Fun Week Lesson Plan #1 by Melissa Mo

Objectives:

*    The students will acquire information by reading, listening, and

      viewing.

*    The students will be encouraged to develop respect and appreciation for

      the ways in which people in China satisfy basic needs.

Materials:

Chinese ink, Chinese paintbrushes, cardboard paper (red or yellow), pencils, paper, and access to the internet

Anticipatory set:

The students will have prepared their names in Chinese characters printed off from the website, http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html. The teacher will provide an example of a finished Chinese Identity poster. This poster has the name of the teacher written in Chinese characters and his/her Zodiac sign below it. The class will discuss how they think this poster was made (i.e. what materials were used, how the information was found, etc…) and what the characters and picture mean in Chinese.

Procedure:

This activity provides the students with an opportunity to relate to the Chinese culture. After the class has had a discussion on what the Chinese characters are and the Zodiac sign, the students will be able to find out their own names in Chinese and their Zodiac signs to complete their own Chinese Identity poster.

The students will begin by practicing writing their Chinese names in rough using pencils until they feel confident that they can write out their names neatly in Chinese ink using a paintbrush. Most of the students will have been born in the same year thus they will have the same Zodiac sign. Therefore the teacher will photocopy their Zodiac sign for each of the students. The students draw their own version of their Zodiac animal to give their poster an authentic and original look. When the posters are completed students have the option of sharing their identity posters with the class.

Closing:

The students will reflect about this experience in their learning logs. They will discuss how their personality fits with the description of their Zodiac personality and if they agree with it or not. They can also write about what their names mean in Chinese and if that description fits who they are. The students can talk about how difficult or easy they found writing in Chinese characters to be.

Assessment:

Informal assessment will occur by the teacher observing if the students are engaged in the project and on task. Also, the posters should have the two components completed before the end of the period. The posters must show that the student has put some effort into the project because they will be hung in the hallway where the rest of the school will be able to admire their work. The formal assessment for this activity will be the learning log entries. The students will be evaluated on their thinking and understandings can be clearly seen.

Modifications:

Special needs students will have their names already traced on cardboard paper. The students will then have to go over their names with black ink and draw their version of their Zodiac sign below it.

Resources:

http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html.

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