La Clase de Español  Early Childhood: Jobs! Guiding questions: Who are the people in your community? How are jobs in Spanish speaking countries similar/different to those of the United States? In this unit, students will learn how to say different professions in Spanish. So far we have learned how to say, medico = doctor, maestro = teacher, director a= principal, bombero = fireman, dentista= dentist, granjero= farmer, and policia= policeman. Students are having fun singing The Farm Song and learning how to write their vocabulary words in Spanish. I have also been reading a lot of books to the EC class about professions. Here students are able to hear the target language with fluency and interpret the text through pictures and physical cues made by the reader.
Primary  Two: Money!
Guiding Questions: What kind
of economic systems can I find in Spanish-speaking countries? Here
students are going to embark on a unit all about money! Students will discover
that currency, exchange rates, and government, vary from country to country.
This is a fun unit that opens the eyes of many children in various ways. Students are also working
hard with the Spanish Symtalk curriculum. This week students are learning how
to conjugate and use the verbs gustar and tomar. Students are also working on
mastering subject pronouns and learning how to create longer, more complex sentences
with the vocabulary they know. Many students are becoming proficient with writing
and we will continue to practice this skill as the year progresses.
Elementary One: Myths and
Philosophy. Guiding question: How do ancient civilizations of Hispanic cultures
influence traditions and mythology of today? This is going to be a fun, fun,
fun unit! Here students will explore how Aztec, Mayan, and Inca traditions
still influence the Latin American culture today! Students will discover how
many traditions are rooted in ancient civilization beliefs. They will also
explore the different ways those ancient civilizations have evolved and changed
over time.
Green Group: The Verdes group has been improving their knowledge of Spanish verb conjugations and practicing this essential skill in each class. As we continue to master the conjugations of "mirar" (to look) and "jugar" (to play), we have played several fun games, including the "grid game," whiteboard races, and the always-popular "Around the World." To encourage conversational skills, students interviewed each other on favorite activities and presented their partner's answers to the class. Students also took a quiz testing their knowledge of the many bug words we learned during our last unit. Coming up, we will be working on how to use the verb "gustar" (to like) -- one of the more complicated verbs you can learn in Spanish, but also one of the most fun!
Blue Group: The Azul Group is learning how to conjugate the verb jugar and use prepositional pronouns in Spanish. Students are also learning how to discuss sports and leisure activities. In the next week, students will learn vocabulary pertaining to school supplies, clothing, and shopping. Each week we continue to work on pronunciation and fluency. It is nice to see students getting more comfortable with the language. Students are naturally stretching themselves to make longer, more complex sentences and are improve on their writing. Speaking in class went from “a scary thing” to just one more thing we do in class to increase proficiency. As the year progresses, it will be exciting to see many kids blossom.
Red Group: The Rojos group is my Total Physical Response Storytelling Class. Here students are learning Spanish through listening comprehension and storytelling. So far the students have given me great feedback! They truly enjoy listening to the “mini- cuentos” and interpreting the stories on their own. We are currently on our second unit. Here students learned how to say words related to house hold items and professions. Our next unit will focus on animals and household chores. I see these students developing their Spanish in a unique way and becoming more and more comfortable with speaking. As a summative assessment to the current unit, students will be retelling a story of their own. Here students will have the opportunity to show me verbally their proficiency of vocabulary and grammar.
Elementary Two: Physics! Guiding
Question: What do I need to do in order to be successful at Spanish physics experiment?
Yep, you read right. The kids in the
E2 class will be conducting a physics experiment totally in Spa Spanish A with Señora Espiñeira The fine students of E2 are growing by leaps and bounds in their Spanish knowledge! One student pointed out that we have learned close to 100 new words so far this year -- quite a milestone! As we finish up this chapter, students are learning how to talk about the calendar and the weather in Spanish. Students will watch a weather report, and collaborate to create and present one of their own, focusing on a Spanish-speaking country. This hands-on activity is always a big hit. Last week, we learned a song about the months of the year in Spanish and were judged by an American-Idol style panel of the classroom teachers! I am very proud of how hard this group is working to master so much new material and thank all parents for their kind, dedicated support at home! Spanish B with Doña Campos Our Spanish B students are just finishing up on their first chapter of the year entitled: ¿Desayuno o almuerzo? (Breakfast or lunch?). As you can tell, this unit was all about FOOD! Students learned how to talk about foods and beverages for breakfast and lunch, talk about likes and dislikes and understand cultural perspectives on meals. Now we will embark on a new chapter entitled: Para mantener la salud (In order to maintain health) In this chapter students will learn • How to talk about foods and beverages for dinner •
Describe what people or things are like • Discuss food, health, and exercise choices • Understand cultural perspectives on diet and health As you can tell, we are still talking about food! This chapter builds on the vocabulary previously learned and goes more in depth. Any time food is involved, it is a fun chapter! With Thanksgiving around the corner, I hope students will speak to you in Spanish about their meal. They should be a ble to name quite a few items on the dinner table. More practice at home: Cook in Spanish!
See if you can translate a favorite recipe into Spanish or find one off the
internet and see if you can make it.  Middle School 1 and 2 with Señora Espiñeira : ¿Desayuno o almuerzo? Guiding Question: What do I need to know about meal time etiquette if I go to a Spanish speaking country? What are my responsibilities? Spanish B is finishing up our first unit on breakfast, lunch and dining etiquette in Spanish-speaking countries. This group has showed so much perseverance and dedication as they have had to be flexible when students or teachers have been sick. Through it all, they bring their enthusiasm for Spanish to class every day and I appreciate all of their hard work. To demonstrate that they have mastered our chapter vocabulary, students have created and recorded dialogues inviting one another for a me al and expressing food likes and dislikes. This week, they will have their first cumulative exam of the year, and conclude the unit by role-playing breakfast or lunch, using everything they have learned so far. Students have expressed a desire to REALLY use their knowledge by having a class luncheon or breakfast and speaking in Spanish throughout; I will keep you posted on when this is going to take place!
Middle School 1 with Doña Campos En mi dormitorio. Guiding Question: How do I avoid offending and starving in a restaurant in a Spanish speaking country? The students in this class are just finishing up a chapter entitled: ¡Vamos a un restaurante! (Let’s go to a restaura nt!). These students have learned how to talk about family celebrations, describe family members and friends, ask politely to have something brought to them, and order a meal in a restaurant. Yes, soon we will be scheduling an outing to a Spanish speaking restaurant to put our skills to real practice! This date is not scheduled yet, but I would expect that we will find the time for our outing sometime before the Thanksgiving break. This is such a fun experience for the students because it really challenges them to use the material they just learned from the BOOK, in a REAL LIFE situation. Authentic use of their Spanish is always the best kind of practice! As we continue to finish up on this chapter, we are also entering a new chapter called: En mi dormitorio. In this chapter students will learn how to talk about their bedroom, describe bedroom items and learn how to make comparisons in Spanish. We will be exploring cultural perspectives on the home. How is my personality reflected in my bedroom? How is my culture reflected in my bedroom?
Middle School 2 with Doña Campos ¡Qué
regalo! Guiding Question: How does
the social etiquette of gift giving vary from culture to culture? These fine
young students are working on a chapter called: Qué regalo. In this chapter students
are learning how to: • Talk about buying gifts • Tell what happened in the past • Use direct object pronouns • Use the preterit tense • And understand cultural
perspectives on gift- giving. This is a fun chapter but also has some strong grammar concepts. Students are enjoying the new material and taking on the challenge head on. I am so proud of them! Even with difficult concepts, students in this class have such a good grasp of the language that they are fearless and enthusiastic! By the end of the year I would expect to see some amazing Spanish speakers!
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