November 2024

November 2024

We started off the 2nd grading period learning all 21 countries and capitals of the Spanish-speaking world, including Guinea Ecuatorial - the only African country where Spanish is the official language. We also learned about animals that are indigenous to South America, listening to the sounds that each animal makes.  Students then presented their original skits to demonstrate their ability to use the present tense and act out a scene about the daily life of a teenager. 

We have spent the last 6 weeks on a unit about the outdoors and competitions. Students have been able to invent their own definitions for vocabulary related to camping, describe what people did on various types of trips and understand a reading about Machu Picchu - one of the 7 Wonders of the World, located in the Andes mountains of Perú. Most recently, students took an oral exam where they discussed competitions, personal goals and what kept them motivated during challenges in their lives.

     There is so much grammar and vocabulary to cover in  Spanish 3 to get students ready for AP Spanish, so the students take an average of one assessment a week. Students have been working really hard on developing their skills in all 4 modalities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. I am seeing a great deal of improvement and I am very proud of how far they have come in the first 12 weeks of school. 

September 2024

See what we've been doing in Spanish class so far...

September 2024

Your students have been hard at work for the past 6 weeks and their dedication has shown brightly in class. We have spent the first grading period reviewing the present tense, which is a concept that is covered in 1st and 2nd year Spanish. Most students have demonstrated mastery of the grammatical concepts that we have covered, and I have been quite impressed with their writing skills and ability to stay in the target language for most of the class period. I can already see the potential for many of these students going on to AP Spanish next year.

One of the biggest differences between Spanish 3 and Spanish 1 or 2 is that students are required to speak in Spanish and will hear Spanish most of the class period. We take all grammar notes in Spanish, instructions for assignments are only in Spanish and students (for the most part) will only be writing and speaking in Spanish. Some students found this very difficult at the beginning of the year; however, I can see that most are pretty comfortable with the idea now and are eager to keep challenging themselves and will only speak to me in Spanish inside and outside of class. It has been incredibly rewarding for both me and for them, and their persistence has given them the confidence and courage to continue learning how to use the language effectively.

A highlight from the first grading period is an assignment where students had to interview each other about how often they participated in certain common activities. For example, "How often do you go to the movies?" or "How many times a week do you play a musical instrument?". Students prepared for their interview by practicing as a class and then each pair recorded their conversation on the computer. The use of technology makes it a lot easier for me, as their teacher, to be able to observe each student and suggest ways in which they can improve their speaking skills. Moreover, students are practicing the kinds of skills that are applicable in the real world and can be useful for all if they were to travel to a Spanish-speaking country.

Back to School Night Presentation 2024-2025