Elementary School in Taiwan: Overview of Classes and Textbooks Used

The following is an outline of what kids in grades 1-6 study.  The numbers next to each subject indicate the number of classes per week.  A (T) next to a subject indicates that the homeroom teacher is responsible for that class.  An (S) indicates that a subject teacher is responsible for it.  For example, (T-2) means that the homeroom teacher teaches that class twice a week.

Links below indicate that I have translated (parts of) that textbook into English, or in the case of English textbooks, that I have provided a synopsis.  上 is the book for the first semester, 下 is the book for the second semester.  If 上 or 下 are absent, it means that there is no textbook for that subject.

Individual (public) schools will vary, but not by much.  The curriculum is standardized by the government, and there is very little wiggle room for individual schools.

Grade 1

Integrated Activity 綜合 (T-2) 上   下
Math 數學 (T-3) 上   下
Chinese 國語 (T-5) 上   下
"Life" 生活 (T-4) 上   下
Reading 閱讀 (T-1)
Free Period 彈性 (T-2)
PE 體育 (S-2) 上   下
Taiwanese 本土語言 (S-1) 上   下
"Living Arts" 生活美勞 (S-2) 上   下
Health 健康 (T-1) 上   下

The textbook used for "Life" and "Living Arts" is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

Aboriginal and Hakka students usually opt out of the Taiwanese class in favor of their native languages.

Grade 2

Integrated Activity 綜合 (S-2) 上   下
Math 數學 (T-3) 上   下
Chinese 國語 (T-5) 上   下
"Life" 生活 (T-4) 上   下
Reading 閱讀 (T-1)
Free Period 彈性 (T-2)
PE 體育 (S-2) 上   下
Taiwanese 本土語言 (S-1) 上   下
"Living Arts" 生活美勞 (S-2) 上   下
Health 健康 (T-1) 上   下

The textbook used for "Life" and "Living Arts" is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

Grade 3

國語 Chinese (T-5) 上    下
數學 Math (T-3)上   下
音樂 Music (S-1) 上   下
社會 Social Studies (S-3) 上    下
美勞 Art (S-2) 上   下
英語 English (S-2) 1, 2
彈性 Free Period (T-1)
體育 PE (S-2) 上   下
自然 (Natural) Science (S-3)上   下
生活美語 Conversational English (S-1)
電腦 Computers (S-1)
本土語言 Taiwanese (S-1)上   下
綜合 Integrated Activity (T-3)
健康 Health (S-1)上   下

The textbook used for Music and Art is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

In our school, the homeroom teacher is sometimes responsible for Health class.

Conversational English is my class.  

Grade 4

國語 Chinese (T-5) 上   下
數學 Math (T-3)上   下
音樂 Music (S-1) 上   下
社會 Social Studies (S-3) 上   下
美勞 Art (S-2) 上   下
英語 English (S-2) 3, 4
彈性 Free Period (T-1)
體育 PE (S-2) 上   下
自然 (Natural) Science (S-3)上   下
生活美語 Conversational English (S-1)
電腦 Computers (S-1)
本土語言 Taiwanese (S-1)上   下
綜合 Integrated Activity (T-3)
健康 Health (S-1)上   下

The textbook used for Music and Art is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

Grade 5

國語 Chinese (T-5) 上   下
數學 Math (T-4)上   下
音樂 Music (S-1) 上   下
社會 Social Studies (S-3) 上   下
美勞 Art (S-2) 上   下
英語 English (S-2) 5, 6
彈性 Free Period (T-2)
體育 PE (S-2) 上   下
自然 (Natural) Science (S-3)上   下
生活美語 Conversational English (S-1)
電腦 Computers (S-1)
本土語言 Taiwanese (S-1)上   下
綜合 Integrated Activity (T-3)
健康 Health (S-1)上   下
閱讀 Reading(T-1)

The textbook used for Music and Art is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

Grade 6 

國語 Chinese (T-5) 上   下
數學 Math (T-4)上   下
音樂 Music (S-1) 上   下
社會 Social Studies (S-3) 上   下
美勞 Art (S-2) 上   下
英語 English (S-2) 7, 8
彈性 Free Period (T-2)
體育 PE (S-2) 上   下
自然 (Natural) Science (S-3)上   下
生活美語 Conversational English (S-1)
電腦 Computers (S-1)
本土語言 Taiwanese (S-1)上   下
綜合 Integrated Activity (T-3)
健康 Health (S-1)上   下
閱讀 Reading (T-1)

The textbook used for Music and Art is the same, as is the textbook for Health and PE.

English 英語 1, First Semester 上, "Syllabus" 課程計畫

For a general overview of these textbooks and how they're used in Taiwanese elementary schools, refer to Elementary School in Taiwan: Overview of Classes and Textbooks Used. 

The syllabus/outline below was taken from the Dino On the Go! textbook published by Han Lin 翰林出版.  Other textbook series will vary, but given the government-mandated curriculum they won't vary by much.

Kids in Taiwanese elementary schools have English class at least twice a week.  Each unit would be completed in about a month's time, adding up to the four months that comprise a semester.

After the syllabus/outline below are the vocabulary words for the Phonics (Alphabet) pages.

Unit	Title	Sentence Patterns	Key Words	Daily Talk	ABCs
Starter Unit		l   How are you? l   I’m fine.	one, two, three, four, five		Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Unit 1	Hello!	l   What’s your name? l   My name is Dino. l   I’m Dino.	Dino, Danny, Irene, Niki, Owen	Hello! Goodbye!	Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Unit 2	How Are You?	l   How old are you? l   I’m ten.	six, seven, eight, nine, ten	Happy birthday! Thank you.	Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo
Review 1
Unit 3	What’s This?	l   What’s this/that? l   It’s a book. l   It’s an eraser.	a book, a pencil, an eraser, a bag, a marker, a ruler	Good morning. Good afternoon.	Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt
Unit 4	What Color Is This?	l   What color is this? l   It’s blue.	blue, green, red, black, pink, yellow	Cool! Good job!	Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Review 2
Festivals	Halloween			A bat, a ghost, a jack-o’-lantern, a   pumpkin, a spider, a witch
Culture	Hello, World!

Aa: ant, apple
Bb: bear, boy
Cc: cat, cup
Dd: dog, duck
Ee: egg, elephant
Ff: fish, frog
Gg: goat, girl
Hh: hippo, hat
Ii: ink, igloo
Jj: jet, juice
Kk: key, kite
Ll: lion, lemon
Mm: monkey, mouse
Nn: nose, nurse
Oo: ox, otter
Pp: pig, pink
Qq: queen, quiz
Rr: red, rabbit
Ss: snake, sun
Tt: turtle, tiger
Uu: up, umbrella
Vv: van, vest
Ww: watch, window
Xx: fox, box
Yy: yo-yo, yellow
Zz: zoo, zebra