| Theme |
Plan a Group Travel |
| Topic |
How to get there? 怎么去 |
| Unit Overview |
Tang Seng and his four disciples, Sun Wukong ‘Monkey’, Zhu Bajie ‘Pigsy’, Sha Seng ‘Friar Sand’ and Bai Longma ‘White Dragon Horse’, time travelled to modern China. Unlike the legendary pilgrimage of going through many trials and much suffering to travel to the Xitian ‘Western Regions’ to obtain Buddhist sacred texts, they have to travel to the Xitian University as a group in order complete their respective professional goals. In this life, Tang Seng is a professor with the other four as his students. Since his students have different personalities, they have distinctive preferences for transportation means. Help Professor Tang find an ideal traveling method for the group. |
| Enduring Understanding |
The way we travel is determined by geographic factors, social realities, cultural context and personal preferences. |
| Essential Questions |
- What is an ideal traveling method?
- How do geographic factors, social realities and individual personalities affect our traveling choices?
- How can a group reach agreement on traveling decisions?
|
| Objectives |
Upon completion of the unit, students will be able to:
- Describe one’s preferred means of transportation and provide simple reasons of the preferences;
- Differentiate the major transportation means in China, Taiwan, and the United States;
- Utilize orthographic awareness and phonological cues to facilitate character learning;
- Exploit writing to enhance character learning;
Apply the following reading skills: word segmentation, word expansion, automaticity, scanning, skimming, rauding, learning, memorizing, predicting, inferring. |
| Targeted Students |
College students have studied for two semesters (non-Heritage)
Oral Proficiency: Intermediate Low
Reading Proficiency: Novice High (mastery of 100 characters) |
| Time Suggested |
5 x 55-minute class periods |
| Can-do Statements Based on National Standards |
Communication:
- Differentiate the major transportation means in China, Taiwan, and the United States;
- Describe one’s preferred means of transportation and provide simple reasons of the preferences;
- Make simple suggestions about group traveling in a culturally appropriate manner.
Cultures:
- Use culturally appropriate ways to make simple suggestions.
- Identify the main ideas in the Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Comparisons:
- Compare the means of transportation between China and the United States;
- Compare the means of transportation between ancient and modern time;
- Compare personal preferences in ways of traveling and respective reasons of such choices.
Connection:
- Identify major geographic locations in China and the United States;
Community:
Plan a trip from China to India for a group, finding information of price and time of possible transportation for the trip.
|
| Character learning and reading skills focused |
- Utilize orthographic awareness and phonological cues to facilitate character learning
- Exploit writing to enhance character learning
Apply the following reading skills: word segmentation, word expansion, automaticity, scanning, skimming, rauding, predicting and inferring |
Formative Assessment |
Interpersonal writing
- Read and respond to emails
Interpretive reading and Listening
- Identify the purpose and information in posters, surveys and webpages.
Presentational Writing and Speaking
Make suggestions for traveling plans |
Summative
Assessment |
- Group project: write a skit about planning a group trip, and act it out. (See Day 4-5 for detailed instruction, rubric and guidance)
|
Readings
(Modified. Adapted from authentic materials.) |
- 《怎么去“西天”大学》- Modified text.
- 豆先生的假期 –Modified text.
- Posters/Survey Graphics – Authentic materials
|
| Sentence Patterns |
句型一： Subj. + 又 + Adj. 1 + 又 + Adj. 2 "both… and… ”
句型二：
Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + 有＃#里(路) distance
Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + Adv. + 近 / 远
句型三：Subject + 还是 + Action + 吧 |
| Core Vocabulary |
Core Vocabulary:
- 带
- 讨论
- 骑
- 走路
- 坐船
- 离
- 慢
- 麻烦
- 古董
|
