Primary Chinese | Question analysis and material choice lesson plan (for tutors)

Primary Chinese | Question analysis and material choice lesson plan (for tutors) | 45 minutes, no off-topic essays

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary Chinese

Students start writing on sight, discover halfway that they misread the task, and rush the ending. This lesson splits the prompt into key word, limits and material, so the first sentence already has a direction.

Objectives — Students can: (1) read any prompt in 90 seconds using three steps (circle the key word, mark the limits, list materials) and state in one sentence what the task asks; (2) tell whether the key word is a person, an event or a feeling, and set the centre of the essay accordingly; (3) cut two of three candidate materials and justify each cut; (4) write about 300 words in 40 minutes, roughly 7.5 words a minute, without running out of time at the end.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Six narrative elements	What must a narrative contain?	Time, place, character, cause, process, result
Paragraphing	How many events per paragraph?	One event per paragraph
Prompt types	How does “My mother” differ from “The day my mother was angry”?	One writes a person, one writes an event

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Two prompts compared	Board “My mother” and “The day my mother was angry”	Students see the second adds time and event
6-18 min	Three steps	Circle key word, mark limits, list three materials	One minute per step, written on the paper
18-28 min	Three key-word types	Person, event, feeling, with the centre of each	Person: detail; event: process
28-38 min	Cut two of three	Give three materials for one prompt, cut two together with reasons	Reasons must be “not concrete” or “off-topic”
38-43 min	Timed opening	Five minutes, first paragraph only	The key word must appear
43-45 min	Exit check	Three oral questions	Two or more wrong: redo step two

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: The key word is the one that sets the centre, not the longest word

Board “An unforgettable trip”. Students circle “trip” and then write the itinerary: the bus, the meal, the hotel. The key word is “unforgettable”, and the whole essay must answer why it was unforgettable. Ask them to circle twice: first the noun, then the adjective or feeling word, and then ask which circle tells them what to feel. It is always the second. Sixty seconds here saves the whole essay.

Key word = the word that sets the centre

Scene 2: Write the limits down, do not keep them in your head

Step two is setting limits: which people, which day, which place. Write them on one line under the prompt, for example “me, mother / Sunday morning / our kitchen”. Once the limits are written, students stop adding classmates, teachers and a school trip halfway through. Tell them the limits are the fence, and the cow stays inside.

Person / time / place: three blanks, filled before writing

Scene 3: Two of the three materials must die; cutting is part of analysis

Offer three materials: mother cooking breakfast, a row with mother, mother mending a uniform at night. For “the day my mother was angry”, only the row works: it has conflict, process and feeling. Cooking is flat; mending is off-topic. Require a reason, and accept only three: not concrete, off-topic, unrelated to the key word. “I do not like it” is not a reason.

Keep: conflict, process, feeling. Cut: flat or off-topic

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Person prompt	“My grandmother”	Key word is a trait, prove it with three events	Not a biography
Event prompt	“An unforgettable experience”	Key word is the feeling; process takes seventy percent	Cause, process, result
Scene prompt	“A street in the rain”	Key word is the scene, five senses plus one detail	Do not slide into a story
Half-prompt	“The first time I ____”	Fill the blank, then re-read for the key word	Be specific, not “was happy”

Sanity check (teach this): Check the arithmetic: 300 words divided by 40 minutes is 7.5 words a minute. A student writing 15 words a minute would reach 600 words in 40 minutes, which usually means the essay has drifted or is repeating itself. A student writing 4 words a minute reaches only 160 words, so cut from three materials to two and add one detail paragraph.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Circle the key word in “Something I regret” and say what the essay must answer.	“Regret”; why you regret it	Circling “something” means redo
Write the person, time and place limits for that prompt.	e.g. me / last summer / at home	All three blanks filled
Cut two of three: buy a model, argue with my brother, go to tea.	Keep the argument	A reason is required

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Writing on sight	Starts the first sentence before reading the prompt	“Ninety seconds now saves three hundred words later.”
Circling the topic, not the key word	“An unforgettable trip” circled at “trip”	“That is the subject; where will you answer unforgettable?”
Piling up materials	Five events in one essay	“Five events is zero events; take one and finish it.”
Feeling appearing only at the end	Itinerary then “I will never forget it”	“Feeling has to run from the first paragraph, not be glued on.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

P5 Chinese practice paper — Composition task: key word and limits only
P6 Chinese practice paper — Composition task: pick one of three materials, write a 150-word opening
Primary Chinese chapter index — All chapters

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Name the three analysis steps.	Key word, limits, materials	Missing one means redo
Which word is the key word in “An unforgettable trip”?	Unforgettable	Answering “trip” means redo
How many words a minute for 300 words in 40 minutes?	About 7.5	Two or more wrong: redo step three

09 Tutor FAQ

Must students list three materials then cut?

Yes. The cutting is the thinking; the first material is usually the easiest, not the best fit.

Can they use a real experience?

Yes, if it has concrete detail; invented stories usually read thin.

What if the essay is too short?

Add a detail paragraph, never a new event; a new event changes the task.

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.