Welcome to Fan's Chinese class

Trip to China

Trip to China

The Mandarin Bridge from Ann Arbor to China at http://news.a2schools.org/the-mandarin-bridge-from-ann-arbor-to-china/

Just back from a spring break trip to China, Holden Mass, a ninth grader at Pioneer High School, commented, “I was shocked by how many people there were;  I knew there were a lot, but…” Holden and ten other Ann Arbor students traveled to China over this year’s spring break with their Mandarin teacher, Fan Wu.  Ranging from fourth to tenth grade and representing Huron High School, Community High School, and Summers-Knoll School as well as Pioneer, the group  visited with their counterparts from the Hangzhou Foreign Language School and the Beijing International School. The students paid for their own trip.

“The world is a village, and language is a bridge,” explained Fan Wu.  She began planning this trip over a year ago, organizing travel arrangements, making contact with schools in China, and, especially, helping her students become more fluent in Mandarin.  Her goal was to help students add to their learning with real-world experience, understand diversity, and develop a broader knowledge about China by learning about its history, religions, culture, and education.


Seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty in 200 BC was “cool and fun,” said David Giardino, a fourth grader at Summers-Knoll School.   “The historical artifacts were powerful because of their significance in Chinese history,” said Eitan Halpern, a sophomore at Huron.  “I really liked the Great Wall because it goes on and on,” said Megan Battersby, a sophomore at Pioneer.  “I didn’t know here were so many Muslim people in China,” commented Denali Gere,  a seventh grader at Summers-Knoll, after visiting a mosque in Xi’an.  The group also visited pagodas and temples, and learned how Buddhism came to China from India.

Attending an acrobatics show in Shanghai and a Kong Fu production in Beijing, and taking a calligraphy lesson, and visiting an art gallery helped the students learn more about Chinese culture.   “The breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were really nice” said Grayson Schultz, a fourth grader at Summers-Knoll,  who encountered new foods like Peking Duck, jelly fish, and dumplings.  “I liked bargaining in the markets,” said Taylor Baughman, an eighth grader at Summers-Knoll. Visits to the schools were a highlight because Ann Arbor students were paired with Chinese students to tour the campus, visit classes, and exchange email addresses so they can stay in touch.   “I liked that everyone was really nice there; it seems like being kind is very important in China,” said Micaela Stevenson, a sophomore at  Huron.   “They took pictures of us,” said Evan Marx, a seventh grader at Summers-Knoll.  “I was really surprised that my partner and I could talk about the economy—how the US thinks of China as a place to get things more cheaply, and how she sees China as a fast-growing country that needs more jobs for its people,” said Ariana Gould-Tasoojy, a ninth grader at Community.

These students achieved Fan Wu’s goal of fostering international understanding through language. Owen Curnow, a ninth grader at Pioneer, summed up the trip this way:  “The people were very similar to those in the US, but at the same time they were very different.  Their culture isn’t like ours, but they are still people like us in the US.  It was an amazing and beautiful experience for me.”

Some pictures of our trip, enjoy

 Fly to China

 At Band, Shanghai

At Yu Yuan Garden, Shanghai

Boat ride at the West Lake, Hangzhou

At the Hua Gang Guan Yu, Hang zhou

Exchange present with a Chinese penpal

 At Hangzhou Foreign Language School

 At the Lei Feng Tower, Hangzhou

With Terra Cott Warriors at Xi'an

Learning calligraphy, at Xi'an Art Museum

Wu Lao Shi shows calligraphy

With Jade Terra Cotta Warriors

At the Forbidden City, Beijing

At the Great Wall of China, Beijing

At the Ding Ling, Beijing

Ride a "elephant", cool chairs.

 

Panpals, finally they meet each other

Tian'An Men Square, Beijing

Taking classes with Chinese students, wonderful experience

 Picture with the Chinese students at a Beijing International School

 It's a wonderful trip

And we make friends

Integrated Math to Chinese class

 Students are practicing Chinese abacus

Students are writing "Pie" in Chinese

Author and illustration Month: Middle school students wrote the story in Chinese, and they preform to Elementary students.

Drama: Little Tadpoles  Look for Their Mom 

Calligraphy class at Summers-knoll

 Mathew is using Chinese brush writing calligraphy

 What is this character? "Yang" means "goat".

 This is "Yue", which means "Moon". See the differences from different dynasty.

 We have a special guest. He looks like a expert on Chinese calligraphy. Guess who he is.

"ri" means "sun"

 "long" is "a dragon"

"Che" is a "car"

 Guess what is this character? It's "Yu", whcih means a "fish".

I wrote a "Yu" too.

Wu Lao Shi demos how to use Chinese brush to write Chinese calligraphy

 Laurea with her fruits tree

Jonathan presents his unique fruits: Garpewatermelon, strawberrybanana

My pine tree could grow golden apples.

Denali' fruits tree with all happy Chinese learners

Kaeli is doing a presentation

Hannah is presenting Chinese cuisine

Students are practicing Chopsticks

 What is your fortune?

Students use chopstick to pick up Gou Qi Berries (a Chinese berries)






Dear parents:

Thanks for attending Curriculum night! It was very nice to meet you! Many parents asked the questions about the trip to China, there is the survey sheet with the schedule and price, please fill it and let your children turn in to me. Thanks! Parents, family are welcome to join us too! Especially for elementary students, it's an international trip, and I highly recommend at least one parent go with your child.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trip to China Survey


Dear Parents,

My name is Fan Wu, and I’m your child’s Chinese teacher. I will arrange a field trip to China during the Spring break (from March 29 to April 7, 2013). Please take a look at the itinerary and fill in the information below.

The cost in China is $1,248 + round air ticket (about $998.00), total price will be about $2,250.

The details please check the attachment.


Best regards,
Fan Wu


My Child, __________________________________, 100% will go.


My Child, __________________________________, is not sure to go.


My Child, __________________________________, won’t go.


Parents’ contact information

Telephone:


Email:




-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule for Trip to China, 2013


March 29  (Friday),  USA-Shanghai

March 30 (Saturday), Arrive Shanghai (D)
Meet with English speaking tour guide and transfer to hotel
Hotel: a de luxe four-star hotel in the center of the city

March 31 (Sunday), Shanghai (B, L, D)
Discover China’s biggest city, where ancient enclaves remain amidst the modern architecture. Visit Yuyuan Garden, a graceful and elegant Ming Dynasty garden. Browse the bustling Yuyuan Bazaar, and relish a special dim-sum lunch.
Stroll along the Bund to see fascinating array of architectural styles, and on Nanking Road, the “Fifth Avenue” of Shanghai.
Tour the new Shanghai Museum housing rare bronzes from 21st -11th centuries B.C. Marvel at an amazing acrobatic show.

April 1 (Monday), Shanghai/ Hangzhou (by tour bus)  (B, L, D)
Hotel: a para-five-star hotel in the center of the city
Bus to Hangzhou, described by Marco Polo as a “celestial city” is another “paradise” in China with the picturesque West Lake and surrounding gardens and parks. Cruise along lovely West Lake, former playground of emperors, to Huagang Park. Visit the magnificent Leifeng Pagoda and have a bird's eye view of the West Lake.

April 2 (Tuesday), Hangzhou  (B, L, D)
Travel to Lingying Buddhist Temple, founded in326 A.D., and view the 65-foot camphor-wood Buddha. Discover the importance of tea in Chinese culture at the tea plantations.
Tour a senior high school and meet students.

April 3 (Wednesday), Hangzhou/Xi’an  (B, L, D)
Hotel: a de luxe four-star hotel by the City Wall
Fly to Xi’an, which leads the nation in its collection of cultural items and is the oldest capital in the world. Here, at the start of the famous Silk Road, 12 dynasties ruled for 1000 years.
Travel back 6000 years at the Banpo Museum, site of a Neolithic community. Then visit the excavation site of the world-renowned Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty (221-209 BC). Here the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was buried with over 7000 life-size pottery soldiers, horses and chariots. Catwalks above the excavation allow you to look down on these treasures without disturbing the site.

April 4 (Thursday), Xi’an/Beijing  (B, L, D)
Hotel: a four-star in the center of the city
Walk on the ramparts of the Xi’an City Wall, built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty and the best-reserved ancient city wall in China.
Absorb more Chinese history at the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, with a rich collection of artifacts.
Fly to Beijing, one of the six ancient capitals and current capital of the People’s Republic.

April 5 (Friday),  Beijing (B, L, D) 
Marvel at the Great Wall of China, begun in 7th century BC. Next, walk out the Spirit Way to the Ming Tombs, one of the grandest and best-preserved imperial mausoleums in China and newly designated “World Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO. Top off this spectacular day at a performance of the renowned Kongfu show.

April 6 (Saturday), Beijing  (B, L, D)
Walk through immense Tiananmen Square, to the Forbidden City. Here 24 emperors held sway, and any commoners who dared enter were put to death. Hutong Tour in the afternnon with lunch in the local Hutong Family. Visit the spectacular Temple of Heaven, a sacred and beautiful place where emperors prayed for good harvest. Share a Peking duck dinner on your final evening.

April 7 (Sunday) Beijing/Return USA ( B)
Arrive home on the same day.

DESTINATION PROGRAM PROPOSAL
(Spring of 2013)

PROGRAM: IMPERIAL CITIES OF CHINA

PROGRAM SITES: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xi’an and Beijing

PROPOSED DATES: Spring of 2013 (March 29 – April 7)

HOST TRAVEL SERVICE: Rightours Travel Service Co.,Ltd, China

AIRPORTS:  Arrival Airport: Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Departure Airport: Beijing International Airport


NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBERS OF ACCOMODATIONS:
   AMBASSADOR HOTEL in Shanghai (de luxe four-star)
818 Wanshangdu Rd, Shanghai, China
   Tel: (21) 6226 7777; Fax: (21) 6252 8333
www.ambassadorhotel.sh.cn

   ZHEJIANG GRAND HOTEL in Hangzhou (a para-five-star)
   595 Yan’an Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
   Tel: (571) 8505 6666; Fax: (571) 8506 1328
   www.zjghotel.com

   NEW WORLD HOTEL in Xi’an (de luxe four-star)
   172 Lianhua Road, Xi’an, China
   Tel: (29) 8721 6868; Fax: (29) 8721 0708
   www.xian.newworldhotels.com

   QIANMEN HOTEL in Beijing (a four-star in the center of the city)
   175 Yong’an Rd., Beijing, China
   Tel: (10) 6301 6688; Fax: (10) 6303 5476
   www.qianmenhotel.com

COSTS:  Per Person Charge:  US$1,248.00
Price Includes
•    Private internal transfers, transportations & sightseeing as per itinerary [coach with a/c]
•    Domestic flight tickets with airport taxes for Hangzhou –Xi’an, Xi’an - Beijing
•    Ten nights hotel accommodation as per itinerary in twin sharing basis including American buffet breakfast.
•    All sightseeing and entrance fees, mineral water during the sightseeing
•    Private English-speaking guide everyday
•    Nine Lunches and Dinners at local Chinese restaurants as per itinerary with drinks and beverages
•    Special arrangement such as visits to school and factory as stated in the itinerary.

Price Excludes
•    International round air ticket
•    International trip insurance
•    Personal expenditures
•    Tip (suggested tripping)
o    US$5 per person per day to national guide if requested
o    US$3 per person per day to local guide
o    US$2 per person per day to the driver
o    US$20-40 per time per group to hotel boy when check in or check out
•    All other items not listed above as price includes
•   
Cancellation Policy
•    If cancellation occurs within 30 days prior to the trip airfare may not be refunded. This is Air Company’s policy.

•    A deposit of approximately $150 would not be refundable if we were to cancel prior to our arrival. This is the policy from our travel agent.

•    30 - 15 days prior to departure, 30% of full tour fare.

•    15 - 07 days prior to departure, 50% of full tour fare.

•    Less than 7 days prior to departure, No refund.

Preparation:

1- Apply a passport before 12/31/2012

2- Apply a visa before 3/1/2013.

3- We strongly recommend you to purchase a comprehensive travel insurance plan to protect you and your travel investment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear class,

We have a wonderful start! All of you are very engaged, and have good classroom behave.

The first two weeks we are learning:
•    Basic Chinese Pinyin (Initial, final and tones).
o    To practice four tones, please visit the website at http://cn.yes-chinese.com/pinyin/common/tonality.jsp.
o    To practice Initial and final, please visit http://cn.yes-chinese.com/pinyin/common/letter.jsp

•    Greeting

•    Numbers, Please visit the website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/mandarin/numbers/

•    Middle school students presented their research about China. They did great job, Laurea interviewed Chinese educators and find the difference between America’s education and China’s education; Thomas talked about China adoption process through his real life story by the pictures and video, Taylor introduced terracotta army, and Jianmarco and Kaeli shared significant Chinese holidays through pictures and detailed descriptions. Hannah presented Chinese cuisine, also she bought chopsticks, yummy sesame cookies and fortune cookies, students tried to use chopsticks to catch seasame cookie and fortune cookies.

•    Elementary students picked up their own Chinese names.

Please visit the websites when you have time. Thanks! From next week, we will start to learn fruits to match our Monthly theme. I’m looking forward to see you next week!

Fan




Chinese 2012-2013
吴老师
734-4770394
wuf@aaps.k12.mi.us

欢迎！

You have made a wise choice to study Chinese; do you know:

* Worldwide: Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. Learn to speak Mandarin and you can speak with millions of people around the world.

* Business – Based on Bloomberg rank, Mandarin Chinese is the Most Useful Business Language After English. More details please visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-30/mandarin-chinese-most-useful-business-language-after-english-1-.html

    * Travel – Trip to China is an exciting travel opportunities. Getting around is much easier if you can speak Mandarin.

    * Culture - With thousands of years of history, Chinese culture is endlessly fascinating. Whether your interests are in history, architecture, music, or cuisine, knowledge of Mandarin will enrich your understanding of Chinese culture.

I am excited to begin the New Year together and I look forward to getting to know all of you. I am a creative, hands-on and hard-working teacher who has high expectations of all students. I also strive to create a respectful, inviting and enthusiastic atmosphere for learning. We will be learning a lot of Chinese this year if you pay attention and participate in class, do your homework and review for tests, you will very pleased with how fast you can learn! So work hard, do your best, relax and enjoy. The following are some things you should know about the class:


Required Class Materials
1.    Pen or pencil.
2.    Three ring binder or folder
3.    Paper notebook
4.    Memory stick

What we will learn

Chinese class is on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. We will learn Chinese language and culture through Pin Yin, characters writing and daily conversation based on a highly interactive curriculum about monthly theme. For Chinese language, we will learn greeting, numbers, colors, animals, fruits, food, family members, etc. For Chinese culture, students will learn holidays (such as compare Mid-autumn to Thanksgiving, Chinese New year to Christmas); Chinese paper cutting and folding; Tang Poetry; Calligraphy; abacus; Chinese songs and dance; Chinese Games: Chinese jump rope, Chinese magic square, etc.

What else we will do:

1. Field trip to Chinese restaurant at Chinese New Year (Feb.8, 2013)
2. Field trip to China at Spring break (Mar.29-April 7, 2013)
3. Quiz bowl (Middle school students) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1j4DzFOIKw

Homework for middle school students

To really succeed in a new language, you need to practice! Although this class is an elective, it is an academic elective. This means that you will be required to do some homework and studying at home (about 5-10 minutes for four times a week).
The homework assignments will include:
•    Watch web link, and practice speaking, reading, writing at home
•    Research the topics based on the theme
•    Poster presentation

How I run my classroom:

•     I will treat you with respect, so you will know how to treat me.

•    Feel free to do anything that doesn’t cause anyone else a problem. This means that you are not interfering with my ability to teach or your classmates’ ability to learn.

•    If you cause a problem, I will ask you to solve it.

•    If you can’t solve the problem, or choose not to, I will help you do something.

•    What I do, will depend on the special person, and special situation. This might include some of the following: “the look”, hand signals, a word during my classroom, deduction of points, special conference with parents and a counselor… the possibilities are endless!

•    If you feel something is unfair, whisper to me “ I am not sure that’s fair”, and we will talk.


Grading

Your grade is dynamic assessed, which based on your class participation, your performance, and your portfolio.

Remember: It is Okay to make mistake, this is how we all learn! Also when you find that you have a negative script in your head (“ I won’t be able to do this.”), you can always replace it with a positive one (“this is challenging and I will try my best”).

So do your best, and always remember, I stand by you!

Some useful weblinks:

Pinyin (Chinese Pronunciation): http://cn.yes-chinese.com/pinyin/

Happy Chinese: http://kid.chinese.cn/en/article/2009-09/25/content_68533.htm

Numbers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/mandarin/numbers/numbers1_10/

Colors:
http://flash.78baby.com/2008/11/64536477.html

Fruits
http://flash.78baby.com/2008/11/643464032.html

Wu Lao Shi