One of my 1st grade classes did such a nice job with their color song today that I let them make a video of our song. This is Mrs. Burns' class singing "Los Colores" and showing you the colors they know.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Symbolic Migration 2012
Third graders created a large class butterfly to send to Mexico as part of our participation in Symbolic Migration, symbolizing the migration of the monarch butterfly to Mexico for the winter. They also each created a small life size butterfly with a message and sent those along with the large butterfly to Mexico to be cared for by students there. Below are the pictures of the finished class butterflies. We will receive butterflies in return from Mexico in late April or early May.
Mrs. Sayegh's class butterfly:
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Back to School
The school year has begun and the students are off and running with their Spanish. I hear more Spanish being spoken to me and to each other than ever when I walk through the halls of the Grange. Here is a quick update of what is going on in Spanish class until I can get some pictures and documents loaded.
Kindergarten: Students are coming to Spanish twice a week in a rotation shared with the Music teacher Miss Ericson. They have learned the calendar song, the color song, and the Buenos Días song. Ask them to sing one to you. They are working on numbers up to 25, but they all came in pretty much knowing their Spanish numbers to 10 thanks to Dora the Explorer!. They can tell you how they are feeling and their name in Spanish when asked. We have talked about the people in school, from the teachers to the nurse to the principal and custodians. They are now learning the vocabulary for the different places in the school building.
1st grade: Students have reviewed basic questions like "How are you?" and "What is your name?" and can reliably answer those questions when asked. We have reviewed the color song and practiced several activities with colors. Students should have brought home their color bears activity where they were given a cup of colored bears that they had to sort and count and color their sheet according to the Spanish words. They did all of this following directions given only in Spanish. Students have reviewed the people in school and the places in school and are now working on learning the weather phrases, motions for each, and clothing to wear for each weather situation.
2nd grade: Students have reviewed basic questions just as in 1st grade and are very good at answering those questions. They are continually reviewed throughout 2nd grade. Students have learned the vocabulary for the people and places in school and we have done an activity where they created their resource schedule in Spanish. It is very hard to say Physical Education in Spanish, ask your student if they are able to do that. We have moved onto our daily schedules here at Grange Hall and what school is like for students in Argentina.
3rd grade: Students have learned a lot of new phrases for important things to know to get along in a Spanish classroom and have reviewed basic greetings and introductions. From there we moved onto Symbolic Migration and have made our butterflies to send to Mexico. They were sent off to Mexico late last week and we should be able to see where they end up for the winter in January or February. We will receive butterflies in return in April or May of 2013. Now we are working on telling time to the quarter hour and playing lots of games to reinforce that concept. Soon we will move onto the Ancient cultures of the Mayans, the Aztecs and the Incans. This is a fun unit and the students will learn a lot that will compliment their studies in their regular classrooms with the other ancient cultures they learn about.
4th grade: Students have learned to write and answer a few questions about themselves. They made a foldable and introduced themselves to the class. They all had the opportunity to choose a Spanish name as part of this activity for use in Spanish class. Can your child tell you their Spanish class name? Now 4th graders are learning about People on the Move and why Spanish is spoken in so many parts of the world. We have learned the names of the continents and oceans in Spanish and have labeled a map to keep in their notebooks.
5th grade: Students have reviewed the basic greetings and introductions and answered many questions about themselves. They have created a passport to begin our unit on Great Places and are now working on a project about a Spanish speaking country. They will be sharing their projects over the next couple of weeks. To complete the project students went to the computer lab to use the on-line databases from the Grange Hall library and they also used reference books from the library. They created a foldable about their country which shows many facts. They will share these with the class while only speaking Spanish.
As you can see, we have been very busy in Spanish class so far this school year. I would have updated my blog sooner but there was a delay with the addition of Edmodo to our system as it conflicted with other google accounts. Once I get my googledocs back up and running I will share the vocabulary lists and themes each quarter. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Kindergarten: Students are coming to Spanish twice a week in a rotation shared with the Music teacher Miss Ericson. They have learned the calendar song, the color song, and the Buenos Días song. Ask them to sing one to you. They are working on numbers up to 25, but they all came in pretty much knowing their Spanish numbers to 10 thanks to Dora the Explorer!. They can tell you how they are feeling and their name in Spanish when asked. We have talked about the people in school, from the teachers to the nurse to the principal and custodians. They are now learning the vocabulary for the different places in the school building.
1st grade: Students have reviewed basic questions like "How are you?" and "What is your name?" and can reliably answer those questions when asked. We have reviewed the color song and practiced several activities with colors. Students should have brought home their color bears activity where they were given a cup of colored bears that they had to sort and count and color their sheet according to the Spanish words. They did all of this following directions given only in Spanish. Students have reviewed the people in school and the places in school and are now working on learning the weather phrases, motions for each, and clothing to wear for each weather situation.
2nd grade: Students have reviewed basic questions just as in 1st grade and are very good at answering those questions. They are continually reviewed throughout 2nd grade. Students have learned the vocabulary for the people and places in school and we have done an activity where they created their resource schedule in Spanish. It is very hard to say Physical Education in Spanish, ask your student if they are able to do that. We have moved onto our daily schedules here at Grange Hall and what school is like for students in Argentina.
3rd grade: Students have learned a lot of new phrases for important things to know to get along in a Spanish classroom and have reviewed basic greetings and introductions. From there we moved onto Symbolic Migration and have made our butterflies to send to Mexico. They were sent off to Mexico late last week and we should be able to see where they end up for the winter in January or February. We will receive butterflies in return in April or May of 2013. Now we are working on telling time to the quarter hour and playing lots of games to reinforce that concept. Soon we will move onto the Ancient cultures of the Mayans, the Aztecs and the Incans. This is a fun unit and the students will learn a lot that will compliment their studies in their regular classrooms with the other ancient cultures they learn about.
4th grade: Students have learned to write and answer a few questions about themselves. They made a foldable and introduced themselves to the class. They all had the opportunity to choose a Spanish name as part of this activity for use in Spanish class. Can your child tell you their Spanish class name? Now 4th graders are learning about People on the Move and why Spanish is spoken in so many parts of the world. We have learned the names of the continents and oceans in Spanish and have labeled a map to keep in their notebooks.
5th grade: Students have reviewed the basic greetings and introductions and answered many questions about themselves. They have created a passport to begin our unit on Great Places and are now working on a project about a Spanish speaking country. They will be sharing their projects over the next couple of weeks. To complete the project students went to the computer lab to use the on-line databases from the Grange Hall library and they also used reference books from the library. They created a foldable about their country which shows many facts. They will share these with the class while only speaking Spanish.
As you can see, we have been very busy in Spanish class so far this school year. I would have updated my blog sooner but there was a delay with the addition of Edmodo to our system as it conflicted with other google accounts. Once I get my googledocs back up and running I will share the vocabulary lists and themes each quarter. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
International Week Photos
Thank you to all of the parents who visited and the students who made t-shirts or found t-shirts with another language on them. Sombrero day was fun too and it was fun to see the kids walking around with their tiny, fitting and huge sombreros.
We are still looking forward to visitors in the coming weeks who just couldn't make it this past week. We hope to learn more about Costa Rica, Japan, Italy, Canada and France soon.
Monday, April 30, 2012
¿Qué pasa en la clase de español?
It's hard to believe that the last quarter of the school year is already here. The students have been hard at work every week and are learning so much. It is International Week here at Grange Hall and many people are scheduled to visit their child's classroom this week and next to celebrate the diverse group of families we have here at our school. It's never too late to schedule a visit. Contact me at michelle_melara@ccpsnet.net if you want to schedule a visit of your own.
Las Mariposas Monarcas with Symbolic Migration have arrived. The butterflies arrived a week or so ago and began going home with 3rd graders last week. We received symbolic butterflies from all over the United States and Canada. The students enjoyed getting back a butterfly from other students around the continent.
In the next week or so 5th graders will be receiving their final pen pal letter from students at Harrowgate Elementary School. This has been a rewarding opportunity for our students and theirs to practice using their written Spanish. We can't wait to get those letters and finally get to see our pen pals as pictures will be included in this last letter. I want to thank Mrs. Amy Miller from Harrowgate Elementary School for helping me to organize and plan this program.
It's a couple of weeks late but I wanted to share the curriculum for what is being taught this 9 weeks in Spanish class. Please click on the grade level for your child and it will take you to the ¿Qué pasa? newsletter to let you know what is happening in Spanish class for that grade level.
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Las Mariposas Monarcas with Symbolic Migration have arrived. The butterflies arrived a week or so ago and began going home with 3rd graders last week. We received symbolic butterflies from all over the United States and Canada. The students enjoyed getting back a butterfly from other students around the continent.
In the next week or so 5th graders will be receiving their final pen pal letter from students at Harrowgate Elementary School. This has been a rewarding opportunity for our students and theirs to practice using their written Spanish. We can't wait to get those letters and finally get to see our pen pals as pictures will be included in this last letter. I want to thank Mrs. Amy Miller from Harrowgate Elementary School for helping me to organize and plan this program.
It's a couple of weeks late but I wanted to share the curriculum for what is being taught this 9 weeks in Spanish class. Please click on the grade level for your child and it will take you to the ¿Qué pasa? newsletter to let you know what is happening in Spanish class for that grade level.
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Friday, April 20, 2012
Ocean Animals
I just wanted to check in to show off some work done by some of the 5th graders. They have done a fantastic job all year with their writing and speaking in Spanish. This is a video of a rap song created by two students. They are very talented girls.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Why Bilinguals are Smarter
I've come across an interesting article I thought parents might be interested in reading. Check it out to learn more about why learning a second (or third, etc.) language is beneficial to your child.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html?_r=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html?_r=1
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
¿Qué pasa en la clase de español?
The second semester has begun and although I have not posted in a couple of months the students are working hard every day. I had some wonderful videos to share of presentations the students did that were saved to my computer yesterday but can't be found today. Hopefully I can share some pictures soon.
Below are the links for you to find the vocabulary concentration and theme for each grade level this quarter.
Kindergarten
1st grade
2nd grade
3rd grade
4th grade
5th grade
As always, please feel free to contact me any time by e-mail at michelle_melara@ccpsnet.net.
Below are the links for you to find the vocabulary concentration and theme for each grade level this quarter.
Kindergarten
1st grade
2nd grade
3rd grade
4th grade
5th grade
As always, please feel free to contact me any time by e-mail at michelle_melara@ccpsnet.net.
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