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


                                           

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.

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. 

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!
  

                                                              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.

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.