In Unit 2 Mandarin classes…

Kindergarten

During this unit, the Kindy boys have learnt about symbols and numbers.

We’ve learnt about the evolution of Chinese language. After we looked at the ancient way of recording information, including tying knots on strings and oracle-bone script, we are grateful and appreciate the current writing system.  

With knot tying, we recoded various messages at the beginning of the class and hoped we would be able to recall the messages just before the end of the class. As we found out – it was all too confusing! No one remembered exactly the messages we tried to record 20 minutes ago! When we looked at oracle-bone script, we had some success in decoding messages. The boys learned to write numbers in Chinese characters and they created numbered dot-to-dot worksheet in Chinese.

Stage 1

Like many young little boys in ancient times, our boys have been learning “Three Character Classic” (三字經/三字经) in unit 2. This particular text is believed to have been written in the 13th century during the Song dynasty as an introductory book for children about Confucian values. A unique attribute of this book is that each sentence only has three Chinese characters. In the class, we’ve studied the texts and discussed the values and beliefs they tried to teach us. Some of the questions we talked about were: Do you believe a person was born with a pure and kind heart? If so, what changed them to be a less kind person? Do you think education is the solution to ensuring people remain good and kind?

Stage 3

Year 5 boys have been learning about introducing themselves and family members. As a teacher, I am proud to see most of the boys applying their knowledge to greet me in Mandarin and hold a brief conversation as well. Some of boys, who only started learning Mandarin this year, are able to assist their fellow students. The one thing these boys have in common is that they are open-minded and are willing to step outside their comfort zone. This is also the key to becoming a successful learner in life.

Year 6 boys have been learning about party food and how to ask and reply to questions such as – What is your favourite food? Don’t be too surprised that sometime in Term 2, we might have a class party with all the food that we’ve learnt…

Ms Eva Angel – LOTE Teacher