Hola padres! Our week started out a bit rocky in second and third grade as the adjective lesson I presented didn't go quite as well as I was hoping. Thankfully, yesterday and today I was able to reexplain and model what the scholars were to do and I think it all became much clearer and I was happy for amazing results at the end of class. After introducing adjectives, the scholars were paired up and asked to interview their partner about their favorite animal. Once they were done, I had those that wanted, present the finding from their interview by telling us who their partner was, what animal was their partner's favorite and why. It was a great exercise for all of them and I was so proud at how brave they were doing their first Spanish presentation in front of the class. Next week, we will begin talking about animal habitats and how to describe where an amimal lives in Spanish.
In kinder and first this week, we continued with the alphabet and practicing our concert song. I also introduced how to say how we are feeling (tired, happy, sad, angry) and taught them a fun game that helps the scholars practice using their vocabulary called "en todo el mundo". We will use this game from time to time as a way to change things up and have the scholars shine in terms of their vocabulary knowledge. Their excitement is always so fun to see.
I so enjoy learning with your scholars and hope they are also enjoying Spanish class. If you ever have any concerns or questions, please email me. Thank you!
ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
partner work, concert song, and new concepts for next week
Hola padres! Another week has flown by! In Kinder and first grade this week, I have introduced a song that we will hopefully be singing in the winter concert with Mrs. Harding. It is a short, sweet song which should be familiar to you all, just sung in Spanish. I sang it to my own children when they were little, so it is exciting to be teaching it to the scholars for the first time. In both grades next week, we will be working on expressing our feelings. This is always a fun concept to work on with them!
This week for second grade, I was able to pass out the letters I had them write to themselves at the end of last year. It was so exciting to watch them read what they had written and hear their reactions. Some were pretty disappointed with how sloppy they had written or in words they have misspelled. I told them that they had grown so much already in second grade, they it was ok to notice how much they had already improved from last year. I hope to do this again with them at the end of this year.
In second and third grade this week, we learned how to ask "who has" and answer with "I have..." all in Spanish of course. We practiced this by using our animal vocabulary and by doing partner work which is new for all the scholars so far this year. It was a bit intimidating for them, but we will continue with partner work here and there and I think they will get more comfortable with it. I told them that speaking with each other in Spanish is a good way to practice!
Next week with second and third grade, we will start working on adjectives and describing the animals we have learned about and discussing our favorites.
Next week we will also move on to new Spanish speaking countries. Third grade will move on to Ecuador while first and second will start looking at Guatemala. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
This week for second grade, I was able to pass out the letters I had them write to themselves at the end of last year. It was so exciting to watch them read what they had written and hear their reactions. Some were pretty disappointed with how sloppy they had written or in words they have misspelled. I told them that they had grown so much already in second grade, they it was ok to notice how much they had already improved from last year. I hope to do this again with them at the end of this year.
In second and third grade this week, we learned how to ask "who has" and answer with "I have..." all in Spanish of course. We practiced this by using our animal vocabulary and by doing partner work which is new for all the scholars so far this year. It was a bit intimidating for them, but we will continue with partner work here and there and I think they will get more comfortable with it. I told them that speaking with each other in Spanish is a good way to practice!
Next week with second and third grade, we will start working on adjectives and describing the animals we have learned about and discussing our favorites.
Next week we will also move on to new Spanish speaking countries. Third grade will move on to Ecuador while first and second will start looking at Guatemala. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
Friday, September 11, 2015
formas, el alfabeto, colores y animales
Hola padres! I hope you have all had a good week! This week in first and kinder, we have continued with our shapes and colors, by playing a fly swatting game to see who can first identify the shape and/or color that has been called out and by drawing a clown by using instructions that use our shape vocabulary. The scholars have really enjoyed this and I can see that the vocabulary is starting to stick. With Kinder this week, I have also started working more with them on the Spanish alphabet. Yesterday, we started with "A" and I hope to work our way to "Z" by the end of the year. This will be my first attempt at this and I hope it doesn't get too mundane for them, but hope it broadens their Spanish vocabulary and helps them to better see the differences between the English and Spanish alphabet. I started this with Kinder last year and wasn't able to finish, so I am contemplating starting it with them again this year in first grade and hope to make it through the end by the end of the school year. We'll see. First grade started their study of Mexico this week and we mainly talked about the flag and what the design meant. We also studied its geography and what surrounds this vast countrty. Mexico celebrates its independence this month, so I hope to emphasize this with the scholars as well.
I was able to finally pass out the third grade Spanish notebooks from last year! If your scholar is new, I just had them start a new notebook or folder depending on what they had available. In this notebook, we wrote down the vocabulary we've learned so far, mainly animals and colors. I told them that this notebook is mainly for their reference and for them to see the progress we make by the end of the year. I don't have any special format for them to use as they write their vocabulary; they can write it however is best for them. We set up a notebook as well in second grade and hope that they can carry this notebook on with them next year to third grade. Again, it is more for them to see our progress throughout the year and also just to practice writing which I think helps them remember each word better. Second grade is also studying Mexico this month, while third grade is looking at Colombia.
One concept I've been able to work on with the second and third graders is question words. We've learned "what" and "which" so far and next week will work on "who". Working these individually into the lessons has worked really well in helping the scholars understand the meaning of each word and when it is used.
I have so enjoyed working with your scholars. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know! Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
I was able to finally pass out the third grade Spanish notebooks from last year! If your scholar is new, I just had them start a new notebook or folder depending on what they had available. In this notebook, we wrote down the vocabulary we've learned so far, mainly animals and colors. I told them that this notebook is mainly for their reference and for them to see the progress we make by the end of the year. I don't have any special format for them to use as they write their vocabulary; they can write it however is best for them. We set up a notebook as well in second grade and hope that they can carry this notebook on with them next year to third grade. Again, it is more for them to see our progress throughout the year and also just to practice writing which I think helps them remember each word better. Second grade is also studying Mexico this month, while third grade is looking at Colombia.
One concept I've been able to work on with the second and third graders is question words. We've learned "what" and "which" so far and next week will work on "who". Working these individually into the lessons has worked really well in helping the scholars understand the meaning of each word and when it is used.
I have so enjoyed working with your scholars. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know! Have a wonderful weekend!
Sra. Hamilton
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
late post
Hola padres! I am so sorry this post is late, but with our inservice on Friday, I didn't get a chance to write. Let me fill you in on both this week and last and I will plan to post again on Friday, September 11th.
Last week in kinder and first, we continued with colors and started working on our shapes. This week, we are continuing with the shape theme where I had them use their crayons to form the shape on their desk that I would call out. This is a very tactile and fun way for them to learn their shapes in Spanish and gets them moving just enough to keep them engaged. I always enjoy seeing the creative ways they come up with forming their shapes.
In second and third last week we finished our worksheet on el bosque tropical or the tropical forest and this week moved into using sentence strips to describe the colors of the animals. Again, it may seem that this is repetative and simple for the scholars, but with all of class being taught in Spanish, it takes them a little more time to decipher what I am saying or asking them to do. I am still getting some questions of "what are you saying???" or "I don't know Spanish!!!" but as class moves on, they realize they know more than they actually think they do. Overall, I think we are all enjoying this new format and think the scholars will pick up more than they have in the past.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
Gracias!
Sra. Hamilton
Last week in kinder and first, we continued with colors and started working on our shapes. This week, we are continuing with the shape theme where I had them use their crayons to form the shape on their desk that I would call out. This is a very tactile and fun way for them to learn their shapes in Spanish and gets them moving just enough to keep them engaged. I always enjoy seeing the creative ways they come up with forming their shapes.
In second and third last week we finished our worksheet on el bosque tropical or the tropical forest and this week moved into using sentence strips to describe the colors of the animals. Again, it may seem that this is repetative and simple for the scholars, but with all of class being taught in Spanish, it takes them a little more time to decipher what I am saying or asking them to do. I am still getting some questions of "what are you saying???" or "I don't know Spanish!!!" but as class moves on, they realize they know more than they actually think they do. Overall, I think we are all enjoying this new format and think the scholars will pick up more than they have in the past.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. ahamilton@archwaytrivium.org
Gracias!
Sra. Hamilton
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