Woodside School District

5th GRADE EXPLORATORY Mandarin Class

Course description and goals: The 5th Grade Exploratory Mandarin curriculum provides students with an introduction to Mandarin and elements of Chinese culture. It is designed to be a fun and engaging environment where students can learn the basics of Mandarin, as well as develop a deeper understanding of the philosophies of learning a second language. Students will learn Pin Yin, the Chinese phonetic system for pronunciation, rules of writing Chinese characters, topics such as greetings, personal information, families and numbers.  Students will develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the class, with an emphasis on oral communication.  Throughout the semester, students are also expected to develop an understanding of the culture by participating in creative activities and holiday celebrations.  This program is designed to elicit interest in the language, which will inspire future study. 

Grading: It is a fail/pass class.  In order to pass the class, students needs to be fully engaged in class activities and complete class exercises and notes. 

Office hour: My office hour is Thursday lunchtime and recess by appointment.  I would love to help you with catching up, making up works, re-teaching and more practicing.