SHARED FACILITIES PARENT CURRICULUM COMMUNICATION
    3rd Quarter 2011

CHINESE LANGUAGE

Dear Parents:

I wish all of you a joyous and prosperous Year of the Dragon.  This is year 4710 in the Chinese calendar. There will be many different celebrations this year.  One of them is the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats.  The performance will take place at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. 847-673-6300. There is a special offers of $10.00 off the tickets on Sat., Feb 4 at 1pm & 5pm.  Please book your tickets with code CAEB10.
 
Preschool:  Our preschoolers have learned to read some simple Chinese characters.  They can name winter clothing and describe various objects with colors. They can say simple expression such as; “Tiger runs fast.” “ Little bird flies.” They enjoy counting Chinese numbers, singing Chinese children songs and reciting rhymes.

Our kindergarten students have learned to count Chinese numbers to 80.  They are doing extremely well with the numbers.  They can recognize and write Chinese numbers.  They are able to read ten different Chinese characters. They can re-arrange these characters to make new compound word.  In addition, they can say simple sentences such as, “I eat cake.” “Big brother eats ice cream.”

The 1st grade students have learned to recite two poems. The first grade students worked in small groups and acted out the poems.  They are able to recognize and understand the special meaning of 30 Chinese characters.  This is not easy for children who are not from Chinese speaking environment. They played characters game and created their own Chinese phrases.

Students in 2nd grade learned about different places in the community. They can express the activities that they like to do in different community places. They are able to read simple paragraphs.  They can also compose complete sentences.

In the third quarter, our preK to kindergarten students will learn to identify geometric shapes, patterns, seasons, and weather. They will learn to recognize simple Chinese characters and learn to write basic Chinese characters.

Both our first and second grade students will concentrate on Chinese characters recognition and reading. They will learn to write verses and sentences. In addition, our students will practice asking and responding to simple questions regarding hobbies, school, and food.

Xin Nian Kuai Le  (Happy New Year)
Gong Hay Fat Choi  (May you have good fortune)

Below are some websites for you to explore about China and Chinese culture.
http://pbskids.org/sagwa/games/
http://www.uni.edu/becker/chinese2.html

R. Chan
Chinese World Language Teacher
rwchan@cps.edu