Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent supports our acquisition and understanding of a new language.
Acquiring a new language allows us to explore our identity and culture from a new perspective.
Conversing about things we care about can motivate our learning of a new language.
We can share our experiences and perspectives through 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.
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Creative works
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)
allow us to experience culture, and appreciate cultural diversity.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
phonetic systems
Chinese characters, meaning, and structure
including sounds, meaning, parts, and radicals
tonal variations
mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma
commonly used vocabulary, sentence structures, and expressions, including:
- types of questions
- descriptions of people, objects, places, and personal interests
- sequence of eventsusing words such as 先, 之后, 再
- needs and opinions
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
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 and produce content-related Chinese characters
Derive meaning
Understand key information, supporting details, time, and place.
from 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).
Use various strategies
language-learning strategies such as interpretation of gestures, facial expressions, intonation, tone of voice, and contextual cues; use of prior knowledge and familiar words
to increase understanding and produce oral and written language
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
Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity
Describe similarities and differences
e.g., compare the purpose of activities, celebrations, holidays, and traditions
between their own cultural practices e.g., activities, celebrations, dance, festivals, traditions, clothing, food, history, land, music, protocols, rituals
and those of Chinese communities
Engage in experiences
e.g., blogs, school visits (including virtual/online visits), concerts, exchanges, festivals, films, letters, plays, stores and restaurants with service in Mandarin
with Mandarin-speaking people and Chinese communities
Examine 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