Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent supports our acquisition of a new language.
Language and culture are interconnected and shape our perspective, identity, and voice.
The communicative context determines how we express ourselves.
Exploring diverse forms of cultural expression
representing the experience of the people from whose culture they are drawn; for example, celebrations, customs, folklore, language use, traditions, and creative works (e.g., books, paintings, pictures, sculpture, theatre, dance, poetry and prose, filmmaking, musical composition, architecture)
promotes greater understanding of our own cultural identity.
Developing proficiency in a new language provides opportunities for careers, travel, personal growth, and study abroad.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
phonetic systems
tonal variations
mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma
Chinese characters, meaning, and structure
including sounds, meaning, parts, and radicals
Increasingly complex vocabulary, sentence structures, and expressions, including:
- complex questions
- sequence of eventsusing expressions such as 先, 之后, 结果, 后来in stories
- explanation and justification of opinionse.g., 因为……，所以……。
- points of view
past, present, and future time frames
e.g. using 过 to indicate past experiences (e.g., 我没吃过饺子。)
language formality and etiquette
e.g., using formal language when addressing people, differentiating formal and informal writing, choosing appropriate words for context
First Peoples perspectives connecting language and culture, including oral histories
e.g., conversations with an Elder about celebrations, traditions, and protocols
, identityIdentity is influenced by, for example, traditions, protocols, celebrations, and festivals.
, and placeA 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
Chinese history and worldviews
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
Derive and negotiate meaning 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).
and contextse.g., contexts differing in terms of audience, purpose, setting, formality/informality
Demonstrate degrees of formality in speech and writing to reflect different purposes
e.g., to convince, inform, entertain
Analyze cultural points of view in texts
Recognize how choice of words
e.g., pronouns (e.g., 你 versus 您), words with close but not identical meanings (e.g., 得 versus 要)
affects meaning
Use various strategies
For example:
to increase understanding and produce oral and written language
- rephrase in Mandarin to compensate for unknown expressions
- make personal notes to use as a reference for oral and written production
- actively review common, useful expressions and patterns to refine communication
Narrate stories
- Use expressions of time and transitional words to show logical progression.
- Use multiple time frames.
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.
, both orally and in writing
Respond personally to a variety of texts
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
Personal and social awareness
Recognize regional and ethnic diversity of language and culture in China and in Chinese communities throughout the world
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
Identify and explore educational and personal/professional opportunities
e.g., academic research, translation, international affairs, government, teaching, travel, study abroad
requiring proficiency in Mandarin
Analyze personal, others', and shared 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