Traditional folktales constitute a social institution that reflects the value, customs, and lifestyles of the culture and are a natural way for students to explore the historical past, the belief systems of varied societies, and diverse factual information. A carefully selected folktale can be a powerful tool to bring culture to the foreign language classroom, as well as serve as the center of a thematic unit. Utilizing the national Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, the author developed a thematic unit for the teaching of Mandarin Chinese based on a traditional Chinese folktale, (lao shu jia nu, The Mouse Bride/The Mouse Marriage). This unit for elementary school students incorporates the arts, social studies and language arts, as well as culturally appropriate communicative activities. This article describes the procedures of the thematic unit of work.