看图作文 Chinese Picture Composition
Picture writing from Primary 1 to Primary 6: talk through the pictures, collect good words, write, then compare with a sample composition. Every set prints with a 作文格 writing grid.
P1–P2看图写话 · 一、二年级 · ages 7–8
P3–P4看图作文 · 三、四年级 · ages 9–10
P5–P6看图作文 · 五、六年级 · ages 11–12
What is 看图写话 and 看图作文?
Picture writing is how Singapore primary school children learn to write in Chinese. In Primary 1 and 2, 看图写话 asks for a few sentences about one picture: who is there, where, what they are doing and how they feel. From Primary 3, 看图作文 gives a series of pictures that tell a story, and the child writes a full composition with a beginning, a middle that follows the pictures, and an ending with feelings or a lesson. In the PSLE, one of the two composition choices is still a picture composition.
How each composition works
看图 Look and talk comes first, because a child who can say it can write it. Guiding questions go through the pictures one by one (什么时候？谁？在哪里？发生了什么？心情怎么样？). Your child answers out loud in a whole sentence, then compares with a sample answer. A 💡 button shows what happens in each picture for a child who is stuck.
好词好句 Good words and sentences collects words and descriptive sentences for this story, such as 吓了一大跳, 不知所措 and 我的心怦怦直跳, each with pinyin and meaning, ready to borrow.
排一排 Put the sentences in order takes a paragraph from a sample composition and mixes up its sentences. Putting them back in order trains the sense of sequence (先……然后……最后……) that a good composition needs, and each round brings a different paragraph.
写一写 Write has a short plan (开头, 经过, 结尾) and a place to write. What your child writes stays on this device, with a character count and a list of the good words they have used. Nothing is ever marked: a composition has no single right answer, so read it together or show it to the teacher. 范文 Samples are two model compositions at the level, for example a simpler one and a richer one, or the same story with a different ending, with the good words underlined, to compare with after writing.
Levels
| Level | Pictures | Length of the sample |
|---|---|---|
| P1–P2 (ages 7–8) | One picture: 看图写话 | 4–6 sentences, about 50–130 characters |
| P3–P4 (ages 9–10) | Four pictures: 看图作文 | 4–6 paragraphs, about 250–400 characters |
| P5–P6 (ages 11–12) | Four pictures, PSLE style | 5–7 paragraphs, about 400–650 characters |
Tips for parents
- Talk before writing. Go through the pictures out loud first; most children who "don't know what to write" simply haven't said it yet.
- Ask for feelings and words, not only actions. "我吓了一大跳" and "我的心怦怦直跳" turn a list of events into a story.
- Print the sheet for the real thing: it has the pictures, the questions, the good words and a 作文格 writing grid, with the sample on a separate last page.
- Hide the sample until your child has written their own. Afterwards, ask them to find two good words in the sample they could use next time.
Who wrote these? All compositions are original to this site, and the pictures come from our Chinese storybook. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us through the contact page. To build up the sentences first, try 句子练习 sentence practice; to talk about pictures out loud, try 口试 oral practice.