Project Type
School Project
Award Project Round
14
Deadline Date

Ivy Yiu, mentor teacher at North Warren Regional, was awarded a CLP grant to take students enrolled in Chinese classes, as well as students in the Chinese club, on a field trip to Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. Students who participated in the field trip then collaborated with Mrs. Yiu and the 2017-2018 exchange teacher Zhang Wenjie to plan a week-long Discover China! event held at the school in order to raise awareness and enthusiasm about Chinese language and culture and the North Warren Chinese program. Students then led "learning centers" at the event which provided their peers with the opportunity to learn about different elements of Chinese language and culture. Each day of the event had a particular focus, showcasing a variety of aspects of Chinese culture, history, and traditions throughout the course of the week. These themes, purposefully thought-out to highlight specific cultural lessons for the school community members to learn about, included the terracotta warriors, the Chinese New Year, the zodiac, calligraphy, paper cutting, paper lanterns, and using chopsticks. Having Chinese club members and students from Chinese language classes help facilitate the event and serve as cultural ambassadors helped increase student interest in enrollment in Chinese language classes and participation in the Chinese club. Many staff and teachers also attended the Discover China! event, increase the awareness of Chinese language and culture at the school.