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

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

                                    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   









  

      

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

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 :)

Welcome to my new blog! I am very excited about what we will be learning this year. 

Here are some important things to remember:

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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. 

Greetings

                             Bienvenidos Padres y Estudiantes  -   Welcome Parents and Students 
I am looking forward to another productive year at St. John's Day School.  My students learned many new words in Spanish last year.  I plan to build on their previous knowledge of  Spanish this year and add much more to their knowledge of the Spanish language.   Thank you for your cooperation and interest in our foreign language program.  
                                                  Gracias, 

                                                 Srita. Linda