Mandarin Chinese zodiac flashcards for KS1 and KS2: 12 zodiac animals plus 12 Great Race story order cards with pinyin and English. Explore 十二生肖 from rat 鼠 to pig 猪 in simplified Chinese, with pinyin tone marks and our own retelling of the old folk tale.
Who it is for: children in KS1–KS2 (about ages 5–11) at home or in class, before Lunar New Year 2027 (Saturday 6 February 2027) or any time of year. Also great for older beginners, and for children who hear Mandarin at home. No Chinese knowledge needed to use it.
Inside (13 A4 pages):
• “How to use” page with 4 game ideas (race line-up, say it, what’s missing?, find your animal)
• Word list: the 12 animals in race order, recent years of each animal, story words and everyday words
• 12 zodiac picture word cards, 6 per page, with cut lines
• The Great Race: a one-page story to read aloud
• 12 story order cards (printed in mixed order): children put them in race order and write the place
• Worksheet 1: Race order – cut out 12 pictures and glue them in place (第一 to 第十二)
• Worksheet 2: Match the animal · Worksheet 3: Which animal? (circle the right character)
• Answer page for all three worksheets and the story cards
Print tips: A4 at “actual size” / 100%. Card (160–250 gsm) works best. Laminate for longer use. Colour looks best; black and white also works.
Licence: © 2026 Ren Sun, trading as Mingpine. Bought on Lesson Planned: the Lesson Planned Teaching Resource Licence applies. Please don’t share or resell.
Instant PDF download. No physical item is sent.
AI note: Illustrations were made with an AI image tool from our own prompts, then selected and edited by us. Page text and layout were drafted with AI help. All Chinese, pinyin and English was checked by a native Mandarin speaker.
Pinyin Sprouts is a shop of Ren Sun, trading as Mingpine · mingpinelabs@gmail.com
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