Dear Parents and Grandparents,
I would like to share with you an activity we will be completing in Spanish when school resumes. I thought you might like to do the activity at home. I would be very interested in seeing the results as I think a book with parents' work and students' work might be a great project. The prompts in English are listed below. Respond to each question. After you complete all of the questions, Fill in your answers to make a beautiful poem about yourself. Pleae email me your poem when it is finished if you would like to be included in a book ( just for St. John's parents and students). This activity is OPTIONAL. It is not a homework assigment for students or parents! If your children want to complete it in English, we can translate it in school, but I would rather just do the activity in Spanish with them.
1. What is an every day item in your home?
2. What are two products or other every day items in your house?
3. What is a description of your home? (adjective)
4. What is a detail about your home? (a smell, taste, or texture).
5. What is a plant, flower, or natural item near your home?
6. What is one of your family traditions?
7. Who are two of your family members?
8. What is one of your family habits?
9. What is something you were told as a child? (advice)
10. What is the place of your birth?
11. What are two of your favorite family foods?
12. What are two of your family's momentos?
13. What is the the location of your family momentos?
14. What are three adjectives that describe your life?
Fill in the blanks below to make your poem.
1. I am from _______________and ____________.
2. I am from ________________ and ____________.
3. I am from _______________and ______________.
4. _____________________.
5. I am from ____________________.
6. I am from _____________________________.
7. I am from ____________________and _____________________.
8. I am from _____________________________.
9. I am from _____________________________.
10. I am from ____________________________.
11. I am from ____________________and _____________________.
12. I am from _______________________and __________________.
13. ________________________________.
14. I am from a life that is ______________, __________________, and ______________.
My email is: linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com
You may also send your poem to school with your child.
Thank you! Have a Happy New Year!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Dear Parents,
There is no homework during the Christmas vacation. I did distribute a list of new vocabulary I thought might come in handy during the vacation. Grades 4-6 received the lists.
It contains words associated with a birthday party. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus!
I explained that many Spanish-speaking students break open a pinata to celebrate Christmas. I wish we would have had time to do so!
K-4 and 5 sang their Christmas songs using a bell- una campana, a star- una estrellita, and a tree - un arbolito to sing their song: Uno, dos, tres arbolitos... Words were posted last week. They can teach the song to you! They do best with "arbolitos." I am not sure why. I'm thinking that is where they will find their presents from Santa and want to get those words right.
Grade 1 is doing a great job with responding to questions in Spanish. I am very proud of them. I can conduct part of the class entirely in Spanish with them.
Grade 2 finished telling time in Spanish. Many students can tell any hour on a traditional clock. Almost all of the students can tell time to the quarter hour. I am very happy with their progress. The level of involvement by the students is incredible. They are so eager to learn Spanish.
Grade 3 can tell any time indicated on a traditional clock. My third graders are also very eager to learn new concepts and vocabulary. You might want to ask them to tell you the time in Spanish.
Grade 4 and 5 received the list of new vocabulary. We will continue working with that list when we return to school.
Grade 6 brought a picture of what they feel would be the best gift to receive or to give. They each wrote a sentence in Spanish explaining their choice. They were all excellent choices. Please ask your child to share their choice with you. I kept the pictures, but they will remember what they chose and why.
I would like to wish all of my students and their families a very Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Atentamente,
Miss Linda
There is no homework during the Christmas vacation. I did distribute a list of new vocabulary I thought might come in handy during the vacation. Grades 4-6 received the lists.
It contains words associated with a birthday party. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus!
I explained that many Spanish-speaking students break open a pinata to celebrate Christmas. I wish we would have had time to do so!
K-4 and 5 sang their Christmas songs using a bell- una campana, a star- una estrellita, and a tree - un arbolito to sing their song: Uno, dos, tres arbolitos... Words were posted last week. They can teach the song to you! They do best with "arbolitos." I am not sure why. I'm thinking that is where they will find their presents from Santa and want to get those words right.
Grade 1 is doing a great job with responding to questions in Spanish. I am very proud of them. I can conduct part of the class entirely in Spanish with them.
Grade 2 finished telling time in Spanish. Many students can tell any hour on a traditional clock. Almost all of the students can tell time to the quarter hour. I am very happy with their progress. The level of involvement by the students is incredible. They are so eager to learn Spanish.
Grade 3 can tell any time indicated on a traditional clock. My third graders are also very eager to learn new concepts and vocabulary. You might want to ask them to tell you the time in Spanish.
Grade 4 and 5 received the list of new vocabulary. We will continue working with that list when we return to school.
Grade 6 brought a picture of what they feel would be the best gift to receive or to give. They each wrote a sentence in Spanish explaining their choice. They were all excellent choices. Please ask your child to share their choice with you. I kept the pictures, but they will remember what they chose and why.
I would like to wish all of my students and their families a very Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Atentamente,
Miss Linda
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
K-4 and K-5 learned a new song for Christmas. They did a wonderful job with the song! I appreciate the teachers and parents who sing the songs with the children at home or in class. I especially want to thank Miss Savannah for her assistance. Our new song is "Little Tree."
Uno dos tres arbolitos,
Cuatro, cinco, seis arbolitos,
Siete, Ocho, Nueve, arbolitos,
Diez arbolitos mios. (We change "arbolitos" to "Estrellas" and "Duendes.") Trees,
stars, and elves.
1st. grade We answered questions and continued counting in Spanish. We applied knowledge of numbers to telling time, but we have not actually begun a formal study of telling time. We continued learning the days of the week.
2nd grade We finished our clocks. I am taking them home to completely finish because of limited time in class to complete them. Students can tell time to the quarter hour. I will bring the clocks to school next week to allow students to practice at home. It is so neat to hear the students asking each other the time and hearing the responses in Spanish. If you ask your child at home to tell you what time it, it, she may respond in Spanish!
3rd grade - We have two different activities for the third grade classes. Miss Cockrell's class has a homework assignment. Miss Bower's class has some new terms to study, but no formal homework.
Miss Cockrell's class* needs to write twenty digital times once again, and write the
Spanish number words indicating the time shown. Here are the numbers the students need to know:
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, diesciseis, diecisiete, diecocho, diecinueve, veinte, veintiuno, veintidos, (etc.) treinta, treinta y uno, etc. cuarenta, cuarenta y uno, etc. cincuenta, cincuenta y uno....cincuenta y nueve.
Ex: 1:15 Es la una y quince. (Only 1 o'clock uses "es la." 2:20 Son las dos y veinte.
We already copied this structure for reference. Some students are not copying down the information they need to do the assigment, even though we ALWAYS complete at least two or three examples before students leave. We learned all numbers last year and I distributed lists of all the numbers to 100 to students last year and at the beginning of this semester.
Miss Cockrell's class needed to review time. I felt Miss Bower's class did not need to review based on oral evaluations of our time unit in class.
4th Grade We completed time unit. No homework. Students did a superior job with their questions and answers about the time they do certain activities. There was a minor interruption, so we were not able to begin our discussion of how to describe people's personality traits. I did ask the students to think about a best friend and what they would say to others about that friend, i.e. where they live, what is their favorite color, food, sport. They do NOT have to write anything.
5th grade did not meet. We will meet on Thursday.
6th grade took a short written exam. They wrote eight sentences about their best friend. I took a look at the sentences and see that students are really grasping grammatical structures in Spanish and have an excellent vocabulary. I am so proud of our sixth graders! The homework assignment is to bring a picture cut from a magazine, an original drawing, or a photograph* that represents what they feel is the best gift they can give to someone. They do NOT have to write anything to accompany the image. I saw students today who asked if they could please write something in Spanish to accompany the image! I told them it was not required. Of course, students may try to write a brief paragraph in Spanish that explains their gift. Again, the paragraph is NOT mandatory. Coming to class next Monday without a drawing, photograph, or magazine image will result in a 0 for this assignment.
K-4 and K-5 learned a new song for Christmas. They did a wonderful job with the song! I appreciate the teachers and parents who sing the songs with the children at home or in class. I especially want to thank Miss Savannah for her assistance. Our new song is "Little Tree."
Uno dos tres arbolitos,
Cuatro, cinco, seis arbolitos,
Siete, Ocho, Nueve, arbolitos,
Diez arbolitos mios. (We change "arbolitos" to "Estrellas" and "Duendes.") Trees,
stars, and elves.
1st. grade We answered questions and continued counting in Spanish. We applied knowledge of numbers to telling time, but we have not actually begun a formal study of telling time. We continued learning the days of the week.
2nd grade We finished our clocks. I am taking them home to completely finish because of limited time in class to complete them. Students can tell time to the quarter hour. I will bring the clocks to school next week to allow students to practice at home. It is so neat to hear the students asking each other the time and hearing the responses in Spanish. If you ask your child at home to tell you what time it, it, she may respond in Spanish!
3rd grade - We have two different activities for the third grade classes. Miss Cockrell's class has a homework assignment. Miss Bower's class has some new terms to study, but no formal homework.
Miss Cockrell's class* needs to write twenty digital times once again, and write the
Spanish number words indicating the time shown. Here are the numbers the students need to know:
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, diesciseis, diecisiete, diecocho, diecinueve, veinte, veintiuno, veintidos, (etc.) treinta, treinta y uno, etc. cuarenta, cuarenta y uno, etc. cincuenta, cincuenta y uno....cincuenta y nueve.
Ex: 1:15 Es la una y quince. (Only 1 o'clock uses "es la." 2:20 Son las dos y veinte.
We already copied this structure for reference. Some students are not copying down the information they need to do the assigment, even though we ALWAYS complete at least two or three examples before students leave. We learned all numbers last year and I distributed lists of all the numbers to 100 to students last year and at the beginning of this semester.
Miss Cockrell's class needed to review time. I felt Miss Bower's class did not need to review based on oral evaluations of our time unit in class.
4th Grade We completed time unit. No homework. Students did a superior job with their questions and answers about the time they do certain activities. There was a minor interruption, so we were not able to begin our discussion of how to describe people's personality traits. I did ask the students to think about a best friend and what they would say to others about that friend, i.e. where they live, what is their favorite color, food, sport. They do NOT have to write anything.
5th grade did not meet. We will meet on Thursday.
6th grade took a short written exam. They wrote eight sentences about their best friend. I took a look at the sentences and see that students are really grasping grammatical structures in Spanish and have an excellent vocabulary. I am so proud of our sixth graders! The homework assignment is to bring a picture cut from a magazine, an original drawing, or a photograph* that represents what they feel is the best gift they can give to someone. They do NOT have to write anything to accompany the image. I saw students today who asked if they could please write something in Spanish to accompany the image! I told them it was not required. Of course, students may try to write a brief paragraph in Spanish that explains their gift. Again, the paragraph is NOT mandatory. Coming to class next Monday without a drawing, photograph, or magazine image will result in a 0 for this assignment.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Grade Five did not meet today due to the event at The Green House. We will meet on Thursday at 8:00 for our forty minute Spanish class. I would like fifth grades to make sure to bring their Spanish notebook and a pen or pencil. We are going to be writing descriptions of students' best friends. Students: Please think about a best friend you have. You may use a cousin or sister. The person should be your age, such as a classmate, or close to your age. Have an idea about what you know and would like to share about that person. We will work on the paragraph in class. It will be entirely in Spanish, so be thinking about how you will describe your friend's favorite foods, color, sport, or clothing. EX: Mi amigo le gusta el color azul. Su ropa favorita es una camisa blanca con pantalones negros. Le gustan las manzanas. If children want to bring a rough draft to school, that is fine. the only thing required, however, is to chose a best friend and know things about their favorite sport,, color, etc.
See you on Thursday!
See you on Thursday!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Sixth Grade Only
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
Sixth graders will be taking a written exam next Monday, December 14th. They will be asked to write a SHORT paragraph consisting of at least eight sentences about their best friend. They may not use a dictionary. They can write about the same friend they described in their book. Here is an example of what the paragraph might look like:
Mi mejor amigo
Mi mejor amigo es Paul. El vive en Laurel con sus padres, sus dos hermanos, y su hermana Susan. Paul tiene once anos. El es serio, inteligente, y deportista. Tambien es ordenado. A Paul le gusta el tenis. Su color favorito es azul. Su ropa favorita es una camisa
verde y pantalones negros.
As you can see, the exam requires use of vocabulary we have learned this year and last year.
I know students will do an excellent job on this exam.
Thank you for you interest in our Spanish Language Program. I really appreciate your support and cooperation.
Miss Linda
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
Sixth graders will be taking a written exam next Monday, December 14th. They will be asked to write a SHORT paragraph consisting of at least eight sentences about their best friend. They may not use a dictionary. They can write about the same friend they described in their book. Here is an example of what the paragraph might look like:
Mi mejor amigo
Mi mejor amigo es Paul. El vive en Laurel con sus padres, sus dos hermanos, y su hermana Susan. Paul tiene once anos. El es serio, inteligente, y deportista. Tambien es ordenado. A Paul le gusta el tenis. Su color favorito es azul. Su ropa favorita es una camisa
verde y pantalones negros.
As you can see, the exam requires use of vocabulary we have learned this year and last year.
I know students will do an excellent job on this exam.
Thank you for you interest in our Spanish Language Program. I really appreciate your support and cooperation.
Miss Linda
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
K-4- We learned a new song for Christmas. Building on the students' knowledge of previously learned vocabulary, students learned the following Christmas song:
Estrellita, Estrellita, Little Star, Little Star,
Muy brillante, muy brillante, Shining brightly, Shining Brightly
La Navidad viene, Christmas is coming,
La Navidad viene, Christmas is coming,
Brilla, Estrellita, Shine brightly, Little Star,
Brilla, Estrellita. Shine brightly, Little Star. (Tune is Are you Sleeping?)
We also reviewed the days of the week and all basic questions and answers. Children took home a star they colored with the words to the song. I hope parents will sing the song with the children at home.
K-5 The class also learned the above song. We reviewed basic questions and answers, the days of the week and months of the year. We are going to begin to learn a Mexican song to sing sometime in the near future to parents--perhaps at the K-5 graduation. It is called "De Colores."
Grade 1 Students answered questions and reviewed days of the week. Children are finishing up a lesson on telling time to the half hour. Some of the children can tell time to the quarter hour. Lessons are telling time in Spanish. We had to review numbers in order to do this lesson.
Students can count from 1-50 in Spanish (with help).
Grade 2-We are finished with our unit on time. Most children can tell time to the quarter hour in Spanish. I am going to finish the students' clocks and distribute them to each child next Monday so they can practice telling time at home in Spanish.
Grade 3 We finished our take-home clocks. The hands on the clock need to be reinforced, if possible at home. This is only for the students whose clock hands were glued together with too much glue and not enough backing! Next time, I will bring a stronger backing for the clock hands. Some of the clocks need to be finished at home. Please have children Bring paper plate clocks back to school on Monday for an activity. Homework is to practice telling time in Spanish using their paper plate clock to indicate different times. It is an oral homework activity.
Grade 4 Students completed time unit by answering questions from last week about specific times
they do certain activities. They had a list of five questions to answer and needed to study the responses for homework last week. Each student read a sentence and its response and was given an oral grade on the assignment. They need to complete their paper plate clocks at home and practice indicating different times and responding verbally. This is an oral homework activity.
Grade 5 presented their shoebox project. They did an excellent job with this project. Thank you very much for making sure the boxes got to school on time. there is no written homework assignment.
Grade 6 presented their books about their best friends. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the students' work. I am thinking about compiling all of the stories into a literary journal and distributing copies to each student. It may have to be after Christmas, but I think the students would benefit from seeing their work published in this manner. There is no written homework.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in our Spanish Language Program.
I really appreciate it.
Miss Linda
Estrellita, Estrellita, Little Star, Little Star,
Muy brillante, muy brillante, Shining brightly, Shining Brightly
La Navidad viene, Christmas is coming,
La Navidad viene, Christmas is coming,
Brilla, Estrellita, Shine brightly, Little Star,
Brilla, Estrellita. Shine brightly, Little Star. (Tune is Are you Sleeping?)
We also reviewed the days of the week and all basic questions and answers. Children took home a star they colored with the words to the song. I hope parents will sing the song with the children at home.
K-5 The class also learned the above song. We reviewed basic questions and answers, the days of the week and months of the year. We are going to begin to learn a Mexican song to sing sometime in the near future to parents--perhaps at the K-5 graduation. It is called "De Colores."
Grade 1 Students answered questions and reviewed days of the week. Children are finishing up a lesson on telling time to the half hour. Some of the children can tell time to the quarter hour. Lessons are telling time in Spanish. We had to review numbers in order to do this lesson.
Students can count from 1-50 in Spanish (with help).
Grade 2-We are finished with our unit on time. Most children can tell time to the quarter hour in Spanish. I am going to finish the students' clocks and distribute them to each child next Monday so they can practice telling time at home in Spanish.
Grade 3 We finished our take-home clocks. The hands on the clock need to be reinforced, if possible at home. This is only for the students whose clock hands were glued together with too much glue and not enough backing! Next time, I will bring a stronger backing for the clock hands. Some of the clocks need to be finished at home. Please have children Bring paper plate clocks back to school on Monday for an activity. Homework is to practice telling time in Spanish using their paper plate clock to indicate different times. It is an oral homework activity.
Grade 4 Students completed time unit by answering questions from last week about specific times
they do certain activities. They had a list of five questions to answer and needed to study the responses for homework last week. Each student read a sentence and its response and was given an oral grade on the assignment. They need to complete their paper plate clocks at home and practice indicating different times and responding verbally. This is an oral homework activity.
Grade 5 presented their shoebox project. They did an excellent job with this project. Thank you very much for making sure the boxes got to school on time. there is no written homework assignment.
Grade 6 presented their books about their best friends. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the students' work. I am thinking about compiling all of the stories into a literary journal and distributing copies to each student. It may have to be after Christmas, but I think the students would benefit from seeing their work published in this manner. There is no written homework.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in our Spanish Language Program.
I really appreciate it.
Miss Linda
Monday, November 18, 2013
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
K-4 did an excellent job today answering basic questions in Spanish. They can answer five questions! I will be sending a list of questions home for you in the near future. We read a story about how tortillas are made. I read the story in Spanish and translate for the students. We counted to 25 in Spanish as well.
K-5 Students can answer six questions in Spanish. I am so pleased. We are learning the days of the week and the months of the year as well. Students earned a gold star for the months of the year. We also reviewed colors by naming all of the colors of a drawing of a turkey. Again, students did an excellent job! Estoy muy satisfecha con su progreso. I am so pleased with their progress.
Grade 1 also reviewed questions and answers, days of the week, months of the year, names for farm animals, colors, and numbers. Students really enjoyed the story about how tortillas are made. The book mentions colors and emphasizes sequencing--from the fields, to the bakery, to the dinner table.
Grade 2 continued telling time. We made a paper plate clock which we will complete on December 2. Please ask your child to tell you what time it is in Spanish. I think they will be able to do so! My classroom clock does have the minutes listed on its face to indicate quarter and half hour. We say, " Son las ocho y media" or "Son las ocho y treinta." It is half-past eight or eight thirty. Both are correct. The same is true for the quarter hour. "Son las seis y cuarto" or "Son las seis y quince."
Grades 3 and 4 continued working on telling time. They also made a clock to use at home which we will complete on December 2.
Grade 5 has a homework project. Using a shoebox, they will draw or cut pictures to indicate information about the following aspects of their lives: Family, Values, (What is important to them, such as Friendship, Education, Truth, Beauty, Compassion.} They should choose one value and find a symbol to represent it on one side of their box. Their family members should be written in Spanish, but they do not have to write the value in Spanish. I will help them with that in class. Other sides of the box will show: Goals for the future, Interests, such as, sports, hobbies, books, movies they enjoy, games, etc. Who is their hero? They need to discuss this with parents or grandparents. Please share with them who your hero is. A side will be dedicated to Religion and religious beliefs. A symbol of their beliefs or a picture of their church, a favorite Bible verse or a prayer can be used for this side.
Please send the completed showbox project to school on December 2nd.
Grade 6 read their descriptions of a best friend in class. Their project is a book illustrating things about their best friend. Some students want to talk about a cousin, or other family member who is their age. That is fine. The book should be at least ten pages. They will mention personality traits and tell their friend's age, with whom they live, likes, dislikes, favorite clothes, colors, TV shows. They have the basic sentence structure and vocabulary to do this activity.
Children should complete projects THIS week even though it isn't due until the 2nd. I want everyone to enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday with their families!
Que tengan un feliz Dias de la Accion de Dar Gracias. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
K-4 did an excellent job today answering basic questions in Spanish. They can answer five questions! I will be sending a list of questions home for you in the near future. We read a story about how tortillas are made. I read the story in Spanish and translate for the students. We counted to 25 in Spanish as well.
K-5 Students can answer six questions in Spanish. I am so pleased. We are learning the days of the week and the months of the year as well. Students earned a gold star for the months of the year. We also reviewed colors by naming all of the colors of a drawing of a turkey. Again, students did an excellent job! Estoy muy satisfecha con su progreso. I am so pleased with their progress.
Grade 1 also reviewed questions and answers, days of the week, months of the year, names for farm animals, colors, and numbers. Students really enjoyed the story about how tortillas are made. The book mentions colors and emphasizes sequencing--from the fields, to the bakery, to the dinner table.
Grade 2 continued telling time. We made a paper plate clock which we will complete on December 2. Please ask your child to tell you what time it is in Spanish. I think they will be able to do so! My classroom clock does have the minutes listed on its face to indicate quarter and half hour. We say, " Son las ocho y media" or "Son las ocho y treinta." It is half-past eight or eight thirty. Both are correct. The same is true for the quarter hour. "Son las seis y cuarto" or "Son las seis y quince."
Grades 3 and 4 continued working on telling time. They also made a clock to use at home which we will complete on December 2.
Grade 5 has a homework project. Using a shoebox, they will draw or cut pictures to indicate information about the following aspects of their lives: Family, Values, (What is important to them, such as Friendship, Education, Truth, Beauty, Compassion.} They should choose one value and find a symbol to represent it on one side of their box. Their family members should be written in Spanish, but they do not have to write the value in Spanish. I will help them with that in class. Other sides of the box will show: Goals for the future, Interests, such as, sports, hobbies, books, movies they enjoy, games, etc. Who is their hero? They need to discuss this with parents or grandparents. Please share with them who your hero is. A side will be dedicated to Religion and religious beliefs. A symbol of their beliefs or a picture of their church, a favorite Bible verse or a prayer can be used for this side.
Please send the completed showbox project to school on December 2nd.
Grade 6 read their descriptions of a best friend in class. Their project is a book illustrating things about their best friend. Some students want to talk about a cousin, or other family member who is their age. That is fine. The book should be at least ten pages. They will mention personality traits and tell their friend's age, with whom they live, likes, dislikes, favorite clothes, colors, TV shows. They have the basic sentence structure and vocabulary to do this activity.
Children should complete projects THIS week even though it isn't due until the 2nd. I want everyone to enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday with their families!
Que tengan un feliz Dias de la Accion de Dar Gracias. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
Tomorrow the K-4 and K-5 classes will continue learning how to respond to basic questions in Spanish. The students can already tell their age, name, how they feel, what day it is and name parts of the body. The children also listen to a story every Monday in Spanish and English. When possible, I like to read only the Spanish text and indicate the meaning of the word by using the picture clues. We will continue with counting in Spanish to twenty as well. K-5 is also learning the months of the year and the four seasons.
Grade 1 is going to continue with the months of the year and the four seasons. I want to teach them a poem about the months of the year and the number of days each month has.
Grade 2 will learn to tell time to the half hour in Spanish. They will also learn the poem about the months of the year and how many days each month has.
Treinta dias tiene septiembre, abril, junio, y noviembre
Febrero tiene veintiocho,
Y los demas, treinta y uno.
Grades 3, 4 and 5 will correct their homework activity about telling time in Spanish. Then, children are gong to learn to associate a time with an activity. Ex. Me levanto a las seis de la manana. Me como mi desayuno a las siete. Llego a la escuela a las ocho. I wake up at six in the morning. I eat my breakfast at seven. I arrive at school at eight o'clock.
Grade 5 is also going to receive information about their project, which will be due on December 2. It is the same project the sixth graders did. I will provide information to students in class tomorrow.
They do NOT have to work on the project during Thanksgiving week. They may complete project this week and save it for December 2.
Grade 6 is going to continue working on describing personality traits of their friends. Their project for the week will be to make a book about their best friend in Spanish. This will be similar to their clothing books that they produced last year. They may use any material, paint, magazine pictures, drawings, crayons, cloth, yarn, etc. They will receive complete direction in class tomorrow. They do NOT have to work on project during Thanksgiving week. Since we have class on Mondays, they may complete project this week and enjoy their vacation with their families next week.
I wish all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving Day. Thank you for your interest and support in our Spanish program.
Tomorrow the K-4 and K-5 classes will continue learning how to respond to basic questions in Spanish. The students can already tell their age, name, how they feel, what day it is and name parts of the body. The children also listen to a story every Monday in Spanish and English. When possible, I like to read only the Spanish text and indicate the meaning of the word by using the picture clues. We will continue with counting in Spanish to twenty as well. K-5 is also learning the months of the year and the four seasons.
Grade 1 is going to continue with the months of the year and the four seasons. I want to teach them a poem about the months of the year and the number of days each month has.
Grade 2 will learn to tell time to the half hour in Spanish. They will also learn the poem about the months of the year and how many days each month has.
Treinta dias tiene septiembre, abril, junio, y noviembre
Febrero tiene veintiocho,
Y los demas, treinta y uno.
Grades 3, 4 and 5 will correct their homework activity about telling time in Spanish. Then, children are gong to learn to associate a time with an activity. Ex. Me levanto a las seis de la manana. Me como mi desayuno a las siete. Llego a la escuela a las ocho. I wake up at six in the morning. I eat my breakfast at seven. I arrive at school at eight o'clock.
Grade 5 is also going to receive information about their project, which will be due on December 2. It is the same project the sixth graders did. I will provide information to students in class tomorrow.
They do NOT have to work on the project during Thanksgiving week. They may complete project this week and save it for December 2.
Grade 6 is going to continue working on describing personality traits of their friends. Their project for the week will be to make a book about their best friend in Spanish. This will be similar to their clothing books that they produced last year. They may use any material, paint, magazine pictures, drawings, crayons, cloth, yarn, etc. They will receive complete direction in class tomorrow. They do NOT have to work on project during Thanksgiving week. Since we have class on Mondays, they may complete project this week and enjoy their vacation with their families next week.
I wish all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving Day. Thank you for your interest and support in our Spanish program.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
We are wrapping up our study of telling time. Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 have a short homework assignment which is due on Monday, November 18. Grades three and four need to fill in the paper we folded into sixteen boxes on Monday. I asked them to write a time in each box. (They need to write sixteen different times or thirty-two if they wish to go above and beyond the assignment). After they write the time, they need to use Spanish number words to indicate what time it is). Example: 8:15 Son las ocho y quince. Or Son las ocho y cuarto.
We are going to then continue Monday by learning how to express activities students do and the time of the day associated with that activity. Ex: Me como mi desayuno a las siete de la manana. I eat breakfast at seven in the morning. Grade 5 may simply write a time digitally and supply the corresponding time using Spanish number words. (See above).
Grade 6 is continuing their study of describing personality traits of themselves and others. They need to write a paragraph* in which they use three vocabulary words to tell about five of their friends. they received the list of words in class. They may use other adjectives as well.
Some of the words are: artistico, deportista, serio, bueno, ordenado, inteligente, y gracioso.
We did this assignment describing parents two weeks ago.
I am pleased with your children's progress in Spanish.
Mi amiga Susana es artistica, inteligente, y buena. Juan es serio, gracioso, y ordenado. Carol es inteligente, atrevida, y ordenada.
Please send me an email if you need more clarity about the assignments.
Gracias.
Grade K-4 Children are learning how to respond to simple basic questions in Spanish. We also began to count in Spanish to twenty. Children wanted to continue after ten
We are wrapping up our study of telling time. Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 have a short homework assignment which is due on Monday, November 18. Grades three and four need to fill in the paper we folded into sixteen boxes on Monday. I asked them to write a time in each box. (They need to write sixteen different times or thirty-two if they wish to go above and beyond the assignment). After they write the time, they need to use Spanish number words to indicate what time it is). Example: 8:15 Son las ocho y quince. Or Son las ocho y cuarto.
We are going to then continue Monday by learning how to express activities students do and the time of the day associated with that activity. Ex: Me como mi desayuno a las siete de la manana. I eat breakfast at seven in the morning. Grade 5 may simply write a time digitally and supply the corresponding time using Spanish number words. (See above).
Grade 6 is continuing their study of describing personality traits of themselves and others. They need to write a paragraph* in which they use three vocabulary words to tell about five of their friends. they received the list of words in class. They may use other adjectives as well.
Some of the words are: artistico, deportista, serio, bueno, ordenado, inteligente, y gracioso.
We did this assignment describing parents two weeks ago.
I am pleased with your children's progress in Spanish.
Mi amiga Susana es artistica, inteligente, y buena. Juan es serio, gracioso, y ordenado. Carol es inteligente, atrevida, y ordenada.
Please send me an email if you need more clarity about the assignments.
Gracias.
Grade K-4 Children are learning how to respond to simple basic questions in Spanish. We also began to count in Spanish to twenty. Children wanted to continue after ten
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Dear Parents,
We will be working on telling time in grades 1 thru 6. Telling time is really simple in Spanish. Here is the basic information your child will be learning tomorrow about telling time.
Children already know how to count to twelve in Spanish. That is important! They also know how to count to fifty-nine, as well. We will only concentrate on telling time at the hour and half-hour in grades 1 and 2. Grades 3 thru 6 will learn how to tell any time on the clock.
The only hour that uses "es" is one o'clock.
Es la una It is one o'clock.
Es la una y media It is one thirty.
Two o'clock thru twelve o'clock use "son."
Son las dos It is two o'clock.
Son las dos y media It is two thirty. (y is pronounced like a quick long e
sound).
Grades 3 thru six will learn the following: (a few examples follow)
6:05 Son las seis y cinco 6:01 son las seis y uno.
6:15 Son las seis y cuarto
6:40 Son las siete menos veinte
We will be counting by 5's to practice. Cinco, diez, quince, veinte, veinticinco, treinta, treinta y cinco, cuarenta, cuarenta y cinco, cincuenta. c sounds like the English s sound in the above numbers except for cuarenta which is pronounced (qua REN ta).
It might be fun to ask your child to tell you the time in Spanish when she/he is home.
Que hora es? (Kay O ra es) the "Kay" is very quick, not like the English girl's name, "Kaye"
I thank you, again, for your cooperation and interest in our Spanish Language Program.
Miss Linda
We will be working on telling time in grades 1 thru 6. Telling time is really simple in Spanish. Here is the basic information your child will be learning tomorrow about telling time.
Children already know how to count to twelve in Spanish. That is important! They also know how to count to fifty-nine, as well. We will only concentrate on telling time at the hour and half-hour in grades 1 and 2. Grades 3 thru 6 will learn how to tell any time on the clock.
The only hour that uses "es" is one o'clock.
Es la una It is one o'clock.
Es la una y media It is one thirty.
Two o'clock thru twelve o'clock use "son."
Son las dos It is two o'clock.
Son las dos y media It is two thirty. (y is pronounced like a quick long e
sound).
Grades 3 thru six will learn the following: (a few examples follow)
6:05 Son las seis y cinco 6:01 son las seis y uno.
6:15 Son las seis y cuarto
6:40 Son las siete menos veinte
We will be counting by 5's to practice. Cinco, diez, quince, veinte, veinticinco, treinta, treinta y cinco, cuarenta, cuarenta y cinco, cincuenta. c sounds like the English s sound in the above numbers except for cuarenta which is pronounced (qua REN ta).
It might be fun to ask your child to tell you the time in Spanish when she/he is home.
Que hora es? (Kay O ra es) the "Kay" is very quick, not like the English girl's name, "Kaye"
I thank you, again, for your cooperation and interest in our Spanish Language Program.
Miss Linda
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Buenos dias. Good Morning. This information is for Sixth Graders Only.
Dear Students, Parents, and Grandparents,
Please do not forget to bring your shoebox project to school on Monday, October 21st. Students will have only about two minutes each to make their presentation. Here is what that will look like:
Present the top of the box and tell (in Spanish) what it represents. For example, "Esta es mi familia. Mi mama, mi papa, mis dos hermanos, yo, y mi perrito. ( o gatito). Mi papa es fotografo. Mi mama es maestra. ( You may also mention their ages and give their names).
Mi mama se llama Susana. Mi papa se llama John. (se YA ma) ll= y sound.
Side I. El valor mas importante para mi es La Verdad (Truth). the most important value for me is Truth. ( Educacion- education, Honestidad - Honesty. Honor -honor, La Belleza Beauty, La Amistad - Friendship. Respeto - Respect. Amor- Love La Bondad - Kindness.
You do not have to say why at this point.
Mi heroe es _______________ My hero is____________. (ER oh ay).
Mis intereses son: My interests are: deportes - sports, estudiar - study- ser voluntario - volunteer- (I will help you translate) You may only have time to mention one or two interests.
Religion: ( I will help you explain your ideas here).
Metas - Goals Yo quiero ser ______________(maestra, medico, terapista fisica, dueno de un negocio, como un salon de belleza, cocinero, carpintero, dentista, artista, musico, Presidente de los Estados Unidos! I want to be a teacher, doctor, physical therapist, owner of a business such as a beauty salon, carpenter, artist, musician, President of the United States! Please just mention one career goal at this time.
Good Luck! I can't wait to hear your presentations on Monday. Buena suerte. Espero tus presentaciones el lunes.
Dear Students, Parents, and Grandparents,
Please do not forget to bring your shoebox project to school on Monday, October 21st. Students will have only about two minutes each to make their presentation. Here is what that will look like:
Present the top of the box and tell (in Spanish) what it represents. For example, "Esta es mi familia. Mi mama, mi papa, mis dos hermanos, yo, y mi perrito. ( o gatito). Mi papa es fotografo. Mi mama es maestra. ( You may also mention their ages and give their names).
Mi mama se llama Susana. Mi papa se llama John. (se YA ma) ll= y sound.
Side I. El valor mas importante para mi es La Verdad (Truth). the most important value for me is Truth. ( Educacion- education, Honestidad - Honesty. Honor -honor, La Belleza Beauty, La Amistad - Friendship. Respeto - Respect. Amor- Love La Bondad - Kindness.
You do not have to say why at this point.
Mi heroe es _______________ My hero is____________. (ER oh ay).
Mis intereses son: My interests are: deportes - sports, estudiar - study- ser voluntario - volunteer- (I will help you translate) You may only have time to mention one or two interests.
Religion: ( I will help you explain your ideas here).
Metas - Goals Yo quiero ser ______________(maestra, medico, terapista fisica, dueno de un negocio, como un salon de belleza, cocinero, carpintero, dentista, artista, musico, Presidente de los Estados Unidos! I want to be a teacher, doctor, physical therapist, owner of a business such as a beauty salon, carpenter, artist, musician, President of the United States! Please just mention one career goal at this time.
Good Luck! I can't wait to hear your presentations on Monday. Buena suerte. Espero tus presentaciones el lunes.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Sixth Grade Project: Due on October 21st. Note: English Translation is below the Spanish Insturctions. Students asked me to speak more Spanish with them! I know they will understand a lot of these instructions. ( I still can't place written accents on words on this computer without whole sentences disappearing before my very eyes). I will work on that. Accents are extremely important in Spanish.
Tu proyecto se llama, "Quien soy yo? Usando una caja vacia de zapatos, Corten fotos o laminas de una revista o dibujen a mano algo, unos simbolos si quiren, para representar cada lado de la caja.
La tapa de la caja: Tu familia
Lado 1: Tus intereses, deportes favoritos, actividades que les gustan, cosas que no les gustan, (Son importantes tambien), comida favorita, colores favoritos, ropa favorita, dias festivos, etc.
Lado 2: Tu religion o tu lado espiritual.
Lado 3: Tus metas para el futuro
Lado 4: Tus valores, Por ejemplo, Respeto a los derechos de los demas, Amor a la humanidad, La Belleza, El honor, Honestidad, La Educacion, La Verdad, Compasion hacia todas las criaturas, grandes y pequenas, La Bondad.
Lado 5: Quien es o quienes son tus heroes? (Por favor, Hablen con tus padres o abuelos acerca de sus propios heroes).
Tienen que hablar de cado lado en espanol el dia 21 de octobre en clase. No es necesario decir MUCHO. Por ejemplo: " Estos son miembros de mi familia ( sus nombres y edades y profesiones) Esta es mi iglesia. Se llama La Iglesia de San Juan. Mis intereses son: jugar futbol, leer libros de aventura, ver peliculas, estudiar, hacer ejercicios.
Mi heroe es: __________________. El valor mas importante para mi es El amor hacia los demas. Mi meta para el futuro es ser medico.
Sixth Grade Project: Who Am I? Using an empty shoebox, find pictures or draw pictures to represent each side of the box.
Top: My Family
Side 1: Your interests, sports, things you like and don't like, favorite colors, clothes, holidays.
Side 2: Your religion and your spiritual values..
Side 3: Goals for the future
Side 4: Values. Respect for others' rights, Beauty, Honor, Honesty, Education, Truth, Compassion for all things great and small, Kindness.
Side 5: Who is or who are your heroes? Please talk about his with your parents. Ask them who their heroes are to get an idea. Note: The top of the box MUST be "Family." We are going to do something with the top of the box later. You can use any side for any topic. For example, One long side may be "Religion." The short sides may be "Goal for the Future," etc.
I can't wait to hear the presentations and see your beautiful boxes. I will help you with what you say in Spanish, but please use the Spanish words above to help you know what to say. You may also use the Goggle Translator on your computer.
Tu proyecto se llama, "Quien soy yo? Usando una caja vacia de zapatos, Corten fotos o laminas de una revista o dibujen a mano algo, unos simbolos si quiren, para representar cada lado de la caja.
La tapa de la caja: Tu familia
Lado 1: Tus intereses, deportes favoritos, actividades que les gustan, cosas que no les gustan, (Son importantes tambien), comida favorita, colores favoritos, ropa favorita, dias festivos, etc.
Lado 2: Tu religion o tu lado espiritual.
Lado 3: Tus metas para el futuro
Lado 4: Tus valores, Por ejemplo, Respeto a los derechos de los demas, Amor a la humanidad, La Belleza, El honor, Honestidad, La Educacion, La Verdad, Compasion hacia todas las criaturas, grandes y pequenas, La Bondad.
Lado 5: Quien es o quienes son tus heroes? (Por favor, Hablen con tus padres o abuelos acerca de sus propios heroes).
Tienen que hablar de cado lado en espanol el dia 21 de octobre en clase. No es necesario decir MUCHO. Por ejemplo: " Estos son miembros de mi familia ( sus nombres y edades y profesiones) Esta es mi iglesia. Se llama La Iglesia de San Juan. Mis intereses son: jugar futbol, leer libros de aventura, ver peliculas, estudiar, hacer ejercicios.
Mi heroe es: __________________. El valor mas importante para mi es El amor hacia los demas. Mi meta para el futuro es ser medico.
Sixth Grade Project: Who Am I? Using an empty shoebox, find pictures or draw pictures to represent each side of the box.
Top: My Family
Side 1: Your interests, sports, things you like and don't like, favorite colors, clothes, holidays.
Side 2: Your religion and your spiritual values..
Side 3: Goals for the future
Side 4: Values. Respect for others' rights, Beauty, Honor, Honesty, Education, Truth, Compassion for all things great and small, Kindness.
Side 5: Who is or who are your heroes? Please talk about his with your parents. Ask them who their heroes are to get an idea. Note: The top of the box MUST be "Family." We are going to do something with the top of the box later. You can use any side for any topic. For example, One long side may be "Religion." The short sides may be "Goal for the Future," etc.
I can't wait to hear the presentations and see your beautiful boxes. I will help you with what you say in Spanish, but please use the Spanish words above to help you know what to say. You may also use the Goggle Translator on your computer.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Spanish Homework: Due October 21st.
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
K-4 learned more body parts and how to say how they feel and how old they are. Some parents have asked for the words to Calabaza. Here they are: (Melody is Are You Sleeping).
Calabaza, calabaza, ( z is not English z. It is an s sound).
Muy chistosa, muy chistosa.
Dos ojos brillantes, ( j is articulated similar to English h).
Boca sonriente,
No le tengo miedo,
No le tengo miedo.
New body parts are: dedos - fingers, cara - face, cuello - neck, brazo - arm. We are learning to count in Spanish as well. We reviewed days of the week with motions. Everyone loves "Sabado." We dance for Saturday. LUN es, MAR tes, MIER, col es, WEH, ves, BIER, nes, SA ba do, do MIN go. Note: Days of the Week and Months of the Year are NOT written with a capital letter.
1st grade: We continued questions and answers with partners. We reviewed days of the week and began learning the months of the year.
2nd grade: We also are learning the days of the week and months of the year in Spanish. Students worked with partners asking and answering questions. I added, " Que dia es hoy?" What day is it today? Students can now respond to about ten or twelve basic questions in Spanish. I will be sending a hand-out home with students to practice at home with the questions and answers. I am very proud of all of the students.
Grades 3 -6 brought their shopping lists to class. We played a memory game with each student adding an item to the list and stating what the previous students "bought." Homework for Oct 21st is: this is for Grades 3, 4 and 5 ONLY). Grade 6 has a special project. I will list that assignment in a separate post.
Using the prepositions (locations words) we learned in class, compose at least ten sentences describing the items in your room at home. Last year we learned rooms in the house and furniture. Example: Mi nueva cama blanca esta al lado de las dos ventanas cafes. Mi computadora esta encima de la mesita rosada enfrente del tocador verde. Students have a list of the prepositions in their notebooks. I asked students to bring a sketch of their room to help them remember location of objects. Some students want to make a poster. That is absolutely fine with me. It is NOT required. I would love to see more beautiful posters and would never discourage students who want to go above and beyond the assignment. Above and Beyond is good!
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
K-4 learned more body parts and how to say how they feel and how old they are. Some parents have asked for the words to Calabaza. Here they are: (Melody is Are You Sleeping).
Calabaza, calabaza, ( z is not English z. It is an s sound).
Muy chistosa, muy chistosa.
Dos ojos brillantes, ( j is articulated similar to English h).
Boca sonriente,
No le tengo miedo,
No le tengo miedo.
New body parts are: dedos - fingers, cara - face, cuello - neck, brazo - arm. We are learning to count in Spanish as well. We reviewed days of the week with motions. Everyone loves "Sabado." We dance for Saturday. LUN es, MAR tes, MIER, col es, WEH, ves, BIER, nes, SA ba do, do MIN go. Note: Days of the Week and Months of the Year are NOT written with a capital letter.
1st grade: We continued questions and answers with partners. We reviewed days of the week and began learning the months of the year.
2nd grade: We also are learning the days of the week and months of the year in Spanish. Students worked with partners asking and answering questions. I added, " Que dia es hoy?" What day is it today? Students can now respond to about ten or twelve basic questions in Spanish. I will be sending a hand-out home with students to practice at home with the questions and answers. I am very proud of all of the students.
Grades 3 -6 brought their shopping lists to class. We played a memory game with each student adding an item to the list and stating what the previous students "bought." Homework for Oct 21st is: this is for Grades 3, 4 and 5 ONLY). Grade 6 has a special project. I will list that assignment in a separate post.
Using the prepositions (locations words) we learned in class, compose at least ten sentences describing the items in your room at home. Last year we learned rooms in the house and furniture. Example: Mi nueva cama blanca esta al lado de las dos ventanas cafes. Mi computadora esta encima de la mesita rosada enfrente del tocador verde. Students have a list of the prepositions in their notebooks. I asked students to bring a sketch of their room to help them remember location of objects. Some students want to make a poster. That is absolutely fine with me. It is NOT required. I would love to see more beautiful posters and would never discourage students who want to go above and beyond the assignment. Above and Beyond is good!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Sixth Grade Project Information
Sixth graders might want to get started on their Quien soy yo? project. Here are the directions for the project. (Who Am I)?
You will need an empty shoe box for this project. Each side of the box represents information about who you are.
Top of the box will show the importance of your family in your life. You can use real photos, pictures cut from magazines or original art work to represent you and your family, activities you do as a family, family celebrations and values, etc. Please make sure the cover of the box does not show through if you are not doing a collage. You can cover the top with construction paper or paint it. Perhaps your family's coat-of arms would make an interesting symbol for you to use. You can look up your surname- last name on the computer to see what your coat-of-arms looks like.
Bottom of the box on the inside: Your Interests . Your interests which may include sports, hobbies, favorite books, authors, movies, music, volunteer work, etc. Again, look for pictures from magazines or provide original art work. You may use photos or scanned copies of photos as well.
Sides of box: Side 1 represents Religion and your beliefs. A symbol of your religion or church or temple or pictures that represent your beliefs, photos of religious celebrations you and your family observe, etc. will be placed on one side of the box (inside).
Side 2 : Your goals for the future. Find a symbol that represents your goals for the future. You might want to think of this as your academic goals after high school. Do you want to be a doctor? Do you want to have your own business? Are you interested in a teaching career? Think of the song we sing at Chapel about potential.
Side 3: Values. What values are important to you? Some values are: Education, Honesty, Honor, Truth, Love and Kindness, Beauty, Sharing with Others, Working Hard, Respect for Yourself and Others, etc. Please talk with your parents about values you share as a family.
Side 4: Who is your hero or heroine? Who is or who are the people you admire and wish to emulate? (Emulate means to follow in someone's footsteps, to do things that those people do because you feel you would like your own life to reflect what they do, think, or feel). You may place a picture of that person on this side of your box. You may also think of a symbol of your hero or heroine. Discuss this with your parents. Ask them who their hero is and why.
You will present your box in Spanish. I will help you with this. You can say as much or as little as you wish. Most of you are thinking in complete sentences, so I am sure you will be able to say at least one sentence about each side of your box.
If enough students bring their shoe box to school on Monday, we can work on them in class. I have magazines, glue, colored pencils, etc. I will bring a few boxes, but I do not have that many empty boxes at home.
Note: Other than the TOP of the box representing Family, you may use ANY SIDE of the box to represent the catagories mentioned above. For example, You may take one of the longer sides of the box that has more space to represent religion. You may use the bottom of the box for your goals.
PLEASE TRY TO BRING YOUR SHOE BOX ON MONDAY SO WE CAN BEGIN PROJECT.
Sixth graders might want to get started on their Quien soy yo? project. Here are the directions for the project. (Who Am I)?
You will need an empty shoe box for this project. Each side of the box represents information about who you are.
Top of the box will show the importance of your family in your life. You can use real photos, pictures cut from magazines or original art work to represent you and your family, activities you do as a family, family celebrations and values, etc. Please make sure the cover of the box does not show through if you are not doing a collage. You can cover the top with construction paper or paint it. Perhaps your family's coat-of arms would make an interesting symbol for you to use. You can look up your surname- last name on the computer to see what your coat-of-arms looks like.
Bottom of the box on the inside: Your Interests . Your interests which may include sports, hobbies, favorite books, authors, movies, music, volunteer work, etc. Again, look for pictures from magazines or provide original art work. You may use photos or scanned copies of photos as well.
Sides of box: Side 1 represents Religion and your beliefs. A symbol of your religion or church or temple or pictures that represent your beliefs, photos of religious celebrations you and your family observe, etc. will be placed on one side of the box (inside).
Side 2 : Your goals for the future. Find a symbol that represents your goals for the future. You might want to think of this as your academic goals after high school. Do you want to be a doctor? Do you want to have your own business? Are you interested in a teaching career? Think of the song we sing at Chapel about potential.
Side 3: Values. What values are important to you? Some values are: Education, Honesty, Honor, Truth, Love and Kindness, Beauty, Sharing with Others, Working Hard, Respect for Yourself and Others, etc. Please talk with your parents about values you share as a family.
Side 4: Who is your hero or heroine? Who is or who are the people you admire and wish to emulate? (Emulate means to follow in someone's footsteps, to do things that those people do because you feel you would like your own life to reflect what they do, think, or feel). You may place a picture of that person on this side of your box. You may also think of a symbol of your hero or heroine. Discuss this with your parents. Ask them who their hero is and why.
You will present your box in Spanish. I will help you with this. You can say as much or as little as you wish. Most of you are thinking in complete sentences, so I am sure you will be able to say at least one sentence about each side of your box.
If enough students bring their shoe box to school on Monday, we can work on them in class. I have magazines, glue, colored pencils, etc. I will bring a few boxes, but I do not have that many empty boxes at home.
Note: Other than the TOP of the box representing Family, you may use ANY SIDE of the box to represent the catagories mentioned above. For example, You may take one of the longer sides of the box that has more space to represent religion. You may use the bottom of the box for your goals.
PLEASE TRY TO BRING YOUR SHOE BOX ON MONDAY SO WE CAN BEGIN PROJECT.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Dear Students, Parents, and Grandparents,
My computer was down and I could not prepare my weekly blog earlier this week. I apologize for that.
Grades 3 thru 6 have a fun homework assignment. They need to prepare a "shopping list" in Spanish. It is a make-believe list--they do not have to actually purchase any of the items! Some students wanted to know if they needed to do so. The list may include food items, fruits and vegetables, etc. They may also list school supplies or clothing. I would like them to practice writing the number words in Spanish; for example, "cinco manzanas" or " cuatro plumas."
The list is due next Monday, October 7th. Ten items are required. Please encourage your child to write more than ten.
Sixth grade has a special project which we can begin in class if the students bring an empty shoebox to school next Monday, Oct. 7th. Only sixth graders have to do this project. It is a special activity for them. Please send an empty shoebox to school on Monday with your sixth-grader. Thank you! Students have the information in their Spanish folder. They will receive a hand-out next Monday.
K-4 learned two more body parts last week: Pierna- leg and pie- foot. They want more words! Please try to practice with them if you can. They will point to the body part as you say the word: ojos (o hos) eyes, orejas o re has) ears, boca- mouth pelo- hair dientes - teeth,
nariz (na ris) There is no z, zebra sound in Spanish. pie- foot (pe a) rhymes with relay, pierna - leg. cabeza - head ( z sounds like s) pelo - hair mano - hand
K-5 reviewed answering and asking questions in Spanish. They did well. They can answer the following questions: Cuantos anos tienes? How old are you? Tengo cinco (o seis) anos.
Como estas? How are you? Muy bien. Very well. We reviewed colors and numbers. We read Brown Bear in Spanish. We are learning a song with gestures to reinforce the days of the week.
1st grade continued studying vocabulary to indicate location of objects. They love showing me what "debajo de" means by getting under the table. I do this activity individually because I do not want twenty students under the table at one time! They learned so much last year. I am able to build on that knowledge this year.
2nd grade: Students worked in pairs asking and answering questions, such as the ones listed under K-5. I added: Como te llamas? What is your name? Me llamo Susan, etc. ll is like the y sound in Spanish. Pollo, for example is po yo. Long o.
Thank you for your interest in our Spanish Language Program.
My computer was down and I could not prepare my weekly blog earlier this week. I apologize for that.
Grades 3 thru 6 have a fun homework assignment. They need to prepare a "shopping list" in Spanish. It is a make-believe list--they do not have to actually purchase any of the items! Some students wanted to know if they needed to do so. The list may include food items, fruits and vegetables, etc. They may also list school supplies or clothing. I would like them to practice writing the number words in Spanish; for example, "cinco manzanas" or " cuatro plumas."
The list is due next Monday, October 7th. Ten items are required. Please encourage your child to write more than ten.
Sixth grade has a special project which we can begin in class if the students bring an empty shoebox to school next Monday, Oct. 7th. Only sixth graders have to do this project. It is a special activity for them. Please send an empty shoebox to school on Monday with your sixth-grader. Thank you! Students have the information in their Spanish folder. They will receive a hand-out next Monday.
K-4 learned two more body parts last week: Pierna- leg and pie- foot. They want more words! Please try to practice with them if you can. They will point to the body part as you say the word: ojos (o hos) eyes, orejas o re has) ears, boca- mouth pelo- hair dientes - teeth,
nariz (na ris) There is no z, zebra sound in Spanish. pie- foot (pe a) rhymes with relay, pierna - leg. cabeza - head ( z sounds like s) pelo - hair mano - hand
K-5 reviewed answering and asking questions in Spanish. They did well. They can answer the following questions: Cuantos anos tienes? How old are you? Tengo cinco (o seis) anos.
Como estas? How are you? Muy bien. Very well. We reviewed colors and numbers. We read Brown Bear in Spanish. We are learning a song with gestures to reinforce the days of the week.
1st grade continued studying vocabulary to indicate location of objects. They love showing me what "debajo de" means by getting under the table. I do this activity individually because I do not want twenty students under the table at one time! They learned so much last year. I am able to build on that knowledge this year.
2nd grade: Students worked in pairs asking and answering questions, such as the ones listed under K-5. I added: Como te llamas? What is your name? Me llamo Susan, etc. ll is like the y sound in Spanish. Pollo, for example is po yo. Long o.
Thank you for your interest in our Spanish Language Program.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Spanish Classwork and Homework
K-4 and K-5 : These classes continue to make excellent progress in their study of Spanish. Students in K-4 are able to identify parts of the body, colors, and respond to basic commands correctly. I am so pleased with their progress. We continued to sing songs designed to teach vocabulary on Monday. The following new body parts were introduced: dientes (teeth) and barba (chin). We will continue learning new vocabulary next week. We are also going to learn Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? I will send the words in a post later this week.
Grade 1 We are continuing to learn classroom vocabulary and prepositions. I placed labels on just about everything in the Spanish classroom on Monday and the students went around the room discovering the new words for known objects. We then combined the words with last week's vocabulary to form sentences about the location of objects.
Grade 2 Grade 2 also discovered the new vocabulary and made a list of the words and their meanings. They are so eager to learn! One student said he wanted to descibe everything he sees in Spanish! I will be adding more adjectives to their list of colors. They are ready to use more descriptive words now to combine with their previously learned nouns. I am so pleased. There is NO written homework for second grade.
Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. Students worked in groups walking around the room noting down the new vocabulary words and combining them with prepositions and adjectives to form sentences.
I asked them to use the new words in descriptive sentences. The words are: boligrafo, sacapuntas, bocina, reloj, librero, libros, bolsa de la maestra, plants, computadora, imprenta, silla, mesa, escritorio. Grades 3,4, and 5 were asked to write sentences--at least ten-- with the new vocabulary words similar to last week's work. Model: El sacapuntas negro esta encima del librero. Most students write more than ten as I explained last week. I will look at ALL the sentences they write and point out corrections. Yes, I will look at fifty sentences if a student composes fifty sentences. ( That question was asked on Monday). I don't know what I will do if I'm asked about 100...
Grade 6: NO HOMEWORK this week. I am going to assign a project having to do with likes and dislikes, family, school and beliefs to the sixth grade. They will need an empty shoebox.It will be due on October 21st. More to follow on this project.
Thank you, again, Students, Parents, and Grandparents, for all of your support and cooperation. Your interest in Spanish makes it possible for students to excel in our foreign language program at SJDS.
K-4 and K-5 : These classes continue to make excellent progress in their study of Spanish. Students in K-4 are able to identify parts of the body, colors, and respond to basic commands correctly. I am so pleased with their progress. We continued to sing songs designed to teach vocabulary on Monday. The following new body parts were introduced: dientes (teeth) and barba (chin). We will continue learning new vocabulary next week. We are also going to learn Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? I will send the words in a post later this week.
Grade 1 We are continuing to learn classroom vocabulary and prepositions. I placed labels on just about everything in the Spanish classroom on Monday and the students went around the room discovering the new words for known objects. We then combined the words with last week's vocabulary to form sentences about the location of objects.
Grade 2 Grade 2 also discovered the new vocabulary and made a list of the words and their meanings. They are so eager to learn! One student said he wanted to descibe everything he sees in Spanish! I will be adding more adjectives to their list of colors. They are ready to use more descriptive words now to combine with their previously learned nouns. I am so pleased. There is NO written homework for second grade.
Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. Students worked in groups walking around the room noting down the new vocabulary words and combining them with prepositions and adjectives to form sentences.
I asked them to use the new words in descriptive sentences. The words are: boligrafo, sacapuntas, bocina, reloj, librero, libros, bolsa de la maestra, plants, computadora, imprenta, silla, mesa, escritorio. Grades 3,4, and 5 were asked to write sentences--at least ten-- with the new vocabulary words similar to last week's work. Model: El sacapuntas negro esta encima del librero. Most students write more than ten as I explained last week. I will look at ALL the sentences they write and point out corrections. Yes, I will look at fifty sentences if a student composes fifty sentences. ( That question was asked on Monday). I don't know what I will do if I'm asked about 100...
Grade 6: NO HOMEWORK this week. I am going to assign a project having to do with likes and dislikes, family, school and beliefs to the sixth grade. They will need an empty shoebox.It will be due on October 21st. More to follow on this project.
Thank you, again, Students, Parents, and Grandparents, for all of your support and cooperation. Your interest in Spanish makes it possible for students to excel in our foreign language program at SJDS.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Spanish Language Activity to Practice Vocabulary
Grades 3-6 have really been working hard learning new vocabulary in Spanish. Students might try to orally describe common objects around the house using their new and previously learned words. For example: El refrigerador esta en medio de la mesa y la estufa. Mi mochila negra esta debajo de la cama blanca de mi dormitorio. Students might do this activity with foods as well: La ensalada de tomate esta encima de la mesa del comedor. Mi hermana esta en frente del estereo en la sala.
Que tengan un buen fin de semana. Hasta el lunes.
Srta. Linda
Grades 3-6 have really been working hard learning new vocabulary in Spanish. Students might try to orally describe common objects around the house using their new and previously learned words. For example: El refrigerador esta en medio de la mesa y la estufa. Mi mochila negra esta debajo de la cama blanca de mi dormitorio. Students might do this activity with foods as well: La ensalada de tomate esta encima de la mesa del comedor. Mi hermana esta en frente del estereo en la sala.
Que tengan un buen fin de semana. Hasta el lunes.
Srta. Linda
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Homework Due Monday, Sept. 23.
Grades K-4 received a copy of our pumpkin song to share with their parents. I am using this song to teach parts of the body in Spanish. We learned the following body parts on Monday:
ojos-eyes, boca-mouth, orejas-ears, cabeza-head, mano-hand, pelo-hair. The children did very well. We also learned a song for the days of the weeks. Each day has a different movement to help the children associate the day with an activity. It was fun ! We started out lying down for Monday. Tuesday we sat up. Wednesday is hands on knees. Thursday we stand up. Friday we sway from side to side. Saturday we dance and Sunday we bow our heads and clasp our hands in prayer. We sing: Hoy es lunes, lunes, lunes. Hoy es lunes. Es lunes hoy.
K-5 We also reviewed body parts and the days of the week.
First Grade - We began using prepositions to describe location of objects in the classroom. There is no homework. Students did an excellent job with this activity. We will continue next week. Vocabulary words are: adentro-inside, afuera- outside, en- on, debajo de- under, en medio de- between.
Second Grade- We are learning new classroom vocabulary Students have a list of words to learn on a hand-out. I encouraged them to to try to make sentences to share with me on Monday, the 23rd. It is NOT a mandatory homework assignment. Some students want to do more than what we do in class and I want them to have something to practice at home if they are interested in doing so.
Grades 3,4, 5, and 6. Students are at the point in their learning where they can compose entire sentences in Spanish using previously learned vocabulary and grammar. Their homework is to write as many sentences as they wish using adjectives, especially colors, and prepositions.
Students have examples in their Spanish notebook. Ex: La calabaza anaranjada esta en la mesa. La mochila azul esta en medio de la mesa cafe y la silla amarilla. At least five sentences are required, but I am hoping students will write many more! They may use any previously learned vocabulary; such as, furniture, foods, classroom objects, family members, numbers, or rooms in the house. Next week , they will describe the Spanish classroom and perhaps the library or computer lab. I am so proud of our students' progress.
New students to St. John's will have the oportunity to complete the cultural project we did last year. I have the papers ready for them and will explain what is required of them next Monday.
I wish to thank all parents for their interest and cooperation. The projects were beautiful and the presentations were exceptional.
Cultural Note: September 16th was Mexican Independence Day. We learned about this important day in the history of Mexico. We also learned about the Mexican flag and the meaning of the symbol of the eagle in the center of the flag.
Grades K-4 received a copy of our pumpkin song to share with their parents. I am using this song to teach parts of the body in Spanish. We learned the following body parts on Monday:
ojos-eyes, boca-mouth, orejas-ears, cabeza-head, mano-hand, pelo-hair. The children did very well. We also learned a song for the days of the weeks. Each day has a different movement to help the children associate the day with an activity. It was fun ! We started out lying down for Monday. Tuesday we sat up. Wednesday is hands on knees. Thursday we stand up. Friday we sway from side to side. Saturday we dance and Sunday we bow our heads and clasp our hands in prayer. We sing: Hoy es lunes, lunes, lunes. Hoy es lunes. Es lunes hoy.
K-5 We also reviewed body parts and the days of the week.
First Grade - We began using prepositions to describe location of objects in the classroom. There is no homework. Students did an excellent job with this activity. We will continue next week. Vocabulary words are: adentro-inside, afuera- outside, en- on, debajo de- under, en medio de- between.
Second Grade- We are learning new classroom vocabulary Students have a list of words to learn on a hand-out. I encouraged them to to try to make sentences to share with me on Monday, the 23rd. It is NOT a mandatory homework assignment. Some students want to do more than what we do in class and I want them to have something to practice at home if they are interested in doing so.
Grades 3,4, 5, and 6. Students are at the point in their learning where they can compose entire sentences in Spanish using previously learned vocabulary and grammar. Their homework is to write as many sentences as they wish using adjectives, especially colors, and prepositions.
Students have examples in their Spanish notebook. Ex: La calabaza anaranjada esta en la mesa. La mochila azul esta en medio de la mesa cafe y la silla amarilla. At least five sentences are required, but I am hoping students will write many more! They may use any previously learned vocabulary; such as, furniture, foods, classroom objects, family members, numbers, or rooms in the house. Next week , they will describe the Spanish classroom and perhaps the library or computer lab. I am so proud of our students' progress.
New students to St. John's will have the oportunity to complete the cultural project we did last year. I have the papers ready for them and will explain what is required of them next Monday.
I wish to thank all parents for their interest and cooperation. The projects were beautiful and the presentations were exceptional.
Cultural Note: September 16th was Mexican Independence Day. We learned about this important day in the history of Mexico. We also learned about the Mexican flag and the meaning of the symbol of the eagle in the center of the flag.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
First Project Due: September 16th
This project is for Grades 3,4,5, and 6 only. Grades 1 and 2 will do a modified version in class.
Grades K-4 and K-5 will do only an oral version in the form of a game.
Grades 3,4, 5, and 6 will be learning prepositions in Spanish. Tomorrow they will copy down a list of common prepositions and a small visual to help them learn the meaning of each word.
Their project will be to illustrate on a poster the meaning of each preposition with visual examples. They will then teach the rest of the class the new words using their prepared poster. The poster should be of average posterboard size, the kind that is sold at Walmart or Walgreen's. For example, a student may choose a drawing of our Main Building. To show the meaning of arriba de (above), they can draw a cloud above the school. to show the meaning of enfrente de(in front of), they can draw cars waiting to get onto the school grounds in the morning. Adentro (inside) can be an arrow pointing to Miss Stone's office to show the meaning of "inside." Please be creative! Please use crayons or paint to make the poster interesting.
Another fun visual might be a picture of the student's kitchen with all of the common items found there. Encima de ( on) or en can be an arrow indicating the coffeepot on the counter. Between (en medio de) can be the window between the stove and the sink, etc.
Here are the list of words I will present tomorrow:
arriba de above adentro de inside
encima de on afuera de outside
detras de behind
enfrente de in front of
al lado de next to
debajo de under or beneath
cerca de near
en medio de between
alrededor de around or all around
contra or pegado a against
The words can be illustrated with individual boxes showing the meaning as well. For example, a ball inside of a box in one picture, a flower next to a flowerpot in another.
Please write the preposition near the object or draw an arrow from the words to the object used to illustrate the meaning.
I will show the students more examples in class tomorrow. Students may use magazine photos, or computer generated images in their posters. Students in the past have drawn a typical classroom, such as the sixth grade classroom, to show where things are found.
Students will orally present their work on Monday, September 16th, in class.
This project is for Grades 3,4,5, and 6 only. Grades 1 and 2 will do a modified version in class.
Grades K-4 and K-5 will do only an oral version in the form of a game.
Grades 3,4, 5, and 6 will be learning prepositions in Spanish. Tomorrow they will copy down a list of common prepositions and a small visual to help them learn the meaning of each word.
Their project will be to illustrate on a poster the meaning of each preposition with visual examples. They will then teach the rest of the class the new words using their prepared poster. The poster should be of average posterboard size, the kind that is sold at Walmart or Walgreen's. For example, a student may choose a drawing of our Main Building. To show the meaning of arriba de (above), they can draw a cloud above the school. to show the meaning of enfrente de(in front of), they can draw cars waiting to get onto the school grounds in the morning. Adentro (inside) can be an arrow pointing to Miss Stone's office to show the meaning of "inside." Please be creative! Please use crayons or paint to make the poster interesting.
Another fun visual might be a picture of the student's kitchen with all of the common items found there. Encima de ( on) or en can be an arrow indicating the coffeepot on the counter. Between (en medio de) can be the window between the stove and the sink, etc.
Here are the list of words I will present tomorrow:
arriba de above adentro de inside
encima de on afuera de outside
detras de behind
enfrente de in front of
al lado de next to
debajo de under or beneath
cerca de near
en medio de between
alrededor de around or all around
contra or pegado a against
The words can be illustrated with individual boxes showing the meaning as well. For example, a ball inside of a box in one picture, a flower next to a flowerpot in another.
Please write the preposition near the object or draw an arrow from the words to the object used to illustrate the meaning.
I will show the students more examples in class tomorrow. Students may use magazine photos, or computer generated images in their posters. Students in the past have drawn a typical classroom, such as the sixth grade classroom, to show where things are found.
Students will orally present their work on Monday, September 16th, in class.
Sixth Graders
Several students did not do the last assignment. It was a short paragraph about your life. You copied down the model sentences to complete with your own information. This is an important assignment. Please try to write something you can present to me tomorrow.
Model: Mi vida
Yo vivo con ______________, ____________, y mi___________. Fill in with family members. Mi papa tiene ________________. Mi mama tiene______________ y mi hermano( or hermana) tiene_____( Fill in with their age written using the WORD, not the figure . Ex. diecisiete.
Mi mama es _____________(( Fill in with your mom's profession. EX. Mi mama es maestra.
Mi papa es________________. (carpintero). Mi hermano es_____________estudiante (student).
Gracias,
Srta, Linda.
Several students did not do the last assignment. It was a short paragraph about your life. You copied down the model sentences to complete with your own information. This is an important assignment. Please try to write something you can present to me tomorrow.
Model: Mi vida
Yo vivo con ______________, ____________, y mi___________. Fill in with family members. Mi papa tiene ________________. Mi mama tiene______________ y mi hermano( or hermana) tiene_____( Fill in with their age written using the WORD, not the figure . Ex. diecisiete.
Mi mama es _____________(( Fill in with your mom's profession. EX. Mi mama es maestra.
Mi papa es________________. (carpintero). Mi hermano es_____________estudiante (student).
Gracias,
Srta, Linda.
Friday, September 6, 2013
5TH Graders - Try the following with your homework
Next week we will turn our attention to possessive form of nouns in Spanish. You may have some fun with your homework sentences by showing to whom the classroom object belongs . You do NOT have to change your sentences if they are already completed. Just try to add one or more sentences-- You decide how much practice you want to do--to your list.
Here are examples: La mochila de Miss Linda es verde. (Miss Linda's backpack is green).
Las tijeras de mi hermana son negras. ( My sister's scissors are black).
Just add "de" after the object and before the person to whom it belongs to show ownership.
The literal translation would be: The backpack of Miss Linda is green. The scissors of my sister are black. Notice that scissors is plural so the color word, adjective, needs an "s."
Have fun using your family members' names if you like. EX: El papel de Elizabeth es rosado.
La mochila de mi abuelo es blanca con azul.
We will talk more about this on Monday. Gracias,
Srta. Linda
* If your homework is done and you really do not want to try the above, that is fine. I understand. I would love to see a few attempts at using the possessive form. It is so easy in Spanish. Really!
Next week we will turn our attention to possessive form of nouns in Spanish. You may have some fun with your homework sentences by showing to whom the classroom object belongs . You do NOT have to change your sentences if they are already completed. Just try to add one or more sentences-- You decide how much practice you want to do--to your list.
Here are examples: La mochila de Miss Linda es verde. (Miss Linda's backpack is green).
Las tijeras de mi hermana son negras. ( My sister's scissors are black).
Just add "de" after the object and before the person to whom it belongs to show ownership.
The literal translation would be: The backpack of Miss Linda is green. The scissors of my sister are black. Notice that scissors is plural so the color word, adjective, needs an "s."
Have fun using your family members' names if you like. EX: El papel de Elizabeth es rosado.
La mochila de mi abuelo es blanca con azul.
We will talk more about this on Monday. Gracias,
Srta. Linda
* If your homework is done and you really do not want to try the above, that is fine. I understand. I would love to see a few attempts at using the possessive form. It is so easy in Spanish. Really!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
K-5 Parents and Students
Please visit our Spanish classroom, across from Miss Tucker's and Miss Courtney's K-5 classroom.
The children's leaf rubbings are on display. We will talk about them in Spanish on September 9th. The leaves are beautiful! I am so pleased with the bulletin board. The art project was an opportunity for students to use their knowledge of Spanish to communicate what they were doing and to describe the end product, the rubbed leaf, in Spanish. If you would like a copy of the instructions to make the leaf rubbings at home and my Spanish lesson plan, please contact me. I would love to have parents follow-up on activities we do in the classroom to reinforce vocabulary. We will be revisiting our pumpkin song next week. Here are the words. It is sung to "Are you Sleeping."
Calabaza, calabaza, Jack O' Lantern, Jack O' Lantern
Muy chistosa, muy chistosa, Very funny, very funny
Dos ojos brillantes, Two glowing eyes,
Boca Sonriente, Grinning Mouth,
No le tengo miedo, I am not afraid of you,
No le tengo miedo. I am not afraid of you!
Please visit our Spanish classroom, across from Miss Tucker's and Miss Courtney's K-5 classroom.
The children's leaf rubbings are on display. We will talk about them in Spanish on September 9th. The leaves are beautiful! I am so pleased with the bulletin board. The art project was an opportunity for students to use their knowledge of Spanish to communicate what they were doing and to describe the end product, the rubbed leaf, in Spanish. If you would like a copy of the instructions to make the leaf rubbings at home and my Spanish lesson plan, please contact me. I would love to have parents follow-up on activities we do in the classroom to reinforce vocabulary. We will be revisiting our pumpkin song next week. Here are the words. It is sung to "Are you Sleeping."
Calabaza, calabaza, Jack O' Lantern, Jack O' Lantern
Muy chistosa, muy chistosa, Very funny, very funny
Dos ojos brillantes, Two glowing eyes,
Boca Sonriente, Grinning Mouth,
No le tengo miedo, I am not afraid of you,
No le tengo miedo. I am not afraid of you!
Spanish Homework- Fifth Grade
I am so sorry for not including my fifth graders in my Spanish homework blog! I apologize for that.
Fifth graders will use the new classroom supplies' vocabulary in a sentence. Use the color words we learned last year to describe each word. Example: El borrador es rosado. La mochila es amarilla. The words are: borrador, mochila, lapiz, pizarron, pegadura, cuaderno, tijeras, colores, libro, papel. Be careful to show agreement between the noun and adjective. Nouns are feminine or masculine so the color word, the adjective, must also be feminine or masculine. Colors you may use are: amarillo (amarilla with a feminine noun). Feminine nouns usually end in "a." Example: La mochila is roja. The colors not ending in "o" or "a" do not change unless the noun is plural. Example: Las tijeras son verdes. Los colores son azules. We will work on that agreement in number and gender more in class.
I am requiring ten sentences, but encourage students to compose more than ten. Ten sentences will qualify for an "A." More than ten sentences will help you master Spanish and will make me very very happy! Thank you to students and parents who pointed out my oversight. See you on Monday, September 9th, with your homework.
I am so sorry for not including my fifth graders in my Spanish homework blog! I apologize for that.
Fifth graders will use the new classroom supplies' vocabulary in a sentence. Use the color words we learned last year to describe each word. Example: El borrador es rosado. La mochila es amarilla. The words are: borrador, mochila, lapiz, pizarron, pegadura, cuaderno, tijeras, colores, libro, papel. Be careful to show agreement between the noun and adjective. Nouns are feminine or masculine so the color word, the adjective, must also be feminine or masculine. Colors you may use are: amarillo (amarilla with a feminine noun). Feminine nouns usually end in "a." Example: La mochila is roja. The colors not ending in "o" or "a" do not change unless the noun is plural. Example: Las tijeras son verdes. Los colores son azules. We will work on that agreement in number and gender more in class.
I am requiring ten sentences, but encourage students to compose more than ten. Ten sentences will qualify for an "A." More than ten sentences will help you master Spanish and will make me very very happy! Thank you to students and parents who pointed out my oversight. See you on Monday, September 9th, with your homework.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Spanish Homework
Dear Parents,
Grades K-4, K-5 and Grade 1 do not have written homework. On Monday, K-4, and K-5 created a leaf rubbing which will be displayed in the Spanish Resource Room next week. The purpose of the activity was to provide an opportunity for the children to engage in meaningful interaction in Spanish. Students learned a song in Spanish about what happens to leaves in the autumn. The words to the song are sung to to tune of " The Itsy, Bitsy Spider." (We also danced to the part that says that the leaves dance). The children loved that part! Children make motions of falling or rising leaves with their hands. They get up and dance at the end. (Se ponen a bailar).
Las hojitas de otono The little autumn leaves fall from the trees,
de los arboles se caen. The wind comes and lifts them up
Viene el viento y las levanta and they begin to dance around,
Y se ponen a bailar La, la, la, la, la la.
La la la la la la la.
While children made their leaves, they were asked questions in Spanish about colors and naming objects in Spanish. Miss Savannah and I will use this method of acquiring second language proficiency throughout the year. Please contact me if you would like more information about The Natural Language Approach developed by Dr. Stephen Krashen. I also will speak to the children in Spanish as they work telling them what they are doing in Spanish, e.g; " Estas coloreando la hojita."
"You are coloring the little leaf." I also use TPR, Total Physical Response to teach simple commands such as, " Sit down" and "Stand up." I said, " Ponganse en fila" last week and everyone got in line.
TPR uses physical gestures to show what the words mean. It is a very effective way to quickly learn a second languge. * Otono is pronounced o TONE yo. I cannot indicate diacritical marks on this machine!
Grade 2 needed a review of numbers. They have a number sheet to complete and study. The numbers are from 21- 50. We covered that last year, but need to revisit it. That worksheet is due Monday, September 9th due to the holiday. Children do NOT have to learn all of the numbers by the 9th!
Grades 3 and 4 presented their homework. They can tell foods they like and don't like in Spanish. I will expand that to other preferences concerning games, sports, subjects, etc. In a few weeks, students will be able to have a conversation about preferences completely in Spanish. We had a very productive first year of study! I am able to build on those skills this year. Their homework is to describe school supplies, our new vocabulary. The words are: libro, cuaderno, tijeras, colores, mochila, lapiz, papel, pizarron, pegadura, borrador. They have the list in their notebooks. They were asked to compose at least one sentence with each word, but I encouraged students to write as many as they like. I don't like to limit them if they want to go above and beyond the assignment. Some students asked if 50 would be OK. Model for sentences: La pegadura es morada. El borrador es rosado. This will be due on the 9th of September.
6th grade presented their paragraphs, Mi vida--My Life. They did an excellent job. Please ask them to read their paragraph to you and explain what it says if you need them to do so. I know some parents and grandparents speak Spanish. Their homework is listed above, but I taught them how to add to whom the object belongs, possessive form in Spanish. Their model is: El cuaderno de la maestra es verde. La pegadura de la directora es morada. They may compose as many sentences as they wish, but at least ten were required. Very few students write only ten!
Please note: I have not been able to figure out indicating accents in Spanish on this computer, so they are not present in this post. Your child has all of the vocabulary words written with all the necessary accent marks. For example, Papa has a written accent on the final a, lapiz, on the first a, pizarron on the o. These accents are essential as they change the pronounciation of the word.
Please contact me at: linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com is you have questions about the homework.
Que tengan un buen fin de semana. Have a good weekend.
Srta. Linda
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Tuesday, August 20
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish. What a wonderful day it was! Your children are very motivated to learn a second language. The K-5 and first graders remembered all of the songs we learned last year in Spanish. (Well, the second verse of "Elefante" needed some review with my K-5 children), but by the end of the class everyone was making "trompas" with their hands on their noses and showing how "grande" an elephant is. Second graders were anxious to show me how well they learned the names for foods. I decided to add about twelve new words the first day because they were more than ready for it. You may hear your child telling you what he or she likes and doesn't like at the dinner table in Spanish. Please share that with me if you do. Third and fourth graders did very well talking about food they like or dislike in Spanish. Our next project for grades three and four will be the preparation of a favorite food that does not require cooking, such as sandwich or a salad. The student will have to demonstrate and explain the process in Spanish to the rest of the class. Samples for everyone will not be necessary. Samples for Miss Linda may be required, however, if it is something she really likes such as a P & J sandwich! You will hear more about that project in the next few weeks. Fifth grade suggested that I speak only Spanish during the class. I told them that I would like to do that as we progress in our study of Spanish and one student said, " That is an excellent idea. Why don't you start today?" Wow! I did.
Last year my fifth graders who are now sixth graders began writing and presenting whole paragraphs about their lives. We picked up where we left off last May. This was not a problem with any of the students. Their assignment was to complete a short composition about themselves and their families for next Monday. Please contact me if your child needs some assistance with the composition. I have purchased a set of small bilingual dictionaries and placed them on the desk under the bulletin board. Please tell your child to come and borrow one if they need it to complete the assignment. Of course, most students use the computer for translations, but the dictionaries are there just in case they want to use them. Their project will be to research a profession and make a short oral presentation about that profession in Spanish in a few weeks. It might be fun for them to research your professions or their grandparents' professions. I'd like that very much.
Thank you for your cooperation and interest in our foreign language program. I am very excited to continue working with your child this year. I expect great things from them and I assure you I will be working very hard to make learning a second language fun.
Dear Parents and Grandparents,
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish. What a wonderful day it was! Your children are very motivated to learn a second language. The K-5 and first graders remembered all of the songs we learned last year in Spanish. (Well, the second verse of "Elefante" needed some review with my K-5 children), but by the end of the class everyone was making "trompas" with their hands on their noses and showing how "grande" an elephant is. Second graders were anxious to show me how well they learned the names for foods. I decided to add about twelve new words the first day because they were more than ready for it. You may hear your child telling you what he or she likes and doesn't like at the dinner table in Spanish. Please share that with me if you do. Third and fourth graders did very well talking about food they like or dislike in Spanish. Our next project for grades three and four will be the preparation of a favorite food that does not require cooking, such as sandwich or a salad. The student will have to demonstrate and explain the process in Spanish to the rest of the class. Samples for everyone will not be necessary. Samples for Miss Linda may be required, however, if it is something she really likes such as a P & J sandwich! You will hear more about that project in the next few weeks. Fifth grade suggested that I speak only Spanish during the class. I told them that I would like to do that as we progress in our study of Spanish and one student said, " That is an excellent idea. Why don't you start today?" Wow! I did.
Last year my fifth graders who are now sixth graders began writing and presenting whole paragraphs about their lives. We picked up where we left off last May. This was not a problem with any of the students. Their assignment was to complete a short composition about themselves and their families for next Monday. Please contact me if your child needs some assistance with the composition. I have purchased a set of small bilingual dictionaries and placed them on the desk under the bulletin board. Please tell your child to come and borrow one if they need it to complete the assignment. Of course, most students use the computer for translations, but the dictionaries are there just in case they want to use them. Their project will be to research a profession and make a short oral presentation about that profession in Spanish in a few weeks. It might be fun for them to research your professions or their grandparents' professions. I'd like that very much.
Thank you for your cooperation and interest in our foreign language program. I am very excited to continue working with your child this year. I expect great things from them and I assure you I will be working very hard to make learning a second language fun.
Spanish Homework Due: Monday, August 26
Grades K-4, K-5, and 1st do not have any homework this week.
Grade 2 Students need to review numbers from 1-50. This is an oral review. They do not need to know how to write the number words.
Grades 3 and 4 Students received a work sheet with food vocabulary. They need to write the word in Spanish and make an oral sentence using the affirmative and negative of the verb, "to like" in Spanish . We did this in class on Monday. Ex: Me gusta la manzana. Me gusta el platano. No me gusta la manzana. No me gusta el platano. I like apples. I like bananas. I don't like apples. I don't like bananas.
Grade 5 Students need to compose ten sentences telling foods they like and ten sentences telling foods they do not like. We did this in class on Monday. Ex: Me gusta el tomate, Me gusta el pollo. No me gusta el platano. No me gusta el pan. There will be a total of twenty sentences. Most students wrote at least five or each in class on Monday.
Grade 6 Students are writing a paragraph entitled, " Mi vida" My Life. They copied the sentences down in class on a piece of paper which they took with them. Here are the sentences:
Me llamo_______. Tengo____anos. Vivo con mi mama, mi papa, mis hermanos, etc. (We learned family members last year. Mi mama tiene_____anos, Mi papa tiene____anos, etc.
Mi mama es ______( profession). Mi papa es ______(profession). Mi hermano es______profession or work.
My name is____I am____years old. I live with my mom, my dad, my brothers, etc. My mom is ____years old. My dad is _____years old. My brother is _____years old. My father is a ____profession. My mom is a _______. (lawyer, carpenter, etc.).
We will read these in class on Monday, August 26th. Note: Students know they need to write the number word, not the numerical figure.
Please contact me if you have any questions. linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com
Gracias,
Miss Linda Srta. Linda
Grades K-4, K-5, and 1st do not have any homework this week.
Grade 2 Students need to review numbers from 1-50. This is an oral review. They do not need to know how to write the number words.
Grades 3 and 4 Students received a work sheet with food vocabulary. They need to write the word in Spanish and make an oral sentence using the affirmative and negative of the verb, "to like" in Spanish . We did this in class on Monday. Ex: Me gusta la manzana. Me gusta el platano. No me gusta la manzana. No me gusta el platano. I like apples. I like bananas. I don't like apples. I don't like bananas.
Grade 5 Students need to compose ten sentences telling foods they like and ten sentences telling foods they do not like. We did this in class on Monday. Ex: Me gusta el tomate, Me gusta el pollo. No me gusta el platano. No me gusta el pan. There will be a total of twenty sentences. Most students wrote at least five or each in class on Monday.
Grade 6 Students are writing a paragraph entitled, " Mi vida" My Life. They copied the sentences down in class on a piece of paper which they took with them. Here are the sentences:
Me llamo_______. Tengo____anos. Vivo con mi mama, mi papa, mis hermanos, etc. (We learned family members last year. Mi mama tiene_____anos, Mi papa tiene____anos, etc.
Mi mama es ______( profession). Mi papa es ______(profession). Mi hermano es______profession or work.
My name is____I am____years old. I live with my mom, my dad, my brothers, etc. My mom is ____years old. My dad is _____years old. My brother is _____years old. My father is a ____profession. My mom is a _______. (lawyer, carpenter, etc.).
We will read these in class on Monday, August 26th. Note: Students know they need to write the number word, not the numerical figure.
Please contact me if you have any questions. linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com
Gracias,
Miss Linda Srta. Linda
Friday, August 16, 2013
Supplies Needed for Spanish Class
Students in grades Pre-K, K, and 1st do not need to bring a notebook or other materials to class. I would like Grade 2 to bring a composition book to class on Mondays. I have pencils for them to use in the classroom. It should contain paper with lines sufficiently large for your child to use to copy target vocabulary and write short paragraphs.
Students in grades 3 through 6 need to have a spiral composition book OR a three-ring binder type notebook with a section marked, "Spanish." The Spanish section will be used exclusively for work we do in Spanish class. The spiral composition also will be used exclusively for work in Spanish. Grades 3 through 6 should also bring a ballpoint pen to class.
If possible, I would like grades 3 through 6 to also have their own box of colored pencils or crayons. Sets with 12, or 24 are fine. We will have time this year to begin to work on projects in class and the crayons and pencils will definitely be needed.
I would like students to have these materials by the second week of class, Monday, August 26, if possible.
I will provide material for the first day of class on Monday, August 19.
I am very excited about beginning your child's " Journey to Mastery of the Spanish Language" this year. Please feel free to contact me through the St. John's Website. My address is: linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com
Have a wonderful weekend. !Hasta el lunes!
Sincerely,
Miss Linda
Students in grades Pre-K, K, and 1st do not need to bring a notebook or other materials to class. I would like Grade 2 to bring a composition book to class on Mondays. I have pencils for them to use in the classroom. It should contain paper with lines sufficiently large for your child to use to copy target vocabulary and write short paragraphs.
Students in grades 3 through 6 need to have a spiral composition book OR a three-ring binder type notebook with a section marked, "Spanish." The Spanish section will be used exclusively for work we do in Spanish class. The spiral composition also will be used exclusively for work in Spanish. Grades 3 through 6 should also bring a ballpoint pen to class.
If possible, I would like grades 3 through 6 to also have their own box of colored pencils or crayons. Sets with 12, or 24 are fine. We will have time this year to begin to work on projects in class and the crayons and pencils will definitely be needed.
I would like students to have these materials by the second week of class, Monday, August 26, if possible.
I will provide material for the first day of class on Monday, August 19.
I am very excited about beginning your child's " Journey to Mastery of the Spanish Language" this year. Please feel free to contact me through the St. John's Website. My address is: linda.delascuevas@sjdslaurel.com
Have a wonderful weekend. !Hasta el lunes!
Sincerely,
Miss Linda
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Dear Parents,
Our Spanish classes will be held on Mondays beginning August 19th. We will be reviewing previously learned concepts and vocabulary for several class meetings. New students do not need to be concerned about "catching up." My approach to second language acquisition allows new learners to grasp concepts and new vocabulary in a "natural" low anxiety classroom setting by interacting with the teacher and other students. Homework for the first few weeks will consist of studying vocabulary and constructing simple sentences and paragraphs based on daily activities, clothing, foods, likes and dislikes, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, family members, seasons and time. Our new vocabulary will be based on professions and classroom objects.
I like to use projects to assess students' knowledge of concepts learned. Students will generally have several weeks to prepare their project. I encourage you to get involved with the preparation of your child's project, for example, helping them with their art work or offering ideas about the layout of information, etc. Each student will be asked to present their project in class. Their grade on the project will be based primarily on that presentation. Usually, the project is worth 30% of their grade for that particular porgress report. The rest of the grade will be determined in the following manner:
Oral - 25%
Written Assignments: 20%
Exams: 20%
Participation 5%
Projects 30%
Note: Written Assignments and Oral Evaluations will include completion of homework.
I will post a syllabus at a later date after we complete our review of previously learned concepts.
Thank you for your cooperation and interest in St. John's Foreign Language Program.
Atentamente,
Miss Linda
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
This will be a little practice post to make sure
everybody's email is working ok and that you know how to copy and paste
stuff to your blog :)
Here are some important things to remember:
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Please
bookmark my classroom page because I will be making important classroom
announcements and posting homework assignments on this page.
Also please follow St. Johns' social media pages if
you are on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus. You'll find the links to
our pages at the top right hand corner of the St. John's homepage.
Thanks for visiting and I am looking forward to our time together this year!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Week I _ All Classes
We will be reviewing the following units for two weeks. The units will include:
Clothing : Me llevo una camisa blanca, pantalones negros, y zapatos cafes. I am wearing a white shirt, black pants and brown shoes.
Colors: All basic colors: rojo, blanco, negro, cafe, gris, verde, azul, rosado, amarillo, azul, anaranjado.
Numbers 1-100
Food
Greetings in Spanish
Likes and Dislikes: ( concerning food and clothing, days of the week, months of the year.
We will be reviewing the following units for two weeks. The units will include:
Clothing : Me llevo una camisa blanca, pantalones negros, y zapatos cafes. I am wearing a white shirt, black pants and brown shoes.
Colors: All basic colors: rojo, blanco, negro, cafe, gris, verde, azul, rosado, amarillo, azul, anaranjado.
Numbers 1-100
Food
Greetings in Spanish
Likes and Dislikes: ( concerning food and clothing, days of the week, months of the year.
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