My visit to Central and South America

I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of 4 Spanish-speaking countries.  During my visits I learned more first-hand knowledge about many of the topics I teach to your children.  I visited a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica where I got to meet 5 of the sloths that they are currently working with to re-introduce into the wild.

This guy's name is Elvis.  Here is the link to the wonderful organization that runs the sanctuary:  http://www.costaricasanctuary.org/home.html

In Mexico I got to see the Tulum Mayan ruins, some Mayans dressed in traditional ceremonial clothing and some "voladores" or Sundancers. 

And in Panamá I was able to watch several ships pass through the Gatun locks.  It was fascinating to see the ships rise and lower with the water levels in order to move through the locks. 

I also visited Cartagena, Colombia.  That was my first time on the continent of South America.  There I saw a Spanish fort or "old town".  The architecture was beautiful.

I am looking forward to sharing all of my adventures with my students in upcoming lessons.  

El Día de los Muertos

In México the people celebrate El Día de los Muertos and the lives of family members that have passed away on November 1st and 2nd.  Grange Hall students have been learning about this holiday and how it compares to our Halloween.  They have observed that other than the skeletons and candy there is really not much in common. 

3rd graders made beautiful "papel picado" or cut paper streamers to decorate our classroom.

4th graders made skull masks.  Some even had a "breast cancer" theme.  Can you find the breast cancer mask?

5th graders created "ofrendas" to remember family members, pets and famous people that have passed away.

Also, 4th graders created projects about Spanish-speaking countries.  The above pictures are of the Mexico projects.  All of the students are doing great work and are learning so much about the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.

Los Colores

This is a video of a 1st grade class singing our color song.  If I were more talented at editing video clips I would include the lyrics with the video.  In the interest of time I will put the lyrics here.  You may hear your children singing their Spanish class songs at home because they do tend to get "stuck" in our heads.  You will see why.

Lyrics: 
Red is rojo, verde, green,
Blue, azul, Negro, black.
Gray is gris, brown, café,
Yellow, amarillo, blanco, white.
Pink is rosado, morado, purple,
Orange, anaranjado, un arco iris (rainbow)

Calendar time

Every day the students come to Spanish we spend a little bit of time on the calendar.  In Kindergarten through 2nd grade the students sing a song to remind them of the days of the week.  Here is a 2nd grade class singing for you.

Symbolic Migration

The butterflies are ready to fly.  Third graders worked hard on their symbolic butterflies and we are now ready to send them off to Mexico.  The program we are using is called Symbolic Migration and you can take a look at it by clicking on this link:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

Mrs. Hobbs' class butterfly:

Mrs. Sayegh's class butterfly:

Mrs. Tiba's class butterfly:

Mrs. Sanders' class butterfly:

And Mrs. Marshall's class butterfly:

In the spring we will receive 5 butterflies from other parts of the country and messages for the class from Mexico.  The students are looking forward to seeing what they get in return.

Getting started with the school year

The school year has started off great!  I'm so proud of all of the students for how much they recall from previous years and their enthusiasm for learning more this year.  Following is a quick review of what we are working on in each grade level.

• In Kindergarten we are working on learning the very basics of our routine and some introductory songs.  Seeing the children twice a week this year has proven to be much better for their language development.  We have mastered the Buenos Días song and now the children are learning the Colors song and the Days of the Week song.
• In First Grade the children are practicing saying their name and introducing a friend.  They have also been learning the vocabulary for school supplies and greetings. 
• Second Graders are working on creating labels to label the rooms and places around the school.  They are working in groups of two to create clear, brightly colored labels.  When they have finished their labels will be hung around the school for all students, teachers, parents and visitors to see the vocabulary in Spanish.
• Third Graders are working on creating butterflies in groups.  These will be assembled and mailed to Mexico for an international Symbolic Migration program.  We will receive butterflies from other schools in the spring when the real Monarch Butterflies begin to head north to the United States and Canada.
• Fourth Grade students are working in groups of two to create a poster about a Spanish-speaking country.  They have done some research in the computer labs and will now be working with books in the classroom to complete their posters.  These will be hung in the classroom and on a bulletin board near the 5th grade computer lab later this month.
• Fifth Graders have been working on telling others about themselves.  The next thing they will be doing is writing postcards to 5th grade Spanish students of Harrowgate Elementary telling about themselves and their likes and dislikes.  We hope to receive postcards back from Harrowgate students in November.

Todo sobre Señora Melara

My name is Michelle Melara, and this is my fourth year teaching Spanish at Grange Hall. I absolutely love teaching Spanish to the students of Grange Hall and consider myself very lucky to work with everyone here at this school. I am the mother of two beautiful daughters, a 7th grader and an 11th grader. In my free time I enjoy reading, watching my girls play soccer and volleyball, playing with my dog Lola, working in my garden, and traveling.

I hope to teach the students to love learning languages, as I do. Learning a second language early in life is easier and helps students better understand different cultures. Whatever language your child decides to study in middle or high school will be easier to learn and less intimidating after learning Spanish in elementary school.