The Thematic Approach to teaching Chinese

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The Thematic Approach to teaching Chinese
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Shaz
shazza_at_gigglepotz.com
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Gigglepotz.comwww.gigglepotz.com
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Wiki for Kidswww.wikiforkids.com
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Chinese Monster Magicwww.chinesemonstermagic.com
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Pre-school Chinese Teacher
Chinese Teacher K-7
Chinese Teacher Grades 8-12
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Todays Workshop

• What is Thematic Teaching?
• Why teach with Themes?
• The Zoo Theme
• The Olympics Theme
• How to develop your own Themes

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The Problem Teaching is Complex
Topics are integrated into Themes
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Thematic Teaching Its all about. Connections
between Topics
Numbers
Food
Animals
Colors
Sports
Nationalities
Days, Dates, Time
Transport
School
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THEMATIC TEACHING Its All About Real life
contexts!
Buying a gift
Lets go to the Circus
On the Farm
Dinosaurs
At the Beach
Its winter!
A Trip to the Zoo
Dinner with my friends
My first visit to the Doctor
Lets go to the Olympics
Happy Birthday!
Meeting a new friend
Authentic Learning Experiences
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The Power of Themes
Theme

• Meaningful learning activities
• Real life contexts - easily related to everyday
  life

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The Power of Purpose
Why should it matter to students?
Using Themes in a real life context, students See
the Purpose of language.
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The Power of Engagement
It is the act of learning that is transforming
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Language has a purpose
Communication
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READING and RESPONDING
Students view and read texts to interpret meaning
in familiar contexts
WRITING
Students write their own texts with support to
Communicate ideas and express feelings or
exchange information.
ORAL INTERACTION
Students listen and speak to form relationships,
communicate information, and exchange ideas.
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How to develop a Theme
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The Zoo ThemeGrades K-3
What do I want my students to be able to do?
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What characters will my students learn?
Statements
Nouns
Questions
Adjectives
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Transport
Weather
Descriptions
Food
We saw.
Animals
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Authentic Learning Experiences
Conduct a Survey
Questioning to gain information
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Authentic Questions
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Students express likes and dislikes
Authentic Communication
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Descriptive words
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Label own zoo using Chinese characters
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Asking for Directions
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Culminating Activity

• Trip to the Zoo or a Virtual Zoo in the classroom

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Theme The Olympics
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What characters will my students learn?
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Oral Interaction
Gaining information
Expressing feelings
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Students will complete personal information in
Passport.
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Authentic information
Writing with a purpose
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Complete information in Passport
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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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At the Airport

• Students exchange information about themselves
  and nationality.

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????
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Describe the Olympic Mascots
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Use the online schedule to determine date, day
and time of events
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Culminating Activity

• Mini-Olympics
• In Chinese

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How to plan a Thematic Unit

• Brainstorm themes, concepts, topics, big ideas or
  problems.
• Choose a theme that is
• Significant
• Universal
• Extendable
• Applicable
• Relevant
• Critical to the content areas being studied
• Engaging to students

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Content Standards

• Identify the content standards and benchmarks
  which are significantly related to the thematic
  statement and focus questions
• What do I want my students to learn?
• Reading and responding
• Oral Interaction
• Writing

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Language Components

• Grammar
• Sentence Structure
• Questions and Statements
• New Vocabulary

Communication with a Purpose!
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Learning Activities

• Authentic
• Real Life Contexts
• Integrated Topics
• Engaging
• Promote effective outcomes
• Purpose of Language

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Culminating Activity

• Bring all the topics together in one final
  learning activity
• Real life context - in world
• Virtual activity - in classroom

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Student Assessment

• Establish criteria for evaluating your student
  products and performances.
• What will you accept as evidence that students
  have achieved the targeted content standards and
  benchmarks?
• Use the language of the culminating task and the
  key elements of the content standards and
  benchmarks to draft concise statements of
  criteria.

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THEMATIC TEACHING
K-4
5-8
The Olympics
Dinosaurs
I cant choose
Lets go to the Circus
A Trip to the Zoo
Dinner with friends
My trip to China
Its winter!
TV vs Movies
A visit to the Doctor
Lets go shopping
On the Farm
Lets meet
At the Beach
Teacher for a day
Happy Birthday!
Stop the bus

• www.chinesemonstermagic.com