Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

About the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) Language Activity Repository

The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

How to use the WLRC Repository’s Activities:

1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

• Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
• Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

If you have any suggestions about grammar, syntax, and content, please kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu.

2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your classroom, follow the instructions below:

• Google Slideshows:
  
• To begin, go to File -> Copy to create an editable version of the slideshow.
• Once finished with your changes, please complete the following steps to share:
• Click on Share
• Who Has Access
• Ensure link sharing is on and allow external access.
• Materials Saved as PDF: Please email pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu and we will provide you with an editable copy. Please allow up to two business days for a response. For YouTube videos and other websites, hyperlinks are provided. 
  

3. Adapt for Another Language:

• See the linked English Version at the top of the activity (English Version may not be available for all activities)

Lunar New Year

Description:

In this activity, students will plan a menu for a Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner using clues about individual dishes cultural significance. Students will read aloud the descriptions of the dishes, and then choose which ones they would want to include in their banquet to best align with traditional Chinese New Years Eve conventions.

Proficiency Level:

Intermediate-Low

Keywords:

Chinese, chinese holidays, chinese celebrations, lunar new year, group activities, food

World-Readiness Standards:

• Standard 1.1-Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions in Chinese
• Standard 1.2-Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics in Chinese
• Standard 2.1-Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures of the Chinese-speaking world
• Standard 3.2-Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the Chinese language and culture
• Standard 4.2-Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of Chinese culture with their own

Idaho Content Standards for World Languages:

• COMM 1.1-Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
• COMM 2.1-Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics
• CLTR 1.1-Analyze the cultural practices/patterns of behavior accepted as the societal norm in the target culture
• CLTR 2.2-Describe the connections of products from the target culture with the practices and perspectives of the culture.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can plan an event in the target culture
• I can identify and compare traditions expressed by the ways people celebrate holidays or festivals
• I can work with others to solve a problem or complete a task

Materials Needed:

Food Cards

Google Slideshow

Main Activity

Let's plan a dinner!

1. As a group, students will work together to plan a traditional Chinese New year's dinner

2. Pile up all the food cards in the middle of the table and have students grab one, one at a time, until all the cards have been chosen

3. Going around the group, a student will flip their card over and read the description of the food on the back of the card out loud, then as a group, the students will decide if they want to include that dish in their New Year feast

4. Some foods are unlucky! Students should try to plan dinner with as many lucky foods as possible, avoiding the unlucky foods!

5. After all the cards have been decided on, reveal the lucky/unlucky foods!

Lucky foods

鱼，饺子，长寿面，春卷，年糕，桔子，汤圆

Unlucky foods

豆腐，米粥，鱿鱼，李子

Wrap Up

Questions about the activity

End of lab: Can-Do statement check in..."Where are we?"

• Read can-do statements and have students evaluate their confidence with cards
• Encourage students to be honest in their self evaluation
• Pay attention and try to use feedback for future labs!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can plan an event in the target culture
• I can identify and compare traditions expressed by the ways people celebrate holidays or festivals
• I can work with others to solve a problem or complete a task