Have a wonderful winter break!

All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders have been challenged to do 5 levels of DuoLingo this winter vacation! Please note that Infinite Campus has been updated and this break is a wonderful opportunity for students to catch up on any work that may still be outstanding. Start the new year off fresh!
Be sure to relax and enjoy the season with friends and family.

The Week Before Break

8th grade Spanish students now have their most recent grades updated on Infinite Campus. Please make note of any of the TPR stories that are missing and be sure to hand them in. For parents unfamiliar with TPRS please see the explanation below:

TPR Storytelling (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling TPRS) is method of teaching foreign languages where a mixture of reading and storytelling help students learn Spanish in the classroom setting. The method works in three steps: 1.) Vocabulary structures are learned and are taught using a combination translation, gestures, and personalized questions. 2.) Those structures are used in a spoken class story; and finally, 3.) These same structures are used in a class reading. Throughout these 3 steps, the teacher will use a sumber of techniques to help make sure the target language is comprehensible to students; including careful limiting of vocabulary, the constant asking of comprehension questions, frequent comprehension checks and very short grammar explanations known as "pop-up grammar."

7th grade Spanish students worked with two stories surrounding "La Escuela" (School). The stories included:
* Pobre Ana y su horario (Poor Ana and her school schedule!)
* Un Estudiante Loco ( A crazy student)
These two stories must be handed in before the winter break. 

6th grade Spanish students are using body parts, emotions, and descriptive words to describe how others look and feel. Students are also expressing their feelings using "me duele..." (My  _______ hurts). Students will be able to express what is bothering them physically to a doctor.

The Beginning of Trimester II

8th grade Spanish students are continuing their unit called "Cuentos." So far students should have read and mapped the following stories:
1.) ¿Con quién va Luis?
2.) El Canguro se llama Charlie
3.) Relájate
4.) Marco le gusta Hablar
5.) Raquel y la fiesta de Janucá
It is important that these 5 assignments are handed in before winter break. Grades can be found on Infinite Campus.

7th grade Spanish students have begun a unit with "Objetos de la clase" (Classroom objects). Students have been working with the following structures most closely: "Escuchar" (to listen). "Responder" (to respond), "Entender" (to understand), "Aprender" (to learn), "Enseñar" (to teach), "Escribir" (to write), "Leer" (to read), "Preguntar" (to ask), "Pensar" (to think), "Estudiar" (to study). Students are acquiring school-related vocabulary through these structures by performing oral activities in class.

6th grade Spanish students have continued with "Partes del cuerpo." They will start describing things in Spanish using body parts (blonde hair, long legs, big eyes, etc, etc). The unit will be synthesized in a brief project/assignment where the must create a "monster" and describe the monster in Spanish.

First week of December

8th grade Spanish students have received grades on Infinite Campus for their MovieTalk unit. The grading window closes Friday, December 5th. Students have begun their most recent unit, Cuentos (Part II). This unit has oral and written components in which students reading stories aloud, act them out, and then answer questions about the story both orally and in writing. This unit will take us until the winter break and will be our first unit grade for the second trimester.

7th grade Spanish students did their oral presentations for their "Comunidad" projects. Students did a great deal of writing and speaking about directions and places for this unit. Grades for Comunidad will be posted by the end of next week. Our next unit will be "Objetos de la clase" (Classroom objects) which will take us into the winter break.

6th grade Spanish students are learning the difference between "Tú versus Usted" in Spanish. They are learning how and when to address others using the word "you" in different circumstances (the formal and the informal). We are practicing this using role-plays in class. Grades for this assignment will be posted by the end of next week.