Hi, Parents !! Welcome to “TexTbook Talk”
Our Chinese textbook is, MASTERING CHINESE LANGUAGE and CULTURE,
VOLUME 2.
Chinese Homework this Week: Chinese character writing sheet for Lessons 2 & 3
(02/14 -- 02/17)
Lessons 1, 2 & 3 (Vol. 2) words: LESSON 1 有(to have, there is), 地 (earth; land), 房 (house), 门
(door), 高 (high; tall), 笑 (to laugh), LESSON 2 说话 (to speak, talk), 青 (green)，青蛙 (frog),
猫 (cat), 岁 (year old; age), 学 (to learn), LESSON 3 飞(to fly), 狗(dog), 叫 (to call; bark), 鱼(fish),
游 (swim), 跳(jump), 跑(run), and 去 (go).
ATTENTION PARENTS:
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Because of additional speaking and listening objectives I wish to add to our day, and also due to
the continuing complexity of the Chinese characters introduced in volume 2, I will be slowing
the pace at which we go through the lessons in Volume 2. We’ll now cover a new lesson every
other week. Your child will still have two weeks to practice the new Chinese words using the
character writing sheets, the flash cards, and the take-home CD-ROM. Routine is best, folks !!
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>>> This week (02/14 to 02/17) and next, both being 4-day school weeks -- 2 of which I will be
out – (2/23 & 2/24), we’ll stay in Lesson 3, and go back to review text and vocabulary to date.
Your child should have brought home his/her new set of Chinese character cards last week: 飞
(to fly)， 狗(dog)， 叫 (to call; bark)， 鱼 (fish)，游(to swim)，跳 (to jump)，跑(to run), and
去(to go). <<<
Volume 1 had 11 lessons. Volume 2 has 9 lessons. Your child will complete 2 volumes this year.
Each lesson has from seven to ten new Chinese characters to learn. These books will remain at
school, but there is a CD-ROM that accompanies each volume. Your child will be bringing the
CD-ROM home to use for homework (i.e. reviewing each lesson). These CDs will be on loan to
your child and their return at the end of the school year will be required and expected.
FROM TIME TO TIME, YOUR CHILD WILL BE ASSESSED ON THEIR ABILITY
TO WRITE THE CHINESE CHARACTERS THEY ARE LEARNING FROM
MEMORY. IF YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN DOING THE CHINESE CHARACTER
HOMEWORK, THEY SHOULD HAVE LITTL E PROBLEM DOING WELL ON
THESE IN-CLASS “SPELLING” TESTS (provided they are doing their homework).
Chinese Flash Cards:
Each student will also receive a set of Chinese flash cards with each lesson. These, they may
keep and take home. As parent, please encourage your child to use these cards daily to study
and review, otherwise, they will be wasted, and the opportunity to master any new Chinese
words, will be an unrealized goal. One suggestion for consistently using the cards to review
reading and writing is to place them in the car and have your child study 10 minutes to school
and 10 minutes going home. However you decide how and when your child will use these cards,
a consistent DAILY exposure is best. They will be tested in class on their ability to both
recognize and write the characters correctly. Previous and current week character lists follow:
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2：
Lesson 3：
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
有，地,
说话，
飞，狗
朋友，一起
睡，
火车，
房，门，
青，青蛙
叫，鱼
走，他，
高，笑。
猫，岁，
游，跳
他们，都，
学。
跑，去。
是，我。
Lesson 7
兔，里， 汽车，
鸭，
飞机，开，
企鹅。
玩具，的。
With each new lesson, your child is also learning/reviewing correct Mandarin tones and
character-stroke order. Please watch that your child is following the correct stroke- order
sequence when doing the Chinese character writing homework sheets !!
IMPORTANT
Some of the children have already been given the 2nd CD-ROM to accompany Volume 2 of our
Chinese textbook. Others, however, have yet to return Volume 1 CD (or $10.00 to purchase it)
and are still required to make a $10.00 deposit to check out Volume 2 CD. It is important that
your child uses the CD-ROM at home to repeatedly review lessons, words and concepts taught
in class. DON’T LET YOUR CHILD FALL BEHIND – GET YOUR $10.00 IN TODAY!! In class, I may
occasionally use the CD-ROM to introduce the lessons, activities and games contained on it and
explain how to use it, but it is provided for at-home practice. When problems or questions
about its use arise at home, please email me so I can attempt to help.
When your child places the CD in the computer, it will go through its start-up animation. Once
finished, simply use your mouse to click on the page. It will then open up to the lesson choices.
For play and review, at this point, it would be best if your child sticks to the lesson we are
currently working on in class. They are free to go back and practice, play, and review previous
lessons at any time. So, for example, if your child clicks on “Lesson Two,” they will see three
yellow labels: (1) 课文 Textbook vocabulary review (2) 写字 Chinese character writing (3) 练习
Practice games section.
On Mondays, (or in the event of a holiday, the 1st school day of each week) your child will also
be bringing home a sheet of Chinese Characters to use to practice writing the correct stroke
order of the words he/she is learning. One side will have the characters from the previous
week’s lesson for review. Side two will have the characters we are learning this week for review.
I will give students 4 days to complete the homework task. Return the finished page by Friday
each week. Your child will be held responsible to return the homework sheets to school by
Friday morning so that I may track the completion of this required homework each week. As
parent, I will leave you with the choice of whether you want your child to practice writing the
characters even more than this. I did not wish to overburden students, or discourage them in
any way.
Dear parents, as with anything new, it takes time to form good study habits and to stoke the
flames of ambition and motivation in the heart of your child. Find ways to encourage and
maintain excitement about learning Chinese so that it becomes something they look forward to
doing each day. With persistence, consistency, and determination, your child can succeed!!