Street Smart Mandarin

A project-based sequence for 7th-grade students focusing on interpreting authentic Mandarin Chinese texts, including street signs, menus, stylized fonts, and digital interfaces. Students apply character recognition skills to real-world survival scenarios and create a final travel guide.

City Navigator

Students analyze real-world street signs and maps to identify directional characters and location nouns, practicing how to orient themselves in a Chinese city environment.

Menu Master

Students learn to decode Chinese menus by identifying key characters for ingredients and cooking methods, culminating in a 'Mystery Meal' ordering challenge.

Script Decoder

Focusing on visual adaptability, students learn to recognize the 'skeleton' of characters within stylized advertising fonts and handwriting.

Digital Explorer

Students explore digital literacy by navigating simulated Chinese app interfaces and practicing pinyin input for rapid character generation.

Survival Guide Creator

As a capstone project, students design a visual survival guide for travelers, synthesizing their knowledge of essential signage and environmental print.