el 12 de noviembre:
After finishing up the Day of the Dead unit, we are wrapping up our alphabet unit. Students are all making name poems. You should be looking for these to come home next week. We will be starting a unit on the rooms of a house after Thanksgiving. In this unit, students will create a "pretend" house to fill with items on our vocabulary list. I will post vocabulary lists in the 3-5 documents to the left as we learn them.
el 27 de octubre:
On Thursday we will celebrate el Día de los Muertos (see below for a description of this Mexican holiday). Students should come to class ready with their Día de los Muertos sheets filled out. If they are having trouble with this sheet, they can ask for help with them. I have posted a copy of the two sided paper in the 3-5th documents to the left. If students have not known a family member who has died, this is a wonderful time to share your memories with your children and help them "know" their ancestors. They will bring in altar items for the celebration on Thursday. For example if their great grandpa lived up north on a lake, they might bring in a leaf (to symbolize the wilderness), a stuffed animal such as a bird (to symbolize the wild life), and a boat (to symbolize the lake). Pictures are also a very common element to an altar. I hope this is a helpful explanation. Please email me if you have further questions on what is needed for class on Thursday.
el 22 de octubre:
We are starting our celebration of Dia de los Muertos. This is a holiday that is celebrated in Mexico on November 1st and 2nd. The roots of this holiday come from ancient Aztec and traditional Catholicism. During this holiday, tradition has it that the spirits of loved ones are able to return to their early homes. Families decorate altars to invite their loved ones home. Photographs, flowers, favorite foods, and memorabilia from the person's life on Earth are placed on the altar. Families recall their memories of loved ones with each other so even the youngest generations can "remember" those who have died before them. We will be honoring an ancestor on Thursday, October 29th. More information will come home about what this means. You should be thinking of the ancestor you want to celebrate for el Dia de los Muertos.
el 29 de septiembre:
Today kids got a pronunciation guide for the Spanish alphabet. I have posted it in the 3-5th grade documents. They also received a 2-sided hand-out that had some common vocabulary on one side and alphabetizing the words on the other side. I will not post this sheet. If they need another copy of this hand out they will have to see me. Please remember that their Spanish papers should STAY in their accordion folders and should not be recycled!
el 24 de septiembre
PLEASE...Parents, I have had many comments from students that, "my mom/dad threw my Spanish away." Please do not throw any Spanish work away. We have been working on creating an All About Me Book and I have had to make more copies than I can count of work that got recycled. They should hang onto all of their work and if it's something they no longer need, I will have them recycle it here at school.
The books were due today. The kids read to me one of the pages so I could check their pronunciation. I have collected these books. About half of the class read today, the other half will read to me next week. The books should remain in their accordion folder until I collect them. While I listened to the students read, the others worked on an alphabet sheet. This should also stay in their folders.
el 22 de septiembre:
Most students should have finished their books. The pages should be completely filled out, colored and cut out. Thursday they will put them together with string and read them to each other and to me.
el 17 de septiembre:
Today all classes worked on completing their books. We have gone over all of the pages together and completed everything. We used Spanish/English dictionaries and filled in any missing words. A couple of words to keep in mind: el retrato = photograph; el dibujo = drawing. I would like them to have a photograph for the box that has the word "retrato". Next week we will color them, cut them out and put them together.
el 15 de septiembre:
Most of the classes talked about Mexico's Independence Day, which is tomorrow. (Contrary to the common misconception that it is Cinco de Mayo!) We also continued to work our the book that was started last week:
3rd~ You should have the cover page and the top of page one done by Thursday
4th~ You should have the cover page, the top of page one, and page 2 by Thursday (I made a correction on this assignment 9-17-09)
5th~ You should have the cover page and pages 1-2 done by Thursday
el 10 de septiembre:
NOTES:
Bien = well, asi-asi = ok, mal = not so good
Como estas? (How are you?)
Estoy __________. (I am ___.)
Esta _________. (S/he is ____.)
Today we started working on a book called "Un Libro Sobre mi" por ______.
(A Book About Me.)
3rd~ Finish the first page
4th~ Finish the first page and the top of the second page
5th~ Finish the first and second page
el 8 de septiembre:
NOTES:
INTROCUCCIONES
Este es Paco. Es un amigo de yo.
Esta es Maria. Es una amiga de yo.
Mucho Gusto.
Encantado.
Encantada.
Igualmente.
If you had trouble writing the notes in class...please make a copy of these
and glue them into your notebook.
Homework: Bring in a picture of someone others in your class doesn't know.
(No celebraties!) and write the phrase,
"Este(a) es ________. Es un(a) amigo(a) de yo."
Welcome to the new school year... I will periodically update this website
page with the happenings of the 2009-2010 school year. I will also add
documents that were used in class that you can make copies of if you have
misplaced your work, or if you want to have an extra copy!