Global Classroom Connect Logo

Global Classroom Connect Lesson Plan

Global Classroom Connect » Lessons » Introducing Yourself to Your Taiwanese Buddy

Introducing Yourself to Your Taiwanese Buddy

Author: Jenny Winsted-Wilson
Grade Level(s): K-2
Subject(s):
A sample collage for use in the lesson

Lesson Objective

Students will introduce themselves to their Taiwanese friends and tell them one thing about their family with an art projec

Overview

U.S. students will introduce themselves to their Taiwanese counterparts by completing an art  project that includes:

  1. A portrait picture of the child with a dialogue bubble of personal information and a question.
  2. Three sentences for the dialogue bubble: My name is ______. My family likes to ______.  What does your family like to do? The sentences will also be translated into Chinese.
  3. A drawing to match the second sentence showing something their family likes to do.
  4. A decorative background with important local symbols (redwood trees, ocean, banana slugs, mushrooms, etc.) or patterns as a border.

Preparation

  1. Students have been studying families, focusing on their own family, learning about each other’s families and noticing differences and similarities in family groups  and  broadening their definition of what a family is.
  2. Show slide show about Taiwan to spark interest and to give them background information about Taiwan.
  3. Gather materials: background page, dialogue bubble and smaller paper to draw what their family likes to do, crayons, watercolors, etc.
  4. Take, print and cut pictures of students
  5. Watch “How to Use Google Translate” if you are unsure of the process.

Lesson Sequence

Day 1 Introduction (20 minutes):

  1. Introduce Taiwan to students. Include geography, people, language, natural environment
  2. Explain that they will be making friends with a student in Taiwan.
  3. Share the student list with the name(s) of the students that they will be partnered with.
  4. Take a portrait style photo of each smiling student, chest up
  5. Adult prints pictures in color, if possible, and cut out

Day 2 Watercolor/Color background (30 minutes):

  1. Instruct students on proper medium technique/ Demonstrate creating the background paper.
  2. Have students draw a design around the edge of the paper to create a border. Encourage a theme of local pictures (trees, animals, natural colors, etc.)  or a pattern.
  3. Distribute materials and paper for students to begin their patterns and decorating

Day 3 Writing sentences and drawing pictures that describe something their family likes to do together. (40 minutes)

  1. As a class brainstorm things that their families like to do together. Make a list to refer back to if needed.
  2. Demonstrate drawing a picture of something that your family likes to do together.
  3. Demonstrate cutting a bubble shape around the picture and writing your name on the back
  4. Demonstrate an adult writing what it is that your family likes to do together on the back in the illustrator’s words.
  5. During the work period students will draw a picture to show something that their family likes to do, cut out the picture and dictate to an adult what it is their family likes to do together to write on the back of the picture.

After school Prep:

  1. Type a dialogue bubble for each child that says:
    • My name is (child signs name in neatest handwriting here on the next work period)*
    • My family likes to (write the words on the back of each child’s drawing here).*
    • What does your family like to do?*
      *After each line include the google translate for Mandarin (Chinese-traditional)
  2. Cut out the dialogue bubble.
  3. Assemble a stack of papers for each child to put together the next day that includes:
    • background paper
    • picture of themselves
    • dialogue bubble
    • drawing of something their family likes to do.

Day 4 Put it all together (30 minutes)

  1. demonstrate putting all of the pieces together (see example)
  2. Students will write “Dear (name of Taiwanese student),” on their artwork.

Note: Most students in my class were partnered with two students. I chose to make nice copies of the original artwork and send the nice copies to Taiwan instead of asking most of my students, but not quite all, to make two different pieces of artwork. This way everyone received a similar quality of artwork and the students did not feel overwhelmed with the amount of work. I had them write “Dear….” on the copies, not on the original. This means you may have to do Day 4 in two days (put it together, then teacher copies, then on a subsequent day students write “Dear…”

Standards

ELA Listening and Speaking Comprehension

  • 1.1 Understand and follow one- and two-step oral directions.
  • 1.2 Share information and ideas, speaking audibly in complete, coherent sentences.

Written and Oral English Language Conventions Sentence Structure

  • 1.1 Recognize and use complete, coherent sentences when speaking.

Materials

  • Camera
  • Printer
  • Watercolors, paper and brushes or markers/crayons to decorate a background page
  • Glue
  • Google Translate
  • Taiwan informational media such as a book, slideshow, short video
  • Class list of Taiwanese students paired with US students
Lesson Resources