December Bryker Woods Spanish Newsletter, 2009 Queridos padres, We are in December and a week away from the Winter break. What we have accomplished after the Thanksgiving holiday is: - Learning about the origins of the holiday, where it is celebrated, how Mexicans living in the U.S. may celebrate it.
- Lesson dedicated to “foods”. The children practiced the structures: “¿Te gusta el tomate? (Do you like the tomato? - Sí. Me gusta. (Yes. I do)/ Me encanta. (I love it)/ No. No me gusta. Prefiero la manzana. (No. I don't. I prefer apples)”
- I read the book Ketchup on your cereal? (Nick Sharratt) in Spanish to reinforce the vocabulary and sentence structures.
- We played the game of charades to continue practicing vocabulary and sentence structures.
- 5th and 6th graders (some 4th) also learned and practiced the Spanish definite article and the number and gender of Spanish nouns in sentences (we'll add gender and number in adjectives after the break). My goal with this lesson is to provide opportunities for children to learn how to form simple, grammatically correct sentences and understand simple written material.
Happy Holidays, Señora Pepi (3rd - 6th grade teacher) pepirosado.bwspanish@yahoo.com
November Bryker Woods Spanish Newsletter, 2009 Queridos padres, One more month has passed and we continue at a steady pace in our classes. This month your children have focused on commands. We started learning commands using the Total Physical Response method (TPR). I explained that I would give them a command in Spanish (whole class or individually) and that I would perform it for them so they could repeat after me. In this way they could connect words with actions. This is a good way of internalizing vocabulary. After this the students were able to give me commands and then practice, in pairs or groups of three, the targeted vocabulary regarding school (levántate/siéntate, abre/cierra el libro, coge/suelta el lápiz, escribe tu nombre, toca la mesa, pon el borrador encima de la silla, etc). We briefly talked about the personal possessive pronouns “mi” and “tu”and different prepositions (a la derecha/izquierda de, debajo/encima de,... ) that help in giving commands. The students had a great time making up funny commands. Our lesson on “El Día de los Muertos” was very educative for me and I was very impresed on how well informed the kids already were about this festivity. We went over the way people in Mexico celebrate these two or three days at home (building altars), at the cemetery (cleaning the tombstones, family gathering, and music) and in the streets (parades and comparsas in costumes and performances). I also explained the similarities and differences about how we celebrate these days in the south of Spain. I brought a few books to show images of those moments, a few decorative sugar skulls, and a loaf of sweet bread in the shape of a skull, typical bread that people eat at this time of the year. The part they enjoyed the most though was testing a sample of the typical Mexican “pan de muerto” as I was reading a book El espíritu de mi tío Fernando about how a Mexican kid and his mom celebrated these days in their town in México. We did a connect-the-dot activity on numbers and played a game “¿Quién tiene el hueso?” I brought a toy skeleton so the students could give a series of new commands to it (baila, camina, acuéstate, muévete hacia la derecha, toca la silla,...) which the children loved. I gave out a handout with useful phrases that I would like the children to use in class when they need to go to the restroom, get some water, etc. Our lesson on “The Body” came next and I explained, as we were going over the vocabulary, that the words in Spanish have gender. They are either masculine (word end in -o) or femenine (word end in -a), and the definite article that goes with them is either masculine or femenine also (el/los, la/las). They will learn a few exceptions regarding gender as the year progresses. The students practiced new commands with me, the skeleton, or in pairs (tócate la cabeza, toca el suelo, toca la mano de Pablo, pon la mano en el tobillo,...). They also learned to express the “possessive expression” in Spanish that was very useful when giving commands (touch Susana's hair – toca el pelo de Susana). When we come back from our Thanksgiving break I'll bring some written activities to reinforce the lesson on articles, gender, number, and possessive. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Señora Pepi (3rd - 6th grade teacher) pepirosado.bwspanish@yahoo.com
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October BW Spanish Newsletter 3rd – 6th grades Dear Parents, We have been busy in Spanish classes reviewing and learning these past weeks. We keep a different pace for the younger ones than for the older ones. So far the younger ones have taken a look at: - basic greetings - how to ask for what each other's names are and how to spell them in Spanish - the Spanish alphabet (with the 4 extra letters) through individual organizing of the alphabet and the card game “Vete a Pescar” (Go Fish) - the numbers from 1-100. - how to say the date, the days of the week, the months of the year (with a couple of songs) - how to tell the time - simple commands The older grades have reviewed all of the above plus they have filled a questionaire in which they have brushed up on past structures and expressions (questions, weather, colors, ... ) as well as on different vocabulary. They have practiced telling time in two different ways (the simple and the complicated way) and gone over the numbers from 1 – 1,000,000. They have also worked on commands and had fun asking each other to do different things. I have read the book Todos somos parecidos, todos somos diferentes (“We Are All Alike... We Are All Different”) which reinforces multicultural and anti-bias learning and appreciation. And we have gone over the lyrics and music of the classic beautiful song “De Colores” which we didn't have a chance to see last year. In our classes I try to expose the students to the Spanish language when I talk, read, or sing to them, and also when we do activities that require the interaction with their peers. We will also be doing simple written activities to reinforce the language. Thank you for the opportunity of teaching your kids, Señora Pepi (3rd -6th grade teacher) pepirosado.bwspanish@yahoo.com¿Qué pasa en la clase de español?K – 2nd grades October 2009 Hola parents,What a busy month it has been in Spanish class! Here is a typical day:- Greet each other
- Learn with the help of the following activities:
- Singing, Movement
- Counting
- Listening to stories
- Talking about cultural similarities and differences
- Following Directions
- Responding with simple words and phrases
- Interacting with puppets and each other
- Playing games
- Doing art activities
- Sing goodbye song
The following are some of the lessons and vocabulary we have covered so far. Many of the expressions below are the basics that we will use all year long. I encourage you to practice these expressions with your children at home:- Greetings – Hola, Buenos días, Buenas tardes and Buenas noches
- Goodbyes – Adiós, Hasta mañana, Hasta luego, and Hasta la vista.
- My name is ____, what’s yours? Me llamo _____, ¿Cómo te llamas?
- How are you? ¿Cómo está usted? or ¿Cómo estás?
- Very well, thank you – Muy bien, gracias,
- So so – Así así or más o menos,
- Not very well – Muy mal
- Manner words – Por favor, Gracias, De nada, Con permiso (Excuse me)
- Numbers – 1 – 10 (K), 1 – 20 (1st), 1 – 30 (2nd)
- Colors - rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, morado, café, rosa, negro, blanco, gris y anaranjado
- Some of the songs – Buenos días, Me llamo, Hola amigo, Diez deditos, Cabeza, hombros, piernas, pies, Red es rojo, Uno, dos, tres, cha, cha,cha, Hasta mañana, Mexican Hat Dance calendar song and dance
- Calendar words – 1st and 2nd grades – los meses (months), los días de la semana (days of the week), la fecha (date), el tiempo(weather)
In the next couple of weeks, we will be reciting and acting out the poem - Las cinco calabacitas (Five Little Pumpkins) and playing– Halloween TwisterCulture – Where Spanish is spoken throughout the world, El día de los muertos festivities in Mexico (Oct 31st – Nov.2nd.) Whatever we’re learning in Spanish, we are doing so through games, songs, interacting with each other and having fun so that the experience of learning another language is an enjoyable one. ¡Muchas gracias!Señora Murraysusanmurray.bwspanish@yahoo.com
What’s happening in Spanish class? ¿Qué pasa en la clase de español? Dear Parents, I am delighted to be teaching K – 2nd grade Spanish again this year. I meet with your child’s class for 30 minutes two times a week. During the past two weeks, students have decorated their nametags with their Spanish names on them. They look great and make the students smile! Many thanks to the PTA parents who finished the nametags through laminating and stringing them with yarn. Ask your child about his or her Spanish name. (It may take a while for the kindergarteners to learn their new names and the pronunciation of them!) Among other things, we have reviewed and learned hello and goodbye songs with hand motions and have gotten some help from our frog puppet friends, Ramón and Ramona! We also talked about Mexican Independence Day on the 16th of September and colored Spanish flags. Look for these today or next week in the Monday folders. Throughout the year, your children will learn and be exposed to basic Spanish vocabulary, expressions and culture through the playing of games, singing and dancing to songs, reading books, doing art activities and interacting with each other as well as with puppets. My goal is for the students to have fun so that the experience of learning another language is an enjoyable one. Muchas gracias, Señora Murray If you would like to contact me, please do so at: susanmurray.bwspanish@yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear parents,
Our Spanish classes have started and I am very happy to have met all your kids. The kids had a lot of fun chosing a Spanish name. This is always fun for them! It could be fun to ask your child about it. In these past two weeks your kids have reviewed basic greetings, the Spanish alphabet (with a song to the tune of “Oh My Darling, Clementine”), how to ask what each other's names are and how to spell them in English and in Spanish. I have added a questionaire for the older grades to review some material from last year. I have planned lots of entertaining activities, games, songs, books to read, etc, to keep your child exposed to the Spanish language throughout the whole year. You can ask your child what day he or she has Spanish and those days you can ask them about what we have done in class. This is a good way to review and reinforce the material we cover. I believe that kids learn best in a stress-free environment and so my goal is that the children acquire the Spanish language in an entertaining way by means of simple vocabulary related to everyday events and activities, at a slow pace. The students will be able to participate and interact between themselves and the teacher according to their abilities. Muchas gracias y hasta la próxima. Señora Pepi (3rd-6th grade teacher) If you would like to contact me, please do so at: pepirosado.bwspanish@yahoo.com
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