May (mayo)
A: Sky A is working on legends and myths that have to do with fish (los peces). We have acted out our first myth and students are going through reading, conversation, listening and writing stations to process it. Then we will shift from a mayan fish myth to the amazon.
B: Students have divided into two areas of study (Legends and Politics/history). The legends groups gets to choose from an array of myths and legends and read through them out loud and respond in writing. They will be working on conversational responses to these stories.
The other students have been reading articles about what has been happening in Venezuela. Students have a general idea of the conflict at this point. We will be looking at various points in history in South America to better understand democracy and justice.
B: Students have divided into two areas of study (Legends and Politics/history). The legends groups gets to choose from an array of myths and legends and read through them out loud and respond in writing. They will be working on conversational responses to these stories.
The other students have been reading articles about what has been happening in Venezuela. Students have a general idea of the conflict at this point. We will be looking at various points in history in South America to better understand democracy and justice.
April (abril)
Students have successfully ordered food in Spanish and have been working on individual presentations in Spanish that answer 2-5 guided questions about food/food production/food habits or something cultural about food in a Spanish-speaking region. Some students have presented and are given choices of skills to practice while others are finishing up. All presentations are due by the end of the month!
We will be moving on to a unit of the students' choice. It will be taught completely in Spanish and students will be expected to use Spanish as always. Some ideas include magic, history of a certain country, everyday conversations, soccer, current events.
We will be moving on to a unit of the students' choice. It will be taught completely in Spanish and students will be expected to use Spanish as always. Some ideas include magic, history of a certain country, everyday conversations, soccer, current events.
March (marzo)
Students have been practicing food and ordering vocabulary with various small group activities and examples (videos, articles and live skits). They are working on being able to express preferences, order, talk about what others eat and cultural differences in eating schedule and food. Students presented skills to show what they know and are able to do thus far with the language. The vocabulary is a little different for the two classes and older students are asked to be especially astute to the irregular verb differences of some verbs called boot verbs.
February (febrero)
Students worked on creating their own stories using what they have been learning. They were asked to have it relate to their lives in some way, similar to the stories that we have been telling in class. What is important to them and what experiences have they had that have made a difference on their lives? Studentshad to
1. Plan out their story in Spanish (Characters, problem, events, ending)
2. Write their rough draft
3. Make corrections
Because this process was taking a long time and some students were having difficulty staying focused with such open work times students were asked to stop once they had made their corrections and will have the opportunity to come back to the project in a few weeks. Students were introduced to a wide array of vocabulary related to food in some way. We discussed how vocabulary lists are just a guide to help students get started in learning about topics and using words, but really I expect students to look up what they hope to communicate and be active agents in their learning. If they already are familiar with the words they were asked to look up more descriptive ones that they don't know to help challenge themselves. For example: tomar: to ingest.....they could look up hervir: to boil or saltear: to sauté
1. Plan out their story in Spanish (Characters, problem, events, ending)
2. Write their rough draft
3. Make corrections
Because this process was taking a long time and some students were having difficulty staying focused with such open work times students were asked to stop once they had made their corrections and will have the opportunity to come back to the project in a few weeks. Students were introduced to a wide array of vocabulary related to food in some way. We discussed how vocabulary lists are just a guide to help students get started in learning about topics and using words, but really I expect students to look up what they hope to communicate and be active agents in their learning. If they already are familiar with the words they were asked to look up more descriptive ones that they don't know to help challenge themselves. For example: tomar: to ingest.....they could look up hervir: to boil or saltear: to sauté
Weeks 13 & 14
Week 13: We reminded ourselves of our goals for Spanish class and tried to make them more time sensitive and concrete. We talked about racismo in Cuba and the connections between colonization, slavery, race and América Latina. We got some new vocabulary to work with and practiced it in context with a class story, which was followed with conversation questions in pairs. The B group was asked to create their own vocabulary list based on what they wanted to know and be able to use in an interview.
Week 14: We started out our week with stations practicing verb forms, using new vocabulary, listening to music in Spanish and reflecting on it as well as looking up information about hispanic leaders fighting for equality, peace and justice. We reviewed what we learned from the Centros and continued to chapter 2 of our novel.
Week 14: We started out our week with stations practicing verb forms, using new vocabulary, listening to music in Spanish and reflecting on it as well as looking up information about hispanic leaders fighting for equality, peace and justice. We reviewed what we learned from the Centros and continued to chapter 2 of our novel.
Weeks 11 & 12
Week 11: We discussed the current elections going on (specifically Chile), did various groups readings and translating using our vocabulary words and continued with our novel. Students also participate in dictations about once every other week to help to make us more aware of spelling words based on the sounds we hear because Spanish is very phonetic.
Week 12: We discussed racismo in Latin america by watching a short clip from "Black in Latin America" and discussing our own experiences with race in Spanish. We specifically focused on La República Dominicana. Students were asked to short faces based on where they thought they were from and later learned that they were all Peruvian. We discussed how you can't know if someone speaks Spanish based on looks and that oftentimes we are bombarded by images that influence how we view the world.
Week 12: We discussed racismo in Latin america by watching a short clip from "Black in Latin America" and discussing our own experiences with race in Spanish. We specifically focused on La República Dominicana. Students were asked to short faces based on where they thought they were from and later learned that they were all Peruvian. We discussed how you can't know if someone speaks Spanish based on looks and that oftentimes we are bombarded by images that influence how we view the world.
Weeks 9 & 10
Week 9: Students finished up their projects and did some research on a country if they finished early. They completed a reflection on the quality of their work and what they learned through collaborating with others and using Spanish in a meaningful way. Students presented their work and enjoyed some Mexican snacks during presentations.
Week 10: Students participated in a timed writing to help gauge where they are at in producing writing in Spanish without help. We reviewed how verbs work by looking at stories and meaning in order to extract the rules of how they work. Students acted out the first chapter of our novel in Spanish, started a class story and talked a little bit about where Spanish came from in order to get a better idea of why Spanish grammar and vocabulary is how it is.
*We began maps of a country focus each week and their flag in order to be more aware of the many diverse cultures that speak Spanish
Week 10: Students participated in a timed writing to help gauge where they are at in producing writing in Spanish without help. We reviewed how verbs work by looking at stories and meaning in order to extract the rules of how they work. Students acted out the first chapter of our novel in Spanish, started a class story and talked a little bit about where Spanish came from in order to get a better idea of why Spanish grammar and vocabulary is how it is.
*We began maps of a country focus each week and their flag in order to be more aware of the many diverse cultures that speak Spanish
Weeks 7 & 8
Week 7: We started our first chapter of acting out a short chapter book in Spanish. Students were asked to start organizing, pre-writing, and finishing their scripts for a story in Spanish. They must use the words that we have been working with and they are only allowed to look up 10 words as a maximum; however, they are encouraged to only look up 5 or less. Students will only have 5 class days to work on this project. They must go through the writing process of pre-writing, writing, editing, fixing and creating a final draft of their story. They also must create a visual component of a show, video, poster, book or comic of their story.
Week 8: Students had work time on their group projects, which are due next week. Students from room 202 were able to watch part of La Leyenda de la Llorona in Spanish without subtitles. They were also able to decorate their own calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls) for Día de los muertos.
Week 8: Students had work time on their group projects, which are due next week. Students from room 202 were able to watch part of La Leyenda de la Llorona in Spanish without subtitles. They were also able to decorate their own calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls) for Día de los muertos.
Weeks 4 to 6
Wow! I seem to have lost track of time. I will try to be better about updating bi-weekly.
Week 4: Students finished their first rotation of storytelling with an extended reading and comprehension questions. Students were asked to participate in their first timed writing in order to best assess what students are able to produce in Spanish without assistance. On Thursday students participated in their first monthly Spanish game day. This is when the students have various choices of Spanish games and are expected to interact with one another in the target language. We did not have Spanish on Friday because the Sky went to see Tiempo Libre.
Week 5: We started working in new mixed groups intended to both address behavior and academic concerns. Storytelling can be self differentiating by providing students with the opportunity to either go in depth or state simple facts to create their stories. The expectation is that with practice, comprehensible input, and repetition students will slowly start to feel the Spanish language and use high-frequency words in a meaningful and personal way.
Students continued to expand on their storytelling skills by doing another Ask a story as a class and putting the story in order afterwards. Students wrote an alternate ending for the story with a partner. Students also used the vocabulary in context with preguntas personales (personal questions). This is a time when the students are expected to read and answer the questions in Spanish to create a dialogue with their groups. The second group was given some additional vocabulary to act out and use in sentences.
Week 6: This week students reviewed storytelling vocabulary/structures and continue to build on their skills with additional practice with reading and creating stories together. Students also participated in their first bi-weekly dictado (dictation). This is when students will be asked to listen to Spanish and write the words that they hear. The sentences will come from the stories we create and read. Students will then correct their writing and try it again. Over time, this process should help students to better understand the Spanish phonetic system.
Week 4: Students finished their first rotation of storytelling with an extended reading and comprehension questions. Students were asked to participate in their first timed writing in order to best assess what students are able to produce in Spanish without assistance. On Thursday students participated in their first monthly Spanish game day. This is when the students have various choices of Spanish games and are expected to interact with one another in the target language. We did not have Spanish on Friday because the Sky went to see Tiempo Libre.
Week 5: We started working in new mixed groups intended to both address behavior and academic concerns. Storytelling can be self differentiating by providing students with the opportunity to either go in depth or state simple facts to create their stories. The expectation is that with practice, comprehensible input, and repetition students will slowly start to feel the Spanish language and use high-frequency words in a meaningful and personal way.
Students continued to expand on their storytelling skills by doing another Ask a story as a class and putting the story in order afterwards. Students wrote an alternate ending for the story with a partner. Students also used the vocabulary in context with preguntas personales (personal questions). This is a time when the students are expected to read and answer the questions in Spanish to create a dialogue with their groups. The second group was given some additional vocabulary to act out and use in sentences.
Week 6: This week students reviewed storytelling vocabulary/structures and continue to build on their skills with additional practice with reading and creating stories together. Students also participated in their first bi-weekly dictado (dictation). This is when students will be asked to listen to Spanish and write the words that they hear. The sentences will come from the stories we create and read. Students will then correct their writing and try it again. Over time, this process should help students to better understand the Spanish phonetic system.
Week 3
Monday: We started our first TPRS story focusing on the usage of ser and estar in the past and present tenses. We also practiced tener, querer and haber forms in our story. I kept notes on student behavior and interaction with the story in case you are interested in knowing how your child is doing.
Tuesday: We finished our first TPRS story and began the first phase of embedded reading, which is going through a similar story, translating it and practicing switching from English to Spanish and vise versa. Next week we will be finishing up the comprehension questions, working with an extended reading and ending with a timed writing, which will help me to better assess the students' Spanish levels.
**Group change: We have changed the Spanish classes to have longer classes and less transition time by combining classes and mixing students up. These groups may change throughout the year depending on the needs of the students. Many of the older students have shown a need for more practice with basic structures, so we are currently practicing those difficult structures through our stories as new Spanish learners and picking up the general feel and basics of the language.
Tuesday: We finished our first TPRS story and began the first phase of embedded reading, which is going through a similar story, translating it and practicing switching from English to Spanish and vise versa. Next week we will be finishing up the comprehension questions, working with an extended reading and ending with a timed writing, which will help me to better assess the students' Spanish levels.
**Group change: We have changed the Spanish classes to have longer classes and less transition time by combining classes and mixing students up. These groups may change throughout the year depending on the needs of the students. Many of the older students have shown a need for more practice with basic structures, so we are currently practicing those difficult structures through our stories as new Spanish learners and picking up the general feel and basics of the language.
¡2 semanas(weeks) de español(Spanish)!
1: Students participated in review community building activities at the start of class. Then they were asked to complete centros (centers) to pick a Spanish name, reflect on what they'd like to learn, tell me information about themselves, organize their binders and explore the room. On Thursday, a guest dancer came in to showcase various mexican folkloric dances. She will be teaching a workshop on Thursdays during recess that students can elect to attend. On Friday students were asked to fill out a Linguafolio. This is a packet that states various skills in Spanish and asks students how they feel they could do the designated task (I can do this well/I can do this somewhat/this is my goal). Students will look at these at the end of the year to see where they have improved.
2. On Monday students were asked to respond to their e-pals' e-mails at www.epals.com. Everyone has a secure e-mail (meaning I can see everything that goes in and out of their account) and can log in from any computer to check their e-mail at e-pals and write letters to their e-pal. Our e-pals are from Córdoba, Argentina. I was at a conference on Tuesday, so the Sky had other work that they worked on during Spanish time. On Thursday the Sky students had time to finish up work from the past two weeks that they hadn't completed or turned in and when finished, they were asked to participate in an activity focusing on responsibility when using online translators and dictionaries. It focused on understanding plagiarism and copying translated work as your own being wrong. I hope to follow up this activity with a class conversation on Monday.
2. On Monday students were asked to respond to their e-pals' e-mails at www.epals.com. Everyone has a secure e-mail (meaning I can see everything that goes in and out of their account) and can log in from any computer to check their e-mail at e-pals and write letters to their e-pal. Our e-pals are from Córdoba, Argentina. I was at a conference on Tuesday, so the Sky had other work that they worked on during Spanish time. On Thursday the Sky students had time to finish up work from the past two weeks that they hadn't completed or turned in and when finished, they were asked to participate in an activity focusing on responsibility when using online translators and dictionaries. It focused on understanding plagiarism and copying translated work as your own being wrong. I hope to follow up this activity with a class conversation on Monday.
WELCOME! y ¡BIENVENIDOS!
It's great to see so many familiar and new faces once again! I'm also glad that you were able to find this site! Here I will post Sky Spanish updates periodically throughout the year as units shift.
This year will be a little different because I will be primarily using a TPRS (Total Physical Response and Storytelling) approach. This means that I will be speaking in Spanish all of the time and will make it understandable with actions, gestures, movement and visuals. Classes will include body movement and interactive storytelling to keep students engaged and make language interactive and meaningful. Transitioning to using Spanish more often can be frustrating for students, but studies have shown that this is one of the most effective methods of language teaching. If you would like more information about it, please let me know.
The Sky students will be placed into three groups with varying grammatical and vocabulary focuses; however, we will be united by an underlying theme, which is the unit students are exploring in their classroom--A Study of Equality.
It's great to see so many familiar and new faces once again! I'm also glad that you were able to find this site! Here I will post Sky Spanish updates periodically throughout the year as units shift.
This year will be a little different because I will be primarily using a TPRS (Total Physical Response and Storytelling) approach. This means that I will be speaking in Spanish all of the time and will make it understandable with actions, gestures, movement and visuals. Classes will include body movement and interactive storytelling to keep students engaged and make language interactive and meaningful. Transitioning to using Spanish more often can be frustrating for students, but studies have shown that this is one of the most effective methods of language teaching. If you would like more information about it, please let me know.
The Sky students will be placed into three groups with varying grammatical and vocabulary focuses; however, we will be united by an underlying theme, which is the unit students are exploring in their classroom--A Study of Equality.
Summer Resources
I've sent a packet of summer resources home.
http://spanishplans.org/ipads-for-spanish/
Some Additional Apps I just found:
Conjugation Nation
To work on conjugation and Subject/Adj. Agreement
Spanish Grammar: Ser/Estar
To work on Ser versus Estar
Spanish Kids - Speak and Learn Pro
Vocabulary skills associate with the voices of Native Speakers
Spanish Articulation Probes
To work on phonetic pronunciation
Books in Spanish & English
Love children's picture books? Try following these books on the website.
http://spanishplans.org/ipads-for-spanish/
Some Additional Apps I just found:
Conjugation Nation
To work on conjugation and Subject/Adj. Agreement
Spanish Grammar: Ser/Estar
To work on Ser versus Estar
Spanish Kids - Speak and Learn Pro
Vocabulary skills associate with the voices of Native Speakers
Spanish Articulation Probes
To work on phonetic pronunciation
Books in Spanish & English
Love children's picture books? Try following these books on the website.
abril
This month we have been working on finishing up our stories from TPRS storytelling and preparing for our guests from Mexico to arrive.
15 de marzo
Spanish 1: We have been working on acting out new stories and vocabulary words.
Spanish 2: Students have been look at the poem "la muralla" by Nicolás Guillén. This week we have taken its meaning to heart and have been writing our own versions of the poem. Some students have also been doing make-up work (mini-stories).
Spanish 3: We have been starting a new mini-chapter with new vocabulary words and actions. We have had our first conversation time with the vocabulary words and have acted out the first story.
Spanish 2: Students have been look at the poem "la muralla" by Nicolás Guillén. This week we have taken its meaning to heart and have been writing our own versions of the poem. Some students have also been doing make-up work (mini-stories).
Spanish 3: We have been starting a new mini-chapter with new vocabulary words and actions. We have had our first conversation time with the vocabulary words and have acted out the first story.
¡marzo!
Spanish 1 : This week students have been catching up on work and getting their Spanish resources organized. Students must complete their carta for their pen pal and a mini-story utilizing what we have been learning in this first unit. We also began to dive into the second part of this unit with some new vocabulary and conversational questions.
Spanish 2: This week students had to complete their cards to their pen pals and writing a personal mini-story in Spanish using what we have learned. Students began a poetry unit and started reflecting on the theme of the poem.
Spanish 3: Students finished up this second part of the unit by acting out various stories, reflecting via writing and conversation on vocabulary and story comprehension and writing their own mini-cuento (story).
Spanish 2: This week students had to complete their cards to their pen pals and writing a personal mini-story in Spanish using what we have learned. Students began a poetry unit and started reflecting on the theme of the poem.
Spanish 3: Students finished up this second part of the unit by acting out various stories, reflecting via writing and conversation on vocabulary and story comprehension and writing their own mini-cuento (story).
25-28 de febrero
This week students continued working on vocabulary and story telling related to our unit. They usually start out class with a short warm-up verb conjugation activity or vocabulary activity. Most of the letters are ready to send, but some students that have been sick or didn't finish during class need to send their letters to me. Also, many students are still working on turning in their own mini-cuentos or short stories. Sky 2 students had the opportunity on THursday to go to Los Gemelos on Odana road to order mexican food in Spanish and participate in conversational Spanish as they ate.
19-22 de febrero
This week students worked on reading comprehension questions for a mini-cuento and writing and illustrating their own mini-cuentos. Students wrote a rough draft of a card to send back to their pen pals in Baraboo. Sky 3 went on a field trip to the UW-Madison campus where we took a tour of a dorm and met some students that live on a Spanish floor there.
11-16 de febrero
Students are still working on getting to class on time!
Cielo 1: We reviewed our actions and vocabulary this week. We read a few mini-stories in Spanish using our vocabulary words. Additionally, we had two times to have personal conversations about various topics using our vocabulary. We are in the process of reading the final part of the story before moving on to new vocabulary for storytelling.
Cielo 2: We worked on remembering our vocabulary words and strategies for staying in Spanish during our conversation times. We went over various mini-stories in Spanish by acting them out and answering comprehension questions. We are now finishing up with the last mini-story and writing our own stories before moving on to the next vocabulary and stories.
Cielo 3: We acted out and filled in verb forms for various mini-cuentos. We are finishing this unit up by creating our own mini-cuentos using a few of the vocabulary words. Then we will be writing our pen pals back and going on a field trip to the International Learning Community on the UW-Madison campus next week!
Cielo 1: We reviewed our actions and vocabulary this week. We read a few mini-stories in Spanish using our vocabulary words. Additionally, we had two times to have personal conversations about various topics using our vocabulary. We are in the process of reading the final part of the story before moving on to new vocabulary for storytelling.
Cielo 2: We worked on remembering our vocabulary words and strategies for staying in Spanish during our conversation times. We went over various mini-stories in Spanish by acting them out and answering comprehension questions. We are now finishing up with the last mini-story and writing our own stories before moving on to the next vocabulary and stories.
Cielo 3: We acted out and filled in verb forms for various mini-cuentos. We are finishing this unit up by creating our own mini-cuentos using a few of the vocabulary words. Then we will be writing our pen pals back and going on a field trip to the International Learning Community on the UW-Madison campus next week!
febrero
All students are working on coming to class on time!
Additional resources for the stories that we have started has been given out to students to practice at home.
Cielo 1: We finished up our poems and are moving on to a storytelling unit (El muchacho pastor) using TPRS (total physical response and storytelling). This practice should allow students to use their creativity to make their own stories and have more contextualized practice with reading, pronunciation of Spanish, writing and discussion based on the stories we read and write.
Cielo 2: Students have presented and reflected upon their food project. Now we are going into a unit using TPRS (El ratoncito del campo). Students have already acted and read their first story and will build on that experience to eventually create their own stories.
Cielo 3: We have finished our first story and vocabulary practice and are moving onto mini-cuento 2 of our story sequence. We have and a discussion all in Spanish based on the themes presented in the story (insects, friends, family and food).
Additional resources for the stories that we have started has been given out to students to practice at home.
Cielo 1: We finished up our poems and are moving on to a storytelling unit (El muchacho pastor) using TPRS (total physical response and storytelling). This practice should allow students to use their creativity to make their own stories and have more contextualized practice with reading, pronunciation of Spanish, writing and discussion based on the stories we read and write.
Cielo 2: Students have presented and reflected upon their food project. Now we are going into a unit using TPRS (El ratoncito del campo). Students have already acted and read their first story and will build on that experience to eventually create their own stories.
Cielo 3: We have finished our first story and vocabulary practice and are moving onto mini-cuento 2 of our story sequence. We have and a discussion all in Spanish based on the themes presented in the story (insects, friends, family and food).
21-25 de enero
Cielo 1: We are working on a description project.
Cielo 2: We are working on our food projects. Students chose to either make a menu, make a dish with a recipe or skit related to food. They were also able to propose their own project. THEY ARE TO USE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED! NOT google translate.
Cielo 3: We are working with saber and conocer, which have two different meanings of "to know". Afterwards, we will be moving on into a story telling unit.
Cielo 2: We are working on our food projects. Students chose to either make a menu, make a dish with a recipe or skit related to food. They were also able to propose their own project. THEY ARE TO USE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED! NOT google translate.
Cielo 3: We are working with saber and conocer, which have two different meanings of "to know". Afterwards, we will be moving on into a story telling unit.
Welcome back!
*Spanish has changed to include all homework given on Monday and due on Friday. Students who do not complete it during class time or other work times must come in during recess on Friday to complete it with me. This is to help me better keep track and help those who may need some extra help with organization, extra practice or more one on one attention.
Sky 1: We are continuing with our unit of descriptions of people by practicing the new vocabulary and putting to grammar to practice.
Sky 2: We are practicing the -er and -ir verb forms of the present tense so that we are able to use and understand them in context next week.
Sky 3: We are working on a project to use the command form we have learned and invent our own games or skits using sports words. After this unit we will be finishing up with some grammar concepts and moving on to some story telling.
Sky 1: We are continuing with our unit of descriptions of people by practicing the new vocabulary and putting to grammar to practice.
Sky 2: We are practicing the -er and -ir verb forms of the present tense so that we are able to use and understand them in context next week.
Sky 3: We are working on a project to use the command form we have learned and invent our own games or skits using sports words. After this unit we will be finishing up with some grammar concepts and moving on to some story telling.
diciembre cont.
All students were able to reflect on how they are doing in Spanish and on their goals this week. They have also been reminded that practice at home is very important! We have looked at some of the online resources during class time, but will look more closely at the book website because there's a lot of great verb practice and vocabulary review that would significantly help several students to better meet their goals.
Cielo 1: Many of us had forgotten or not learned the alphabet and pronunciation of sounds in Spanish. We learned how the vocales (vowels) keep the same sound no matter what in Spanish. English is tricky because of all of the funky vowel sounds. We looked at various trabalenguas (toungue twisters) and will continue working on this as we read more. We began our next unit on descriptions of people and things by taking notes on vocabulary and doing a little bit of reading. We will follow up with more practice on Friday.
Cielo 2: We finished our understanding of gustar doing interviews of one another, sharing what we learned about the person and watched a telehistoria review using those structures. Now, we have taken notes and began to practice how to use -er and -ir verbs.
Cielo 3: Students were gone for testing for a week. We reviewed commands for tú and how to add direct object pronouns (it) to the command. We ordered each other around. ¡Háblame! Speak to me! We were introduced to a project using the sports terms and grammar that we've learned and students were able to begin planning for it.
Cielo 1: Many of us had forgotten or not learned the alphabet and pronunciation of sounds in Spanish. We learned how the vocales (vowels) keep the same sound no matter what in Spanish. English is tricky because of all of the funky vowel sounds. We looked at various trabalenguas (toungue twisters) and will continue working on this as we read more. We began our next unit on descriptions of people and things by taking notes on vocabulary and doing a little bit of reading. We will follow up with more practice on Friday.
Cielo 2: We finished our understanding of gustar doing interviews of one another, sharing what we learned about the person and watched a telehistoria review using those structures. Now, we have taken notes and began to practice how to use -er and -ir verbs.
Cielo 3: Students were gone for testing for a week. We reviewed commands for tú and how to add direct object pronouns (it) to the command. We ordered each other around. ¡Háblame! Speak to me! We were introduced to a project using the sports terms and grammar that we've learned and students were able to begin planning for it.
3-7 de diciembre
Wow it's already diciembre!
Cielo 1: We worked on writing out first letters that will be sent to the Mexican students that will be visiting us and potentially another pen pal (a Middle Schooler in Baraboo) that we will write to throughout the second half of the year.
Cielo 2: We finished a mini lesson on question words/review with skits done by all students. Then we dove into creating meaningful sentences with our vocab. using gustar (to like). We will continue reviewing how this verb works next week. We ended our week making piraguas and looking at additional vocab. for food and how recipes are written in Spanish.
Cielo 3: We reviewed how boot verbs work (jugar) and learned how regular and irregular commands for tú (informal you) work. We looked at the verbs in the recipe of Piraguas, which we made on friday. (They are Puerto Rican "snow cones" shaped as pyramids)
Cielo 1: We worked on writing out first letters that will be sent to the Mexican students that will be visiting us and potentially another pen pal (a Middle Schooler in Baraboo) that we will write to throughout the second half of the year.
Cielo 2: We finished a mini lesson on question words/review with skits done by all students. Then we dove into creating meaningful sentences with our vocab. using gustar (to like). We will continue reviewing how this verb works next week. We ended our week making piraguas and looking at additional vocab. for food and how recipes are written in Spanish.
Cielo 3: We reviewed how boot verbs work (jugar) and learned how regular and irregular commands for tú (informal you) work. We looked at the verbs in the recipe of Piraguas, which we made on friday. (They are Puerto Rican "snow cones" shaped as pyramids)
26-30 de noviembre
Cielo (Sky) 1: We worked on reviewing what we learned so far to help get us all on the same page. We looked at some cultural information of a survey they took in a Bilingual school in Florida and compared it to our data.
Cielo (Sky) 2: We continued working with our vocab and finished up some of our work (mi plato project and review pages). THen, we focused on question word games in pairs so that we can present question word skits next week.
Cielo (Sky) 3: We reviewed the forms of jugar. It's a boot verb, much like a bunch of other verbs we have learned. We combined jugar with the other vocabulary we have learned with some skits on Thursday.
We didn't have Spanish on Friday because the students were gone on a fieldtrip.
Cielo (Sky) 2: We continued working with our vocab and finished up some of our work (mi plato project and review pages). THen, we focused on question word games in pairs so that we can present question word skits next week.
Cielo (Sky) 3: We reviewed the forms of jugar. It's a boot verb, much like a bunch of other verbs we have learned. We combined jugar with the other vocabulary we have learned with some skits on Thursday.
We didn't have Spanish on Friday because the students were gone on a fieldtrip.
12-16 de noviembre
We continued to work on vocabulary and started a new routine. Every other Monday we will be working with Aviv to learn a new song related to an important cultural point or to learn language related to what we are studying in a song format. On Monday we listened and learned a little bit of a song by Ricardo Arjona talking about illegal immigration and what that looks like and why people do it. THen we discussed the elections and how a large hispanic population voted for Obama and why we think that happened. On Tuesday and Thursday we continued to review vocabulary with games in Sky 2 & 3. In Sky 1 we continued working with the grammar structure of gustar with review games. On Friday only Sky 1 students had Spanish because of a group of dancers that presented during Spanish time. Sky 1 summarized data that they collected about what families at Wingra enjoy doing. We will continue summarizing with gráficos (graphs) next week.
5-9 de noviembre
This week we worked on getting to know and use some new vocabulary. We began our new routine. Monday: Spanish Music in Aviv's room Tuesdays/Thursdays working on vocabulary/structures and grammar. Fridays working on conversational skills with scripted interactions that we will hopefully be able to build on each other to interact more in Spanish during the school day. We worked on:
Spanish 1: Gustar structure
Spanish 2: Food words
Spanish 3: Sports words
Spanish 1: Gustar structure
Spanish 2: Food words
Spanish 3: Sports words
Check out symbaloo for online games/activities
El día de los muertos
This week I checked in with each student in regards to their stories and we discussed how they can be prepared to read their story to lake students on Monday. On Tuesday we began our discussion on culture, tradition and death. We learned about Day of the dead and how it came from a mix of aztec and spanish practices. We looked at what we would see if we went to Mexico for Day of the Dead. On Thursday we were able to go to different stations to try the bread that they eat, make Mexican paper flowers to remember the importance of the flower industry in Mexico and make la catrina esqueleras to remember the important mexican artwork that reflects this holiday. On Friday we didn't have Spanish because I was at a World Language Teacher Conference in Appleton.
Conference Week
Students have been progressing with their stories. I was sick on Monday, so we only had work-time on Tuesday. All students seemed to be on track to finish by the early part of next week. They should be finishing their stories/projects up this weekend. They are due on Monday. :-)
Cuentos/Stories
This week we continued with verb practice in most of the Sky classes. We did centros: where students could pick which activity would be better for their learning style. Sky 3: We finished up our projects and will be presenting on Monday. Students were able to pick from a variety of projects; however, most chose to make a prezi story using the vocabulary and verb work that we have learned so far.
Sky 2: After remembering how verbs work and what they do students are working on original SHORT stories using what we have learned. They are to focus on conjugating verbs correctly and thinking about it SIMPLY in Spanish and not translating directly from English. Many students have a Halloween (día de las brujas) theme.
Sky 1: We have been working hard putting our action words in use and adding elements of grammar (pronouns, ser: to be). We are working on a project that we will finish next week using parts of what we have learned so far.
**The Textbook Website is a GREAT place to review what we are learning. All of the unit vocab and verbs are put into games and review.**
Sky 2: After remembering how verbs work and what they do students are working on original SHORT stories using what we have learned. They are to focus on conjugating verbs correctly and thinking about it SIMPLY in Spanish and not translating directly from English. Many students have a Halloween (día de las brujas) theme.
Sky 1: We have been working hard putting our action words in use and adding elements of grammar (pronouns, ser: to be). We are working on a project that we will finish next week using parts of what we have learned so far.
**The Textbook Website is a GREAT place to review what we are learning. All of the unit vocab and verbs are put into games and review.**
¡VERBOS!
Spanish is going full force now! We had Spanish on Thursday and Friday. In Spanish 3 we worked on our vocabulary a little bit more, reviewed basic verb forms of ar,er and ir verbs and started on our projects. Students are able to write a children's book, story, presentation, interview, make a game ... the SKY's the limit...while using their new vocabulary words along with the Spanish they know. Everything should be writing in Spanish and many students are using prezi.com, so they can work on their project at home.
Spanish 2: We worked on the forms of TENER so that we can express things that we have to do (tener que) at school and things that we have. Because we have the vocabulary somewhat down, but our memory of verbs is kind of vague, we will be practicing present tense verb forms (in a game, or magazine, or online practice or sentences) this upcoming week so that we can do a personal project soon.
Spanish 1: We worked with our vocabulary some more (activities we like and don't like to do). We talked about our weekends, practiced our vocabulary with one another and are now going to use the vocabulary by learning to conjugate verbs next week!! Today we looked at pronouns very briefly, but we will continue to talk about verbs and what they mean.
Spanish 2: We worked on the forms of TENER so that we can express things that we have to do (tener que) at school and things that we have. Because we have the vocabulary somewhat down, but our memory of verbs is kind of vague, we will be practicing present tense verb forms (in a game, or magazine, or online practice or sentences) this upcoming week so that we can do a personal project soon.
Spanish 1: We worked with our vocabulary some more (activities we like and don't like to do). We talked about our weekends, practiced our vocabulary with one another and are now going to use the vocabulary by learning to conjugate verbs next week!! Today we looked at pronouns very briefly, but we will continue to talk about verbs and what they mean.
La cuarta semana (4th week)
This week we are focusing on using verbs/verb forms and creating meaning along with our vocabulary words. I am now speaking 95% Spanish in all classes. Students should be getting practice (homework) just about every night so that they can review and have time to soak in what we are learning about. I am hoping to integrate more cultural songs and storytelling for the rest of the school year focusing on a Total Physical Response Storytelling approach. On Fridays I am hoping to start more informal activities such as student selected soccer, dancing lessons, food or board games played 100% in the target language. Spanish Club will be starting on designing their piñatas and learning about the background of where piñatas come from. Sky 1-Reviewing numbers, days, date and classroom phrases Sky 2-Theme of Classes/School and Time Sky 3-Chores/Parties and we are moving to irregular verbs and commands
La tercera semana (3rd week)
This week we focused on vocabulary learning (comprehension, listening and writing). Students should be practicing at home by writing sentences/stories, practicing pronunciation, re-writing the words or drawing pictures of the words. In Sky 3 we reviewed verb forms. All levels were introduced to the website, different practices and google maps on Friday.
Homework (TAREA): Sky 1-word search,
Sky 2-Vocab. studying, crossword Sky 3- Story telling with pictures/vocabulary
Homework (TAREA): Sky 1-word search,
Sky 2-Vocab. studying, crossword Sky 3- Story telling with pictures/vocabulary
La segunda semana
This week we began to dive into vocabulary learning (speaking, writing, reading, listening). We took notes and played games to practice. By the end of the week students should be able to form simple sentences and recall what topics and words we talked about. Sky 3=Chore vocabulary; Sky 2=School/class vocabuarly/Sky 1=introductory vocabulary.
La primera semana
This week we are getting to know each other, getting used to the resources in the classroom and our textbooks. We will be reviewing basic conversational words, talking about el 16 de septiembre (el día de la independencia de México) and Spanish in our community. Check out the website links at online practice for review games.
First units: We will discuss balance of home and school life.
Cielo 3 (sky 3): Our houses and Responsibilities at home
Cielo 2 (sky 2): School Classes and Actions
Cielo 1 (sky 1): Initial Conversations
First units: We will discuss balance of home and school life.
Cielo 3 (sky 3): Our houses and Responsibilities at home
Cielo 2 (sky 2): School Classes and Actions
Cielo 1 (sky 1): Initial Conversations