Chinese IV/AP Chinese Language and Culture

St Francis High School

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW

Chinese IV/AP Chinese Language and Culture is a full-year course that refines and further develops students’ abilities in Chinese oral and formal written communication. It also provides an introduction to literary Chinese and ancient Chinese literature. We use the textbooks Integrated Chinese by Liu Yuehua and Tao-chung Yao, and Jia You: Chinese for the Global Community by Xu Jialu and Chen Fu, as well as articles from Chinese newspapers and teacher handouts.

The class is conducted almost entirely in Chinese and students are required to hone their speaking skills through structured and informal activities. Language skills are improved through group and individual presentation, debates, discussions, and written compositions and essays. The first six minutes of each class is devoted to oral drills using the Rassias Method and/or TPRS-Storytelling method. Students develop written skills and practice grammar through bi-weekly compositions. Listening skills are developed during class discussions, viewing films and movies, and listening to recordings done by native Chinese speakers. Reading skills are improved through various readings of essays and articles, newspaper articles, advertisements, biographies, plays and poetry. For those students committed to taking the AP exam in May, additional assignments that reflect the advanced nature of this work are assigned and graded, including practice AP exams from previous years. There are individual student semester projects and an end-of-the-year class project.

FALL SEMESTER

Week
Dates / Lesson Objective
(L = Lesson) / Content or Theme / Notes
1
8/13-
8/14 / Orientation / Introduction to the
course / School starts on Thursday,
August 13
2
8/17-
8/21 / L11: Use target
Language to describe
transportation.
AP: Jia You, L1 / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar / Quiz on L11 vocabulary.
AP Jia You: Quiz on L1.
3
8/24-
8/28 / L11: Support descriptions
with details.
AP Jia You L1 Shaolin
Temple / Text/translation, L11
exercises, composition
on taking transportation.
AP Jia You: exercises,
composition on sports. / Students write a composition
Every two weeks, hand-
written or word processed.
Quiz on L11.
4
8/31-
9/4 / L12: Use target language
to describe going
out to eat.
AP Jia You L2: Sports / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar / Introduce Tang poetry.
Students select poem
to translate and memorize. Quiz on L12 vocab. AP L2
vocabulary.
5
9/8-
9/11 / L 12: Support descriptions
with details. AP Jia You: L2: Sports / Text/translation, L12
Exercise and composition.
Text/translation, AP L2
Exercise and composition. / Labor Day Sept. 7.
Students write a composition
describing how they get back
and forth from school or work.
AP: Students write a composition on playing a particular sport they like.
6
9/14-
9/18 / L13 Use target
language to get around in the library.
AP Jia You L3:
The Beijing Teahouse / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar. / Quiz on L 13 and AP L3 vocabulary.
7
9/21-
9/25 / Supplementary materials:
Read Story on
mid-autumn festival.
Newspaper clippings. / Read story about
Mid-Autumn festival. Students cut out Chinese advertisement and translate it. / Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept 26.
Students search the internet for information on the origins of the mid-autumn festival.
Students individually write a composition comparing the
mid-autumn festival
with a local American festival.
8
9/28-
10/2 / L13: support descriptions with details. AP Jia You: L3. Teahouse. / Text/translation, L13 & AP: Exercise and composition. / Fall Break Oct 1-2.
L13: Students and teacher go to the library and describe how to go about finding and borrowing a book.
AP L3: Students research tea culture in China and give a demonstration.
9
10/5-
10/9 / L14 Use target language to ask directions.
AP Jia You L 4: Weddings and clothing. / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar. / First Quarter Exam Oct. 8.
L14 & AP L4: Quiz on vocabulary. Students act out treasure hunt by giving directions to student. Students write a composition on modern modes of transportation.
10
10/12-
10/16 / L14: support descriptions with details. Directions.
AP Jia You L4: Weddings / Text/translation, L14 & AP L4: Exercise and composition. / L14: short oral performance on getting from A to B. AP L4:
Student writes a composition on Chinese wedding customs.
11
10/19-
10/23 / Supplemental materials: Tang poetry and history. / Read biography of selected poet. Translate an advertisement from newspaper or magazine. / Students select a Tang or other poem to translate and memorize.
Students research an aspect of Tang history and write a composition about it.
12
10/26-
10/30 / L15: Birthday party. Use target language to describe a party. AP Jia You L5: Chinese in Fun. / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar. / L15 and AP L5: Quiz on vocabulary. L15 & AP L5: Write out a family tree with Chinese kinship terms. (See Level 1, Part 2 pp. 266-271)
13
11/2-
11/6 / L15: support descriptions with details: Birthday. AP L5: Chinese is Fun / Text/translation, L15 & AP L5: Exercise and composition. Chinese zodiac. / L15: Students research the Chinese zodiac and write a composition about their own zodiac animal. AP L5: Students write a letter to a friend in China.
14
11/9-
11/13 / L16: Seeing a doctor. Use target language to describe going to see a doctor. AP Jia You L6: My Father, Laoshe. / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar. / L16 and AP L6 vocabulary quizzes. Students research and compare Friday the 13th with similar Chinese ideas about luck.
15
11/16-
11/20 / L16: Seeing a doctor. Support descriptions with details: seeing a doctor. AP L6: My Father, Lao She. / Text/translation, L16 & AP L6: Exercise and composition. Newspaper reading. / L16: Students translate a Chinese advertisement from a newspaper or internet site.AP L6: Students research in books or internet Lao She or another famous Chinese author. Students ask each other about the author they have researched.
16
11/23-
11/24 / Supplemental materials.
Short play from Setting the Stage for Chinese Level 2. / Exercise and reading play. / Short week. Thanksgiving Break Nov. 26-27. Quiz on play vocabulary. Students begin to memorize short play.
17
11/30-
12/4 / L17: Dating. Use target language to describe going on a date. AP Jia You L7: Celebrating Chinese New Year. / Vocabulary, sentence
pattern, grammar. / L17 and AP L7 quizzes on vocabulary. AP L7 students research Chinese New Year write composition comparing it to an American or other holiday.
18
12/7-
12/11 / L17: Support descriptions with details: Dating. AP L7: Chinese New Year.
Short play. / Text/translation, L17 & AP L7: Exercise and composition. Articles on Chinese New Year. / Review Day Dec. 11. Students review and practice short play. L17 Students write composition describing their ideal date (person and activity).

SPRING SEMESTER

Week
Dates / Lesson Objective
(L = Lesson) / Content or Theme / Notes
1
1/5-
1/8 / L18: Renting an
Apartment. Use target
language to describe
renting an apartment.
AP Jia You L8: Moon
Festival. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. / Prof. Devel. Day Jan. 4. L18
& AP L8: vocabulary quizzes. Students research a Chinese festival other than
mid-autumn festival. Students
make zongzi and jiaozi in class.
2
1/11-
1/15 / L18: Renting. AP L8: Moon Festival. Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L18 & AP L8: Exercise and composition. / L18: Students write a composition
describing their ideal apartment and how to take care of it. AP L8: Students write a composition describing the importance
of the moon in Chinese and American culture.
3
1/18-
1/22 / L19: At the Post Office. Use target language to describe going to the Post Office. AP Jia You L9: Planning a trip to China. Use target language to / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. Newspaper reading. / L19 & AP L9: vocabulary quizzes. Students research Chinese postage stamps and how to address an envelope, and mail it. Students find a newspaper ad and translate it. AP L9: Students examine a map of China to locate cities, provinces and geographic features.
4
1/25-
1/29 / L19: Post Office. Support descriptions with details. AP L9 Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L19 & AP L9: Exercise and composition. / Chinese New Year Jan. 26. L19: Students write a composition describing going to their local post office. AP L9: Students write a composition describing a trip to China or one that they plan to take.
5
2/1-
2/5 / L20: Sports. Use target language to describe watching or doing a sport. AP Jia You L10: I Climbed the Great Wall: Use target language to describe hiking the Great Wall. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. History reading. / L 20 & AP L10: vocabulary quizzes. L20 students research a popular sport in China and give an oral presentation about it. AP L10: Students research the Great Wall.
6
2/8-
2/12 / L20: Sports. Support descriptions with details. AP L10: Great Wall. Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L20 & AP L10: Exercise and composition. History reading. / L20: Students write a composition why people pick up sports. AP L10 students write a newspaper article interviewing the emperor on the purpose and effectiveness of the Great Wall.
2/13-
2/21 / Winter Break
7
2/22-
2/26 / L21: Travel. Use target language to describe traveling to a destination. AP Jia You L11: When a Tsunami Hits. Use target language to describe a natural disaster. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. Newspaper reading. / L21 and AP L11: vocabulary quizzes. L21: Students research an animal of their choosing. AP: L11: students research a recent natural disaster and read news stories about it about it.
8
3/1-
3/5 / L21: Travel. Support descriptions with details. AP L11: Disasters: Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L21 & AP L11: Exercise and composition. / L21: Students write a composition on traveling to another country. AP L11: Students write a news story on a recent natural disaster.
9
3/8-
3/12 / L22: Hometown. Use target language to describe your hometown. AP Jia You L12: Where Will We Live Tomorrow? / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar.
Short play review and practice. / L 22 and AP L12: vocabulary quizzes. Students put together a draft description of their hometown—family’s and town’s history, weather, scenery, etc. AP L12: Students research the effects of pollution and global warming on the planet.
10
3/15-
3/19 / L22: Hometown. Support descriptions with details. AP L12: Where Will We Live? / Text/translation, L22 & AP L12: Exercise and composition. / Mid-term exam March 19. L22: Students compose an essay about their family’s history in their hometown. AP L12: Students write a composition on human habitation in the 21st century.
11
3/22-
3/26 / Supplemental materials: Tang poetry and history / Read biography of selected poet. Translate an advertisement from newspaper or magazine. / Students select a Tang or other poem to translate and memorize.
Students write a composition to describe the poem’s theme and imagery.
12
3/29-
4/1 / L23: At the Airport. Use target language to describe checking in at the airport. AP Jia You L13: The Hospitable Southwest. Use target language to describe minorities in China. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar.
Play review and practice. / Short week. L23 and AP L13: vocabulary quizzes. L23 Students put together a dialogue seeing off someone at the airport and greeting them in Beijing. AP L13: Students research a minority people in China’s Yunnan province.
4/2-
4/11 / Spring Break / China Trip? / China Trip?
13
4/12-
4/16 / L23: At the airport. Support descriptions with details. AP L13: The Southwest. Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L23 & AP L13: Exercise and composition. / Short Week. L23: Students act out airport dialogues and compose a story about their worst experience on an airplane. AP L13: Students write a composition about a minority people in Yunnan.
14
4/19-
4/23 / Integrated Chinese Level 2 Part 1, L1: Kai Xue. Use target language to describe starting school. AP Jia You L14: Moving into a Modern Apartment. Use target language to describe moving into a new place. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. Short play review and practice. / L1 and AP L14: vocabulary quizzes. Students compose their own name card. L1: Students prepare to talk about going away to school. AP L14 Students look up several advertisements online for rented apartments, and write one to rent out their own.
15
4/26-
4/29 / L1: Kai Xue. Support descriptions with details. AP L14: Moving: Support descriptions with details. / Text/translation, L23 & AP L13: Exercise and composition. / Short Week. Oaks Day April 30. L1: Students write a composition about going away to school and their feelings about it. AP L14: Students write a composition describing their ideal apartment and landlord.
16
5/3-
5/7 / L2: Su She. Use target language to describe moving into a dormitory. AP Jia You L15: Chinese Characters. Use target language to describe the Chinese written language. / Vocabulary, sentence pattern, grammar. Short play review and practice. / AP Exams May 3-14. L2 and AP L15: vocabulary quizzes. L2: Students research living in a dorm and the ideal roommate. AP L15: Students research ancient Chinese writing.
17
5/10-
5/14 / L2: Dormitory. Support descriptions with details. AP L15: Moving: Support descriptions with details.Supplementary materials.
Short Play performance / Text/translation, L23 & AP L13: Exercise and composition.
Performance given to school. / May 14 seniors’ last day.L2 Students write a news story about moving into a dorm for the first time. AP L15: Students write a composition about the evolution of the Chinese character. Fourth quarter exam May 11. Students participate in Chinese play performance May 13.
18
5/17-
5/19 / Chinese IV/AP Chinese: no classes. / Short Week. Review day May 19.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Each semester is made up of two grading periods, or quarters. Each quarter includes major grades and daily grades. For each of the major grades, I prepare a rubric or checklist and share it with students ahead of time.

Major grades account for 50 percent of the overall grade for each cycle. Major grades include chapter quizzes (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks for grammar usage, sentence making, translation in both Chinese and English), cultural project, compositions (one every two weeks), a formal speech presentation, and classroom presentation.

Daily grades account for the other 50 percent of the overall grade. Daily grades include pop quizzes, homework and flashcard organization, and newspaper article summaries.

The overall semester grade is broken down per the following:

Grade for first quarter:25%

Grade for second quarter:25%

Grade for third quarter:25%

Final Exam:25%

CULTURAL PROJECTS:

I. Cultural Presentations:

Each semester students will individually research and develop a topic related to Chinese culture or history, such as food, festivals, peoples of China, clothing, architecture, painting, etc., using as much as the target language as possible. The research will be presented in a 10-minute Powerpoint or video presentation at the end of each semester.

II. Short play

The students will select, learn and perform a short play based upon a Chinese theme. The students will make their own costumes and stage props, and perform the play at the end of the second semester.

III. Field Trips

Field trips will be offered to travel to Washington, D.C. to see a Chinese exhibit about the First Emperor at the National Geographic Museum, and a day trip to see the Asian galleries at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In addition, trips to Crane House (The Asia Institute) will also be made.

TEACHER RESOURCES

Primary Textbooks

Liu, Yuehua, Tao-chung Yao, et al, Integrated Chinese Level 1, Part 2. 3rd ed., Simplified characters. Textbook, Workbook and Character Workbook. Boston: Cheng and Tsui Co., 2008.

Liu, Yuehua, Tao-chung Yao, et al, Integrated Chinese Level 2, Part 1. 3rd ed. Simplified characters. Textbook, Workbook and Character Workbook. Boston: Cheng and Tsui Co., 2009.

Xu, Jialu, Chen Fu, et al. Jia You: Chinese for the Global Community. Textbooks 1 & 2. Thompson Learning: Singapore, Boston and Beijing, 2008.

Additional Materials

Li Zhenjie and Wang Shixun, Newpaper Chinese ABC: An Introductory Reader. Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 1998.

Meng, Yuanchao, Setting the Stage for Chinese Level 2. Boston: Cheng and Tsui Co., 2009.

Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary, 3rd ed. New York and Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Shen, Yan. Barron’s AP Chinese Language and Culture. Barron’s Educational Series, 2009.

Tang, Yu Hong & Zhang Yuehua, eds., Mary in Shanghai. Beijing: Peking University Press, n.d.

Waltz, Terry. Anna Mei Banfa. N.p.: Albany Language Learning, n.d.

Resource Books, History and Culture

Blunden, Caroline and Mark Elvin. Cultural Atlas of China. Checkmark Books, 1998.

Fairbank, John King and Merle Goldman. China: A New History. 2nd enlarged edition. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press, 2006.

Herdan, Innes, trans. The Three Hundred T’ang Poems. Taipei: Far East Book Co., 1973.

Ogden, Suzanne. Global Studies: China. 12th ed. Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw Hill Contemporary Learning Series, 2008.

Owen, Stephen, ed. & trans. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996.

Stepanchuk, Carol, and Charles Wong. Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. San Francisco: China Books and Periodicals, 1991.

Other sources

Mandarin Tools: Online Chinese Tools. (Online resource for Chinese language and culture).

China Daily. (Chinese newspaper China Daily online).

Beijing Review. (Chinese magazine Beijing Review online).

Xinhua News Agency. (Chinese news agency online).

Sina.com. (Online magazine on the Chinese contemporary scene).

Zhongwen.com. . (Online resource on Chinese writing and culture).

Films:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 2000, China/USA. Ang Lee, dir. DVD: Culver City, Calif: Sony Pictures, 2000.

Hero. 2002, Hong Kong/China. Zhang Yimou, dir. DVD: New York, Miramax, 2004.

The Road Home. 2000. Zhang Yimou, dir. DVD: Culver City, Calif: Sony Pictures, 2001.

To Live. 1994. Zhang Yimou, dir. DVD: MGM, 2003.

The King of Masks. 1999. Wu Tianming, dir. DVD: Culver City, Calif., Sony Pictures, 2000.

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