Level 4

Mini Inquiry Card 4

Riddles and the distich. Choose one or try them both!

The distich

• Find out what a distich is and when and where they are displayed
• Find out the legend behind this custom. This will tell you why the custom began
• Design distich panels that you think would look good at your school or classroom entrance. Write your own distich to go on these panels. Remember, a distich is a rhyming couplet. The two lines rhyme!

The riddles

Riddles are another fun part of the Lantern Festival. They are written on the lantern or they hang off them and friends and families will try to solve these riddles as they enjoy their Yuanxiao or sweet dumplings. The riddles often come from Chinese folk tales.

• Read two or three of the Chinese folk tales here and decide on a character you could build your riddle around
• For some riddle writing tips look here
• Write your riddle
• Give a classmate the three stories to read and than see if they can solve your riddle