1st Graders learned about the people in their families. They have created class books which they currently have in their classroom libraries to read! Each book has information about the people in the student’s family and an illustrated picture!
Hola Parents and estudiantes!
I have been meaning to include some great links for games and activities on the web devoted to Spanish learning for elementary students!
I will be including these links on a new tab called GAMES and PRACTICE!
Check out BBC- Primary Spanish (includes fun videos, games and teaching arranged by topic)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/spanish/
The Literacy Center has a Spanish portion of their website with the Spanish alphabet, colors, numbers and shapes. Perfect for K-2!
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_es.php#
StoryPlace has a ton of leveled interactive Spanish stories that are read to you in Spanish!
http://www.storyplace.org/sp/storyplace.asp
More to come soon! Have fun!
Kindergarten has just started learning weather words and seasons.
Ask a kindergarten to sing you the “Itsy Bitsy Spider/ La araña pequeñita”song in Spanish!
1st & 2nd graders are starting to learn about classroom items. They are learning about singular items (“the pencil”) and plural items (“the pencils”).
The 1st graders brought home piñatas for some Christmas fun! They learned that star-shaped piñatas are used for Las Posadas. THey did a great job! The 2nd graders had a ball acting out the tradition of “Las Posadas” in Mexico. They learned that in Mexico for nine nights before Christmas, Joseph and Mary’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem is acted out in the streets. We dressed up and acted out the search for a place to stay for Mary and Joseph as well!!
3rd & 4th graders are starting to learn about clothing, seasons, weather and a review of colors. The 3rd graders read about the legend of the poinsettia and created poinsettia ornaments. The 4th graders practiced their Spanish numbers with a puzzle that they had to put together that revealed a picture of Papá Noel (Santa Claus)!
5th & 6th Graders are starting to learn how to describe themselves and other people. They will be able to talk about what people look like (blonde hair, brown hair, ect.) and what their personalities are like.
5th Graders created angel, Christmas tree or traditional star-shaped piñata ornaments to take home with them for Christmas. The 6th graders learned a little Christmas jingle in Spanish and talked about times that they were going to do things over the Christmas break.
7th Graders are sadly wrapping up their Spanish semester this week. They have done some fantastic work! I will miss them! Please remember to keep your binders for next year’s Spanish class. Also, your Quia.com accounts will remain good ALL SUMMER LONG! So keep up with your Spanish by logging on and playing some games.
"Oprah" hosted a surprise show at St. Lawrence and interviewed our 7th grade students about the important people in their lives! Thanks Oprah!
"La Gente de Mi Vida" Project (The people of my life)
Happy Thanksgiving or Feliz día de acción de gracias!
Although Thanksgiving is not a holiday celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries check out some Thanksgiving related vocabulary in Spanish!
Spanish Thanksgiving Vocabulary
Looking forward to meeting with you when you come to Parent/Teacher Conferences!
Please stop by my office Wednesday or Thursday during conference times to meet with me!
If you can’t make it to conferences, please feel free to contact me to check your child’s progress in Spanish class.
Mrs. Guenther's 2nd Grade Class visits the Ofrenda & 5th Graders made the traditional Day of the Dead treat- Sugar Skulls!!
Mrs. Salerno's PM Kindergarten Class visits the Day of the Dead Ofrenda
Ms. Hoover's 4th Grade Class busy at work making papel picado to decorate the ofrenda.
As Halloween nears, so does the “Los Días de los Muertos” holiday in Mexican culture. Preparations for this tradition begin in late October, and sometimes begin as early as October 31st but are officially celebrated November 1st & 2nd. November 1, All Saints Day, is devoted to los angelitos (little children), and November 2, All Souls Day, to adults.
The vibrant, colorful and historic “Day of the Dead” festivals in Mexico, Guatemala and the American Southwest have their roots in ancient Aztec traditions that have been mixed with Catholicism. Meant to be a time to remember the dead as well as to honor the continuity of life the community celebrations that occur during the first two days of November as part of the Day of the Dead holiday, are social and festive. Consisting of visits to the graves of loved ones, telling stories about the ancestors, preparing favorite foods, dancing, poetry and the creation of “ofrendas”, elaborately decorated altars, these celebrations look positively and humorously upon death and warmly welcome visits from the spirits of the departed reminding us that our loved ones continue to stay with us.
Our St. Lawrence Spanish students will be celebrating “Los días de los muertos” by learning about Day of the Dead through several different stories and activities. They will then be crafting pieces in Spanish class to contribute to our traditional Day of the Dead altar or “ofrenda”. The “ofrenda” will be located directly across from the Spanish office. Kindergarteners will be creating paper skulls and candles, first and second graders will be crafting tissue paper marigolds (the flower of Day of the Dead), third and fourth graders will be creating unique papel picado (decorative tissue paper), fifth graders will create sugar skulls out of clay and sixth and seventh graders will be creating “conjure poems” to add to our school’s ofrenda.
The students will be visiting the completed “ofrenda” the week of Day of the Dead (October 31st-November 4th). When we visit the “ofrenda”, students will be able to share or say a prayer for the special people in their lives who have passed away that they would like to honor on Day of the Dead. Make sure to ask your student what they have learned about how Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico! Look for pictures of our students and their projects soon! 
We had homework?!
Please check out the tabs for K-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 to find all of the Spanish lesson plans for the current week as well as current vocabulary, practice resources and if there is any homework, tests or quizzes coming up for your student!
It is important that if your student is absent they check the website to see what they missed!
Students are also encouraged to be responsible and keep things in their Spanish folder. If they lose their vocabulary list- THEY are responsible for printing out another from the website!
Most homework assignments in Spanish are credit or no credit. If a student does NOT have an assignment the day that it is due for any reason besides absence, they will not receive credit for that assignment. Please make sure your student is checking the website and staying responsible to keep up with homework in Spanish class. Since we only see each other once a week, it is really important that your student does not fall behind in assignments.
Hola,
7th & 8th Grade Spanish students will be using a great resource called Quia.com.
Check out Señora Villaluz’s Quia page for 7th & 8th graders at http://www.quia.com/profiles/lvillaluz
Quia provides our students with an opportunity to practice concepts at home through online flashcards, a ton of different kinds of vocabulary games that allow students a ton of repetition of words and access to a calendar to keep track of the dates of tests & quizzes.
Seventh & eighth grade Spanish students will use Quia as both a practice and assessment tool as students will also take some tests and quizzes on Quia.com in class. Students will be doing a practice quiz in class to prepare them before they take their first quiz. Check out the 7th & 8th Grade page to see exactly what their assignments and vocabulary words are!
