touch sentence. Do not invent a smell.

Should pupils memorise sense vocabulary?

No. The five names and two examples each are enough; vocabulary grows while filling the grid.

Can pupils use similes?

Yes, but the simile must be followed by a concrete action or change, or it works like a vague adjective.

Find a tutor — free Tutor Registration →

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.