Grade 5: Acquiring Information

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

use information from age-appropriate Chinese-language resources to complete authentic tasks
convey acquired information in oral and visual forms

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Acquiring Information in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Students at this level can seek information by using common Chinese expressions and question patterns. Students should be encouraged to access simple information in Chinese using available resources (e.g., community, family, print, electronic media).

Have each student bring a favourite Chinese snack for Show and Tell. Encourage students to learn the Chinese names of snacks from one another using familiar phrases such as Zhe shi shenme? They could take turns playing host and inviting others to try their snacks, using phrases such as Zhe shi ____________ or Qvõng shishi ____________ . Alternatively, they could ask to try various snacks, using phrases such as Zhe shi shenme? or Wvo kveyvõ shishi ma?
Teach the phrase Hanyvu zvenme shu_o? and provide additional vocabulary as required for the following activities:
- Show flash cards with pictures of various careers on one side and the Chinese words on the other (in Pinyin and Chinese characters), then distribute them to students. Have students in pairs practise asking one another Hanyvu zvenme shu_o?
- Ask students in pairs to identify their parents' occupations (e.g., Wvo baba shi ____________ ), then conduct a class survey of occupations, including houseparents. As a follow-up, ask students what careers they want to pursue and have them answer using phrases such as Wvo xivang d_ang ____________ . Compile a class list. This strategy can be adapted for other topics (e.g., weather, clothing, hobbies).
Show and read to the class large Chinese-language picture books that use simple, repetitive sentence patterns. Repeat the sentence patterns, each time substituting key words with new vocabulary. Read the book aloud as a class. Reinforce vocabulary from the book by pointing to a picture and asking Hanyvu zvenme shu_o?
Introduce students to the Internet, and have them search for Chinese festival information.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

At this level, most of the information that students acquire will be oral and often connected to concrete activities such as choosing a snack. Students should have opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned in a variety of non-verbal ways, as well as by speaking or writing. At this level, most writing will be simple copying of selected words or phrases in Pinyin.

When students work in groups to choose snacks and bring samples to class, note the extent to which they are able to:
- remember the names of some popular snacks
- teach one another the names of the snacks they have chosen
- apply patterns they have learned to ask what the snacks are (Zhe shi shenme?); ask permission to try the snacks (Wvo kveyvi changchang ma?)
- create illustrated lists of the snacks they have tried
When students use a phrase such as Hanyvu zvenme shu_o? to find out about family members' jobs or classmates' hobbies, look for evidence that they are able to:
- recognize and use the basic question pattern
- understand words and phrases that are repeated frequently in the same context
- use classroom resources (e.g., picture books with Chinese captions) to help solve communication problems
As students work with picture books, look for evidence that they are beginning to:
- recognize key words
- anticipate familiar patterns or those that are repeated
- use the pictures to make predictions about the language
- ask questions about the characters, events, or language

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

Print Material

Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary (Oxford)
Long is a Dragon

Video

The Dragon's Tongue Series

Multimedia

Chinese Mandarin Resource Book - Volumes 1, 2, and 3
Zhongguotong

Last Modified: March 24, 1999

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