About this Story:
This story is about Sima Guang, who reminds us to keep calm in an emergency. Sima Guang, as a child, saved a playmate who had fallen into an enormous vat full of water. Other children scattered in panic, while Sima Guang saved the other child by smashing a hole in the base of the pot to allow the water to flow out. His calm decisiveness won him considerable praise.
Download the story in PDF version here to print for classroom or home use.
Download the narrated iBook for use on iPad and other electronic devices.
Culture:
Chinese youngsters are expected to be brave and calm to solve problems in a crisis.
Connections (Subject Area):
Math: Counting
Music: Singing
Physical Education: Throwing balls and Total Physical Response
Literature: Comparison between Chinese and English onomatopoeia
Comparisons:
Students will compare Chinese onomatopoeia and English onomatopoeia.
Community:
Communication:
Students will work in pairs or groups to describe actions that happen in the story.
Language Functions & Forms:
Grammatical Structures: 有1-10个(There is/are…); 在…里(in..); 进/出(in/out); verb+了(indicating an action done)
Vocabulary: 掉(to fall), 吓(to be scared), 哭(to cry), 搬(to move), 砸(to break), 爬(to crawl), 孩子(child), 院子(backyard), 水缸(jar), 石头(stone)
Character & Word Study:
Culminating Assessment:
Interpretive Task: Drawing a picture based on the text
Interpersonal Task: Negotiating the meaning of the pictures
Presentational Task: Performing an impromptu drama based on the story