Why I am doing this...
I am a Chinese teacher in Broom County Chinese Community. I love my students who are mostly second generation of Chinese immigrants. They have a Asia face, but barely speak Chinese. You know my feeling about this? I clearly see my future children through them, Asia-looking but a pure American. So sad, at least for me. Even they are Americans, they should know about their parents' mother country, the langague and the culture.
My students are all talented, learning things amazingly fast. What they need is the interest in Chinese language. So this is my mission: making Chinese enjoyable to learn.
I am building an online library for them, if you're interested, come and join me. Everything's free to share, but remember, if you can do something for these children, do it!
Class of Dec. 2
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 7, all new words, one article and one song.
(2) a quiz to review Pinyin, words, PianPang and Bihua.
(3) learn and practice the order of Bihua, learn more about PianPang
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒)
Homework:
(1) Write: page 38 and 39
(2) Read: page 37 and 42(first two sentences, our first try to learn tongue twister seriously)
2-7 Download
Class of Nov. 18
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 6, all new words, one article and one song.
(2) a quiz to review Pinyin, words, PianPang and Bihua.
(3) learn and practice the order of Bihua. You know what, they are experts now.
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒)
Homework:
(1) Write: page 32 and 33
(2) Read: page 31
2-6 Download
Class of Nov. 11
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 5, all new words, one article and one tongue twister.
(2) review Bihua and Pianpang, we go farther in learning Bihua.
(3) a quiz to review Pinyin, words and PianPang. They love it.
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒): "brag(说大话)"
Homework:
(1) Write: page 26 and 27
(2) Read: page 25 and 30
2-5 Download
Class of Nov. 4
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 4, all new words, one article and one song.
(2) introduce two Chinese group games.
(3) a quiz to review Pinyin, words and PianPang. Not easy, but they did great.
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒): "help(救命)", "fox(狐狸)", "小龙女", "naughty(淘气)", "get into trouble(闯祸)"
Homework:
(1) Write: page 18 and 19
(2) Read: page 17 (skip the 2nd sentence "礼貌用语记心里")
2-4 Download
Class of Oct. 28
What we did:
(1) review the characters we've learned with new reference books, giving them more idea about BiHua and PianPang.
(2) finish Lesson 3, one article on page 16.
(3) a test to review the last four lessons.
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒): "snowball(雪球)", "snowman(雪人)", "war(打仗)"
Online Video
Homework:
(1) Write: page 13 and 14
(2) Read: page 16
Class of Oct. 21
What we did:
(1) review Lesson 13(Book I) and Lesson 2(Book II) via team games.
(2) start Lesson 3, all new words and phrases.
(3) start teaching PianPang(偏旁), giving them some slight idea of the structure of Chinese characters. Such as "two dots(两点水)" for something related to ice; "three dots(三点水)" for water; "four dots(四点底)" for fire; "wood(木子旁/头)" for trees; "grass(草子头)" for grass and flowers; "hands(提手旁)" for hands; "bamboo(竹子头)" for bamboo; "eyes(目字旁)" for eyes...
(4) learn expressions through cartoon(哪吒): "emperor(皇帝)", "drought(旱)", "give birth to a child(生孩子)"...
Online Video
Homework:
(1) Write: page 8 and 9
(2) Read: page 12
Class of Oct. 14
What we did:
(1) review articles on Book I, review Bihua
(2) finish Lesson 1, one article.
(3) start Lesson 2, all new words and phrases and a dialog on page 7.
(4) learn expressions through cartoon: "princess(公主)", "truck(卡车)", "TV set(电视机)", "chopsticks(筷子)", "scissors(剪刀)"
(5) review some songs we leaned before.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook II: page 2 and 3
(2) Read: Textbook Ii: page 6 and 7
Class of Sep. 30
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 14, one dialog and one article(hard).
(2) start Lesson 1(Book II), all new words and phrases and an article on page 1.
(3) sentence making: "teach(教)", "like(喜欢)", "draw(画)"
(4) learn expressions through cartoon: "clock(钟)", "fridge(冰箱)", "poison(毒药)", "cabinet(柜子)", "drawer(抽屉)", "safe(保险箱)", "cry(哭)", "snore(打呼噜)"
(5) finish learning the song "where is spring(春天在哪里)", and we will practise more later.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 85
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 88 Textbook II: page 1
Class of Sep. 23
What we did:
(1) finish Lesson 13, including nine new words, fourteen new phrases on page 80, and three articles on page 78 and 82.
(2) start Lesson 14, three new words, sixteen phrases on page 86, and one article on page 83.
(3) discuss the cartoon show of last week, it seems they are much better at describing scenes. So much fun in this part!
(4) begin to learn a song "where is spring".
Homework:
(1) Read: Textbook I: page 82 and 83
Class of Sep. 9
This semester, I will be trying new ways to teach and practice Chinese, and hopefully I could find something interesting and effective. By and large, I will divide two hours into two parts.
First: 2:00-2:50 reading & writing
Second: 3:00-4:00 listening & speaking
Reading & Writing
1) I tend to begin Pinyin learning this semester. But if you think that's still too early for them to learn, please tell me.
2) Learn new characters and texts in our textbooks
3) Learn additional rhythms from other sources(we can make full use of PPTs and web)
4) Begin to learn the right order of writing.
Listening & Speaking
1) Extend the cartoon part by asking a set of questions related to it.
2) Learn daily words from pictures(I have to postpone the "storytelling" part, since they just have limited Chinese words)
3) Sentence making games
4) Chinese songs
Class of Sep. 2
Everyone did their homework, more or less, that's great. We spent one hour checking the homework and the rest having fun.
Class of Jun. 10
Review what we've learned and finish Lesson 12.
Homework for summer:
(1) Read:
Book I: Page 6, 13, 19, 32, 38, 44, 47, 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63, 64, 68, 69, 72, 76, 77, 92, 93(stop at "south 南"), 96(stop at "right side 右面")
(2) Write:
Book II: Page 65-66, 73-74
(3) Exercise:
Homework Book A: Page 1-35
Homework Book B: Page 1-33
Class of Jun. 3
What we did:
(1) review all the characters through games
(2) learn new characters: "direction(方向), east(东), west(西), south(南), north(北), side(面)"
(3) read: learn page 68, 72
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 60
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 72
Class of May 20
What we did:
(1) review all the texts we've learned from page 6 to page 52. I could hardly believe they still remember everything.
(2) learn new characters: "garden(花园), beautiful(好看), front(前), behind(后), he(他), she(她), flower(花), look(看), (个), (儿)"
(3) read: learn page 64 and 69
(4) review BiHua and learn more, we finished most of them. Next I will focus on the right order of writing.
(5) games:
a. individual: Everybody has 10 character cards. After I read one sentence which has 4-6 characters, they are asked to pick up all of them. That's not an easy task, but they are skillful.
b. teamwork: Two kids in a team by draws. When the game begins, one runs to the other side of the room, reads and remembers the words on the paper, and returns to tell his/her teammate what the words are. And then they together try to find the words in the textbook and write them down.
(6) review three songs.
They are learning amazingly fast, and even start to correct me. I enjoy the class.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 54
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 64 and 69
Class of May 13
What we did:
(1) teamwork: a new game to practice reading and writing.
(2) learn new characters: "and(和), (的), home(家), have(有), this(这), that(那)"
(3) read: finish page 57, learn page 62 and 63
(4) learn expressions "good morning(早上好), good afternoon(下午好), good evening(晚上好), good night(晚安), good bye(再见)"
(5) learn a song for mom.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 49
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 62 and 63
Class of May 6
What we did:
(1) teamwork: review "student(学生), teacher(老师), classmates(同学), school(学校), Chinese(中文), school bus(校车), school begins(开学), you(你们)"
(2) learn new characters(words): "father(爸爸), mother(妈妈), grandpa(爷爷), grandma(奶奶)"
(3) read Lesson 9 (page 55) and Lesson 10 (page 58)
(4) make gifts for the Mother's Day.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 41
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 55 and 58
Class of Apr. 29
What we did:
(1) teamwork: review 70 characters
(2) learn new characters(words): "student(学生), teacher(老师), classmates(同学), school(学校), Chinese(中文), school bus(校车), school begins(开学), you(你们)"
(3) review 69 expressions
(4) learn expressions: "uncle(叔叔), aunt(阿姨), thanks(谢谢), you're welcome(不客气), sorry(对不起), that's ok(没关系), please give me...(请给我...)"
(4) review Bi Hua: "dian(点), heng(横), shu(竖), pie(撇), na(捺), hengzhe(横折), shuzhe(竖折)", and learn "henggou(横勾), shugou(竖勾)".
(5) read Lesson 9 (page 52) and learn a song (page 55)
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 35
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 52
Class of Apr. 22
What we did:
(1) teamwork: review 66 characters
(2) learn new characters: "I(我), you(你), am/is/are(是), love(爱)"
(3) review 61 expressions
(4) learn expressions: "father(爸爸), mother(妈妈), grandpa(爷爷), grandma(奶奶), big brother(哥哥), big sister(姐姐), little brother(弟弟), little sister(妹妹)"
(4) review Bi Hua: "dian(点), heng(横), shu(竖), pie(撇), na(捺), hengzhe(横折), shuzhe(竖折)", and teach everyone to writer his/her own Chinese name in the right order.
(5) read Lesson 8 (page 47 and 51)
Next time, we'll begin to learn short sentences such as "Thank you", "You're welcome", "Sorry", "That's OK", "Please give me...", "I want to...".
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 29
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 47, 51
Class of Apr. 1
What we did:
(1) review all the characters, especially: "cloud(云), rain(雨), electricity(电), horse(马), cattle(牛), sheep(羊), fish(鱼), bug(虫), bird(鸟), grass(草), bamboo(竹)"
(2) learn new characters: "door(门), open(开), close(关), car(车)"
(3) learn expressions: "teacher(老师), student(学生), friend(朋友), school(学校), Chinese school(中文学校)"
(4) review Bi Hua of the characters: "dian(点), heng(横), shu(竖), pie(撇), na(捺)" and begin to learn another two "hengzhe(横折), shuzhe(竖折)". They did better in splitting the characters.
(5) learn ErGe on page 44
(6) continue to learn a song for the party of the Father's Day
(7) begin to learn dancing for the party.
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 21-22
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 44
Class of Mar. 25
What we did:
(1) begin to learn Bi Hua of the characters: "dian(点), heng(横), shu(竖), pie(撇), na(捺)".
(2) begin to learn a song for the party of the Father's Day(6/17)
(3) learn new characters: "cloud(云), rain(雨), electricity(电), horse(马), cattle(牛), sheep(羊), fish(鱼), bug(虫), bird(鸟), grass(草), bamboo(竹)"
(4) learn ErGe on page 38
Homework:
(1) Write: Textbook I: page 16-17
(2) Read: Textbook I: page 38
Class of Mar. 18
What we did:
(1) character card games(team work). That was when they were most concentrated and active!
(2) learn new characters: "head(头), out(出), in(入), wind(风), snow(雪), sky(天), ground(地)"
(3) learn ErGe on page 32
Homework:
(1) Textbook I: ErGe (page 32)
Class of Mar. 11
What we did:
(1) learn PinYin "u" with tone marks, then we'll stop here for one month or two.
(2) learn how to express "cry(哭), laugh(笑), hit(打), kiss(亲)"
(3) learn new characters: "ear(耳), walk(走), stand(站立), sit(坐)"
Homework:
(1) Textbook I: page 22 part 2
(2) review all the characters we learnt.
Class of Mar. 4
What we did:
(1) review PinYin "a" "o" "e" with tone marks, and begin to learn PinYin "i" with tone marks.
(2) review "eat(吃), sit(坐), stand(站), walk(走), run(跑), jump(跳), crawl(爬), cat(猫), dog(狗), rabbit(兔), sheep(羊), tiger(老虎), chick(鸡), duck(鸭), frog(青蛙)" .
(3) learn how to express "clothes(衣服), trousers(裤子), shoes(鞋子), dress(裙子), hat(帽子), gloves(手套), scarf(围巾)" and "white(白色), black(黑色), green(绿色), blue(蓝色), yellow(黄色), red(红色), orange(橙色), purple(紫色)". I will repeat this part next time, for they lagged behind.
(4) play card games to review all the characters: "football(足球), person(人), sun(太阳), moon(月亮), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火), big(大), small(小), field(田), earth(土), wood(木), grain(禾), up(上), middle(中), down(下), left(左), right(右), many(多), few(少)"
(5) learn new characters: "hand(手), mouth(口), sun(日), come(来), go(去)"
(6) read ErGe in page 13
Homework:
(1) Textbook I: page 13
(2) review all the characters we learnt.
Class of Feb. 25
What we did:
(1) review PinYin "a" "o" with tone marks, try to spell a lot of words and begin to learn PinYin "e" with tone marks.
(2) review "wake up(起床), brush the teeth(刷牙), wash the face(洗脸), sleep(睡觉), door(门), window(窗), open the door(开门), close the door(关门), open the window(开窗), close the window(关窗)" .
(3) learn how to express "eat(吃), sit(坐), stand(站), walk(走), run(跑), jump(跳), crawl(爬)" and "cat(猫), dog(狗), rabbit(兔), sheep(羊), tiger(老虎), chick(鸡), duck(鸭), frog(青蛙)"
(4) review characters: "football(soccer)(足球), person(人), sun(太阳), moon(月亮), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火), big(大), small(小), field(田), earth(土), wood(木), grain(禾)"
(5) learn new characters: "up(上), middle(中), down(下), left(左), right(右), many(多), few(少)"
(6) recognize the animals in page 1 and 2
(7) do exercise in page 11, 17, 18, 19
Homework:
(1) Textbook I: page 4, 5, 10 and 19
(2) review today's new characters: "up(上), middle(中), down(下), left(左), right(右), many(多), few(少)" and expressions "eat(吃), sit(坐), stand(站), walk(走), run(跑), jump(跳), crawl(爬), cat(猫), dog(狗), rabbit(兔), sheep(羊), tiger(老虎), chick(鸡), duck(鸭), frog(青蛙)"
Class of Feb. 11
What we did:
(1) review PinYin "a" with tone marks. Everyone could spell correctly with "p, b, t, d, k, g, f, l, m, n, h, w" in front of the "a". They did it so excellent that I decided to teach them PinYin "o" today.
(2) learn how to express "wake up(起床), brush the teeth(刷牙), wash the face(洗脸), sleep(睡觉), door(门), window(窗), open the door(开门), close the door(关门), open the window(开窗), close the window(关窗)"
(3) review "football(soccer)(足球), person(人), sun(太阳), moon(月亮), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火)"
(4) learn new characters: "big(大), small(小), field(田), earth(土), wood(木), grain(禾)"
(5) try to combine some characters such as "June 1st(六月一日), big fire(大火)" and read them. They have difficulty in telling "big(大)" from "fire(火)" and telling "water(水)" from "wood(木)", but we'll practice more.
(6) read the riddle in page 6 in our textbook.
Homework:
(1) Homework Book A: page1 to 5
(2) review today's new characters: "big(大), small(小), field(田), earth(土), wood(木), grain(禾)" and expressions "wake up(起床), brush the teeth(刷牙), wash the face(洗脸), sleep(睡觉), door(门), window(窗), open the door(开门), close the door(关门), open the window(开窗), close the window(关窗)"
(3) read the riddle.
Class of Feb. 4
What we did:
(1) review four tone marks and begin to learn PinYin "a" with tone marks. Then when I put "b, m, l, p, n, g" in front of the "a", they all could read it. I think the second tone mark is the most difficult one for them, both to pronounce and to recognize.
(2) try to count from 10 to 1.
(3) learn new words: "football(soccer)(足球), person(人), sun(太阳), moon(月亮), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火)"
(4) continue to learn our song. "假如幸福的话你就拍拍手"
假如幸福的话你就拍拍手，假如幸福的话你就拍拍手，祝爸爸妈妈叔叔阿姨新年好啊，来吧大家来一起拍拍手。
假如幸福的话你就跺跺脚，假如幸福的话你就跺跺脚，祝爸爸妈妈叔叔阿姨新年好啊，来吧大家来一起跺跺脚。
假如幸福的话你就伸伸腰，假如幸福的话你就伸伸腰，祝爸爸妈妈叔叔阿姨新年好啊，来吧大家来一起伸伸腰。
(5) learn to write Chinese characters: "person(人), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火)"
Homework:
(1) write 5 characters "person(人), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火)", 3 times per character in the exercise sheets. (I didn't bring enough sheets today. Attached is the sheet file, please print it.)
(2) review today's new words: "football(soccer)(足球), person(人), sun(太阳), moon(月亮), mountain(山), stone(石), water(水), fire(火)"
Class of Jan. 28
What we did:
(1) review "hair, eye brows, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tough, teeth" and learn "head, hands, feet"
(2) review how to count 1 to 10 in Chinese and learn their tone marks.(I will try to teach tone marks first and after a few month, PinYin)
(3) how to write characters from 1 to 10.
(4) begin to learn a song for Spring Festival performance. (Attached)
(5) finish our ErGe(儿歌)
(6) watch a Chinese cartoon: "Capital Black Cat" Part 2
Homework:
(1) write from 1 to 10, 3 times per character in the exercise sheets that were handed out in class. (They did well in class and enjoyed doing it.)
(2) read the ErGe (I believe they can do it already)
Class of Jan. 21
What we did:
(1) learn "hair, eye brows, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tough, teeth"
(2) learn numbers from 1-10
(3) learn ErGe(儿歌)
(4) watch a Chinese cartoon: "Capital Black Cat" Part 1
Homework:
(1) read the ErGe
