Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent supports our acquisition and understanding of a new language.
Stories
Stories are a narrative form of text that can be oral, written, or visual. Stories are derived from truth or fiction and may be used to seek and impart knowledge, entertain, share history, and strengthen a sense of identity.
give us unique ways to understand and reflect on meaning.
Expressing ourselves and engaging in conversation in a new language require courage, risk taking, and perseverance.
Cultural expression
represents the experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn (e.g., painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, poetry and prose, filmmaking, musical composition, architecture)
can take many different forms.
Acquiring a new language provides a unique opportunity to access and interact with diverse communities.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
phonetic systems
tonal variations
mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma
Chinese characters, meaning, and structure
including sounds, meaning, parts, and radicals
commonly used vocabulary, sentence structures, and expressions, including:
- types of questionse.g., ……还是……。
- activities, situations, and eventse.g., ……看起来……。……好像……。
- opinionse.g., 我觉得……。
past, present, and future time frames
e.g., using 过 to indicate past experiences (e.g., 我去过动物园。)
elements of common texts
e.g., format (letter versus email message), language, context, audience, register (informal versus formal), purpose
common elements of stories
place, characters, setting, plot, problem and resolution
First Peoples perspectives connecting language and culture, including oral histories
e.g., conversations with an Elder about celebrations, traditions, and protocols
, identity Identity is influenced by, for example, traditions, protocols, celebrations, and festivals.
, and place A sense of place can be influenced by, for example, territory, food, clothing, and creative works.
Chinese works of art
e.g., creative works in dance, drama, music, or visual arts
cultural practices in various Chinese communities
contributions of Chinese Canadians to society
ethics of cultural appropriation
use of a cultural motif, theme, “voice,” image, knowledge, story, song, or drama, shared without permission or without appropriate context or in a way that may misrepresent the real experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn
and plagiarism
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Thinking and communicating
Recognize the relationships between sounds
tonal variations and basic intonation patterns
, phonetic representation the correlation between Mandarin phonemes and:
, Chinese characters, and meaning
- Zhuyin symbols and their pronunciation (e.g., ㄅㄆㄇㄈ )
- Pinyin letters and their pronunciation (e.g., b, p, m, f)
Recognize how choice of words
e.g., degrees of formality, degrees of directness, verb tense, modality
affects meaning
Comprehend key information and supporting details in speech and a variety of other texts
“Text” is a generic term referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communications. Oral, written, and visual elements can also be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
Comprehend meaning and viewpoints in stories
Use various strategies
For example:
to increase understanding and produce oral and written language
- integrate new vocabulary into familiar Mandarin structures
- take risks to extend language boundaries
- use a variety of reference materials
Narrate stories, both orally and in writing
- Use expressions of time and transitional words to show logical progression.
- Use past, present, and future time frames.
Interpret non-verbal cues to increase understanding
Exchange ideas
with peers, teachers, and members of the wider community; can include virtual/online conversations
and information, both orally and in writing
Share information using the presentation format
e.g., digital, visual, verbal; aids such as charts, graphics, illustrations, music, photographs, videos, props, digital media
best suited to their own and others’ diverse abilities
Seek clarification and verify
e.g., request or provide repetition, word substitution, reformulation, or reiteration
meaning
Personal and social awareness
Describe how the cultural identity of China and Chinese communities throughout the world have been shaped by regional, cultural, and linguistic practices
Engage in experiences
e.g., blogs, school visits (including virtual/online visits), concerts, exchanges, festivals, films, letters, plays, social media, stores and restaurants with service in Mandarin
with Mandarin-speaking people and Chinese communities
Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity
Analyze personal, shared, and others’ experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through a cultural lens
e.g., values, practices, traditions, perceptions
Recognize First Peoples perspectives and knowledge; other ways of knowing
e.g., First Nations, Métis and Inuit; and/or gender-related, subject/discipline-specific, cultural, embodied, intuitive
, and local cultural knowledge