Piedmont Middle School Program
Mandarin A--7th grade spring semester
Introductory course. Students learn basic pronunciation using the pinyin system and begin writing simple characters. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are all introduced, and an introduction to Chinese culture is an integral part of the class. Participation in all activities is strongly emphasized.
Mandarin B/C--8th grade full year
Continuation of Mandarin A. Students demonstrate their achievement of course goals by:
1) Performing dialogues in groups;
2) Learning to write approximately 200 Chinese characters;
3) Using the pinyin romanization system to write anything they hear;
4) Responding to oral commands in Mandarin;
5) Reading short conversations and paragraphs;
6) Writing short entries in a daily journal;
7) Creating cultural projects;
8) Learning to look up words using a Chinese dictionary.
Mandarin A plus B/C is equivalent to one year of Mandarin I at the high school. Students who pass Mandarin A & B/C satisfactorily will continue in Mandarin II at the high school.