With the refreshing autumn breeze and golden ginkgo leaves fluttering, the seventh-grade non-native Chinese students at the Shanghai High School International Division embarked on a special outdoor experimental class. In this poetic season, the students left the classroom and ventured into the campus to explore the harmony between words and nature, experiencing the charm of autumn.

Autumn Stroll: A Symphony of Language and Nature

The "Capturing Autumn" event is a carefully designed autumn series by the Chinese Department of the Middle School at Shanghai High School International Division for seventh-grade non-native students. In every corner of the campus, autumn quietly unfolds its canvas in various forms: from the golden brilliance of the ginkgo trees to the serene solemnity between buildings, from the shimmering reflections by Zhongxing Lake to the swirling leaves in front of Longmen Building. Students first utilize the Chinese vocabulary they have learned in the classroom to tackle tasks such as sentence construction, translation, and paragraph writing. Teachers guide the students through browsing photos of autumn scenes, activating in their memory the vocabulary that can be used to describe the beauty of autumn. Then, they read sentences selected by teachers that depict autumn scenes, accumulating good words and phrases, and practice translating from English to Chinese or imitating the writing style. Teachers emphasize the importance of verb selection in writing and encourage the use of a richer variety of Chinese vocabulary to describe their experiences, feelings, and observations.

Inspired by the concept of "City Walk," the students embarked on a "Campus Walk" on a clear autumn morning. They strolled around the campus, collecting ginkgo leaves to make crafts and visiting various scenic spots depicted in photos of the autumn campus of Shanghai High School, including Zhongxing Lake, the library, the ginkgo grove, the plane tree avenue, Longmen Building, the art center, and more.

The check-in locations not only showcase the unique natural scenery and architectural beauty of the Shanghai High School campus but also embody a rich historical and cultural heritage. As students stroll through the campus in the autumn atmosphere, they experience the fall scenery and use beautiful and appropriate language to craft tour guide scripts. This exercise allows them to apply the vocabulary usage, sentence and paragraph construction, and imitation techniques emphasized by their teachers in class. They immerse themselves in the natural beauty of the autumn landscape, gathering inspiration for their autumn-themed creations.

Autumn Harvest: A Fusion of Crafts and Creation

To capture the autumn scenery of the campus through beautiful art, the students used collected leaves and construction paper to create autumn-themed works. These highly personalized crafts, incorporating carefully selected poems and images, became small artworks that preserve the memories of autumn days.

Unique handmade artworks are the students' artistic expressions of their impressions of autumn. The phrase "I write with my heart" reflects how the students carefully selected poems and sentences to express their feelings and experiences, capturing the beauty of autumn. They also created original poems in their handouts, imitating the style of "The autumn breeze gently flips the pages, as the campus is steeped in autumn hues." Some of the original poems they wrote include: "The spring breeze brings green to willow leaves, West Lake brims with spring along Su Causeway," "Maple leaves fall like fire, laughter and joy reach the skies," "Winter snow quietly settles on branches, the campus deepens in winter's embrace," and "The wind whispers gently, resembling autumn, yet it is autumn." These creations are truly impressive.

The unique handmade creations are artistic expressions of the students' impressions of autumn. "I write my heart," as the saying goes, and the poems and sentences written by the students are carefully selected words used to convey their feelings and experiences, expressing their impressions of the beauty of autumn.

In Classroom D 605, we held a unique exhibition of the works. The handcrafted pieces created by the students were arranged on the tables for viewing, sharing, and scoring, and the works created by the teachers were also available for viewing and sharing. All the non-native seventh-grade students used heart stickers to express their appreciation and admiration for each of the handcrafted pieces.

Among them are various creative interpretations and expressions of autumn using fallen leaves, including depictions of people, natural scenes, and imaginative stories. The students' works are filled with admiration for autumn, blending images, poetry, and emotions. Ultimately, three pieces won the Best Popularity Award through voting. Congratulations to Althea from class 7-1, and Gabriel and Olivia from class 7-7. Additionally, awards were given to eight outstanding students who excelled in completing their PACKETs throughout the project, including Hannah from class 7-1. These students received exquisite notebooks prepared by the Chinese language teachers as prizes.

Autumn is a wonderful season of "bountiful harvest" in the natural world and a time of "refreshing winds" in the academic term. Through this series of autumn activities, students not only appreciated the beauty of nature but also showcased their independence as learners. In their exploration of language and culture, they discovered the romance and beauty of learning Chinese.

Written by Zhang Xinyi

Pictures by G7 Non-native language teachers,Zhang Xinyi

Edited by Chen Fan ,Liu Dong ,Luo Cong.