Flippity Jeopardy

¡Hola familias!

As we near the end of the units in 6th, 7th and 8th grade, an overall review of the unit is our "Jeopardy" game. In table groups, the students compite to win the most points. Flippity makes a template that is easily customized to our own units! Ask your estudiante about it!

¡Hasta pronto!

Juegos de vocabuario en parejas

¡Hola familias!

Today I am sharing with you a vocabulary game that we play usually at the beginning of the unit. The "Double Dice" game o "Dos dados".

For the "Deportes y tiempo libre" unit, students have a grid of choices, and a sentence starter to create questions and answers with their partner.  Students roll the dice to randomly fall in a square in the table, where (with the help of their picture dictionary) they can formulate a question and an answer with their partners. The students both recall their vocabulary and practice their grammar in context at the same time.
Ask your student about "el juego de doble dados"!

Autorretrato cubista

After studying physical description, we embarked on the journey of self portraits that started with Pablo Picasso, famous Spanish cubist painter, and ended with Frida Kahlo, renown Mexican artist and feminist.

We explored autorretratos by both artists. And used a padlet wall to create descriptions and review shapes and face body parts. Then we listened to each others descriptions and drew faces con formas.

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Tengo un transporte secreto en mi cabeza...

¡Hola familias!

In 8th grade we also played a similar game as in 6th grade, but with means of transportation. This game is like "heads up!"and helps with circumlocution and descriptions. Which one is your favorite transporte? Is it ecológico? How many ruedas does it have? Is it caro? How many people take it? Is it for mar, tierra o aire? ¿Is it grande, mediano o pequeño? These are some of the questions that the students had to ask to guess (just one chance) to win.

¡Adivina quién soy!

¡Hola familias!

In 6th grade Spanish we have been busy with physical descriptions in Spanish.  To practice, we played a game called "tengo un estudiante secreto en mi cabeza" in which, literally, the students have a secret student on their forehead... Fun was had by all, especially when the secret student was oneself, ha!

A student is trying to guess the name of the secret student on his baseball hat.

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¡Chichicastenango!

Spontaneous, creative conversations are a main focus of our work in class, being asking and answering creative questions part of our daily routines. Therefore, ¡Chichicastenango! is a game that allows us to hit that Intermediate Mid level target, asking and answering many spontaneous questions. It also helps us study for our Charlamos quiz next week. Chichicastenango is a very famous market in Guatemala.

How it works:

• Profe has a magic wand that turns anyone she gently taps into a "Chichicastenango". Chichicastenango students can only respond with the word Chichicastenango.
• The students gather in a circle with a chair, except for the Policía, who stands in the middle of the circle.
• Students "sleep" with eyes closed, including the Policía in the middle, until Profe is done delivering an unknown number of magic taps, turning different students into Chichicastenangos.
• The Policía needs to find the Chichicastenangos by asking questions in Spanish. Regular students will answer in Spanish, while Chichicastenangos will only respond with "Chichicastenago". It is how the magic works...
• At the sound of ¡Chichicastenango! everyone must change seats, and the Policía needs to try to seat as well. The last student to find a seat is the next Policía.

¡Chichicastenango en acción!

The Proficiency Path

¡Hola familias!

Today I thought I would include all the families at home in our conversations that we have about proficiency in the classroom. The students are familiar with the different proficiency levels and the "tasks" that they can do with the language. By the time the students graduate from Devo, the target proficiency level is Intermediate Mid. Here is a visual of the proficiency path:

As you can see, the Intermediate learner, writes in strings of creatives sentences, using connectors, and asks original questions! ¡Bravo, estudiantes de español!

Gracias PTO, y Sant Jorge

¡Hola familias!

It has been such a long time, I wanted to quickly update you to thank the PTO for funding our ludoteca or game center, with Banangrams,  Monopolio y Scrabble, that has helped enrich our classroom through the fun and love for words!

In class we also learned about the legend of Sant Jordi with the 7th graders that are studying Spain, which is celebrated in Barcelona with books and roses for all! Ask your student about it! In the meantime, enjoy some of the comics the students created:

¡Feliz año!

¡Hola familias! ¡Feliz año!

What a busy month December was! As most of you know from the showcase at school, 7th graders have been working on their new unit la comida ¡mmm, riquísimo! I hope you has a chance to check out the acrostic poems that the students made with their favorite foods.

Earlier in the unit, as means to study our new vocabulary, the students are asked to make flashcards, one drawing on one side, the Spanish word on the other. We play games, quiz each other, and study with them throughout the unit. Below is the example of a very organized student that did a wonderful job with his flashcard assignment:

Beautiful drawings, and super organized flashcards!

The 8th graders have been working on the past tense: the pretérito. In order to learn the irregular verbs, the students put together a dance to the tune of La Cucaracha. They all did a spectacular job, and Oscars were handed to best performances. Ask your student of español about the Cucaracha, see if they can remember the song by heart...

¡Feliz 2016, familias!

Las noticias de noviembre: Alonso y Elena y Charlamos

¡Hola familias!

In Spanish class the students of both 7th grade and 8th grade have finished their Alonso y Elena projects. It has been hard work, and they deserve a big round of applause for the job well done! Ask your student to see his or her performance, they should all have access to it through their psbma.org account.  A sneak peek at some of the performances in action:

Students took a video on Photo Booth of their puppet show.

Students rehearsing their puppet show.

The protagonists of this soap opera: Hermano Antipático, Elena, Alonso y Teresa

On another note altogether, this week the students took their Charlamos  spoken quiz, in which students ask each other questions and answers and they cannot neither repeat nor hesitate too much. Some students are quite the strategists when it comes to preparing for the test: flashcards, recordings, undoing sentences, focusing only on a few questions, you name it! Ask your student how they got ready for the quiz! As a rule of thumb, it is always a good idea to quiz them a couple of days before. Thank you to all the grown ups at home who did! As a reminder, the students can retake tests and quizzes if they make arrangements with me: my office hours are Mondays after school.

Proper posture is encourage during Charlamos, as you can see in this drawing on the autoevaluación.

¡Hasta muy pronto! 

Noticias del mes de octubre

Hola familias,

We have been busy reviewing and launching into our new units in español. In class, the students are encouraged to use botones with their group tables in order to track how much español they use in class: all of the botones in the cup earns them Dojo points for the work well done speaking español! Be sure to ask your student about the botones, and whether their group earned points during class.

¡Bravo! ¡Felicidades! This group spoke bunches of español in class...

On another note, our cultural focus for 7th and 8th graders for the unit is Guatemala and the Latino Community in the US. Are you an expert on clothing fair trade or salsa dancing? We welcome you into our classroom! In the meantime, here is a little excerpt regarding two famous ladies, one from Guatemala and one from Cuba, that we will talk about in class: Rigoberta Menchú and Celia Cruz.

Rigoberta Menchú y Celia Cruz

Enjoy! ¡Hasta pronto, amigos!

Bienvenidos

¡Hola estudiantes y familias!

After a most relaxing summer spending time with friends and family, we are back at school in a new building and a new classroom. I am very excited about this new school year: your students of español will be shaping into a more intermediate conversational student, we will be trying out Google Classroom, and the Dojo participation system! Remember to subscribe or check in regularly to see the your students work throughout the year. I hope to see all of you on September 17th for Open House to tell you all about our curriculum and projects ahead. ¡Hasta pronto!

¡Bravo por el trabajo bien hecho!

Queridas familias,

Yet another school year has gone by so quickly, with so many accomplishments. Our 8th graders, having finished their poster for recycling at school, embraced a little story of a lama, whose name is Paco, and his sister, going on a trip to Argentina (or Chile!) They did a fabulous job at narrating in the new acquired past tense, and putting together a great puppet show: here's some fotos of the preparations for the show!

There's an oso perezoso as well! 

The sloth was replaced by a vaca  in this play...

Meanwhile, the 7th graders were busy with their own production of Alonso y Elena van en bicicleta, for which they wrote their own script, sprinkled with connector words, made the props and puppets, and delivered performances maravillosas, did your student share his/her performance with you? Here's a little taste:

                

aplauso¡BRAVOS Y BRAVAS! aplauso

I wish you all a very restful summer vacation, filled with joyful memories...  Guess where Profe is headed!

Artistas españoles y Sant Jordi

¡Hola familias!

In 7th grade we are learning all about Spain, and your students of español know about all about the masters! Ask your student what painting they chose, the author, the time period, and one thing they like the most about it. It was fun sharing their artwork with the class. Bravo, Spanish artist!

On another note altogether, April 23 is a very special day in Barcelona, it is Sant Jordi, the day of the roses and the books. Amongst the many holidays and fiestas, Sant Jordi is Profe's favorite! 

A flamenco performance, and it's all about Kahoot!

Queridas familias, 

What a winter we have been having, I cannot believe there is still nieve on the ground! One thing that made winter go away for one day was a fabulous flamenco performance sponsored by the generosity of the PTO.  We had a most wonderful time having a little taste of Spain, gracias mil! 

The Famenco Dance Project explained wonderfully the basics of flamenco, and some after the show, some lucky students got to flamenco dance, while the rest were learning to clap palmas sordas y sonoras. Ask your student if they enjoyed the show, or whether they were one of the lucky ones to go onstage!

On another note, we are starting new units with both 7th graders: higiene personal y rutina, and el universo y la geografía for 8th graders. But the one new game everyone is talking about is Kahoot!

Does your student of español like to play Kahoot? Which one was most fun? What's their usual alias or nickname? Since the demand is so high, it is a great incentive to keep all the students trying their best to speak only in Spanish! You may try it at home for a fun family game night, it comes in all languages and range of topics...

Mapas y direcciones

¡Hola familias!

After a nice holiday break, 8th graders have been finishing up their unit on Argentina, the past tense, and travelling items. They have just completed a project, a brochure advertising a region in Argentina and its wonders. Un trabajo fenomenal, chicos! Ask your student about their region: how to get there, where to stay, what to do, where/ what to eat and drink.

We also worked on giving directions to a mystery destination in Spain. Students took turns giving out directions and following them. Happily, they all arrived and discovered their mystery destinations safe and sound.  Bravo!

"Pà amb tomàquet" and Inca Kola

¡Hola familias! 

We are finishing out unit on Food ans Perú. What can your student tell you about it? We have been learning geography,  climate,  landmarks and ancient civilizations. A very beloved Paco may also be found in Perú, and his sister Flaca...  As we finish up our unit, your student may also know about traditional ingredients in the Peruvian diet, how to set the table the Peruvian way in español, what meals are healthy and why, or the very famous soda in Perú (here's a hint!)

On another note altogether, your family may give the most traditional receta of tapas and merienda dish a try at home. Note that it is best to use peasant/rustic bread: no sugar, honey or molasses! (It's from Barcelona, not Perú, where Profe is from.) 

Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!

¡Felices fiestas!

¡Hola familias, felices fiestas!

In Spanish class we have talked about how Christmas and the New Year is celebrated in Spain. You may watch the video below to get a sense of the Spanish traditions during the holiday season:

Ask may ask your student how Santa is called in Spanish, or who else brings regalos to the children on January 6th. What other traditions were discussed? How do people celebrate the New Year?  These logs are from Catalunya, a Northern region in Spain, would you like to borrow this tradition for your family?

Best wishes for a 2015, familias! ¡Feliz Año!

Estudiamos Perú

¡Hola familias de séptimo!

After a busy unit studying clothing and Guatemala, the Spanish class is "travelling" to Perú! Ask your student about what they remember of Perú: who used to live there? What is a famous city in Perú? How about the regions, how many are there? What food do they have that is different from ours? Below is a video of a very famous Peruvian dish... Guess the name! Adivina...

Estudiamos Argentina

¡Hola familias!

8th graders are learning about Argentina in our next unit. Has your family visited Argentina?  Bring a picture to class! Here is a video of one of the most famous glaciares in Argentina, el Perito Moreno,  and two of the most famous jugadores de tenis during their visit. Ask your Spanish student whether they can guess where the glaciar is located?  What can they tell you about this region?  How about the video itself? What words does your student already know about sports, our previous unit?
More to come soon...

¡Hasta pronto!