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.
help us to acquire language and understand the world by exploring, for example, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, culture, and identity
around us.
Expressing ourselves in a new language requires courage, risk taking, and perseverance.
Exploring diverse forms of cultural expression
representing the experience of the people from whose culture they are drawn (e.g., painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, poetry and prose, filmmaking, musical composition, architecture)
allows us to experience and appreciate cultural diversity.
Acquiring a new language provides a unique opportunity to interact with diverse communities.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
phonetic systems
Hanyu Pinyin (e.g., 注音符號); Mandarin phonemes (b, p, m, f, or ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)
tonal variations
mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma
commonly used Chinese characters
basic parts and radicals
e.g., 亻, 氵, 艹, 扌, 辶, 饣
common, high-frequency vocabulary
refers to compounds 词汇 instead of characters 字
, sentence structures, and expressions, including:- types of questionsquestions with WH words; e.g., 这是什么？……有几个……？……在哪儿？
- self and others
- comparisonse.g., ……不比……。
- places, timee.g., using 了 to indicate completion (e.g., 我写完了。); using 在/正在 to describe activity in action (e.g., 我在吃饭。)
- opinions and beliefse.g., 我觉得……。
- communicative functions
elements
place, characters, setting, plot, problem and resolution
of common types of texts and stories
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 Place is any environment, locality, or context with which people interact to learn, create memory, reflect on history, connect with culture, and establish identity. The connection between people and place is foundational to First Peoples perspectives on the world. A sense of place can be influenced by territory, food, clothing, and creative works.
cultural practices
e.g., activities, celebrations, dance, festivals, traditions, clothing, food, history, land, music, protocols, rituals
in various Chinese communities
Chinese works of art
e.g., creative works in dance, drama, music, or visual arts
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
Demonstrate awareness of the relationships between sounds
tonal variations and basic intonation patterns
, phonetic representation the correlation between Zhuyin symbols and their pronunciation or Pinyin letters and their pronunciation
, Chinese characters traditional or simplified
, and meaning
Identify and produce Chinese characters
Comprehend key information
e.g., answers to questions such as 谁, 什么, 哪, 什么时候, 为什么
in speech and 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).
Use language-learning strategies
e.g.,interpretation of gestures, facial expressions, intonation, tone of voice, and contextual cues; use of prior knowledge and familiar words
to increase understanding
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.
Exchange ideas
with peers, teachers, and members of the wider community; can include virtual/online conversations
and information, both orally and in writing
Seek clarification and verify
e.g., request or provide repetition, word substitution, reformulation, or reiteration
meaning
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
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
Consider 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