Middle School Español

¡Bienvenidos!

¡Hola!  This is the page for middle school Spanish.  I teach Spanish in grades 6-8.  Our middle school students have two Spanish classes per week.  

The following information is posted below:

• Homework Procedures

• Absentee Make-Up Work Procedures

• Spanish Language Instruction: Methodology

• Resources for Further Spanish Growth

• Grade Scale for World Language Classes in the AoB

La Tarea (Homework)

As in every subject area, middle school students are given time to copy homework assignments into their planners and are encouraged to reach out to the teacher if they have questions about assignments and grades.  Homework for Middle School Spanish is posted in the "Español" Google Classroom.  To view:

1. Go to classroom.google.com and log in with your (parents: your child's) school Google account information.  Students should share their Google account password with their parents/guardians.

2. Once in, look for the "Español" tile.  Upcoming assignments due are listed on the main tile, and more details on each assignment can be seen by clicking on the tile and going to the "Classwork" tab.  This includes due dates.

Homework is usually counted as practice, and therefore is not usually graded based on accuracy, but rather on completion.  However, students are encouraged to aim for mastery.  If they earn a low score on a practice game that shows insufficient mastery, they should practice again to earn a higher score.

Homework assignments count for 10-20 points each.  Late or incomplete homework counts for 5/10 or 10/20, and missing homework counts for 0.  If a missing assignment is made up very promptly, it can count for 8/10 or 16/20.

Absentee Make-Up Work

The following reminders are posted in each Español Google Classroom for students (under the Classwork tab, and the "Absentees" topic):

"Dear absentees, any time after 4:00 pm on the day you missed class, check the Google Classroom for:

1. any notes that may be posted for you by the teacher in an "Absentee Assignment".  

If there are notes, you should copy them into your binder and study them.  

"Mark as done" in the Google Classroom after copying the notes.

2. any other Google Classroom assignments that were posted that day.  Complete them, and "mark as done."

Additional Tips: 

 ➡️ If the notes are Spanish vocab, be sure to get a classmate to teach you any new gestures that for the vocabulary.  

➡️ It's also a good idea to spend a little time reviewing any gestures from the last 2 classes, too, since your classmates will have had the benefit of reviewing those in class.  

➡️ Make-up work should be completed before the next Spanish class (unless you are too sick to do it, of course!) so that you do not fall further behind due to not understanding Spanish words used in class that day.

➡️If you check before 5 pm, notes may not have been posted yet.  Also, notes are not necessarily given at every class, so there may not be any.  Remember to check for other assignments that may have been posted, though.  

➡️What if?...

🤒 If you were too sick to complete a make-up assignment right away, as soon as you are well and back to work, let the teacher know (either through a Google Classroom message or in person) that you were sick but that you're going to work on it soon.  The teacher may not even know that you were sick without this!

🕓 You can also contact the teacher if you think you need an extension, and we can discuss a reasonable timeline for you to catch up, that is, we can agree on a due date that is doable for you.  None of your teachers wants to see you get unnecessarily stressed out over make-up work."

Spanish Language Instruction: Methodology

I ascribe to the Comprehensible Input Theory of second language acquisition, which you are welcome to read more about here.  This theory has propelled the development of many powerful language-learning strategies for classrooms, including the amazing Señor Wooly online platform, and the Somos curriculum.  These are the primary digital resources we use for middle school Spanish.  My focus is on providing students with "comprehensible input," including input from Señor Wooly and Somos resources, so that every student can gradually increase his or her proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in Spanish.  

I use the ACTFL Proficiency levels for assessment, and encourage my students to assess their own progress using this scale as well.  You can find more information on the ACTFL website.

Resources for Further Spanish Growth

There are many wonderful resources available for students who are strong independent learners and would like to further grow their Spanish language skills outside of the classroom.  We use DuoLingo for self-paced learning starting from 7th grade. There are a plethora of resources on YouTube; one channel that older students can productively and enjoyably use on their own is the one by Señor Jordan.

An excellent resource that is designed with adults in mind, but can be useful to mature middle school students, is Mango Languages.  It offers "Intuitive Language Construction," and offers instruction and personalized practice related to vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, culture, and comprehension. You can access Mango from the Baltimore County Public Library Databases page. Once on that page, scroll down the alphabetized list and click on Mango Languages. You will need your BCPL card number and PIN to get in. After you create a Mango account (email and password) you can install the mango mobile app on a mobile device and access Mango in this way, as well. 

Grade Scale

Spanish is graded on a different grade scale, one reserved for "specials" (classes that meet just once or twice per week) in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  Here is the scale that we use: