Monday, September 28.

K-4  continued their work identifying classroom objects.
we then began working on clothing. Children were asked to name the picture of clothing they had in their hands.  It was so much fun.  Everyone wanted a card so they could be asked to name what they had.

K-5 also named classroom objects.  I added about six more than the K-4 had to name.  We then began to work on clothing as well.  We reviewed greetings and weather terms.  Please ask you child how to say, It's cold, It's hot, or it's raining.  I would love to receive feedback from you on how they answer.  Students also made two autumn trees for their teachers. The instructions were entirely in Spanish.

Grade 1 named all of their classroom objects from last week so we quickly went right to the clothing unit.  I asked children to please bring five or ten pictures from a magazine or the newspaper insert showing different articles of clothing.  They may also draw the articles and cut them out. We are making a book next week.

Grade 2 identified articles of clothing and had to give a sentences using the verb tener and an article of clothing.  We will be having a mini-fashion show in class next week to practice the new vocabulary.

Grade 3 took their test on the days of the week.  The were assigned a sheet with clothing vocabulary to study for next week's test.

Grade 4  Students were given a funny dialogue to read about a monster. They will continue learning the dialogue next week.  They also reviewed the alphabet in Spanish. Some students have the alphabet memorized.  It is important that the students in fourth grade learn the alphabet since we will be reading and  writing more in Spanish in the months to come.  Students  also received a list of terms listing the continents in Spanish and terms needed to learn about maps and globes in Spanish.  Using interdisciplinary activities in this manner helps the children apply what they learn in Spanish to lessons they receive in their regular classroom.  It also reinforces material and helps children to retain  information.

    Have a great weekend!

                       Miss Linda

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Grade 6 continued presenting their projects on Barcelona.  I am so very pleased with our sixth graders.  Almost all of the students presented their work entirely in Spanish.  Students received a  informational sheet on Cordoba, our next Spanish city.  They may begin working on their presentations, but the project on Cordoba is not due until Oct. 1. The homeowork this week is to compose sentences using the irregular verb, poder.  It means to be able to do.  Students copied the conjugations in the present tense. with the various subjects.  They need to use a verb in the infinitive form to complete their sentences.  For example:  Yo puedo cantar muchas canciones.  I can seing many songs.  Mi hermana puede caminar a la escuela.  My sister can walk to school.  It is important that the students complete this assignment.  I asked them to write at least ten sentences, but encouraged them to write more.  Last week, a student wrote 100 sentences with the verbs tener, estar and ser!  I will look at all of them to make sure they are correct. What can I say? I told students they may write as many as they wish.

Grade 5  Students had completed their presentations, so we devoted the period to the verb, poder.  Fifth graders also have to compose ten sentences using various forms of the verb poder, which means  to be able to do.   The students also took home a copy of the information about Cordoba and may begin working on their project on this beautiful Spanish city which was once the richest city in the world.

                                        Have a great weekend of football!

                                                 Atentamente,
                                                        Miss Linda

Monday, September 21

Grade K-4 We had a wonderful, productive class today!  Since most of the children were here last year, I am able to build on their oral language skills.  Children identified classroom objects and played a game, Quien tiene?  Who Has It?  If the child was holding the photo of the object I named, she had to say, " Yo tengo el_________, naming the object.  The children responded beautifully!  I am so proud of their ability to grasp a second language so quickly!  
We also heard the storys, "The Sky Is Falling" in Spanish. 

K-5  Children also played the game, Quien tiene?  Who Has It?  I was able to add more objects with our K-5 students.  The children had so much fun that we ran out of time and could not hear our story.  Reading to the children in Spanish is a very important part of our program.  I will just have to stop that game early next time! 

Grade 1 presented a short dialogue in Spanish.  I am so proud of Miss Connie's class!  Some of the students memorized their lines, which means they have internalized the grammatical structures and vocabulary for use at another time.  They were asked to bring the dialogue home to share with their parents.  I also asked students to teach their parents their classroom partner's lines.  Please let me know how they did with this task.  I would really love to receive feedback from parents. 

Grade 2.  Students also reviewed classroom objects by playing the game Quien tiene?  Who Has It?  If the student was holding the photo of the object, he had to say, "Yo tengo el/la_______ naming the object in Spanish.  I added cards so that each student could name an object.  We rotated the cards three times.  Students  were asked to copy down in their Spanish notebooks at least three objects to use in written sentences.  This is homework for next week.The model is: Yo tengo el papel or Yo tengo la silla azul.  All of the sentences will be different since students had different cards.  I would like any student to write more sentences if they wish.  The may use food items previously learned as well as classroom objects.  Here are some words from today's lesson:  la grapadora, the stapler,  el sacapuntas, the pencil sharpener, la computadora, the computer, la calculadora, the calculator, la pegadura, the glue,  la pluma, the pen, la silla azul, the blue chair. (Students may substitute ANY color after the noun). 

Grade 3  Students received their test from last week. I retaught the vocabulary to those students who needed a review.  They will retest next week.  The rest of the class will be tested on the days of the week.  All students have one list of words to study.  I also asked students to write sentences with the new words.   Hoy es lunes, Hoy es martes, etc.  Some students wanted to study more than the assigned words, which is fine!  We learned hoy-today, ayer, yesterday, and manana, tomorrow. Grade 3 is a wonderful class with highly  motivated students. I love working with them. 

Grade 4 Students received their posters or small drawings of the parts of the body project they turned in last week.  Then they worked in dyads practicing the vocabulary by asking one another, "Que te duele?  What hurts you?  Students responded by naming a part of the body. Children love working together in this manner.  Groups shared out at  various intervals during the class.  Students also received for the first time a copy of the alphabet in Spanish to practice at home.  They loved reciting the alphabet in class after me. I asked them to take the alphabet home to study.  There will NOT be a test on the alphabet.  I want the students to familiarize themselves with the letters and sounds. 

            Thank you for your interest in our foreign language program.  I welcome your feedback and questions via email, text, or phone.  

                                                       Atentamente, 
                                                              Miss Linda 

Wednesday, September 16,

5th and 6th grade students presented their projects on Barcelona Spain.  Sixth grade students presented their work in Spanish.  I am so pleased with their progress.  We were not able to finish the presentation of the 6th grade projects since those presented were very informative and I wanted to review some grammar with the students as well.  Those students who did not present their work will present next  Wednesday.

The homework for 5th and 6th grade is based on a review of three irregular verbs, tener, ser, and estar.  Students received a sheet with all of the information they need to write at least fifteen sentences using the verbs on the list.  For example,  for tener, students can write Yo tengo un cuarderno en mi casa.  They should try to vary the subjects--use tu, el, ella, nosotros and ellas or ellos in their sentences.  Please contact me if you need further clarification. Students may also use proper nouns and common  nouns as subjects:  Mi mama tiene una bolsa color de cafe.  Susana es una buena alumna.

                                   The sentences are due Wednesday, September 23.

             Que tengan un fin de semana divino.  Have a wonderful weekend.

I would like to thank the parents who share their experiences at home with our assignments.  One Mom said she loved learning about Spanish cuisine and all of the attractions in Barcelona.  The family wants to visit this beautiful Spanish city  someday! Please share with me via this blog or a hand-written note.  You can also send me a text message at 626-833-0417.

                                        Thank you,
                                           Miss Linda

Monday, September 14.

There is no homework this week for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade students.  Next Monday, we will begin two new dialogues to present.  The dialogues will be about two important cities in Spain. Students who would like  some extra work may do some research on Avila and Barcelona, two Spanish cities.

Today 5th and 6th graders continued our discussion of the beautiful, culturally rich city of Barcelona.  Students read information in Spanish about this port city, its architecture, music, dance, and cuisine.  Each student needs to prepare a short presentation about Barcelona and create a poster or model of something mentioned in the information sheet.*  This project is due Wednesday, September 16th, which is also  Mexican Independence Day. Sixth graders need to present in Spanish.  Fifth graders may present in English or Spanish.  Students who were absent from class will receive the informational sheet from other students in class, however, the most important paper was already given to students last week to read.

I am so pleased that students are able to read and complete multiple choice questions in Spanish at this stage of instruction.     They have really met my expectations for them In fact,  some students have gone above and beyond my expectations!  I am so very proud of them.


* Some possible projects might be a poster showing some of the Spanish dishes described in the paper.  Another chart could show Barcelona's main exports.  Some students mentioned a poster about the famous soccer team from Barcelona.  I would be very interested in learning more about the various forms of architecture, such as Gothic style cathedrals,  found in Barcelona.

  Thank you for your interest in our Spanish language program at St. John's Day School.  I enjoy teaching your children.

                                           Atentamente,
                                            Miss Linda

Wednesday, Sept. 2

Students in Grades 5 and 6 made their presentations about the beautiful city of Avila, Spain.  6th grade did their presentations in Spanish, but some of my fifth graders also wanted to present in Spanish!  Many students brought posters or other visuals as well as models they created themselves.  I saw a very creative use of Legos to make The famous Convent of St. Teresa.   The Power Point presentations  made by a couple of students were  wonderful!  I hope more students use technology in the future for their projects.  Several students did not bring their work.  I will be notifying those parents by phone.

There is NO homework over the weekend.  We will be meeting on Tuesday of next week, at which  time, I will discuss the next project. It will be about Barcelona.  I distributed the hand-out and a list of questions because some students begged me for homework!  Reading the sheet and doing the questions is OPTIONAL.  I know many of you will be out of town for the holiday and for that reason, I did not assign homework. Students do need to bring the hand-outs to class on Tuesday.
                                      Have a safe holiday weekend.
                                                    Miss Linda

Monday,  August 31.

K-4 continued learning weather terms in Spanish.  They also sang all of their songs which helps reinforce grammatical structures and vocabulary in a natural, fun way.  Children also can respond to basic questions about themselves in Spanish.  I really feel the work we did last semester in K-3 has really benefitted our students.  They are so eager to learn new things in Spanish! They heard a story, as they always do, about colorful toys.

K-5 K-5 also reviewed weather terms and parts of the body.  The children love the new song about Cabeza y hombros-- head and shoulders-- and other parts substituted.  Children  heard a story about colors. Because of our limited time in class, I could not read all of the descriptions of the toys pictured and the children asked me to tell them about the omitted toys!  I loved it.  It is so rewarding to watch young children acquire a new language.

1st - Children learned a dialogue and reviewed parts of the body.  I distributed a fun picture of a fox with the parts labelled for them to color and take home.  This group also is making such rapid progress by building on last year's skills

2nd - Children reviewed the body and received  a fox to color and take home to review body parts at home. I encourage children to ask for items; papers or colors, for example, in Spanish during group work.  One would think we are in a Spanish-speaking country if they visited the classroom!

3rd - Children have five new sentences to study for next week.  Gracias, maestra,  Adios, Senor, Hasta luego, Buenos dias, maestro, and Buenas noches.  The children's copy have the accents indicated.  Adios carries an accent on the o, Senor is written with the letter n with a curved mark, tilde, on top.  They did well on their first test last week.

4th - We corrected our color sentences. I assigned a body parts poster for children to bring in two weeks, since there is no class on Monday.  They have the fox visual with the parts indicated.  They may also use Google Translator to translate the body from English to Spanish.  We discussed using complete sentences to talk about the boy--Esta es la cabeza and Este es el pie.  This is my head, this is my foot.  Spanish does not require the personal pronoun when speaking of body parts.

   Have a great holiday.