What would your zoo look like?

This week Kalona Elementary students designed and filled their own zoos using the animals we learned about in Chinese class.  Students will give the rest of their class a tour of their zoos next week.  It was great to see how different each zoo was from the other.

Technology is what you make of it

We are very fortunate in to have Smart Board technology in our classrooms here in the Mid Prairie School district.  It gives us access to a lot of learning tools that let students interact with subjects in ways that were unimagined of when I was a student.  Here we have two students using the Smart Board to practice remembering animals we learned in Chinese.  It got a little rowdy at times as students tossed soft objects at the board to pick animals but everyone was engaged and learned.

That being said, sometimes the best technology for the situation is just a store bought puppet and some imagination.  Teachers have a wide variety of tools in our bags and sometimes it is daunting to pick the right one for the right job.  However, it doesn't matter if it's a 1000 dollar computer gizmo or a 10 cent pencil.  We'll use whatever works best to help the students learn and have fun.

A dog goes wang wang!

Did you ever wonder what a horse sounds like in China?  If you said it sounds like a horse you are correct.  However, the sound we hear and the sound a person in China hears may be described differently because of things like language and culture.  This is what students are learning about at Kalona Elementary as we study animals.  The students learned that they describe animal sounds for some animals just like kids do in China, but other animals are described sounding very different.  Just ask them about some of the animal sounds for a good chuckle.

New Year New Challenges

This is a picture of me in a bookstore located in San Francisco's Chinatown.  Everything was in Chinese from the books I wanted to buy to the aisle labels to the words coming out of the vendor's mouth.  It was daunting to say the least, however, with a little patience and work I got what I wanted (materials for class) and she got what she wanted (my money).   The reason I bring this up is because I know that Chinese can seem like a tough subject but with a little patience and work everyone can get what they want.  Parents, you can help your kids out tremendously by taking time to ask them about their Chinese classes and giving them a chance to show (and practice) what they know.  There are also many TV programs, websites, and resources that can help you and your kids practice and learn Chinese.  I guarantee that a little work will pay off and fun will be had by all.  Whether it is watching Ni Hao Kailan on TV, taking a trip to the Iowa City Public Library to check out children's books, or a quick google search, there are tons of ways to have fun with Chinese.   Students will be learning about animals in Chinese at Kalona Elementary for the next few weeks.  A fun activity you can do at home is label your pet's food dishes, houses, and beds with the Chinese words (Hint: they learn those this week) this will help you both learn and remember the Chinese.  Or you can label the animal itself if you are really serious...hehe.  Until next time.  Zai Jian (goodbye)