This document summarizes a unit plan for an upper division Chinese class at Avenues: The World School in Chelsea, New York. The unit involves a project-based learning activity where students take photos around Chelsea and create their own picture gallery. It is a 4-5 week unit that incorporates two field trips, one to the China Institute and one around Chelsea. Students study Chinese vocabulary and sentence structures, discuss what they observe, and collaboratively plan their photo gallery project. The goal is for students to learn through authentic experiences in the community and to use Chinese to share what is meaningful to them.

1. From Chinese Mountain
to Chelsea, NY
吕海雯 Haiwen Lu
Avenues: the World School
Upper Division Chinese Teacher

2. Self Intro & Students Demographic
Avenues: The World School
Location: Chelsea, NY
New Campuses: Sao Paulo, Brazil &
Shenzhen, China
Students: Immersion & Intensive
Non-heritage speakers

3. Unit Plan
• Time: 5th term
• Around 4-5 weeks.
• Instruction 75 minutes every other day
• 9 classes total.
• Project: Make your own picture gallery
• Grade: 9/10 CHN 4
• 11/（12） CHN 5

4. PBLL- Project Based Language Learning
Learning through
context
What can you do with
your language?

5. Standards for Foreign Language
Learning : 5C

6. Class
Number
Content : What we ended up doing (
collaborated by teacher and students)
Standards & Elements
Addressed
1. China Institute Field Trip Challenging problems,
Inquiry, Authenticity;
2. Field Trip Debrief: What do we see? What are
we interested in?
Inquiry, Students voice and
choices, reflection;
3. Language Study: Jigsaw and presentation Inquiry, Students voice and
choices, reflection;
4. Continue Language Study Inquiry, Students voice and
choices, reflection, critique
and revision
5. Project proposal and timeline planning Students voice and choices,
6. Field Trip #2: Chelsea Authenticity, Students voice
and choices
7. Sharing your pictures by describing them
orally and class discussion; Edit descriptions
and start website
reflection, critique and
revision
8. Finalize description and work on website critique and revision
9. Presentation. Public product

7. Class
Number
Content : What we ended up doing (
collaborated by teacher and students)
Standards & Elements
Addressed
1. China Institute Field Trip Culture
2. Field Trip Debrief: What do we see? What
are we interested in?
Connections,
communications,
community, comparison
3. Language Study: Jigsaw and presentation Culture, communications
4. Continue Language Study Culture, communications
5. Project proposal and timeline planning Connections, Comparisons
6. Field Trip #2: Chelsea Connections, Communities
7. Sharing your pictures by describing them
orally and class discussion; Edit descriptions
and start website
Connections,
Communication,
communities
8. Finalize description and work on website Connections,
Communication
9. Presentation. Connections,
Communication,
communities

8. Launch the Project
• Field Trip to China Institute
• What do you see/hear/experience?
• What do you want to know more about?

9. Language Study
Exhibition Catalogue

10. Language Study

12. Jigsaw and Picture Talk

13. Language Learning
• Learn vocabulary and sentence structures through
reading
• Class discussion
• Jigsaw introduction of different photos

14. Questions that comes up
• Why are mountains so important in Chinese culture?
• How did the gallery curate the exhibition?
• We are going to curate a photo gallery that reflects
our own culture. How are we going to do it?
(physical vs. digital)
• PBL: Sustained inquiry & Students voice and
choices
• 5C: Connection

15. Unit Plan
• Second Field trip: Chelsea
• What do we notice?我们要拍什么照片？
• What do you want to share?我们要在照片上写什
么？
• Why does it matter to you? 为什么这个对你很重
要？
• How do we want to present the photos?我们怎么
展示照片？

16. Public Products

18. Reflection
• What matters to the students? – CONNECTION
• What can we do with more time? Where can we
dig deeper?
• How do we have more language input?
• What can be a better platform to use?
• Transportation

19. 谢谢！