This week

8th grade Spanish students have been learning "La Hora" or telling time. Students have learned how to read a schedule, how to communicate early, late, and on-time, and how to ask for the time and respond accordingly in Spanish. Next week they have a quiz (Monday for blue day and Tuesday for red). Please be studying and practicing. Tell your parents what time it is!

7th grade Spanish students had an abbreviated Spanish week due to field trips but were able to continue their TPR unit. This week we read:
* Charlie el canguro
Students learn different structures in Spanish with each chapter. Students are asked guiding questions both written and orally and are asked to act in different scenarios each chapter.

6th grade Spanish students have been reviewing their knowledge of "tengo" "me gusta" and "quiero" as well as reporting the date and age of themselves and others. This week they completed an activity called "Se busca" in which they described themselves in appearance, personality, birthday, likes/dislikes, age, name and gender.

Off to a great start!

8th grade Spanish students have been learning "La Hora" in class. They have been learning how to tell time in Spanish and ask for the time from others. They are also learning how military time is used in Spanish speaking places and learning vocab associated with time (late, early, in the morning, at night, midnight, noon, etc).

7th grade Spanish students have started their first TPR unit and we have read 2 stories:
* Kevin va a la jungla (Kevin goes to the jungle)
* Relajáte (Relax)
Students learn different structures in Spanish with each chapter. Students are asked guiding questions both written and orally and are asked to act in different scenarios each chapter.

6th grade Spanish students have been reviewing their knowledge of cognates, false cognates, and sentence structures from elementary school. They started this review with the story, "Una vacación en México."
Students learn different structures in Spanish with each chapter. Students are asked guiding questions both written and orally and are asked to act in different scenarios each chapter.

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome Back!

¡Buenos días! I hope all students and parents had a restful and relaxing summer. I am excited to be starting this fresh new year with some fantastic veteran 7th and 8th graders, and I am thrilled to be meeting my incoming 6th graders.

The first week of school we will be reviewing the routines and procedures in our classroom. We are also reviewing content from last year and we will use that prior knowledge as a springboard for a productive 2015-2016 Spanish year. In my previous post, I have provided links to some Spanish websites that students utilized last year and are also ones that my new 6th graders will find very accessible. I am going to strongly encourage students to take 10-15 minutes for the next week or so, to review. I am hoping that the games will jog some memories so all students will start this year in the right mindset and in a good place.

I am also providing the standards for foreign language so parents/students can access what curriculum looks like at the national level. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. Here's to a great year!

The ACTFL (American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages can be found at the following link:

http://www.actfl.org/publications/all/national-standards-foreign-language-education

Refresh yourselves!

Just a reminder that the following links should be bookmarked by all 6th graders:

www.spanishspanish.com
(This website has the toenail game, number scramble, funny body parts. etc)

www.quia.com/shared/spanish
(Quia has Jeopardy [aka Challenge Board], Battleship, Hangman, Who Wants to be a Millionnairre [aka Rags to Riches], etc).

www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish
(This is "Mi Vida Loca" the Spanish murder mystery that has 24 interactive episodes.)

www.duolingo.com
(This is like a Rosetta Stone for kids. If students have not created an account, please do so. You need an email address to create an account. You may use your student ID # @portlandschools.org if you do not have your own email. Example:12345@portlandschools.org)

www.learnspanishtoday.com/learning_module
(This is "Build a Burrito," it has not been working lately, but it is a speed game that helps with vocabulary).

www.spanishdict.com

Our preferred online Spanish/English dictionary.

Just a reminder that the following apps should be downloaded on iPads by all 7th and 8th graders:

Duolingo Spanish
(This is like a Rosetta Stone for kids. If students have not created an account, please do so. You need an email address to create an account. You may use your student ID # @portlandschools.org if you do not have your own email. Example: 12345@portlandschools.org)

Spanish Mindsnacks
(This a game site that works with Spanish expressions/vocabulary)

CatAcademy

Learn Spanish from cats!

Have a great summer!

I want to thank asll 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for a great year. All grades are now posted on Infinite Campus. Please have a safe and relaxing summer. Please consider the following apps/websites to practice your Spanish this summer!

DuoLingo Spanish

Cat Spanish by CatAcademy

By Memrise

Check out this video about the iOs app students can get for the iPad! This is a great way to practice your skills so you won't lose them over the summer and will need less review when we return to school in the fall! This app surrounds mostly conversational Spanish, and can be used very practically. Have a wonderful summer!

http://www.catacademy.com/

Happy Summer!

8th grade Spanish students are learning about the Mexican celebration of the Quinceañera. Students are reading and discussing concepts of "la festejada," "damas y chambelanes," "brindis," "padrinos," "bolos," as well as special traditions such as "The Changing of the Shoes," and "The Last Doll."

7th grade Spanish students are learning how to conjugate AR, ER, and IR verbs. They are practicing orally and in reading/writing passages. They are taking readings they have already worked with and talking about situations in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd person.
*** Moore Time Spanish is in its last weeks of meetings. Meetings will alternate between Miss Parker and Ms. Twomey. New members are always welcome! This is a great opportunity to practice conversational Spanish in a relaxed setting with friends. It is also a wonderful way to earn extra credit in foreign language!

6th grade Spanish students are continuing to learn about two important Spanish festivals this week:

* La Tomatina

* The Running of the Bulls
Students compared and contrasted these festivals and discussed what they did/did not like about them in simple Spanish sentences.

Beginning of June

8th grade Spanish students did the following this week:
* ¿Quién soy? (Who am I?) Students figured out people/artists/groups by reading or hearing descriptions in Spanish.
* ¡Guacamole! Students created their own oral MovieTalk as an assessment to synthesize their MovieTalk unit.

7th grade Spanish students finish reading their novela "Las aventuras de Isabela." This week we completed the following:
* Capítulo diéz: Sam
* La Lucha Students played a game in conjugation and watched a "Conjugation Back" video clip to help them clarify in their Spanish responses.
*** Moore Time Spanish is in its last weeks of meetings. Meetings will alternate between Miss Parker and Ms. Twomey. New members are always welcome! This is a great opportunity to practice conversational Spanish in a relaxed setting with friends. It is also a wonderful way to earn extra credit in foreign language!

6th grade Spanish learned about two important Spanish festivals this week:

* La Tomatina

* The Running of the Bulls
Students compared and contrasted these festivals and discussed what they did/did not like about them in simple Spanish sentences.