畢老师's class

Holiday family event

2011-12-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for something interesting to do with your family this winter break, you are invited to attend a free concert the Chinese-American folk band I play in is putting on. Tuesday, Dec 27th at 7:00 in the downtown SLC library auditorium. We use traditional Chinese instruments (gu zheng, pipa, ruan, and erhu) mixed with western ones (guitar, violin, bass) for what ends up as a pretty cool sounding mix.

It is a benefit concert for the Salt Lake IRC, so we will also be playing with a group of refugees from Burundi who play, dance and sing with drums. It should be a fun night.

Twas the week before Christmas break

2011-12-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

This week we have been working on vocabulary to talk about the things we use and do at school. For some practice with these words, click on the lingt link. We have also been learning about seasons and the weather that usually accompanies each. Knowing the seasons and months in order is a first grade math standard. You can help your child by playingva game of " Tell the the month/season that comes before/after __________." Or give them weather clues and have them tell you the season.

In other math, we have been doing work with subtraction stories, addition practice, and are starting work on memorizing doubles and using the doubles plus/minus one strategy for addition. Example: we know 3+4=7 because we already know 3+3=6, so it is a doubles plus one.

As always, try to work in little math stories with your kids whenever you can. The more they see and are used to connecting what is happening around them to numbers and number sentences, the less intimidating and more fun math becomes.

Last thing. I was helping out in third grade today, and was so happy to see how great these kids are doing in Chinese. They are so comfortable with it and really speak no English at all in class. It seemed so natural to them. They are already at a level most learning Chinese only wish they could be.

Back in the saddle again

2011-12-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Great to be back! Though only for a short time.

If you are new to this blog, please feel free to click on the links on the right for some fun online chinese learning for you and your child. The lingt site has vocaublary and lessons from years past where you can hear the chinese spoken and then record yourself and hear how you compare. It is a great way for me to hear each child individually (and give feedback) as well as for you to hear and see how they are doing.

But. If you have a minutes, watch this. You will be reminded of how awesome it is that you and your child are participating in this program....

Baby is here!

2011-08-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

Meet Anna Louise Chipman. We're excited to have her join the family (and start learning Chinese :)

Born August 4th. 8 lbs, 21 inches. Cute.

Field trip

2011-05-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in coming with us on our field trip to the park Thursday, May 19, please let either Mrs. Cretsinger or myself know, we would love to have you along. All are welcome!

Plants

2011-04-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting visit today from Red Butte gardens. We are part of their outreach program and as such have a grow lab in our classroom and will be learning all about plants as we observe them grow and have lessons about them for the next month. The kids will be learning chinese and english vocabulary associated with plant and plant development.

In math we are working with number patterns, story problems, graphing, and review.

Water

2011-03-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

This week we will be learning all about water, as well as all the vocabulary that comes along with it. So you can ask you child to tell you (in chinese) what water looks, tastes, smells, and feels like, as well as what we use it for, where it's found on the earth, and what forms it can take.

My friend from Taiwan is coming to visit and is excited to make a trip to visit my classroom and hear american children speaking chinese. I must say, it is still simply incredible to me how well they are doing with the language and how much they enjoy functioning in "Chinese mode". They are not afraid to try and make mistakes, and their amazing minds pick up and absorb so much every day that they then immediately put to use. Put simply, I am proud of and amazed by your children. Thank you for letting me teach them.

Spring is here (almost)

2011-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

And we are excited to be able to play outside. We are learning how to say the names of sports.

In Chinese, to play with a ball, the verb "hit" 打（da） is used in any sport in which the hands are used to play. For example, to say "play tennis" you say "hit net ball", or 打网球( da wang qiu)。The word for ball is 球 qiu.

The exception is soccer, where instead you kick, or ti 踢。

Characters __Pinyin ________English_____ literal translation:

打棒球 _____da bang qiu _______play baseball ______hit stick ball

打网球 _____da wang qiu _______play tennis _______hit net ball

打乒乓球 ___da ping pang qiu _____play ping pong___ hit ping pong ball

打冰球_____ da bing qiu ________play hockey ______hit ice ball

打篮球 _____da lan qiu_________ play basketball ____hit basket ball

提足球 _____ti zu qiu ___________play soccer______kick foot ball

打美式足球 __da mei shi zu qiu _____play football ___hit american style soccer

Great expectations

2011-03-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

Last week I was privileged to attend a summit on Chinese literacy hosetd by Utah Cinese Immersion. Principals, teachers, and program directors of mandarin immersion schools from accross the country were in attendance. A small group, numbering about 30, we were able to dicuss, share, and compare the most effective practice as well as challenges faced by these programs. It was an energetic, knowledgable, and passionate group, and much was learned. Your children will derectly benefit from the many things I learned and saw.

I have also been attending weekly iSchool trainings along with two other teachers at our school to learn how to best use our new cart of iPod touches. We three will be sharing the cart, which houses enough iPods for each student to have their own to use in class. I have been exploring many chinese apps, and am really excited about all the things we will be able to do with this great new technology.

As the students continue to try their best to speak only Chinese in the classroom, I am seeing much progress and excitement about the language.

We will be sending home information about SEP conferences with Mrs. Cretsinger's Monday homework folder, so be watching for that.

If you missed it last night.....

2011-02-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

Utah leading the nation in dual immersion programs - ksl.com

Our Neighborhood

2011-02-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great long weekend! This week we are learning about the different places in our neighborhood as well as map skills. By the end of the week, your child should be able to say:

grocery store

hospital

park

school

restaurant

library

zoo

museum

"Where are you going?"

"Where is the _____"

"Where is your house?"

across from

next door to

close to

In math, continue to help them break numbers up into hundreds, tens and ones as well as counting money and subtraction practice. We will be introducing 3-D shapes next week (sphere, cone, cube etc)

The cookie dough fundraiser began with an assembly today. The kids were reminded "No talking to strangers, and no door to door sales."

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2011-02-07T18:57:00.001-08:00

We're looking at community and the people that help us. We've looked at people in our school, and now are talking about what we'd like to do with our lives, or what we want to do when we grow up. They were excited to hear I wanted to be a teacher when I was little and now I really am "So you really can become what you always wanted to?!!" one exclaimed. Yep.

The vocab is as follows:

doctor 医生 yi sheng

teacher 老师 lao shi

actress/actor 演员 yan yuan

police 警察 jing cha

chef 厨师 chu shi

architect 工程师 gong cheng shi

We are working with counting money, story problems, and subtraction from up to 12 this week in math.

reminders:

School Chinese New Year Celebration this Thursday, February 10th, 6 p.m. Please have your child there on time so they will be able to sing with us.

Class Chinese New year celebration this Friday. Email me if you would like to come in and help. I will be emailing those interested on Wednesday with party details.

Happy Hundredth day of School!

2011-02-02T20:48:00.001-08:00

And groundhog day! And chinese new year! All in all, a great day to be in first grade. Ask your child to count to a hundred for you (in chinese) by 10's, 5's, and for a challenge, 2's. And congratulate them on 100 great days of first grade and being immersed in Chinese.

We are working on making math sentences from stories. So if you can practice telling math stories or having your child make up math stories, then talk about if they could use addition or subtraction to figure it out, it would be great practice.

Example: I finished my juice in three big gulps. You finished yours in six. How many more gulps did it take you to finish?

Great website for them to practice this.

Or click here to play addition and subtraction games

Also, since within hours it will be the year of the rabbit, here is a little info. First, know that New Year is the biggest holiday of the year in China, and celebrations last for weeks. Families return home, much food is prepared and enjoyed, and emphasis is on a fresh new start, a prosperous year to come, and family ties.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2011 is the Year of the Golden Rabbit, which begins on February 3, 2011 and ends on January 22, 2012. The Rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animals signs. The Rabbit is a lucky sign. Rabbits are private individuals and a bit introverted. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are reasonably friendly individuals who enjoy the company of a group of good friends. They are good teachers, counselors and communicators, but also need their own space.

According to Chinese tradition, the Rabbit brings a year in which you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. It is a time for negotiation. Don't try to force issues, because if you do you will ultimately fail. To gain the greatest benefits from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children. Make it a goal to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problem that may arise.

http://www.stanssewingsupplies.com/catalogs/store.asp?pid=253080

Homework

2011-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

I have had a very bad cold this week, and was gone yesterday and half the day Monday. Hence, some of you are just getting homework folders today. I apologize for the delay.

We are getting ready and excited for the Chinese New Year, and will be having our own classroom party to celebrate. Both classes will have their party on Friday, February 11th. If you would like to help with either class party please let me know. My a.m. class party will be from 9:00- 9:45, and my p.m. class party will be from 12:20- 1:05.

We will be building a dragon out of recycled egg cartons for one of the activities at the party, so if you have any old egg cartons, can you please send them to school with your child and we will start a collection. Thanks!

Food for the Chinese New Year

2011-01-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

More explanation of one of the most important parts of chinese new year: the food.

a little bit about Chinese New year

2011-01-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

First day a success!

2011-01-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

Our first day of all Chinese went very well! Most are very excited about meeting the goal, and as a result I heard more Chinese today from the mouths of each student than I usually do in a week! I am so excited for how much and how fast this will help them progress. Your children are amazing!

This week we will be working with the concept of where we live

你住在哪里？

ni zhu zai na li

literally : You live where or "Where do you live?"

我住在_________. I live at/in___________.

We are also working with a hard concept in math of comparing two amounts and using subtraction to find the answer.

Example: If June has three apples and Kyler has seven, how many more apples does Kyler have than June.

The tendency is for them to try to add the two numbers. So if you have time this week, help your child by making two rows of some object, one with a few more than the other. Show them how one row is longer, because it has more. Help them to see how to set up a subtraction sentence to find out the difference between the two rows.

Also, there is a performing group from China here to start celebrations of the new year. If you are interested in their presentation this Saturday, please click here for more information.

All Chinese classroom

2011-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Our goal is to have an all Chinese classroom beginning Tuesday, January 18th. We will be practicing having a few shorter periods of time with no english in preparation. Please encourage your child and ask them how it is going each day.

They now have quite a bit of language to use and when they must use the new language to communicate and be involved, they will quickly find they can say much more than they even thought they knew. They will be using more of their brain, and the language they are absorbing and using to create meaning will become very meaningful and motivating.

Also, there is a new lingt assignment on clothing and seasons.

community

2011-01-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

January in our chinese language and literacy we will be focused on communities and cultures, looking at what our community at school is made up of and what our role in it is, then moving onto neighborhood, state, country, and world.

We will be learning a lot about chinese culture and customs in preparation for celebrating Chinese new year on February 3rd. The school-wide celebration of Chinese New Year will be the evening of February 10th. The chinese classes will be doing a performance that night, so be sure to mark your calendars.

As part of the discussion on community, we will be talking a lot about doing our jobs well, being polite, and contributing. So if you have time, it would be great to talk with your child about the jobs they have, the people they effect, and about the people in their community that help them. Also about traditions they may have and not be aware of, since we will be learning about many Chinese traditions and traditions from other cultures that differ from their own.

Clothing

2011-01-05T20:13:00.001-08:00

We have been working on names of clothing as well as seasons, talking about what kind of clothes we wear in what seasons.

In math we are working with telling time, multiple ways to add up to the same number, counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's and adding and taking away ten from any two digit number.

Here's the words we've been doing this week

帽子 mao zi hat

裤子 ku zi pants

t恤 t xu t-shirt

袜子 wa zi socks

裙子 qun zi skirt

游泳衣 you yong yi swimsuit

外套 wai tao coat

Seasons

冬天 dong tian winter

春天 chun tian spring

夏天 xia tian summer

秋天 qiu tain fall/autumn

Let it snow. And snow.

2010-12-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hope you all have a safe and snowy break! We're excited for the winter party tomorrow morning.

Just so you and your kids are aware, we're going to be working towards a no english at all classroom in January. They, of course, will not be in trouble if they speak English. But as a class, we will be setting a goal to speak only Chinese when we come through that door. This will help their brains really see a need for listening and trying to communicate with their new words, and help them progress even further with the language.

Winter Celebration

2010-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Calling all parents interested in being involved with the Winter Party Dec 22nd. Mrs. Cretsinger and I will both be keeping our home rooms for the day, so if your child is in her class in the morning, please contact her.

If you are unable to come in and help, any treats or little holiday prizes would be great to just send to school with your child to share with the class that day. We have 26 students.

Also, and more importantly, I'm happy to report your students are amazing. Quite literally amazing every day. They are doing so well with the language. They get along with each other, watch out for each other, work hard, and are learning so much every day. I am proud of them. And so happy to get to spend all day with them. Thank you for letting me.

Which country are you from?

2010-12-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about various countries and what people from those countries are called in Chinese. It has become clear that the the geographical sense of six and seven year olds is quite varied, often limited, and always amusing.

"Other countries? Yeah, I've been to another country. I went to twin falls once. And you wanna know what's crazy? They just speak like us there. They speak English!"

"Is China almost as big as Taylorsville?"

"My cousins are from another country. They are from West Jordan."

etc. etc.

We've been looking at maps, globes, flags, and pictures from other countries, and learning how to ask what country someone's from, and how to answer that we live in America.

In math, we're working with telling time to the hour, number combinations to ten, using tens and ones to show a number, and adding or taking away a ten from a double digit number.

2010-12-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

So apparently personal blogs like mine are not allowed in China. Hence no updates on the trip. I'll try and put some pictures up soon though, along with a summary of the trip.

This week we are talking about what we like to eat, starting with fruits. Ask your child to name a few. We know

apple ping guo

pear li

banana xiang jiao

strawberry tsao mei

grapes pu tao

watermelon xi gua

We're also working with counting like coins. So first recognizing the coin and it's value, then knowing how to count by fives and tens.

China

2010-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've already told your children, and I'll be sending a note home tomorrow, but just so you know that what your kids told you I said really is what I said (I know this is sometimes questionable)...

I am going to China. Wednesday. I will be gone the rest of this week and the following week.

I'm not sure what our internet access will be on the trip, but if possible I will give you/your children updates of what's happening as I go.

I am attending an international convention and training on Chinese language teaching. Hopefully I will return with new ideas and materials for teaching your kids.

I also just want to say again how much I love teaching your children and how proud I am of them for working so hard and making so much progress already. Their brains really are working so much harder than most any other first grader. All day. It is incredible to be a part of.

SEP's and Vocab lists

2010-11-08T17:20:00.001-08:00

We have typed up a schedule and will be sending it home tomorrow of everyone's times for conferences next Monday and Tuesday. Many were wondering if the kids will still be having school that day. Yes. They will. We will just have subs that day to allow for enough time to meet with everyone. If your conference is Monday during the day, just check in with the office, get your child out of class, and they accompany them back to class afterwards.

Also, sorry if we are/have been slow at answering emails. Our computers have been down, and our email inaccessible.

I saw on many of the returned forms that you would like to see a list of vocabulary words each week and perhaps a composite of what words the kids should know up to this point. I am happy to do it and appreciate the feedback. I did that last year but many parents felt like they were then responsible for teaching their kids the words.

If I send home a list Monday, it will be with words we will be working on that week, so your child won't know them yet. By Friday they should be fairly comfortable with them. But if there are a few they still do not know, please do not feel like you have to teach them. In fact, as kindly as I can say it, please do not try to teach them Chinese :) This is also what happened last year with the lists, and then some kids memorized words incorrectly or had to learn them twice.

To avoid this, I will record the list on lingt so you can hear them and your child can practice them correctly. Also, we constantly review, reuse, and re-teach vocabulary words, so if the words are not sinking in the first week for whatever reason, they will have plenty of chances to absorb.

Thanks for all you do for your kids! I love teaching and spending all day with them. They are doing incredible things daily.

Math

2010-11-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

We are all done with Acuity, the math benchmark test to assess how the are understanding the core curriculum for the state. They all did very well! They are tested in English on concepts they have learned in Chinese and had reviewed in English, and almost every single student got 90% or better!

REMINDER: On the back of the math homework this week is the goal sheet and time preference for SEP conferences. Please send it back Friday, as usual for homework, so we can get on the scheduling. Thanks!

Also, we have some artwork I'd like to put in the hall if any of you are close to the school and looking for a volunteer opportunity. It is in the volunteer desk just outside my door.

Parent Teacher Conferences

2010-11-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Part of your child's homework this week is to fill out and return a goal sheet that we will use during these conferences. You will also be asked what time is most convenient for you. We want to set up everyone's conferences for a time that is good for them, so please let us know if there is a specific time you can (or cannot come).

You will notice the paper says Monday all day and Tuesday after school. In order to meet with everyone, Mrs. Cretsinger and I will both have substitutes Monday so we can conference from 8:30-7:00. On Tuesday we will begin directly after school and go till 7:00.

Please make sure to have this returned Friday so we can make up a schedule and send it home the following Monday.

This week in class is all about birthdays. We will be learning how to ask and answer when each other's birthdays are, as well as how to write all the characters for doing so. We will be taking the Fall benchmark test for math tomorrow.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2010-10-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

So please send your children in enough clothing to make playing outside in the snow during recess a pleasant experience.

Today we learned how to say

Snow _______________ xue

It's snowing! ____________ xia xue le

Snow ball ______________ xue qiu

Snow man _______________ xue ren

I know that xue is close to meaningless to you as far as letting you know what sound to make. When you see an x, you make a sh sound. So the word xue is similar to a "Shhhh" smashed into the front of "weigh". We will keep practicing and hopefully your kids can just teach you how to say it correctly.

In math, we are working more with subtraction. Ask your child to tell you how to say "add", "minus" and "equals" in Chinese. We are also talking about tens and ones. So you can quiz your child by giving them a double digit number and asking how many tens and ones are in that number. We've been using blocks and drawing it, so asking them to draw a number using tens and ones would also be a great review.

Reminder that there is no school Friday.

Red Ribbon Week

2010-10-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

There will be no homework to turn in this week. Reading slips and a schedule for what to wear each day for red ribbon week were sent home with my morning class.

It would be a great time to talk with your kids about why they would want to choose to be drug free and the importance of correct choices.

We'll be learning vocabulary for how to talk about the life cycle of a pumpkin as well as an introduction to the house and rooms of the house.

Please keep reviewing:

Month and season order

Money names and values

我爱我的家 I love my family

2010-10-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Loved seeing many of you at the carnival. Halloween doesn't get much better than being six years old.

Tomorrow I will be at a conference for Dual Immersion teachers. Mrs. Wu will be teaching, and they will be making a book about family members. We have been working on how to write the characters for different members of the family this week.

Below is a clip from Chinese4kids.net of a family tree using chinese characters, beginning with grandparents on either side. Father is on the left, mother on the right. The character at the top is "Jia" which can mean both family or home.

This coming week is a short week, with no school on Friday. We will be working on vocabulary for the rooms and things in our houses.

*Something cool: If you eat at Panda express Friday, Oct 22, 20% of the proceeds will go to our school.

Fun with shapes

2010-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from an activity we did with shapes. Review with your child how to say the names of different shapes in Chinese and English.

In Chinese they know:

Circle yuan xing or yuan quan
Square zheng fang xing
Rectangle chang fang xing
Triangle san jiao xing
Star xing xing

In English they should also know:

rhombus, oval, trapezoid

It's that special time of year...

2010-10-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

When the leaves are gorgeous, the temperatures ideal, and everyone's sharing germs. I've been sick all weekend and wasn't there today. I'm not sure how many of your kids have been sick yet, but we'll keep reminding them to wash and sanitize while they're at school. If you can also remind them about covering mouths when sneezing and coughing, and washing hands, hopefully we can keep those germs to ourselves. Also, please don't send your child to school sick. It's much better for everyone if they can stay home and recover fully and come back when they are healthy again.

My sub (my Chinese speaking aid Mrs. Wu) told me only my morning class was given the homework. So the rest will get it tomorrow.

Quick reminder about the completely optional and very fun PTA Halloween Carnival after school this Thursday, October 21st.

Picture Day tomorrow!

2010-10-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder of the big day tomorrow. And since this week is short week, try to have the homework back by Wednesday. It shouldn't be too challenging of stuff, but good practice.

Many are still having a very hard time recognizing coins. Continue to review names and values with your kids when you get a chance.

We're working on "What's in the backpack?" this week, so vocabulary for school things.

You child should already know

pencil

backpack

white board

book

and we're working on

paper

notebook

eraser

pen

scissors

Months and Money

2010-10-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

Please continue to review the months of the year and seasons with your child so they can be comfortable with the order. Also, naming the coins and knowing the value is something they could all use extra practice with. Ask your child to tell you how to say the months in Chinese or to sing the month song for you.

reminder: Picture day will be Tuesday, October 12. There will be no school Thursday, October 14, and Friday, October 15.

National Walk to School Day

2010-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder about tomorrow, Wednesday, October 6th. Our school has been selected as the national elementary school for media coverage of the celebration. All students (for whom it is safe and reasonable) are encouraged to walk to school.

There will be bagels and prizes and visits from many important people.

ALSO: I know the instructions for the Chinese side of the homework got cut off. Sorry! I explained what to do to the kids, but have this strange feeling they may not entirely remember... They are supposed to write the English name for the month underneath the Chinese name for it.

October is upon us

2010-10-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

This coming week we will be working with two books; The balloon flies away, which reviews colors, and What's in the backpack?, which teaches vocabulary for things we use at school. Most are already quite comfortable saying the colors, so this week the focus will be on recognizing the characters for the different colors. On Friday we will be making a book they can take home and read to you about the different colors.

In math we will continue work with graphing, money, and ordering months as well as addition strategies and practice. Distinguishing between a nickel and a quarter seems to be quite the challenge for many. Please help them see the ways to tell them apart, and practice quizing them on money names and values.

For science we will be learning about what things fly and why.

Homework

2010-09-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Your child should have brought home their homework folder today. And if they just turned it in from last week today, it's just fine. When there's no school on Friday, try to have them bring it Thursday, but if they forget, I will still take it the following Monday.

Inside is their math homework, reading slip, and a paper we began (some finished) today that is writing the character for "month" 月

If it is not finished, please have them finish it, making sure to follow the correct stroke order. If it is done, ask them to show you the correct way to write it. (Steps can be found on the top of the sheet)

We'll be working a lot with sorting and bar graphs this week, so if they're eating or playing with anything that could be sorted or counted and put into groups, do it! We're also doing money, beginning with the penny and nickel.

Also, the directory is finished. Look for it in the Thursday notes this week.

click here for a great printable book on months of the year

Fall

2010-09-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

This coming week we will be focusing on shapes; their attributes, names, and where they are found in the world around us. If you have time, encourage your child to find and then draw or take a picture of a shape somewhere in their house. They can then share these with the class.

We will be learning circle, square, rectangle and triangle in Chinese. Some of the more difficult ones to remember (in English) are : rhombus, hexagon, trapezoid and parallelogram.

We will also be talking about months of the year and seasons as we watch the leaves start to fall. Review with them the months in order, or ask them "What's the month/season after____?"

Chinese vocabulary will be shape words, how to ask about shapes, and memorzing the characters for the different colors.

I am awesome!

2010-09-21T17:40:00.001-07:00

Not me. That's the book we've been working with this week, as we continue to learn vocabulary about ourselves. We've been talking about how to be nice to others and how to make friends as well. So if you're looking for some dinner conversation, ask them what it means to be a good friend, what it means to be a good student, and why would want to be either.

We took our September math benchmark tests today, so I have a much better picture of where each student is and will start to differentiate more accordingly.

Thank you so much to the parents who have volunteered this week! Thanks in particular to Maddison Watt's lovely mother who is typing up the directory for us. We get that copied and sent home to you sometime next week.

This is a great group of kids, and they all seem to be getting along very well. We're having lots of fun and learning so much every day!

Also, this is a great website for parents interested in learning Chinese

http://chinesepod.com/

Who are you?

2010-09-15T21:28:00.001-07:00

This first month has been/is focused on learning about ourself and each other.

So we're working with names this week. Asking what their names are, answering, counting letters in names, graphing them, and so on.

Also

"How old are you?". "Ni ji sui?"

"I am _____ years old." "Wo ____ sui."

"I am awesome!" "Wo hao bang!"

SEP's and volunteers

2010-09-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful to meet so many of you! I'm so excited your children are part of this great program. It has been so fun so far, and they are soaking up the language.

Many mentioned interest in volunteering. I would love to get a directory put together, if there is anyone available to help with that, I can send home the forms I've collected and you can volunteer from home.

Also, I would love help Monday- Thursday 9:15-10:15 for my morning class and 12:35-1:45 for my afternoon class.

Please email me at bchipman@graniteschools.org if you are interested.

Post labor day labor

2010-09-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

We're back! And this short week we are continuing to talk about our family, our names, love, and number concepts. Benchmark tests for reading took place last week and are finishing up this week, and math tests will be next week.

This week's homework was sent home with my morning class, and will be sent home with my afternoon class tomorrow (we had an assembly at the end of school today). See Mrs. Cretsinger's folder for new reading slips.

Math concepts this week are

being able to write numbers 1-10 correctly

associating number symbol with amounts

one more and one less

adding groups of objects together

counting out loud to 20

what an addition sentence looks like (symbols for add, equals, subtract)

story problems

ABB patterns

Math

2010-09-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

Great week so far. We're starting to do some simple assessments for math so I know where everyone is. We are working with language to introduce ourselves and our family, such as "This is my father/mother/little sister etc." and "My name is".

I will teach all the math in chinese, but any English words that are necessary (such as months, money names, greater than/less than) will be reinforced by Mrs. Cretsinger.

Here is a website with some online practice for different math concepts that might be a fun way to review with your child at home throughout the year.

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade/first/

Links

2010-08-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Great to meet you all at back to school night! Here are a few links that we talked about.

Also, if you could send a small, store bought snack with your child every so often throughout the year (enough for 26), there would be many happy six year olds when snack time rolls around at 10:30.

Online resources

www.betterchinese.com is the site and company our Chinese literacy program comes from. They have some online stories and games in chinese for free, and you can see the little readers and workbooks we will be using.

http://www.archchinese.com/ is also a helpful site, for learning chracter strokes and pronunciation

http://chinasprout.com/ has some chinese books/movies cd's available

http://www.asianparent.com/ has some great products available for beginning chinese students

http://www.confucius.utah.edu/ confucius institute at the U of U

http://www.chinese4kids.net/ has some fun vocabulary lists, activities, and songs

Here is a link to the granite peaks class for adults beginning chinese:http://www.granitepeaks.org

Click on the lingt link to the right to try out this week's assignment!

Welcome!

2010-08-25T20:30:00.001-07:00

A new year has begun!!

And I am so excited about the progress your children have already made! They are doing a fantastic job, and their hard work is paying off.

This week we have been reviewing things learned at Startalk ( numbers, colors, family members, greetings, basic commands) as well as working on how to be polite in Chinese. We will be using a series of readers from BetterChinese.com throughout the year, and have begun work on the first two.

Your child should know/be working on:

Hello!

How are you?

I am well!

Thank you

You're welcome

I'm sorry.

It's alright.

Awesome!

Come with me

Goodbye.

You're child might also be incredibly tired each day when they get home. Their brains have been working harder than most six year olds' :)

Ask your child to tell you what our classroom rules are (They are the same for both mine and Mrs. Cretsinger). And then give them a hug and tell them they are wonderful for trying so hard and doing so well with Chinese.

to answer a few questions

2010-07-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello hello

Hope all are enjoying summer. It was definitely fun to see all your kids again for the 2nd grade Startalk. And to see they haven't forgotten everything.

Just to make a few things clear, the classes for next year (2nd grade) were split up in May by Brittney and I. We talked about each child and tried our best to make two classes where kids will get a chance to make new friends and have a different experience than last year. Hopefully you all still have the directory from last year (thank you Brandy) and can find numbers and addresses of these new friends.

It's kind of hard to believe they really are 2nd graders now. But they are in good hands, and I'm super excited for the progress you and they will see as they start to read and write more Chinese their second grade year.

And for those of you that will be coming into the program this year (my first grade classes for the coming year) : welcome!

I had a few parents ask what their child should bring in their backpack to Startalk. Just a lunch. That's it. We'll provide the rest.

Summer training

2010-06-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

I am in chinese immersion. This week is our Startalk conference, so all the chinese immersion teachers have been learning together and getting ready for summer camp and the coming year.

It's going to be great! The program as a whole is progressing and maturing, and we are all much more prepared to make the year a success.

I miss the kids already though, so I'm glad I'll get to see everyone again relatively soon at summer camp.

Hope all is well with everyone, and you're still making your kids tell you things in Chinese:)

Gracias!!

2010-06-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Wrong language, I know.

But I just want to say thanks for such an incredible year. I think all involved have learned and grown so much. Thank you for your patience with me and for all your help. Thank you for being awesome parents for your children. They have all progressed in different ways and I am so proud of them.

I am admittedly very sad to see the year come to an end. But excited to see you all again at summer camp. And then next year as well. We will be working very closely with the second grade, so I am sure we will see you and hear about your kids frequently.

As far as the blog goes, I'll try to keep putting up some websites and recordings on lingt to practice over the summer. I can't promise consistency on that. But you are welcome to keep reading and doing any of the assignments you'd like next year. I'd love to hear their progress.

Have a safe and happy summer!

The last little bit

2010-05-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

So.

Here are a few important and fun things to know.

Wednesday, May 26th is the school wide SAFETY FAIR. Encourage your child to walk or ride their bike safely to school that day. Assuming it will not be snowing :)

Thursday, May 27th short day

Thursday, June 3rd Movie and field day. We will watch the movie in the morning and have field day that afternoon. If you are interested in volunteering that day please let me know.

Also we will be sending home note with a list of readers we still do not have back from you... so check backpacks for that.

Field Trip

2010-05-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

Reminder to all....

Send a sack lunch with your child to school tomorrow unless you sent back the form ordering school lunch.

My homeroom parents be to school a little before 10:00.

Mrs. Strasser's homeroom just before 9:00

A few little things

2010-05-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

STARTALK dates:

July 19-23rd (2nd grade)

August 9-13th (1st grade)

Startalk is a summer camp program designed to help kick-start the year in chinese immersion. Your kids will be in the 2nd grade camp, and will spend the day completely in Chinese with myself and the new 2nd grade teacher. More details will be sent home later, but for now, here are the dates.

2) THANK YOU! Thank you so much for letting me spend all day with your children. And thanks for the many thank you notes and gifts.

3) Field trip next Thursday, May 13th. We will be going to the parkway as a whole first grade, but in shifts. So if you volunteered to come that day and are in Mrs. Strasser's home room, please be at the school by 9:00. If your child is in my home room (my morning) please come by 10:00. We plan on being back to school a little after 1:00.

IMPORTANT!! If you did not send back the form ordering a school lunch for your child, there won't be one. So please send a home lunch with your child that day.

Incredible

2010-05-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

So I had the opportunity this weekend to host a friend's parents on their first trip to America. They were from Taiwan, and spoke but very little English. As we took them around our beautiful state, watched them touch snow for the first time, laughed with them, and listened to their incredible stories, I just had an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am able to speak this amazing language. How many doors have been opened and experiences had simply because of this ability.

I am so happy for your children, whom I love so much, that they too will have the ability to converse with and learn from such an expanded number of people. Language is a gift, and I just want to thank you for giving it to your child. Thank you for supporting them and putting them in this program. They have all come so far. And it is a beautiful thing.

flashcards

2010-04-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a site with printable flash cards for character practice. This coming week we'll be practicing animals and animal habitats.

http://www.semanda.com/wordlist.aspx?WordlistID=1

bi sai!

2010-04-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

It was great so see so many of you at the race! Our first grade Chinese Immersion class was well represented.

Reminder that all chinese readers are due back to the school by Friday, May 7th. So start looking around your house for any strays. I will be sending home a note with your child letting you know which ones I have not yet received back.

Here's some information on Chinese classes being offered by Granite Peaks lifelong learning this spring and summer. It might be a good way to help your child keep up the language over the break. Or else give you an opportunity to get a basic understanding of how this language works and surprise your child by having something to say back to them in Chinese. Oh yes, and I happen to know the teacher :)

Learning Chinese is fun!
Beginning 1

Our teacher opens your child's lingual ability in a whole new way. Without realizing it, they absorb the Chinese language as they color, sing, and engage in a variety of activities that introduce basic written characters and vocabulary. Instructor is an experienced elementary teacher who teaches in the Chinese Immersion program through Granite School District. Watch your child's knowledge grow.

Tuesday, Thursday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm; 9 sessions starting June 1, 2010, ending July 1, 2010
Tuition: $39.00
Instructor: Bagley-Chipman
Location: Cottonwood Campus Map

Beginning 2

Tuesday, Thursday 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; 10 sessions starting June 1, 2010, ending July 1, 2010

Tuition: $39.00

Instructor: Bagley-Chipman

Location: Cottonwood Campus Map

Intro to Chinese for adults Class Description
A civilization dating to biblical times, China has a colorful and diverse history. Tradition is important and cultural development is emphasized. Today, China is a major player in the business world and knowing the language is key to making the connections you need. As a result of this interest, school districts are offering a Chinese immersion program for school students. Whatever your need; whether you need it for business or pleasure, or to help your child in his/her study, we give you an introduction to Mandarin Chinese linguistics, both spoken and written.

Thursday 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm; 8 sessions starting May 13, 2010, ending July 1, 2010
Tuition: $65.00
Instructor: Chipman
Location: Cottonwood Campus Map

see www.granitepeaks.org for more information

homework

2010-04-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Due to the power being out all day at school (which I'm sure you've already heard about from your own 6 or 7 year old) I had to have someone else run off the homework note last minute. Hence you have a full page of what I had typed up as a half page. So sorry for the repetition. I supposed over communication is never a bad thing though:)

It was fun to see and hear many more people using the lingt site this week. It really is an excellent tool for language learning and I encourage you to use it with your child this week. It's a great way for me (and you) to hear your child speak.

Spring is here!

2010-04-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

Beautiful day today.

We took our last Math Acuity benchmark test today, and all did very well. You should be proud of your kids:)

Homework will be coming home tomorrow:

Book: We are all very busy at school

This week we will focus on review and expansion of body vocab as well as an introduction to sports words.

There will be an optional assignment on the lingt website.

New words for the week:

打篮球 da lan qiu play basketball

比赛 bi sai competition or race

体育课 ti yu ke p.e.

运动 yun dong exercise

忙 mang busy

Quiz on Friday will be recognition based. They will be asked to match characters to pinyin.

also.

STARTALK dates.

July 19-23rd (2nd grade)

August 9-13th (1st grade)

And last but not least.... hope you're all planning on coming to the PTA run on Saturday, April 24th. A great way to finish our week learning about exercise in Chinese:)

Plants

2010-04-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

This coming week we will be focusing on plants as well as a review of color (characters), days of the week (characters), and addition and subtraction math strategies.

The lingt assignment is ready. Click on the link to the right.

Also.....last call for anyone interested in being in the directory. We want to get the put together and sent home as soon as we can.

Thanks for all you do for you kids!

Happy Spring Break!!

2010-03-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Remember tomorrow is a short day.

Have fun and be safe over the break. Again, homework is due the Friday after we get back (next Friday) and you should have the book Clean Clothes to practice.

As far as math goes, here are a few concepts to review with them:

Time to the half hour

Identifying and adding similar coins

Recognizing and extending patterns

Sorting objects according to one and two attributes

Equal portions

2010-03-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

I had a few parents ask about the better chinese readers (like the book your child read at parent teacher conferences). Here is a link to the site where you can read about them and purchase them if you are interested.

This this the series we use in the classroom and is primarily designed to help the kids become familiar with basic chinese words and sentence patterns.

http://www.betterchinese.com/My-First-Chinese-Words.html

The other series we use (the books that some of you have purchased and that get sent home every week) are from the Step by Step series put out by Susan Gong and her team at the BYU flagship program. These readers are slightly more difficult, introduce more vocabulary and sentence patterns, and cover science, math, and social studies concepts from the Utah state core curriculum for first grade.

Also just a heads up, tomorrow your child will get homework which will not be due until the Friday after spring break. They will also just keep the Clean Clothes book until then, so they can have more time to practice it.

Feedback requested

2010-03-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here's how the lingt classroom site works.

If you click on the link to the right, it will take you to a page where you can select which class you're in (am/pm). Then look at the newest assignments/vocabulary. You can have your child practice telling you the sentences and words, then listen the recordings by clicking the blue speech bubbles. Your child can record their voice (so I can hear it too) by clicking on the gray bubble to the right.

Below is an example of what an assignment looks like

Not many people have been using the site so I am not sure if you don't know about it or if it isn't very useful. Please try it out and let me know what you think and if I should keep doing it. Thanks!

Let's eat!

Everyone likes to eat! Here's how to talk about it in Chinese.

I am hungry! Wo e le 我饿了

I want to eat! Wo yao chi 我要吃！

I am thirtsy! Wo ke le 我渴了！

I want to drink water Wo yao he shui 我要喝水。

(Always remember thank you xiexie 谢谢 and please qing 请)

What do you want to eat and drink？

饼干 bing gan cookies／crackers

巧克力 qiao ke li chocolate

面包 mian bao bread

牛奶 niu nai milk

糖果 tang guo candy

果汁 guo zhi juice

水果 shui guo fruit

汉堡 han bao hamburger

热狗 re gou hot dog

Seasons

2010-03-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

This week we are working with seasons and weather. The book sent home has lots of words about Spring in it, which we will be using in addition to other words related to other seasons.

Friday quiz

2010-03-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's quiz will consist of me saying a food word in Chinese and them drawing a picture of that food in response. So this week no character recognition or writing is required, just comprehension.

Keep asking your child to tell you what they are eating/drinking or what they want to eat or drink in Chinese.

Next week we will be talking about weather and seasons.

Food

2010-03-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is a great week to ask your child to tell you all about food in Chinese.

They should know how to say:

I am hungry!

Are you hungry?

Do you want to eat this?

I want this.

I don't want this.

I like this.

I don't like this.

Fruits from last week

We're working on the following food vocab:

Cookies -- bing gan

chocolate--- qiao ke li

hamburger--- han bao

french fries-- shu tiao

juice-- guo zhi (zhrrr)

milk-- niu nai

chocolate milk-- qiao ke li niu nai

sandwich-- san ming zhi (zhrrr)

Lingt site working!

2010-03-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Click on the link to the right to begin. Practice your fruits this weekend, and more food (how to say it at least) will be on the way.

End of Term

2010-03-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Also reminder that tomorrow is short day, so we will be out at 1:05.

Homework will be sent home tomorrow and due next Friday.

Thanks!

Week of Reading

2010-03-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

We saw some awesome crazy hair today! Thank you Dr. Seuss

Reminder that tomorrow is crazy clothes (inside out/backwards)

and Thursday crazy socks and clothes with letters/words on them.

Read with your child tonight!

Monday

2010-03-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here's how you say the birthday song. They all know how to sing it, so you can have them sing it for you as they look at these characters and practice character recognition.

A note went home today, hopefully you received it. If not, let me know and I'll send home another. It was about the classroom directory and a change being made as of this Friday.

Homework will now be sent home on Friday and due the following Friday, giving you a few extra days if you need them to be practicing the words and math skills.

This week we're working on Fruit names.

Grapes--- pu tao

Orange-- cheng zi or ju zi

Banana- xiang jiao

strawberry- cao mei

peach- tao

pear- li

And here's a list of the months to review with your child in both Chinese and English.

(images from chinese4kids.com)

Friday

2010-02-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that there will be a little quiz tomorrow on the three words this week

help (bangmang)

rest (xiuxi) and

wash dishes (xiwan)

as well as a few review words.

This quiz will be listening only. I will say the word in Chinese and they need to know what it means. These quizes are not put on their grade. They are for me to see how much they are getting and where I need to spend a little more time.

Thanks for all you do!

Field Trip

2010-02-22T15:18:00.001-08:00

Thanks thanks thanks to all parents for the help today.

Because of the crazy schedule and getting back late, homework folders will be sent home tomorrow.

For those of you reading at home, we are on the book "Take a rest"

Field Trip

2010-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

The following parents have contacted me to come on the Monday field trip. If you see your name and for some reason now cannot come, or else would like to come and do not see yourself, please let me know. Otherwise, we will plan on the following list.

From my P.M. class

Lexie's mom

Nik's dad

Jenna's mom

A.M.

Tanner's mom

Jessica's mom

Landon's mom

D'mitri's mom

Devin's mom

2010-02-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for coming and helping with the Chinese New Year party! What an awesome PTA we have! Xie Xie da jia! (Thank you everyone!)

Here's a few pictures form the event.

video clip from fox 13 news

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1348692117947&ref=mf

An idea: We know that these kids (and you parents) are going to be together in this program for quite some time. So it would be good if you all had a chance to know each other, arrange play dates for your kids, do homework together etc etc. At the very least, have a copy in your hand of all the names of the children and parents and a way to contact them.

So. If you are interested in including your name in such a directory, will you please email me your

1) First and Last name

2)Child's name

3)Phone number you can be reached at

4)email address

5)home address

Just include the information you'd like others to see. Thanks!

Also, we are celebrating 100's day tomorrow. There was a note sent home about that in the homework folder.

Lastly......

This is what I heard back about the Step by Step books for those of you who would like to purchase a set.

Your parents may order individually online at http://creativeworks.byu.edu/catalog/ViewItem.aspx?item=AE200 or by calling 1-800-962-8061. They are welcome to submit an order as a group, but they would have to arrange that between themselves as they would if they ordered from any other store.

Shipping time would depend on what method they chose.

updates

2010-02-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

Because this week is the week we're celebrating Valentine's Day, we won't be having a spelling test on Friday. My morning class will stay in my room all day and Mrs. Strasser's morning class will be with her.

Also IMPORTANT!!! This Thursday night at 6:30 is the much anticipated school wide Chinese New Year's celebration. You are more than welcome to bring anyone you think would like to celebrate with you.

I have still not heard from the place we are ordering the Step by Step books from. So if you had wanted to purchase a set, I will hopefully be finding out soon how we will be working it out, and we can get those books into your homes. For those of you who are borrowing a set, we are on What time is it? this week.

Monday February 22nd we will be going on a field trip downtown to see a children's group from China perform. We need chaperones for both classes. If you are interested and available that morning from 9 until almost 12, please let me know.

Also. Last announcement I promise. We are looking for more parent volunteers in the afternoon Chinese class. If you are available, we'd love to have you! Thanks!

New Year's party

2010-02-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the parents involved in making today's new year's celebration such a success!

A good indicator of how the day was enjoyed by the students came from a little boy this morning who said

" This is the best day of my whole life!"

Tens and ones

2010-02-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

We worked a lot today with the concept of our base ten system of counting. By using lots of manipulatives ( grouping beans, playing with base ten blocks, and sorting bags of little treasures into groups of tens) they caught onto the concept very well. We've also been working with it every day at calendar since the beginning of the year as we count the days we've been together.

It was a delight to hear so many positive comments about math today:

Wow! This is really fun! I did it!!

Man I'm good at math!

Wo really xihuan this! (translation: I really like this)

And to see quite a few who were struggling with it have a thrilling moment of understanding.

You can help your child review this concept by saying or writing a number and ask them to tell you how many ones and tens are in that number. Another great way to help them is to give them any number and ask them what ten more or ten less than that number would be, then one more or one less.

Tomorrow we'll be painting the dragon heads and a few other fun things in preparation for our party Friday.

Also, I should know by Friday about ordering the BYU books, so be looking for a note.

Xin nian kuai le!!

2010-02-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Chinese New Year is almost here! And we're getting excited to begin the celebrations!

This Friday will be the class party. Thank you to all the parents who are helping with that.

The school-wide celebration put on by the PTA will be next Thursday, February 11th, at 6:30 p.m. We will be doing a small performance as well as having some of our art work on display, so plan on being there and bring any friends and family who might want to celebrate with you.

This week is a review week, so there were no books sent home. We'll be doing lots of games and activities to help them remember some of the things we've learned so far this year.

2010-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all parents for all you volunteer and donate and do for your kids and their education. It is simply wonderful to see how involved you all are. Seeing them happy and learning (and well fed at snack time :) at school makes me so happy! You all deserve a big

谢谢！

The book sent home this week has a few place names (places where the little dog is hiding) that your child cannot read. This is ok. We'll be working on learning these places this and the following week. If you are helping them read, mainly focus on the parts on the white sign, the repeated phrase asking if they have seen the dog.

You can help them practice the possessive form by asking them whose things are whose. They should answer with a name followed by the 的 "de" (which is pronounced like "duh")

If your child likes playing on the computers, the Confucius Institute Online has some fun games and stories to help them practice and play with Chinese.

http://kid.chinese.cn/en/

for example, here's a fun and quick little Character recognition game.

http://kid.chinese.cn/article/2009-08/27/content_51509.htm

Monday

2010-01-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Good monday.

And now some business.

Update on the books: If any of you have papers signed and ready to turn in, please send them as soon as possible so we can get this all going. As soon as I know how many are purchasing a set, I will let you know about who to write checks to.

And as far as egg cartons for the dragon craft, we'll need them by Thursday Feb 4th.

For some reason the lingt classroom website is no longer recognizing the microphone built into my computer, and hence the book is not yet up. Sorry. I'll try to get this figured out as soon as possible.

Our great wall of China

2010-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today we made our own bricks from which a great wall of China will shortly be constructed in the hall outside our room.

Thank you to those who sent back the form about the Step by Step readers. Those of you who sent back that you would like to borrow a complete set for the year, they will be sent home next week. I will be in contact with Susan Gong this week about how she wants us to pay and will send home a note about it next week as well.

Because each set comes with a CD, where the books are read twice through--once by a native child, and then once more by a native adult--- I won't be recording them on lingt site every week. But the vocabulary and phrases for practice will still be available for listening and recording.

If you still need a form, please let me know.

Remember to mark February 11th on your calendars for the Chinese New Years party.

成功

2010-01-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

What an ideal day. Laughter, work, Chinese; the definition of a good education in my opinion:)

Everyone did very well today, writing characters, adding three numerals, reading, and taking the pre test for math Acuity benchmark tests. We had an unprecedented amount of students get 100%, and all had very impressive scores. So all your support and work along with the math instruction in Chinese is indeed succeeding in helping these students progress in that area. Which makes me very happy.

We also worked a bit more on the New Year's song, so you can request performances now from you children and they should be starting to feel more comfortable with the words.

wednesday

2010-01-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you all got the note home about sending home a complete set of books. I need a signed note back from everyone, and the sooner I get them in the sooner I can send you home the sets of readers. So try to get those back by Friday. And I can send home another note if you are reading this and wondering what I am talking about.

And now a few math things you can practice with your child:

- finding numbers one less and one more than any given number

- finding numbers ten more and ten less than any given number (helping them see just the tens column changes up or down by one)

- order of months. Quiz them on things like "What month comes before April." "What is the next month after July" etc etc. They know this in Chinese, but the English could use some reinforcement

-telling apart the coins

We talked about how to ask and answer what school they go to and what grade they're in. It's still pretty fresh so they might not remember it completely tonight, but it would help them to review it.

To ask what school they go to, you say "Ni shang na ge xuexiao?"

你上哪个学校？

They answer with "wo shang Calvin Smith xiaoxue"

我上Calvin Smith小学。

To ask what grade they're in, they can say "ni shang ji nian ji?"

你上几年级？

And respond with "Wo shang yi nian ji"

我上一年级。

Also for parents trying to learn Chinese, lingt has a new sight specially for Chinese learners that you might find helpful. Click on the link to the right if you are interested.

2010-01-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

Here's the vocabulary list for the week....

English yingwen 英文

Chinese zhong wen 中文

Which? na ge 哪个

And you? ni ne 你呢？

First grade Yi nian ji 一年级

De 的 add after a noun to show possession

Example: wode 我的 means mine, nide 你的 means yours

Thursday

2010-01-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

A happy weekend to all.

Here is a video of the new year's song we started learning. It's the first song on the video (the video's a collection of new year's songs).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiAk8n6IhCw

Gongxi gongxi !

2010-01-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

News for the day....

We started work with a New Year's song, read a book about where animals live, practiced listening to books we've read before, counted by two's, played addition games, did DIBELs testing, character practice, and had inside recess due to air quality (or lack of it).

At the conference I attended yesterday we talked about where the students should be this time of year language wise, and all the Chinese immersion teachers shared what their kids were doing. From this point in the year on, we are going to be focusing on helping the kids get as much practice using the language that is now inside their heads. Doing so helps them move toward automaticity in language production, rather than having to search for the words they want, think about how to say them, and then try to pronounce them right.

Reminder that tomorrow is a short day. We will be having a quiz, but it won't effect their grade. It is just for me to see how they are doing with recognizing the characters. If your child isn't getting all the characters, don't be worried. They are primarily developing their oral language (which almost all students are doing very well with) and these quizes and reading are to help them start to move toward literacy.

A monster is coming!!

2010-01-11T16:28:00.001-08:00

That is the title of the book that we'll be working on this week. Because it's a short week, the book is pretty much a review of last week's but using the verbs with a monster coming instead of talking about what two birds like doing. Repetition in different and meaningful contexts is the key to them remembering these words, and they are doing very well with them already.

The afternoon class's homework folders didn't get passed out, so they will get them tomorrow.

Today we started work in centers with a new concept of comparative subtraction. That is, comparing two sets of numbers and finding the difference between them. This is slightly different than the subtraction we generally think of where we have one set and just take some away. You can help your child work with this by having them play with any number of small objects. Ask them to split the objects into two groups, then line the two groups up side by side. Now compare the two and see how many more/less one group had than the other. Have them say aloud "The difference between five and eight is three." Verbalizing it while moving the objects and seeing it visually will help them internalize the concept.

I will be attending a conference tomorrow, so Patty will be the substitute.

Thursday (星期四）

2010-01-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Good day.

Worked with subtraction, reading comprehension, and a new book, as well as took our Acuity benchmark test in math. They are right on and mostly above target for their grade level

in math. I'm so proud of them!

They should have brought home a paper plate clock today. Please use this to help them practice telling time in English and Chinese to the half hour.

Time

2010-01-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

Just so you are all aware, we're not having a vocabulary test this Friday. I'm trying something new and we'll see how it works. If you want to help your child at home with words, it would be the words on the back page of the book "You and I" as well as time words.

To say the time (on the hour) in Chinese, you simply say the number like you would in English, and instead of o' clock, you say "dian" third tone.

Example 7 o'clock is "七点” qi dian.

To ask what time it is, use the character for asking how many of something ---- you might remember it from asking someone's age. Instead of Ni ji sui? (How old are you?), you say Ji dian?

Or if you want to emphasize the what time is it right now add the "right now" (xian zai) characters in front, making the complete sentence "Xian zai ji dian?"

This is on the lingt site if you'd like to practice.

We made clocks today and practiced telling time in Chinese to the hour and half hour. We read a book called "Old Wolf", which uses many different times throughout, and each child had to move their clock hands to the appropriate time, hold them up, and say aloud in Chinese the correct phrase in response to the time we just read. Most seem to have it down, so you can practice with them at home.

And we're back!!

2010-01-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

It was great to see everyone again after the long break. Friends reunited, rules reviewed, and Chinese surprisingly well remembered.

This week we'll be working with the book "You and I" which should either already be at your home (from the Friday before the break) or you should have seen it today in the homework folder. The new words are all action words, like run, dance, swim etc.

We're also soon to begin preparations for the Chinese New year celebrations. I am thinking about doing a little program, and wondering if any of you parents have a past involving choreography? I have a great upbeat Chinese song that would be really fun to have the class dance to. If you would like to help out with that, let me know asap and I can send you the song.

My oh My

2009-12-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

What a day.

"This is the best day of school ever!!!!" one breathlessly exclaimed as she waved goodbye out the door. And indeed it was enjoyed. Yes there might have been too much sugar and too many presents. And we now understand so fully why they can't bring toys to school and eat candy all day. But no one would have or could have enjoyed them more it seems than they did today.

So thank you to all who helped, who brought, who did anything to help with the fun that was today.

I decided to send home two books over the holidays. They will be up on the lingt site starting tomorrow so you can work on them if you have time.

And thank you for all the wonderful presents! You are all so kind!

Be safe and have fun over the break, and we'll see you all next year/.

Sing along sung.

2009-12-17T16:13:00.001-08:00

It's almost Christmas. Something you wouldn't have to be told if you were around kids for any amount of time today. Excitement is in the air.

But we did actually learn some things today as well. We played a bingo type game with a blank board on which they wrote in 16 of the characters we've been working with. It was hard to concentrate that long, but most did very well.

And all were extremely excited about parents and friends visiting the school today, not to mention the Christmas movie we saw this afternoon.

Tomorrow there will not be time for both classes to take a quiz, since we will be switching classes and going to an assembly first thing. But I will be sending home two books which will be on the lingt site you can work on in any spare time over the break. If you have time to work on any math concepts as well, please focus on money, telling time (to the nearest half hour) and review of basic addition and subtraction facts.

How do you say Merry Christmas in Chinese?

2009-12-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

Sheng dan jie kuai le ! 圣诞节快乐！

Also a reminder that the sing along for parents assembly is tomorrow morning. We'll be singing around 9:15 if you want to see your child preform.

Today we practiced a song that goes along with the book we're reading. It is, in fact, the book we're reading. Just put to music. The tune is one some of you may be familiar with--- "We are a happy family". To sing it, start on page two with "wo ai ma ma ".

We also worked with money, something they all need continual practice with. Many are still having troubles distinguishing between the coins. So any practice you can give them would be good.

2009-12-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Please ask your child to show you the book and vocabulary list they were given as homework today. Everyone should have one. These books should be sent back Friday. Each child has a number so I can track who has brought them back or not. I'll be sending a note home with your child if you have some missing.

Also, there wasn't a math homework sheet sent home in the folder this week. I will send one home Friday along with some Chinese things you can do (optional) over the break if you have time.

Holiday party news: Mrs. Strasser and I will be switching classes for the day on Friday. Because of the assembly, we won't have our normal Friday schedule. We will just keep the same class all day, meaning the holiday party in my class will be with my afternoon group. If you are a parent who wants to or knows of a parent who wants to help with the party, please email me asap so we can get you involved.

bchipman@graniteschools.org

*Reminder: Please send your child in clothes suitable for going outside to recess in the snow.

Next week's vocabulary

2009-12-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a crazy week next week, so here's a heads up on the vocab and book we'll be focusing on.

It is about love in the home, and is made up of many characters they already know as well as a few new ones. Below are the new ones, next week's vocab:

家 jia house or family

爱 ai love

家人 jia ren family members

不错 bu cuo not bad

最 zui most

可爱 ke ai lovable／cute

The whole book is written out in English and Chinese on the lingt site if you want a little extra practice this weekend when you may have more time.

Xia xue le! 下雪了！！

2009-12-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

That's how you say " It's snowing". Which it did. In great abundance. And I'm so glad you all made it safely to school today. When the bell rang we had about 7 kids. The excitement about such great amounts of snow could hardly be contained. But we somehow managed and actually had a very productive day.

In centers we practiced writing shape characters and simple sentences, worked with tan grams, addition and subtraction, and math seat work.

We did an activity with the sentence 看起来像 kan qi lai xiang (looks like) and 什么形状 shenme xing zhuang (what shape). We pulled objects out of a bag and filled in the sentence frame:

_______looks like what shape? ______looks like_______. Then extended the activity with a sheet at their desk where they looked around the room for objects that looked like shapes and drew them into the same sentence.

This same phrase is the one that is repeated in this week's book. Each new page is not new characters. Basically the only thing that changes on each page is the fruit being compared and the shape.

Monday again!

2009-12-07T21:29:00.001-08:00

But don't worry. There was no homework sent home today. You will be getting it tomorrow. There will be a book, vocab list, and math sheet, so keep your eyes open.

And please send your child with as warm of winter clothing as possible. If it's too cold, like it was today, we have inside recess. But when we do go outside, it is COLD. Gloves, hats, scarves. Send em all:)

This week we're doing a review of shape names they already know but now placed into a story and with new phrases they don't know.

Also, I'll be re recording the book on the lingt site, page by page. I was told this would be easier from the parent's end to practice and record with your child, so we'll give it a go. Let me know if you like it that way or not.

Progress!

2009-12-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

It was a great day today! I am so happy with the progress the kids are making not only in the language, but in being first graders. They are learning how to be good listeners, how to do their work, how to focus. It's so great to see! You should be proud of your children. I know I am :)

Today we practiced writing characters, telling time, sorting and graphing m&m's, counting coins, and worked with the week's vocabulary.

We also taught the other first grade classes the beginning of Pai Pai Shou for our sing along assembly on the 17th.

At home encourage your child to use as many chinese words for things as they can. Speaking "Chinglish" is a good thing to help they progress in language production.

Singing singing

2009-11-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

We began rehearsing as a first grade for the sing along assembly come the end of December. We'll be singing one Christmas song and one Chinese song.

In class, we worked with "I'm hungry" ---so ask your child to tell you this in Chinese--- and with coins. We're working with the concept of equivalent values (i.e. five pennies= how many nickels)

Homework sent home today includes one book, accompanying vocabulary (it should match with the book this week) , and math sheet. We'll be tracking who turns in their folders, so be sure to send the book and math back by Friday.

Last day of November

2009-11-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

Words for the week:

饿 e (pronounced “uh”) hungry

里面 li mian inside

找 zhao find

给 gei (pronounced “gay”) to give

还 hai (pronounced “hi”) still

Sentences:

Wo e le! 我饿了 (I’m hungry)

Gei wo yi ge 给我一个 (Give me one)

Hai you hen duo 还有很多 (There’s still a lot)

* no writing on this week’s quiz

Hope all enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. As you can see, words this week have to do with food and eating. So ask you child how to say dinner foods, ask for things to eat, or say they want to eat certain things.

In math we'll be working a lot with money and subtraction.

Gan en jie kuai le!!!

2009-11-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Here's some important Thanksgiving words:

Happy Thanksgiving= Gan en jie kuai le!

Turkey= huo ji

Eat= chi (pronounced chrrr)

full= chi bao le

gratitude= gan en

thank you= xie xie

And more SEP's

2009-11-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

So good to meet with you all and set some goals for your children. If you think of anything after you go that you'd like us to work on, let us know.

We love having your children and are trying our very best to help them feel loved, safe, excited to learn, and start to develop some habits that will help them as they begin their journey as students.

Thank you for all you do!