Employing Chinese Story and Song for Elementary Students: Interactive Learning

Lucy Zhao

George Mason University; Center for Applied Linguistics

Description: This session will focus on the use of a Chinese story and song, with TPR to teach an authentic Chinese story to K-6 students. Using Multiple Intelligence theory, TPR, (Total Physical Response) story-telling and song to involve active learning, this lesson plan will help teachers incorporate the Standards. As an extension, teachers will try out this new technique themselves by choosing their own story aligning with the curriculum and song with the similar theme to create their own interactive lesson.

Method: The use of authentic story and song will illustrate how to engage elementary Chinese students in active learning. The Chinese story’s name is “Pulling the huge radish” 拔萝卜 and the accompanying original Chinese children’s song is about a boy preparing to pull the huge radish. Tapping into theme of collaboration and employing the universal themes of family and helpers, the boy ultimately succeeds with the huge task he could not do alone.

Benefit: Participants will experience how to teach Chinese story and song through TPR and song while implementing the Standards.

Description for program: How can you make your Chinese classroom teaching more colorful while incorporating the Multiple Intelligences, 5Cs, and interactive learning? How can you create a meaningful story-based lesson plan to teach Chinese language and culture to your elementary students? This session will focus on how to create a story-based lesson using song and TPR to combine all these elements and engage students in interactive learning. Handout.