The Coronavirus

SPECIAL UNIT: "THE CORONAVIRUS" (新冠病毒)

MISSION OBJECTIVES:

Discuss the origins of the coronavirus.
Explain how the coronavirus spreads and how it became an epidemic.
Talk about how the coronavirus impacts people's health.
- Compare and contrast the effects of the coronavirus with other illnesses like the flu.
- Explain why the coronavirus is especially deadly.
Compare and contrast different ways to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Compare and contrast the spread of the coronavirus in different places.

LESSONS:

Lesson 1: How do we talk about the origins of the coronavirus?

新冠病毒，新冠肺炎，病毒，武汉

Lesson 2: How do we talk about the spread of the coronavirus?

疫情，感染，传播，咳嗽

Lesson 3: How do we talk about the medical effects of the coronavirus?

症状 (zhèng zhuàng = symptoms)，呼吸，健康，流感，免疫力

Lesson 4: How do we talk about controlling the coronavirus?

控制，(戴) 口罩，社交距离，隔离，疫苗

Lesson 5: How do we talk about the effects of the coronavirus in different countries?

影响，生活，习近平，特朗普

VOCABULARY:

新冠病毒 (xīn guān bìng dú) new coronavirus [COVID-19] (alt term: "新冠肺炎")
病毒 (bìng dú) virus
武汉 (wǔ hàn) Wuhuan
肺炎 (fèi yán) pneumonia [i.e. symptoms of COVID-19]
肺炎: pneumonia [肺 = lungs]
疫情 (yì qíng) epidemic [n], literally "epidemic situation"
感染 (gǎn rǎn) [n/v] to infect; infection
传播 (chuán bō) [v] to transmit, to spread
控制 (kòng zhì) [v/n] to control, control
社交距离 (shè jiāo jù lí) social distancing
隔离 (gé lí) [v] to isolate, to quarantine
咳嗽 (ké sou) [v] to cough
症状 (zhèng zhuàng = symptoms)
呼吸 (hū xī) [v] to breathe
口罩 (kǒu zhào) mask (i.e. medical face-mask)
戴 (dài) 口罩 = to wear a face mask
流感 (liú gǎn) [n] flu
疫苗 (yì miáo) vaccine
免疫力 (miǎn yì lì) immunity [n]
特朗普 (Tè lǎng pǔ) Trump
- Alternate pronunciation: “川普” (chuān pǔ). Both pronunciations are fine.
习近平 (Xí Jìnpíng) Xi Jinping [President of the People's Republic of China]
健康 (jiàn kāng) [n] health, healthy
世界 (shì jiè) the world
国家 (guó jiā) country, countries
影响 (yǐng xiǎng) [n, v] to effect, to influence
生活 (shēng huó) [n] life

PROJECT:

In a group of 2 people of your choice, create a MULTIMEDIA PROJECT about the topic "My Coronavirus Story" (我的新冠病毒故事).
- Thoughtfully explore the four key questions:
  - How has the coronavirus changed and influenced your personal life?
  - What is the larger social impact of the coronavirus?
  - What will the future be like? When will the epidemic end, and what happens after?
  - How has the coronavirus changed the way you view the world, and view your own life?
Choose from any one of the following mediums: video, website, illustrated book, comic, podcast, poster. (If you have another idea, get teacher approval first!)
- suggested resources: Flipgrid, Weebly, Padlet, Book Creator, Adobe Spark, iMovie
The finished project should be creative, compelling, and professional.

“Own Words” Policy:

All your work in this class should be in your own words. Please do not use any words and structures you haven’t previously learned, unless you clearly mark it.
Be very careful with dictionaries and translation software. It is very difficult to use words you haven’t learned before in the correct context.
If you use a new word in a written assignment, you must also include the pinyin and the English translation as follows:
- 生词 (sheng1ci2; new word)
Points will be deducted from any assignment that violates the “Own Words” policy. If you can’t read or understand your own work, you have violated this policy.
Homework and projects that violate the Own Words Policy will be marked as NO CREDIT (50%). In addition, violations will be reported to the school administration. Plagiarism is a violation of the school honor code and will be treated very seriously. It is just like cheating on an exam.

RUBRIC: see link for details.

MASTERY CHALLENGES:

There are four Mastery Challenges for this unit, one for each major language skill. Each challenge is designed to test your understanding of the Chinese covered.

Each challenge will account for ~4% of your total semester grade. You may retake the challenge for full credit until the end of the semester.

Mastery Challenge: Interpretive Listening

Listen to part of a random audio clip from this folder. Orally answer the teacher's questions based on that clip. The questions will be spoken in Chinese, but you may answer in Chinese or English.
See the rubric for more details.

Mastery Challenge: Interpretive Reading

Read a random page displayed on the screen from one of the four books of《2020年，一个有新型冠状病毒的春节》. This page is guaranteed to contain mostly vocabulary that you have learned (i.e. there will be few words that are not part of the unit).
Then orally answer questions based on that page. The questions will be spoken in Chinese, but you may answer in Chinese or English.
See the rubric for more details.

Mastery Challenge: Interpersonal Speaking

Role-play a conversation between a doctor and a patient about the coronavirus. Your role will be randomly selected. This conversation will be with the teacher or another student.
See the rubric for more details.

Mastery Challenge: Presentational Writing

You have 15 minutes to write a response to a random prompt based on one of the lessons in this unit. This challenge is open-book (can use outside resources and the Internet).
- For example, "我们可以用哪些办法控制新冠病毒? 你觉得哪个办法最好？哪些办法不好？为什么？"
The "Own Words Policy" still applies! You may also not get help from another person.
See the rubric for more details.

Due to the challenges of online learning, and to prevent cheating, Mastery Challenges (except for Writing) will generally be conducted in a Zoom chat directly with the teacher. The class will take the timed Writing exam together.

RESOURCES:

SPECIAL UNIT: "THE CORONAVIRUS" (新冠病毒​)

SPECIAL UNIT: "THE CORONAVIRUS" (新冠病毒)