| Why should I understand China and Chinese Language?
| | In this unit of study students are introduced to China, its culture and Chinese language. They begin to recognize the basic elements (consonant, vowel, and tone) of Pinyin. Chinese characters are also introduced. Each student receives a Chinese name so that they understand its meaning and can recognize it orally and in writing. They become familiar with where China is located in the world and its neighbors. Students are able to locate major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an as well as the Chang Jiang (Yangzi River) and Huang He (Yellow River). Majority and minority populations are introduced. They also recognize influential people in Chinese history. Students recognize important national symbols of China such as its flag, national anthem, the Great Wall, traditional clothing, the panda, and crafts and their significance to China and its people.
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| 1. Why study about China? 2. Why study Chinese language and culture? 3. What are the unique features of the Chinese language? 4. What is the importance of national symbols to China and its people?
| - China: location in the world, neighbors, major cities, rivers and national symbols, population
- demographics, influential people (Ex: Confucius, Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek, Mao Ze Dong, Deng Xiao Ping)
- recognize writing system: pinyin, simplified and traditional characters, and student’s Chinese name
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Identify pinyin, simplified, and traditional characters from a visual. 2. Recognize four (4) tones (4.2.N.d). 3. Recognize their new Chinese names orally and in writing and the significance of their name. 4. Locate and label China, oceans and seas on its borders and its neighbors when given a blank world map (2.2.N.G.a, 2.2.N.G.c). 5. Locate and label major cities on a blank map of China (2.2.N.G.b, 2.2.N.G.c, 3.1.N.a). 6. Locate and label major rivers on a blank map of China (2.2.N.G.b, 3.1.N.a). 7. Identify national symbols of China and describe in English their significance to China and its people (2.2.N.C.b). 8. Identify influential people in Chinese history (2.1.N.H.b, 3.2.N.a). 9. Create a national craft. Chinese knot or paper cutting (2.2.N.C.a).
| | | Recommended (not required Resources Equipment/Manipulatives - China map blank
- China map (political)
- Ink
- Paper for calligraphy
- Pens
- World map blank
Teacher Resources - Homeland of the Dragon. (DVD) Beijing, China: Beijing Language and Culture University Electronic
- and Audiovisual Press.
- In Search of Chinese Treasures. (DVD) Beijing, China: Beijing Language and Culture University
- Electronic and Audiovisual Press.
- Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng and Tsui Company, 2005.
- pp. 1-28.
- Learn Chinese With Me. People’s Education Press.
- Outstanding Tourist Spots in China. (DVD) Beijing, China: Beijing Language and Culture University
- Electronic and Audiovisual Press.
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| How do I begin to communicate in Chinese?
| | In this unit of study students begin to learn how to communicate effectively about themselves in Chinese. They understand as well as interpret meaning from information exchanged in conversation as they learn to meet, greet, say goodbye, and indicate their nationality and age. In addition, students become aware of the social gestures associated with Chinese greetings and the appropriate use of titles for introductions. Furthermore, they learn to describe themselves and to respond to questions about themselves. Students learn numbers to express dates. They compare the concept of individual and collective cultural values.
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| 1. Who am I? 2. How do I introduce myself and greet others? 3. How do I find out about others (e.g., nationality, language, age, birthday)? 4. How do I compare individual and collective cultural values?
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- dates
- greetings, leave-taking
- interrogatives: Where are you from (country of origin)? Ni shi na guo ren? - What country are you
- from? Ni shi na guo ren? - What is your name? Ni jiao shenme mingzi? - How old are you this
- year? Ni jinnian ji sui? - How old are you? Ni duo da?
- introductions: Name, age, country, phone number
- phonemic awareness: phonetic alphabet song (Learn Chinese With Me, p.5) tones: 4 tones
- subject pronouns: Wo, Ni, Ta, Women, Nimen, Tamen
- where are you from? (Ex.: USA, China, or other nations)
- writing: stroke order
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Recognize student’s Chinese name written in simplified and/or traditional characters. 2. Identify Chinese stroke order by writing simple characters: including numbers 1-10, greetings, name, birthday. 3. With a classmate, introduce yourself and ask classmate questions. What’s your name? Where are you from? How old are you? Take notes and report the information gathered to the class (1.1.N.SL.a, 1.1.N.SL.b, 5.2.N.a). 4. Introduce yourself (include name, age, birthday, phone number, nationality) using audio or video technology (1.1.N.SL.a, 1.1.N.SL.b, 5.2.N.a). 5. Looking at pictures, listen to a description of a boy or girl, identify the picture from the oral description (1.1.N.SL.b). 6. Listen to samples of vocabulary and identify the tones that you hear (4.2.N.d). 7. Listen to samples of pinyin (j, sh, x, zh, + vowels) and select the phoneme that you hear (4.2.N.d).
| | | Teacher Resources Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company. 2005, pp. 29-50, 72-96 Learn Chinese With Me. People’s Education Press.
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| How are families structured in China?
| | In this unit of study students begin to learn how to communicate effectively about their family in Chinese. They learn to describe their family in detail. Furthermore, students learn to ask and respond to questions about age, appearance, personality and professions of their family members. In addition, they become aware of the differences in describing birth dates and age in Chinese and the year of birth represented by the Chinese zodiac. Students also learn about where and how families live in China. Through the study of families, they gain knowledge and insight into the concepts of family relationships and family order in China and their own.
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| 1. How do families in China compare to families in the USA? 2. How do I describe my family members and their relationship to each other? 3. How do families celebrate birthdays? 4. What is the difference between full age and function age? 5. What does the Zodiac sign represent? 6. Where and how do families live in China? 7. What is the attitude of Chinese and American families toward pets?
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- adjectives: big, small, possessive pronouns
- birthdays: months and dates
- family members: mother, father, younger and older sister, younger and older brother, grandparents
- ed in the Chinese lunar calendar
- Ni you jie jie ma? = Do you have an older sister?
- numbers 1-100
- personality characteristics: nice, kind, warmhearted, athletic, hard-working, friendly, lovely, fun,
- interesting, OK
- physical attributes: tall, short, thin, heavy, cute, handsome, beautiful
- professions: doctor, lawyer, student, teacher
- useful phrases: How old are you? Ni ji sui le? Ni shu shenme? Ni duo da nian ji le? - What’s he/she
- like? Ta zenme yang? - How much/How many? Duo shao…?
- verbs: You = have - Meiyou = polite negative response: No, (subject) don’t/doesn’t have - You =
- polite positive response: Yes, (subject) have/has
- virtue: respect the old
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Create a family album or imaginary family album identifying and describing family members and present it to the class (1.3.N.S.b). 2. Describe a favorite family member using video or digital camera and/or a tape recorder (1.3.N.S.b). 3. Interview a classmate asking for a description of a favorite family member (1.1.N.SL.h, 5.2.N.a). 4. Create a graphic organizer (T-chart) describing the similarities and differences between your home and a home in a China (4.1.N.b). 5. Review your Chinese zodiac sign and the sign of family members.
| | | Recommended (not required) Resources Teacher Resource - Basics of Traditional Chinese Culture (Donghai Zhao, teacher recommendation)
- Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company, 2005.
- pp. 51-71.
- Learn Chinese With Me. People’s Education Press, pp. 91.
- Ni Hao. Brisbane, Australia: Watson Ferguson & Company, 2006. pp. 43-65.
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| How do the Chinese describe the concept of time?
| | In this unit of study students begin to learn how the concept of time is expressed in Chinese. They learn to give dates, recognize the uniqueness of lunar calendar and use the military clock (24 hour clock) to tell time. Students begin to recognize how Chinese structure their thoughts differently than English-speakers. They recognize major holidays and the date of their celebration and compare them with USA holidays.
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| 1. How is time expressed in Chinese? 2. How do Chinese structure their thoughts differently than English-speakers? 3. How does the calendar influence personal choices?
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- Chinese thought patterns linked to sentence structure and phrases: time, address, sentences
- concept of feng shui
- lunar calendar
- military time: 24-hour clock
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Give an introduction to the day, time, and month (1.1.N.SL.h). 2. Tell time orally using a visual prompt of a series of clocks with varying times. (1.1.N.SL.i 3. Write the time that is dictated orally using military time (24 hour clock) (1.2.N.L.b). 4. Create a calendar page of one month in Chinese including days, weeks and holidays. 5. Create an invitation a classmate to an activity stating time, date/day and place (1.1.N.RW.d). 6. Give an oral invitation classmate to an activity stating time, date/day and place (1.1.N.SL.d). 7. Develop a daily schedule of your activities (1.1.N.RW.h ). 8. Create a Chinese version of a day and week of your school planner (1.1.N.RW.h). 9. Ask a classmate about what time and day they study Chinese, math, English (1.1.N.SL.i 10. Write a note to a classmate asking when an event happens (1.1.N.RW.i ). 11. From dictation, conversation, or oral presentation, note the time, date of an event (1.2.N.L.b). 12. Compare Chinese sentence structure to English sentence structure (4.1.N.b). 13. Write a sentence in Chinese to describe an event (1.1.N.RW.a).
| Identifying Describing Comparing
| | Recommended (not required) Resources Teacher Resource Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company, 2005. pp. 72-96.
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| How does culture shape a student’s interests?
| | In this unit of study students begin to learn how to communicate effectively about their leisure time interests in Chinese. They also describe sports, interests, hobbies and activities with friends and places they spend time. Furthermore, students learn to make and discuss plans. They also learn to recognize how American teens and teens in China spend their free time. Throughout this unit, students gain knowledge and insight into the concepts of how culture and family influence teen’s choices in China and the USA.
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| 1. What do teens do in their free time in China and the USA? 2. How do family and culture influence how teens spend their free time 3. How does location influence the choices teens make? 4. How does the economy influence choices?
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- useful phrases: Would you like to go? Ni xiang qu ma?
- verbs: sporting activities, hobbies, Da-to play, Qu-to go, Hui-Can, be able to
- virtue: education comes before play
- Wh Questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Describe orally what you do after school or on the weekend (2.1.N.F.d, 5.2.N.a). 2. Write a journal listing the activities you like to do using simplified and/or traditional characters (1.1.N.RW.h). 3. Interview a classmate to find out how he/she spends their free time and which activities they prefer. Students may use their journal as reference (1.1.N.SL.j, 1.1.N.RW.j). 4. Plan a social event with friends (e.g., skit, performance, plan a party. Include an invitation, schedule, date, time, location, and activities) (1.1.N.SL.h, 1.1.N.SL.j, 1.1.N.RW.h, 1.2.N.L.b, 2.1.N.F.d, 4.1.N.a, 5.2.N.a). 5. How does the family and social environment influence free time activity choices (e.g., playing sports) of teens (web, T-chart, mind map) (1.1.N.SL.h, 1.1.N.SL.j, 1.1.N.RW.h, 1.2.N.L.b, 4.1.N.a). 6. Compare the daily life and interests of Chinese teens with your own (4.1.N.a, 5.2.N.a).
| Identifying Describing Comparing
| | Recommended (not required) Resources Teacher Resource Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company, 2005. pp. 97-116.
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| How do students establish and sustain a conversation with a Chinese-speaking friend?
| | In this unit of study students learn how to interact with friends. They practice visiting a Chinese home, introduce themselves and are introduced to others. Students describe their lives and express personal preferences to others. They learn about a traditional Chinese home, and etiquette, customs, and behaviors that are culturally appropriate while visiting the home of friends. Throughout this unit, students gain knowledge and insight into the cultural differences that make China and the student’s home country unique.
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| 1. How do I describe myself to others? 2. How do I introduce others? 3. What are the etiquette, customs and behaviors that are culturally appropriate while visiting the home of friends? 4. What makes China and your home country unique? 5. How does describing measurement vary from language to language?
| - cultural uniqueness
- customs for introductions: handshake, space, bowing to seniors, no hugging
- customs for visiting: accepting gifts and offering food
- the difference between the number two (2-er) and the count number two (2-liang)
- etiquette while visiting: gift giving, seating, chopstick use
- measurement word: ge, bei, ping, zhang, jie
- multiple perspectives about behavior and politeness
| Sample Performance Assessments 1. Introduce yourself and a friend to another person (1.1.N.SL.a, 1.1.N.SL.c). 2. Ask a classmate to describe himself/herself (1.1.N.SL.b, 1.1.N.SL.c, 1.1.N.SL.e ). 3. Describe yourself orally (1.3.N.S.b). 4. Make a poster describing yourself include visuals and text (1.3.N.W.a). 5. Role-play a visit to the home of a friend. Include introduction, customs, behaviors, and other information necessary for a visit (1.1.N.SL.a, 1.1.N.SL.c, 1.1.N.SL.d, 1.1.N.SL.k, 1.3.N.S.b).
| | | Recommended (not required) Resources Teacher Resource Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company, 2005. pp.117-139.
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