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Sra. Alvarado

A little about me...

I learned Spanish with some Mayan in my home as a 1st language. I am Mexican-American and Mayan. I have taught for over 20 years, eleven are at District 39. I speak 90-95% of the time in the target language. I DO repeat, use gestures, and circumlocution. Students learn through games, music, activities, and more!

Some of my favorites...

Sports: soccer and baseball

Hobbies: traveling, walking & cooking

Food: mole

Color: purple & teal

Season: fall

Srta. Weiss

A little about me...

I learned Spanish growing up and fell in love with learning the language and learning about Spanish speaking cultures. I have studied Spanish for over 20 years, have spent time in multiple Spanish speaking countries, and have worked in schools in Chicago that support Spanish speaking learners. I am entering my 9th year in education, and have a masters degree as well as my English as a Second Language Endorsement.

Some of my favorites

Sports: basketball and ice hockey

Hobbies: traveling, exercising, reading, cooking

Food: deep dish pizza

Color: purple

Season: fall

Can My Child Do Something Extra at Home?

There's always something that your child can do at home. However, the goal is to foster a love for the language and culture. Make sure that your child has choices. Does your child want to learn more about culture? Read maybe "Rene Has Two Last Names / Rene tiene dos apellidos" by Rene Colato Lainez. Maybe your child thrives on an app, Duolingo would be great! Or maybe you would like to work on a theme we are working on in class. You can to to quizlet.com and search my name "jalvarado0" (That's a zero at the end, after the letter -o.) I have a file for each grade and vocabulary words to go with each unit we work on. Here's the link, just go to your child's grade or the unit you want him/her to brush up on: Alvarado's Quizlet. Children love the "Match game."
Explore Latin American Restaurants!! Starting in 1st grade we talk about tamales and then follow up many types of Latin American foods throughout the years. It's so much better when they can experience Spanish, Peruvian, Costa Rican, etc food to talk about in class. Maybe they can even talk about the environment in the restaurant or the name of some foods they heard. So much learning happens!
Did you know there's a Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Chicago too? It's free and every year they hold a Day of the Dead exhibit to showcase alters with the symbolic 4 elements. There's great food around too.

Want to Stay up to Date with Foreign Language News?

This title will grab your attention: Learning languages: Why Spanish is fast becoming Britain’s favorite foreign language | In English | EL PAÍS Read about it here. I also post educational information on my twitter page. Make sure to tune in. This year I'm announcing my twitter in hopes to be more engaged with you through it. Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/alvarado_sra

Do You or Someone in Your Family Speak Spanish?

Please contact me at alvaradj@wilmette39.org. I would love for you to come in and read or share a little something that connects to what we are learning. It makes a great impact in our class when we learn that we have someone in our midst that can be a bridge outside of our classroom.

What if my child just transferred in?

Whether your child moved in from a nearby school or not, it is understandable that there will be a transition period. The best advice you can give is to encourage him/her to participate, have fun and know that making mistakes is expected and part of the fun in language learning. Make sure to look into the papers sent home as resources for your child.

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