Mandarin

Ms. Lin’s “Hot Pot is the Staff of Life” project engaged participants in the cultural and historical significance of the hot pot of traditional cuisine. In the classroom, Ms. Lin taught the students about the history of hot pot in China, common ingredients used in the hot pot, the ingredients’ symbolism, and how to use chopsticks. Next, the students, their families, and school staff visited a local Chinese grocery store and restaurant to experience the hot pot firsthand.

At Tommy's Road Elementary (TRE), students take Mandarin as an enrichment class twice a week. The classes focus on reading, writing, and listening skills, speaking the target language, and learning about the culture.

Since Butler Academy (BA) students only have one Mandarin class per week and do not have the resources or materials to help with self-learning, Ms. Lin created a project to help students stay motivated while learning a foreign language.

Ms. Huang's "2023 Chinese New Year Celebration” project invited students, teachers and staff, parents, and community members to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Ms. Huang coordinated and organized the day-long event, during which students and teachers prepared a song to perform on stage for parents and the community.

The field trip involved students travelling to the Phoenix Art Museum, which has an Asian gallery with a Chinese art section. The students obtained a deeper understanding of what they learned this year by interacting and observing real-life examples of Chinese culture.

Students currently enrolled in Mandarin I, II, III, and IV will visit the Yin Yu Tang House, located at the Peabody Essex Museum.

The students at Eastside Charter School did not previously visit Philadelphia’s Chinatown. For most of the students, this year represented their first-time taking Mandarin.

This project will benefit the school's 200 students, including those in 5 Mandarin Chinese classes across 4 levels. The CLP funds will be used to acquire decorations, and supplies necessary to organize a school wide event to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The students are going to be pen pals between my host school in Chicago, Illinois and my home school in China. In order to experience Chinese culture, the students who participate in the pen pal activity in America are going to Chinatown in downtown Chicago in May as a field trip. The students will taste Chinese food in a Chinese restaurant, they will be able to apply their ability to use chopsticks. They will also look at the architecture there, they will take the activities we did.