Created for grades K-6, Flying with Chinese lets young learners have fun and learn about a multitude of topics while they increase their oral and written skills in Chinese. In Flying with Chinese, detailed teaching support material is provided both for individual lessons and the series as a whole.
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Originally presented by Shuhan C. Wang, Ph.D. at the CAIS Chinese Language Conference 2008.
Panel: Strategies for Teaching Early Chinese Language Learners
Sun, March 16, 9 – 9:50am
Author of Flying with Chinese, Shuhan C. Wang will share her strategies and experiences in creating content-related curriculum for teaching Chinese in the K-6 classroom, incorporating standards, implementing backward design, and promoting principles of story form and thematic planning. There will be discussion with samples and demonstrations, showing participants how to use any textbook to bring life to the classroom!
The Flying with Chinese teacher’s guide offers teachers in-class activities, curriculum pointers, and strategies for developing an engaging learning environment for young learners.
Beyond the learning objectives found at the end of each textbook lesson, this instructor’s guide includes detailed teaching suggestions, additional classroom activities, rubrics, and even some information on how to encourage parental involvement with the language-learning process. A useful overview of child language development will help teachers understand the series’ underlying curriculum structure, and equip them with strategies for creating an enriching, enjoyable classroom environment.
When coupled with guided language practice in the classroom, Flying with Chinese comprehensively addresses the language-learning needs and abilities of the young student of Chinese. The section on pedagogy is bilingual (simplified characters and English) and the classroom activity section is in English.
Presented by Dr. Shuhan Wang and Ms. Chiachyi Chiu
Creating a standards-based Chinese curriculum and language program for young learners (be it immersion, FLES, or heritage) that's engaging for elementary school students can be challenging. In this recording, the authors behind the comprehensive K-6 series, Flying with Chinese, discuss how their series overcomes those challenges through its carefully designed and field tested language learning system. They also discuss the conceptual framework, curriculum, pedagogy, built-in assessment, and innovative components of the series. Presented in English with ample examples from the books.
Chinese language experts and authors Shuhan Wang and Chiachyi Chiu discuss how to integrate language instruction, cultural understanding, and academic content in a standards- and performance-based Chinese language classroom. They share how to enable students from Kindergarten through Grade 6 to develop their oralcy and literacy in Chinese, while expanding their worldview as global citizens. Using examples from the Flying with Chinese series, they explain the core principles and concepts framing their work and suggest effective instructional approaches for classroom teachers. Presented in English and Chinese.