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Chinese Slat Book

The slat book was the first kind of Chinese book made from slats of wood or bamboo. This type of book is the reason that Chinese writing is done from top to bottom, rather than from left to right like we are use to. The books were rolled up for storage. Chinese writing consists of characters that stand for objects or ideas. You will have the opportunity to make your own bamboo book and translate them into an English story that you can share with classmates!

Materials For Each Student

8 Tongue Depressors

Embroidery Thread

Black Permanent Markers

Chinese Ideographic Characters

Instructions:

Step 1: Collect 8 tongue depressors in a vertical fashion (side by side)

Step 2: Loop embroidery thread (double the thread) around each tongue depressor individually and knot tightly in between each one to create small “separation”. You will need to connect with two rows of thread.

Step 3: Secure tightly between each tongue depressor and tie the two rows at the end. The separations between depressors hold the “book” together and enable children to “fold” their bamboo books when they complete their stories.

Your book can then be folded up to store or opened out to read.

4) Next, allow children to practice drawing the Chinese characters that correspond to the words they want in their stories on paper in vertical form (using the copy of the ideographic characters).

5) Children are now ready to transfer the English and Chinese versions of their stories to the bamboo books. Ask students to first write their English story (in words only) on one side of the bamboo book with Sharpies, then turn the bamboo book over and draw the corresponding Chinese characters to represent key words. Encourage them to draw the Chinese characters vertically on the tongue depressors. Note that all words used in the English version will not have a Chinese character.                                                 

6) Finally, allow students to share their bamboo books with classmates. Students can read the side of the bamboo book with the English version while classmates follow along by looking at the opposite side of the book containing the Chinese characters.