¡Hola! We have been super busy in Spanish over the past few weeks! I have loved getting cartas (letters/mail) from your children and learn more about them and what they enjoy about Spanish class. Please encourage your children to create letters for me – it is a fabulous way to practice their writing and their Spanish!

Our new behavior system has been working very well and many students reached 5 “gols” and were able to pick special prizes.

A special felicitaciones (congratulations) to Kristina Collette for winning the Piñata party for her class at the Fun Fair! We will be having the party during lunch the week before Spring Break, and it is sure to be a blast!

Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in the lunchtime Spanish Club. Since each grade has lunch at a different time, and as some students participate in strings lessons during lunch, I have had a hard time coordinating a set day of the week for this. I am hoping to figure it out, but if your child wants to come in for extra Spanish during his or her lunch hour I am more than happy to have them drop in any time (if I am not available I will put a note on the door so they know at that time). I am also happy to respond to emails from students for extra practice!

Here is what each grade worked on these past few weeks:

First Grade

First graders finished their libros del alfabeto (Alphabet Books) and began learning about the calendario (calendar). We began by reading the story Mañana Iguana to review the days of the week. We learned that Mañana means tomorrow while we enjoyed reading this tale similar to “The Little Red Hen.” 1st graders did a great job predicting the outcome of the story while practicing the days of the week in Spanish.

• lunes (Monday)
• martes (Tuesday)
• miércoles (Wednesday)
• jueves (Thursday)
• viernes (Friday)
• sábado (Saturday)
• domingo (Sunday)

Did you notice that in Spanish the week starts on Monday and the names of the days are not capitalized? First graders were skeptical at first, but soon they embraced the differences! 1st graders next learned the months of the year in Spanish:

• enero
• febrero
• marzo
• abril
• mayo
• junio
• julio
• agosto
• septiembre
• octubre
• noviembre
• diciembre

We all had fun learning the months to the tune of the Macarena and many students already  knew the motions! Ms. Chapko’s, Ms. Hargadon’s, Ms. Nienhaus’ and Ms. Zebro’s classes learned it so well we videotaped it! Here are the videos (I am sorry for the poor quality of Ms. Zebro’s class, I only had my iPhone that day. I will ask them if they would like to do it again!):

Way to go, First Graders!!

Second Grade

Due to music rehearsals, 2nd graders did not have much Spanish the last few weeks (but the end result of the show was worth it)! When we did meet, we continued our unit on maps and communities; we learned how our homes are on calles (streets), which are in pueblos (towns) or ciudades (cities). The towns/cities are in the estado (state) of Illinois, which is in the país (country) Los Estados Unidos, which is part of the continente (continent) of Norte America. Finally, the continente is part of el planeta (the planet) La Tierra (Earth) which is part of the universo (universe). We drew rings to show how the areas get bigger as we move away from la casa (home). We began writing a class story about where we are which should be finished this week. We will then move on to learning about feelings.

Third Grade

In third grade we completed our communities unit. We worked on translating, then responding to questions written in Spanish about the story Un Día en Mi Comunidad (A Day in My Community). Some 3rd graders missed class due to the Academic Olympiad, but we were all able to complete the communities unit and start learning about Las Formas (shapes). We began with a review of colors and numbers, and this coming week we will begin learning how to say the names of shapes in Spanish. Felicitaciones to Mr. Erf’s and Ms. Rick’s classes for earning EQUIPO and getting to watch a movie in Spanish!

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders worked really hard the past 2 weeks on their “Word Art” creations where they showed the meaning of a Spanish characteristic through a picture of the word. You can see many examples of their work hanging outside my classroom, as well as in an online album. Click here to see it!

4th Graders began the next project, which is the creation of a “lapbook” called “Todo Sobre Mi” (All About Me). If students would like to include a small photo they are welcome (and encouraged) to bring one from home.

Felicitaciones to Ms. Wilson’s class for earning Equipo and getting to watch The Lorax in Spanish. Here are a few photos of their fun class period:

 Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we finished up our unit on matemáticas by completing our word problem comics. Fifth Graders worked really hard on these so you should definitely ask them to show you their work when they receive it this coming week! Here are a few samples (click to see them larger):

This week we begin learning about the 7 Maravillas de México (7 Wonders of Mexico). These include:

Hasta próxima vez (until next time)….

Señora Turner

¡Hola! Despite this past week being a short one (which is why I have combined it with the week before in this post), the kids worked really hard in Spanish class during this time.

On a special note, I have had a few students ask me if we could do a “Spanish Club” for extra practice. I have discussed this with Dr. Gendel and she said it is fine to have this during the lunch hour one day per week. If your child is interested, please email me by this Friday and let me know so I can create a list. We will hopefully get started next week. Once a day is finalized I will let those parents with children signed up, as well as their teachers, know all details. Thanks!

Here is what each grade worked on this past week:

First Grade

First graders started working on their Alphabet Books and have been doing a fabulous job. Each student was given a book with a different letter of the Spanish alphabet on each page, along with some examples of Spanish words that begin with the given letter. Students worked on drawing one or more of the items on each page, and will color in their pictures this week. It was a bit tricky making sure the Spanish word was used; many wanted to put “apple” on the “A” page, but when I questioned them about how we say apple in Spanish, most remembered it is “manzana” and therefore belongs on the “M” page. Here is a photo of some first graders working hard on their books:

In addition, students from Ms. Hargadon’s and Ms. Chapko’s classes earned a movie for filling out their entire “EQUIPO” sheet. They had fun watching the next part of “A Bug’s Life” in Spanish and trying to see how many words they understood.  Way to go! Once our alphabet books are finished we will begin learning about the calendario (calendar).

Second Grade

In second grade we continued working on our directions unit by playing some fun vocabulary games to practice words as well as Norte, Sur, Este and Oeste (North, South, East and West). We will continue with this unit the rest of this week, but will only be meeting a few times due to music rehearsals.

Third Grade

In third grade we started and/or continued our communities unit. We worked as groups to create our own picture dictionaries with all of the vocabulary from the unit. The vocabulary list can be found here. We will continue working on this vocabulary with the story Un día en mi comunidad (A Day in My Community) and continue to practice listening skills by following directions to various places on a map.

Congrats to Ms. Stump’s class for earning EQUIPO! You guys did a great job identifying Spanish words in the movie!

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders continued learning about personal characteristics. Students had fun completing an activity identifying characteristics of celebrities such as Barack Obama, Derrick Rose, Selena Gomez, and others. Words such as alto/a (tall), bajo/a (short); musical (musical); and inteligente (intelligent) were used to describe these famous people.

We practiced grammar and had great discussions about the differences between Spanish and English. Everyone was surprised to learn that objects are considered either masculine or feminine in Spanish.

We started discussing a fun project we will be working on this week where each student has chosen an adjective to create “Word Art” out of; for example, the word “musical” will be drawn out so the letters form instruments, etc.

Congrats to Ms. Levin’s and Ms. Kiedaisch’s class for earning EQUIPO. Great job!

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we practiced our math vocabulary by writing out our own problems (in Spanish, of course) and using them to create comic strips. The classes will be finishing them up this week and I hope to post them on the blog for you to see. Here are some pictures of 5th graders at work:

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

We continued to work hard in Spanish last week. I especially loved getting so many cartas (letters) in my new mailbox! I will be posting some of the questions I receive in the future so everyone can benefit from the responses. All classes continued trying to earn EQUIPO and while many did very well, some students need to practice being respectful and not disrupting class by blurting out responses, touching other students, or talking when I am talking. Please remind your children that Spanish is a regular class and it is to their benefit to behave appropriately and learn the material (especially if he or she plans on continuing Spanish in middle school).

Here is what each grade worked on this past week:

First Grade

In first grade we continued our quest to master the Spanish alphabet. We played a game called “Speedy Ball” where the children sat in a circle and a ball was passed around; when a child got the ball, he or she had to say the next letter of the alphabet, and if an error was made the ball went all the way back to the first person and the alphabet was started again from the beginning. The children had fun trying to get through the alphabet quickly (and accurately). After practicing the alphabet song several times, the first graders “performed” the song. Here are links to the videos:

Chapko

Hargadon

Nienhaus

Zebro

Great work First Graders!

Second Grade

In second grade we finished our transporte (transportation) vocabulary by playing Lotería (BINGO). The students enjoyed reviewing the vocabulary (and winning Spanish stickers, of course).

After playing Bingo,we began our Directions Unit with the story Yo Vivo Aquí (I live here). We compared places people live and discovered that Miguel lives in a casa (house) on a street (calle) in a town (pueblo) in an estado (state) in a  país (country) in a continente (continent)  on La Tierra (Earth). We also learned the names of planetas (planets) in our universo (universe). We discussed how although sometimes Spanish words simply add an “o” to the English word, this often is not the case and it is important to be careful.

This week we will continue to learn vocabulary that pertains to maps and directions.

Third Grade

In third grade we played Bingo to practice our vocabulary words regarding the house. We then began our communities unit with a slideshow about a boy on Spring Break in Grenada, Spain. We learned various places in a community (hospital, police/fire station, market, etc.) as well as several jobs held by men and women in the community. This week we will continue to learn about the community and start working on creating picture dictionaries to help remember the vocabulary. The words we will be working on are:

1. la casa – the house
2. el apartamento – Apartment
3. el doctor/la doctora – Doctor
4. la tienda – Store
5. el mercado – Market
6. el vendedor/la vendedora – Vendor/Salesperson
7. la escuela – School
8. el maestro/la maestra – Teacher
9. la biblioteca – Library
10. el bibliotecario/la bibliotecaria – The librarian
11. la estación de ______ – The station of…
12. el/la policía – Policeman/Policewoman
13. el bombero/la bombera – Fireman/Firewoman
14. el restaurante – restaurant
15. el cocinero/la cocinera -  Cook
16. la oficina – office
17. el abogado/la abogada – Lawyer
18. el  hombre de negocios/la mujer de negocios – businessman/Business woman
19. la comunidad – the community
20. trabaja – works
21. ayuda – helps
    
22. juega – plays
    
23. vivo/vive – I live/He, she or it lives
    
24. en – in
    
25. soy/es – I am/he, she or it is
26. hay - there is/there are
    

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders continued learning about personal characteristics by playing “adivina quién” (Guess Who), using adjectives provided by each person (in Spanish, of course)! We had a fun time guessing, and learned a lot about the importance of Spanish words being masculine or feminine. We then began practicing when and how to change Spanish adjectives depending on whether the article is masculine or feminine and/or singular or plural. We got into some really great discussions about the differences between Spanish and English, such as the fact that in English we put the adjective before the noun, and in Spanish we do the opposite. Many kids were also surprised to know that most words in Spanish are masculine or feminine. We will continue with our grammar work this week, and some may start working on a special project that will focus on using adjectives to describe ourselves.

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we continued working on solving math story problems and become more familiar with the vocabulary. We learned how just like in English, there are certain words in Spanish that serve as clues to help figure out what operation(s) to use and what the answer is looking for. This week we will be working on creating comic strips with a partner. The comics will be entirely in Spanish and will be a math word problem that the students will get to share with friends who can try to solve the problems.

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

Despite it being a short week we learned MUCHO en Español this past week! In addition to working hard academically, everyone did a fantastic job staying focused and behaving respectfully and appropriately. Many GOLS were earned by children in all of the classes, and most classes earned EQUIPO and got to color in spaces towards a class movie day. I hope everyone continues to work hard – it will pay off!!

Here is what each grade worked on this past week:

First Grade

In first grade we continued to practice the Spanish alphabet, and continued trying to remember the 4 extra letters in the Spanish alphabet (CH, LL, Ñ and RR). We worked on learning the alphabet song (the video is posted in last week’s entry) and are trying hard to become “experts” in the Spanish alphabet. We also practiced picking out words that contain the special new letters. I decided to postpone creating our own alphabet books until we are a bit more proficient, but will definitely get to them soon. We will first be playing some fun games to strengthen our skills. Keep up the good work, First Graders!!

Second Grade

In second grade we continued practicing our transporte (transportation) vocabulary by playing some fun games. First we played “matamoscas” which literally means flyswatter in Spanish. The children were divided into two teams and stood in two lines. The board was filled with all of the vocabulary cards from our transporte unit; some cards had just a picture, and others had just the vocabulary word in Spanish. The two students at the front of the lines each held a flyswatter, and after a count of 1, 2, 3 I would call out either a word in Spanish or a word in English. If an English word was called out, the students looked for the corresponding Spanish word; if a Spanish word was said, they had to search for the picture card. Whoever swatted the correct card first got a point for his or her team. We had fun and learned at the same time! We will finish the unit with Bingo (Mrs. Greenberg’s class actually already played this on Friday and had a great time reviewing the vocabulary and winning Spanish stickers).

Mrs. Bader’s class earned a movie and enjoyed watching Tangled (en Español) on Thursday. They did a great job listening and picking out Spanish words. Felicitaciones (congratulations) to Anna and Sara for correctly identifying the bonus words, PELO (hair) and LO SIENTO (I’m sorry).

Third Grade

In third grade we continued learning about the house and rooms inside the house. Children continued to work in table groups to label the parts of the house and complete a crossword puzzle using all of the Spanish vocabulary related to La Casa (the house). This week we will play Bingo to practice our vocabulary words, and then learn some new words for household items.

Ms. Stefan’s class earned the right to watch El Dorado, and did a great job listening and identifying Spanish words – 36 words were correctly heard! Felicitaciones to Courtney who correctly identified the bonus word ALTO (stop).

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders continued learning about personal characteristics. Since it was a short week a few classes needed to finish working on their vocabulario worksheets. We did begin to play “adivina quién” (Guess Who) in a few classes, and will continue and/or start this game in all classes this week.

Ms. Wilson’s class earned a movie and started watching The Lorax (en Español) which they loved. I think a new record may have been set – the class correctly identified 76 words in the movie! Livi, Emmy and Celeste each got a bonus word (SERIO, ÁRBOL, QUIÉN – serious, tree, who). ¡Muy bien hecho!

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we began to learn about matemáticas. Here are some of the words we learned:

• Añade: Addition
• Resta: Subtraction
• Multiplica: Multiplication
• Divide: Division
• Más: Add/Plus
• Menos: Minus/Subtract
• Por: Times/Multiply
• Dividido Por: Divide By
• Cada: Each
• Respuesta: Answer
• Total: Total
• Es Igual A: Is Equal To

We used these words to help us interpret and solve some word problems in Español, and practiced writing out answers using labels (just like in English)! We will continue to work on solving word problems and then will be writing our own problems in a comic strip.

For all classes….

Some of you may have noticed something new by the Spanish Classroom’s puerta (door). There is now a place for CORREO (mail):

I will be instructing students (and please encourage them) that they can write me letters to practice their Español and/or to ask me any questions they may have. I will be creating a new page on this blog where I will post and answer all questions! This is a great thing to do when finished with all regular work, or at home when boredom strikes!

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

We had a busy week in Spanish! Each grade is continuing to work hard as a team (EQUIPO) by making smart choices, cooperating with peers, and demonstrating appropriate behavior. In addition to our regular system of working together to earn a movie day (in Spanish, of course!) each child is now also working to earn 5 “goals” for demonstrating excellent individual behavior. One goal per class can be earned, and once a child gets 5, he or she will get to pick a special prize! Children can also earn “tarjetas amarillas” (yellow cards) as a warning, and “tarjetas rojas” (red cards) if the inappropriate behavior continues. Children have been advised that if a red card is received that student’s teacher will be notified and if we are playing a game or other “special” activity, he or she will have to sit out as a consequence. I am hoping that no red cards will ever need to be handed out! The children did FABULOSO the first week and many goals were earned! Keep it up!!

Here is what each grade worked on this past week:

First Grade

In first grade we continued to practice the Spanish alphabet. We read a story called Say Hola to Spanish and compared the sounds of Spanish words with English words. It was interesting (and confusing!) to see how words that contain letters that look the same as English letters sound different! We also hunted for words in the story that contained the 4 extra letters in the Spanish alphabet (CH, LL, Ñ and RR) – ask your child what sound each makes! We had fun singing the Spanish alphabet along with a video. I promised I would post it so it can be viewed at home, so here it is:

This (short) week we will continue learning the Spanish alphabet by creating our own alphabet books (we didn’t get to them last week as some classes earned a movie and others missed due to an assembly). Keep up the good work, First Graders!!

Second Grade

In second grade we practiced our transporte (transportation) vocabulary by playing 20 Preguntas (20 Questions) and Charades (in Spanish of course)! The children did a great job thinking up yes or no questions in Spanish, such as ¿tiene dos ruedas? (Does it have 2 wheels?) and does it travel by aire (air)/agua (water)? This week we will continue practicing this vocabulary before moving on to maps and directions.

Third Grade

In third grade we continued learning about the house and rooms inside the house. Children worked in table groups to label the parts of the house and complete a crossword puzzle using all of the Spanish vocabulary related to La Casa (the house). This week we will finish up our group work and then learn about household objects in Spanish.

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders continued learning about personal characteristics. Last week we learned about physical characteristics like hair and eye color; this past week we began learning the words for various personality traits such as “creativo” (creative), “inteligente” (intelligent) and “guapo” (good looking/handsome). We recognized that there are many cognates (words that look similar in Spanish and English, such as inteligente), and learned that adjectivos (adjectives) sometimes need to change to match the person being described (such as guapo for a boy and guapa for a girl). Children worked as tables to look up various adjectivos using the Spanish/English dictionary.  We will go over the meanings together and then use the words to play “adivina quién” (Guess Who).

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we continued practicing larger numbers in Spanish. We continued the activity where each student got a blank chart with squares numbered 1 to 100, and then tried one with numbers 10-1000!  Here are some happy 5th graders with their finished charts – showing maracas!

This coming week we will learn vocabulary related to basic math equations and will look at some math word problems in Spanish. Students will then have the opportunity to create their own math story problems in Spanish.

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

We had a great first week back after break. The children were ready to learn and had fun doing a lot of games and activities to help review new vocabulary. Here is what each grade has been working on:

First Grade

In first grade we began really studying the Spanish alphabet. Many first graders were surprised to learn that the Spanish alphabet has 4 more letters in it than our English alphabet. Ask your child if he/she can tell you what they are (CH, LL, Ñ, RR – in Spanish the 2 letters together are considered to be one single letter)! We read a story that allowed us to hear a paragraph in English and then in Spanish; we compared how many letters that look the same sound different in Spanish. Next week we will be creating our own alphabet books to help us learn and remember even more Spanish words.

Second Grade

In second grade we continued to study vocabulary about transporte (transportation). Here are some of the words we have learned:

1. Metro (subway)
2. Helicóptero (helicopter)
3. trineo (sled)
4. barco (boat)
5. vaporetto (steamboat)
6. tren elevado (elevated train)
7. tren (train)
8. coche (car)
9. camina (walk)
10. coche a caballo (horse car)
11. trolebús (Trolley)
12. salta a la cuerda (jump rope)
13. esquían (skiing)
14. bicicleta (bicycle)
15. autobus (Bus)
16. bote (boat)
17. patines (skates)
18. tranvia (Tram)
19. pie (on foot/walking)
20. motocicleta (motorcycle)
21. taxi (taxi)
22. transporte (carriage)
23. camion (truck)
24. carreta (cart)
25. globo (balloon)
26. avion (airplane)
27. automovil (automobile)

We had fun playing Cuatro Rincones (4 Corners) based on our transporte vocabulary. Each corner (1, 2, 3, 4) corresponded with either Air (aire), Water (agua), 2 Wheels (2 Ruedas) or 4+ Wheels (4 Ruedas). The students ran around while I counted to 5, and when I said “alto” they had to stop at the closest corner. I picked a vocabulary card and the kids in the corresponding corner were out. If a card was picked that didn’t fit any of the corners (such as patines), everyone got to go back in. We had a great time while learning vocabulary!

Third Grade

In third grade we went back to learning about the house and rooms inside the house. The children enjoyed seeing a slideshow of Bart Simpson’s house and the rooms he has; ask your child why Bart’s padre needs to have a big bed (porque es gordo)! We then read the book Los 3 Osos (The 3 Bears) entirely in Spanish and translated it together. The children knew a lot more words than they thought they did, including puerto (door), ventana (window), cama (bed), silla (chair) and suelo (floor). It was interesting to see how the words meant something slightly different in Spanish.

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders enjoyed watching their “Un dia en la granja (A Day at the Farm)” skits. We then began learning about carictaristicas fisicas (physical characteristics). After learning the words of different eye and hair color, height, hair length, and other items such as glasses and braces, the children worked in small groups to see who had what color eyes and hair, who was the tallest and the shortest, and more. In all of the classes the majority of people have brown eyes and brown hair, but we do have at least one pelirojo (redhead)! Señora Turner falls into the very small group of “personas con ojos verdes” (people with green eyes). We will continue learning about personal characteristics next week.

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we practiced our numbers from 1 to 100 in Spanish, as it seemed like many still had some trouble with the numbers in between. We started an activity where each student got a blank chart with squares numbered 1 to 100. We discussed how it is very important to be able to understand spoken Spanish and how listening is very important. I instructed students to color in certain squares in certain colors (for example, colorea los numeros veintitres, cuarenta y tres y sesenta y seis con el color verde – color the numbers 23, 43 and 63 with green). When we got to the last number the majority of the students had guessed what the image turned out to be and could tell me the last number and color that was needed. Ask your child what word was spelled out (HOLA). Next week we will finish a second chart and then try one with numbers up to 1000! We will also be looking at some math word problems in Spanish.

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

Happy New Year! I hope you and your families have enjoyed Winter Break! Here is a recap of the weeks prior to break, as well as an overview of the topics that will be covered in the upcoming months. As always, should you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me!

First Grade

In first grade we continued working on numbers 1-100 in Spanish. We had fun playing “Ring a Number” where the children took turns competing in pairs to see who could write the number I said the fastest in a circle on the board. We read the book de Uno a Cien (From One to One Hundred) and practiced counting up to 100 together. During the week before break, we read the story The Legend of the Poinsettia and learned the Mexican origin of the Poinsettia plant seen frequently in December. After learning about the Poinsettia, the children had the chance to make their own! Students en las clases de Hargadon y Chapko earned the privilege of watching 30 minutes of A Bug’s Life (en español of course)! During the movie students raised their hands when they heard words they knew, and we kept a list. They were surprised and proud that they knew more than they thought. Way to go 1st graders for earning “EQUIPO” – which means team in Spanish. Keep working hard to be respectful and ready to learn, and you will earn the next part of the movie before you know it!

In the upcoming months First Graders will be learning to master Spanish alphabet letter and vowel sounds, general vocabulary about la familia (the family), Cuentos de Hadas (fairy tales), animales (animals) and more!

In second grade we began learning vocabulary about transporte (transportation). We learned the Spanish words for many types of transportation, some common (like car) and some more unusual (such as hot air balloon). We read the book Oso en Bicicleta (Bear on a Bicycle) and discussed various places Bear went and how he got there. We took a break from learning about transporte during the week before vacation, and learned about Las Posadas, which is a celebration many people of Hispanic origin celebrate around the world from December 16-24. We read the book Night of Las Posadas and learned how a small town in New Mexico celebrates Las Posadas.

In the upcoming months Second Graders will learn geography/directions, feelings, the body, and animals. It will be a fun second half of the year!

Third Grade

In third grade the children shared their mini-books about family members. We finished graphing how many hermanos (brothers), hermanas (sisters) and mascotas (pets) there are in each class. The students did a great job, and each earned a special lapiz (pencil) and goma (eraser) for getting the data graphed properly. After we finished graphing, we began learning about the parts of la casa (the house). We learned how to say the following:

• Room: cuarto
• Kitchen: la cocina
• Living Room: la sala
• Dining Room: el comedor
• Bedroom: el dormitorio
• Bathroom: el cuarto de baño
• Stairs: la escalera
• Door: la puerta

Third Graders also learned about Las Posadas and read the book Night of Las Posadas. We also worked on a packet about Las Posadas in groups. We will continue learning about the house, and then will learn about la ciudad (the city), el calendario Azteca (the Aztec calendar), and la comida (food).

Fourth Grade

Fourth Graders continued working on their “Un dia en la granja (A Day at the Farm)” skits. Once all masks were made and groups were ready, students performed their skits for the rest of the class. I have uploaded them to You Tube (the link is private and only viewable to Avoca) for you to enjoy; just click on your child’s class/group below to view the video. You can ask your child which group he or she was in (1, 2 or 3) in order to find the correct link. If you have any trouble please let me know.

• Kiedaisch Grupo 1
• Kiedaisch Grupo 2
• Kiedaisch Grupo 3
• Levin Grupo 1
• Levin Grupo 2
• Levin Grupo 3
• Michael Grupo 1
• Michael Grupo 2
• Michael Grupo 3
• Wilson Grupo 1
• Wilson Grupo 2
• Wilson Grupo 3

¡Muy bien hecho! (Very well done)! In the upcoming months Fourth Graders will learn about characteristicas personales (personal characteristics), adjectivos (adjectives), palabras de preguntas (question words), mapas (maps) and more!

Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we continued learning about higher numbers up to one million! We completed worksheets ordering numeros en español from smallest to largest, and played a game to see how quickly students could write numbers they heard out loud in Spanish. We then did a research project where students used their computers to discover the poblaciones (populations) of various cities, states, countries and more; the numbers were then written out in español. Next students found the poblaciones of hispanos hablantes (Spanish speaking) people in various places, and wrote those numbers out in español as well. We will continue discussing poblaciones this coming week.

We finished the week by watching a video about Christmastime in Mexico, which taught about various celebrations that occur in Mexico from December to February. It was fun and interesting to see how different cultures celebrate! In the coming months Fifth Graders will learn about the 7 maravillas del mundo (7 wonders of the world), Mexico, el Arrecife (coral reef), and much more!

Hasta próxima semana (until next week)….

Señora Turner

SKILLS WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON . . .

Weeks 10/29-11/2, 11/5-11/9, 11/12-11/16, 11/19-11/30

First-For some Halloween fun, some classes played a game with jack-o-lanterns and needed to figure out if their jack-o-lantern had the special characteristic called after a chant. Students also learned how to tell time to the hour. We used the book Chumba la cachumba, to introduce us to the hours in Spanish. This book had skeletons doing different things at different hours. Since Day(s) of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is celebrated 10/31-11/2, I used the “symbol” of the skeleton to help introduce the basic concept of this holiday- a memorial day to remember family members who have died and learn about your family history.

Students learned a song called, “Tic-toc” that has us move our arms like the hands of a clock and describe different activities we do at different hours of the day.

We have tried to remember some strategies for remembering numbers in Spanish. Counting on fingers, using the number line and counting on a analog clock are three strategies the students have tried. These strategies helped students play ”¿Qué hora es?” Bingo.

Calabaza means pumpkin.

Linterna means lantern.

Linterna de calabaza,

Means jack-o-lantern.

¿ Qué hora es ? What time is it?

hora hour

minuto minute

Es la una. It is one o’clock.
Son las dos. It is two o’clock.
Son las tres. It is three o’clock.
Son las cuatro. It is four o’clock.
Son las cinco. It is five o’clock.
Son las seis. It is six o’clock.
Son las siete. It is seven o’clock.
Son las ocho. It is eight o’clock.
Son las nueve. It is nine o’clock.
Son las diez. It is ten o’clock.
Son las once. It is eleven o’clock.
Son las doce. It is twelve o’clock.

Second-We have learned the four seasons and matched the months to each season. We also matched numbers 1-12 to their corresponding months. Currently we are discussing articles of clothing typically used for each season. We dressed “Froggy” when reading the book, Froggy Se Viste/Froggy Gets Dressed by J. London in order to review clothing items used for winter.

To review all vocabulary for clothing, students are working in teams to pack suitcases/maletas with the correct article of clothing said.

estaciones seasons

otoño fall/autumn

invierno winter

primavera spring

verano summer

ropa clothing

abrigo coat

botas boots

bufanda scarf

calcetines socks

camisa long sleeve shirt

camiseta t-shirt/short sleeve shirt/tank top

chaqueta jacket

gorro winter hat

gorra de beísbol baseball cap

impermeable raincoat

jeans jeans

lentes de sol sunglasses

mitones mittens

pantalones pants

pantalones cortos short pants/shorts

paraguas umbrella

sandalias sandals

sombrero hat

suéter sweater

tenis gym shoes

Third- We have been making libritos (mini-books) called, En mi casa (In My House). Students are writing down in Spanish the people and pets that live in their house. Books will soon be illustrated and read to the class.

Yo tengo mi papá en mi casa. I have my dad in my house.

papí daddy

padre father

padrastro stepfather

Yo tengo mi mamá en mi casa. I have my mom in my house.

mamí mommy

madre mother

madrastra stepmother

Yo tengo cero hermanos en mi casa. I have zero brothers in my house.

un/uno hermanito/hermano one little brother/brother

dos hermanos two brothers

tres hermanastros three stepbrothers/half-brothers

Yo tengo cero hermanas en mi casa. I have zero sisters in my house.

una hermanita/hermana one little sister/sister

dos hermanas two sisters

tres hermanastras three stepsisters/half-sisters

Yo tengo mis abuelos en mi casa. I have my grandparents in my house.

Yo tengo cero mascotas en mi casa. I have zero pets in my house.

una mascota one pet

cinco mascotas five pets

Y aqui soy yo. And here I am.

Fourth-Students are learning  new ways to express feelings- called “Tengo Expressions.”  These new expressions will be practiced through a skit called “Un dia en la granja (A Day at the Farm).” Each students picked two parts they would be interested in performing. They will soon find out which part they will be and the others students that will form their skit group.  Eventually these skits will be performed in front of the class.

Un día en la granja: carácteres. . . Perro, Gato, Conejo, Vaca/Toro, Cerdo, Gallina/Gallo

A day at the farm: characters . . . Dog, Cat, Rabbit, Cow/Bull, Pig, Hen/Rooster

Perro: Hola, Conejo. Hello, Rabbit.

Gato: ¡Silencio, por favor! ¡Conejo está muy mal! Quiet, please! Rabbit is feeling very bad!

Perro: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué pasa, Conejo? Why? What’s the matter, Rabbit?

Conejo: ¡Ay, ay, ay! Tengo dolor de muelas. Oh, oh, oh! I have a toothache.

Perro: ¡Lo siento! Buenas tardes, Vaca/Toro. I’m sorry! Good afternoon, Cow/Bull.

Gato: ¡Silencio, por favor! ¡Vaca/Toro está muy mal también! Quiet, please! Cow/Bull is feeling very bad also!

Perro: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué pasa, Vaca/Toro? Why? What’s the matter, Cow/Bull?

Vaca: ¡Ay, ay, ay! Tengo mucho sed y tengo mucho calor. Oh, oh, oh! I am really thirsty and really hot.

Perro: ¡Lo siento! Hola, Cerdo. I’m sorry! Hi, Pig.

Gato: ¡Silencio, por favor! ¡Cerdo está muy mal también! Quiet, please! Pig is feeling very bad also!

Perro: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué pasa, Cerdo? Why? What’s the matter, Pig?

Cerdo: ¡Ay, ay, ay! Tengo miedo de las arañas. Oh, oh, oh! I am afraid of spiders.

Perro: ¡Lo siento! Buenas tardes, Gallina/Gallo. I’m sorry! Good afternoon, Hen/Rooster.

Gato: ¡Silencio, por favor! ¡Gallina/Gallo está muy mal también! Quiet, please! Hen/Rooster is feeling very bad also!

Perro: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué pasa, Gallina/Gallo? Why? What’s the matter, Hen/Rooster?

Gallina/Gallo:  ¡Ay, ay, ay! Tengo mucho sueño. Oh, oh, oh! I am really sleepy.

Gato: Estoy mal porque tengo frío. ¿Y tú, Perro? I am feeling bad because I am cold. And you, Dog?

Perro: ¡Estoy fantástico! Hoy es mi cumpleaños. Tengo once años. I am fantastic! Today is my birthday. I am 11 years old.

Otros: ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Perro! ¡Tienes suerte! Happy birthday Dog! You are lucky!

Alex Rodriguez es atleta. Dominican-American professional baseball player

Pablo Picasso es artista.Spanish painter and sculptor

Gary Soto es autor. Mexican-American author and poet

Shakira es música. Columbian singer

Cesar Chavez es activista. Mexican-American labor leader and activist

Frida Kahlo es artista. Mexican painter best known for her self-portraits

Lorena Ochoa es atleta. Mexican professional golfer

Ralph Alvarez es negociante. Cuban-American businessman and former President/CEO of McDonald’s Corporation

Cecilia Alvear es reportera. Ecuadorian-American news reporter/journalist

Jaime Escalante es maestro. Bolivian high school math teacher

Luis Walter Alvarez es ingeniero. Spanish-American experimental physicist, inventor (engineer) and Nobel Prize winner

Ritchie Valens es músico. Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist famous for hit “La Bamba“

Antonia Novello es médica. Puerto-Rican medical doctor, first female and Hispanic to serve as US Surgeon General

Maria Elena Lagomasino es negociante. Cuban-American businesswoman and former CEO/Director of Coca-Cola and JP Morgan Chase

Ellen Ochoa es astronauta y ingeniera. Mexican-American former astronaut and engineer of spacecraft technology, first Hispanic woman in space

SKILLS WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON . . .

Week of 10/1

First- We continue to learn about various fruits and vegetables and have begun to discuss fruits and vegetables native to Mexico (tomato, hot peppers, mango, avocado, corn.)  Many of the words for produce items are cognates or words that look and sound like the English word. We also continue playing a game called “Mesas y Colores/Tables and Colors” to review color words along with the fruits and vegetables we are learning.

aguacate avocado

brócoli broccoli

chile hot pepper

coco coconut

col cabbage

coliflor cauliflower

espárrago asparagus

espinaca spinach

limón lemon (lime in Mexico)

mango mango

melón melon

papa potatoe

papaya papaya

pepino cucumber

pera pear

rábano radish

tomate tomato

amarillo yellow

anaranjado orange

azul blue

blanco white

café brown

gris gray

morado purple

negro black

rojo red

rosado pink

verde green

Weeks of 10/8 and 10/15

Our study of frutas y vegetales continues. We have learned a total of 22 different produce items. Students are working hard as a class to recall all the words we have learned, by playing “Charades.”  We are also playing “Bingo” with this vocabulary to get practice finding words by beginning letter sounds.

Weeks of 10/1 and 10/8

Second-  We continue to discuss the months of the year. Students are recalling the Spanish vowels sounds to help them properly pronounce the months in Spanish. Groups of two put the months of the year in order in English, then matched the Spanish word to the English word. We have also been singing a song to recall the months using the tune “Pop Goes the Weasel” and used the book, Cuando esta caja esté llena (When This Box Is Full) by P. Lillie to figure out what special item is put in the keepsake box for each month.

enero, febrero, January,February,

marzo, abril, March, April,

mayo, junio, julio. May, June, July.

Los meses del año. The months of the year.

agosto, septiembre, August, September,

octubre, noviembre, October, November,

El fin es diciembre. The last is December.

Los meses del año. The months of the year.

enero-bufanda January- scarf

febrero-corazón February-heart

marzo-pluma March-feather

abril-huevo April-egg

mayo-flor May-flower

junio-helicópteros del arce June-helicopter seeds from Maple tree

julio-concha July-shell

agosto-cinta del la feria August-ribbon from the fair

septiembre-hoja roja September-red leaf

octubre-pepitas de calabaza October-pumpkin seeds

noviembre-hueso de la suerte November-wish bone

diciembre-estrella December-star

Week of 10/22

Third- We are learning vocabulary for immediate family, extended family, and pets using a silly song called “La familia grande/The Big Family” by B. MacArthur.

Tengo una familia grande, I have a big family,

en una casa muy pequeña. in a very small house.

Tengo un papá. I have a dad.

Tengo una mamá. I have a mom.

Tengo dos hermanas, I have two sisters,

tres hermanos, cuatro perros, cinco gatos. three brothers, four dogs, five cats.

¡Que familia grande! What a big family!

¡Que familia tan grande! Such a big family!

Tengo seis tíos. I have six uncles.

Tengo siete tías. I have seven aunts.

Tengo ocho primas, I have eight female cousins,

nueve primos, diez peces, once conejos. nine male cousins, ten fish, eleven rabbits.

Tengo un abuelito. I have a grandpa.

Tengo una abuelita. I have a grandma.

Tengo un baño. I have one bathroom.

Oh no!

Weeks of 10/1 and 10/15

Fourth- Students are reviewing greetings, introductions, feelings, partings and terms of politeness in a skit between two students. Skit groups have begun presenting in front of the class. After all groups have presented, I will ask students to recall all the different answers used during the skits for “¿Cómo estás?/How are you?”

¡Hola! Hi/Hello

¿Cómo te llamas? How do you say your name?

Me llamo ____. My name is ____.

¿ Y tú? And you?

¿Cómo estás? How are you feeling?

Estoy ____ ,gracias. I am ____, thank you.

¿Cómo se llama la muchacha? How do you say the girl’s name?

¿Cómo se llama el muchacho? How do you say the boy’s name?

Se llama ____. Her(His) name is _____.

Con mucho gusto. Pleasure to meet you.

Ya me voy. I have to go.

Hasta la vista. See you later.

Adiós,amigo. Good bye, friend (male).

Adiós,amiga. Good bye, friend (female).

Week of 10/8

Students continue to review greetings, introductions, feelings, partings and terms of politeness. We will soon learn new ways to express feelings and perform group skits.

Estoy feliz. I am happy.

Esta triste. He/she is sad.

muy bien very well

bien fine, well, ok

así así so so

mal bad

muy mal very bad

terrible terrible

horrible horrible

excelente excellent

fantástico/fantástica fantastic

fabuloso/fabulosa fabulous

magnífico/magnífica magnificent

tremendo/tremenda terrific

Week of 10/8

Fifth-  Students continue to review Spanish-speaking countries by playing the game, “Cuatro Rincones/Four Corners.” Another skill reviewed during this game is counting by tens up to 100.

Weeks 10/15 and 10/22

We are working on learning vocabulary for profesiones (trabajos)/ professions (jobs). Students acted out a profession/job of their choice and classmates had to guess the correct profession by answering in a complete sentence. Students will also act out a profession with their table group. Some of the professions change the ending to “a” for  a female but we also learned that there are several exceptions that do not follow this rule.

Sra. Pease es maestra. Mrs. Pease is a teacher.

Sr. Paynter es maestro. Mr. Paynter is a teacher.

Srta. Tramontin y Sra. Lee son maestras. Miss Tramontin and Mrs. Lee are teachers.

Sr. Paynter, Srta. Tramontin, Sra. Lee y Sra. Kondos son maestros. Mr. Paynter, Miss Tramontin, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Kondos are teachers.

activista activist

artista artist

atleta athlete

astronauta astronaut

dentista dentist

negociante business person

piloto pilot

policía police officer

abogado(a) lawyer/attorney

arquitecto(a) architect

autor(a) author

bombero(a) firefighter

carpintero(a) carpenter

contador(a) accountant

enfermero(a) nurse

ingeniero(a) engineer

maestro(a) teacher

mecánico(a) mechanic

médico(a) medical doctor

músico(a) musician

reportero(a) reporter

veterinario(a) veterianarian

SKILLS WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON . . .

Week of 9/3

First- La oruga muy hambrienta/ The Very Hungry Caterpillar by E. Carle: story to review numbers (1-10), days of the week and introduce fruits/vegetables.

Ask your child to sing you the “Days of the Week Song.”

lunes Monday

martes Tuesday

miércoles Wednesday

jueves Thursday

viernes Friday

sábado Saturday

domingo Sunday

Week of 9/17

In the story of  The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the caterpillar eats so many foods on Saturday that he gets a stomach ache. Students needed to change the story for Saturday and have the caterpillar eat a fruit or vegetable that was not already mentioned in the story. We first worked together to recall the fruits and vegetables that were mentioned in the story, then we drew our own ideas and shared them with the class. These drawing made by students will help us as we learn new fruits and vegetables as well as help us review colors. We also discussed that fruits have visible seeds on the inside or outside and vegetables do not. Your child should be bringing home these drawings in the next two weeks.

frutas fruits

manzana apple

pera pear

ciruela plum

fresa strawberry

naranja orange

pepino cucumber

sandia watermelon

vegetales vegetables

lechuga lettuce

Week of 9/24

We have been playing a game at the tables using vocabulary for fruits and vegetables. If the fruit or vegetable matched the table color, any student sitting at that table is out. If the color of the fruit or vegetable is not a color of any of the tables, then those students who are out get to come back in. Students have been enjoying this game because they get to move around and some produce like pera come in various colors like rojo, verde, amarillo and café.

 Week of 9/3

Second-”¿Qué tiempo hace?/What weather is it?”: Song to introduce weather expressions. We also played Bingo to review weather terms. The song is below.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Hace sol. What weather is it? It is sunny.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Hace calor. What weather is it? It is hot.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Hace fresco. What weather is it? It is cool.

Hace buen tiempo. It is good weather.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Hace frío. What weather is it? It is cold.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Hace viento. What weather is it? It is windy.

¿Qué tiempo hace? Está lloviendo. What weather is it? It is raining.

Hace mal tiempo. It is bad weather.

Hay niebla. Está nublado. There is fog. It is cloudy.

Hay tormenta. Está nevando. There is a storm. It is snowing.

Está parcialmente nublado. It is partly cloudy.

¿Qué tiempo hace? What weather is it?

Week of 9/24

We have also learned Meses del año. Months of the year in Spanish are not capitalized.

enero January

febrero February

marzo March

abril April

mayo May

junio June

julio July

agosto August

septiembre September

octubre October

noviembre November

diciembre December

Third- Review of numbers in the tens and pattern work with other two-digit numbers on hundreds charts.

Writing numbers on white boards in the tens, hundreds, and thousands using students’ addresses.

diez 10

veinte 20

treinta 30

cuarenta 40

cincuenta 50

sesenta 60

setenta 70

ochenta 80

noventa 90

cien 100

ciento veinte y cinco 125

doscientos ochenta y siete 287

un mil 1000

tres mil cuatrocientos quince 3,415

Week of 9/24

We read the book, Playing Lotería by R. Colato Laínez and are playing the game, “La lotería/The Lottery” to review numbers on the hundreds chart.  Students have a range of numbers to pick for each game on their game board. They can choose nine numbers that fall in the specified ranges.  If all nine of their lucky numbers have been called, then they can call out “¡LOTERÍA!“

Week of 9/3

Fourth- Choosing Spanish names and “La marcha de alfabeto/Alphabet March”; Song to teach Spanish alphabet and unique letter sounds.

Week of 9/17

Writing practice on white boards to review letter sounds and simple words. See my page “El alfabeto español” for specific letter names/sounds.

Week of 9/24

Students worked in table groups to figure out the missing parts in a skit between Pedro and Felipe. The completed skit was then acted out with a partner and we discussed other ways to answer- ¿Cómo estás? (How are you feeling?) instead of “muy bien (very well)”, which was used in the skit. Students will soon perform a new skit with a partner to review greetings, introductions, feelings, partings and terms of politeness.

¡Hola! Hi/Hello

¿Cómo te llamas? How do you say your name?

Me llamo Pedro. My name is Pedro.

¿ Y tú? And you?

¿Cómo estás? How are you feeling?

Estoy muy bien, gracias. I am very well, thank you.

¿Cómo se llama la muchacha? How do you say the girl’s name?

¿Cómo se llama el muchacho? How do you say the boy’s name?

Se llama Elena. Her(His) name is Elena.

Adiós. Good bye.

Hasta luego. See you later.

Week of 9/3

Fifth- Choosing Spanish names and group work to discuss “¿Por qué aprendemos español en Avoca West?/ Why do we learn Spanish at Avoca West?”

Week of 9/10

We learned how to write the date in Spanish – day, month and year and discussed note taking and using resources for information. On September 16, 1810, México declared independence from Spain. A brief video was shown of last year’s Independence Day celebration in Mexico City. Some cognates we have learned are below.

lenguage language

inglés English

chino madarín Madarin Chinese

hindi-urdu hindi-urdu

árabe arabic

común common

vocabulario vocabulary

comprensión comprehension

memoria memory

creatividad creativity

oportunidades opportunities

vacaciones vacation

Week of 9/17

Students had their first graded assessment, a quiz, to check if they are taking good notes and able to find information from class resources. Quizes and tests are just part of a fifth grade student’s Spanish grade. Group work, effort and participation are also taken into consideration.

Week of 9/24

They have learned that Spanish is an official language on four different continents. We used maps and globes to determine Spanish-speaking countries for each continent.

países hispanohablantes Spanish-speaking countries

América del Norte North America

México,Cuba, República Dominicana, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá

América del Sur South America

Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

Europa Europe

España

África Africa

Guinea Ecuatorial