Oral Exams

For some people, the fear of public speaking is worse than death.  Imagine having a spoken exam in  another language!  That is exactly what our 3rd through 8th graders have been doing this week, and they passed with flying colors.

Every semester I have college students tell me that they studied Spanish in high school, but that they couldn't actually speak it if their lives depended on it.  That is such a tragic waste of time!  Many universities and colleges are moving to oral proficiency exams, with good reason.  Most of the time when you use Spanish outside of the classroom, you will be speaking it.

For our speaking tests, the students came out in the hall one by one, and I asked them a series of questions in Spanish.  They did not know in advance what questions I would be asking, and there was no paper to look at.  They were graded on their comprehension of the question, grammar and pronunciation. Although it was brief, it was excellent practice with "real life" Spanish.

It is fascinating to see how different learning styles shine with different forms of assessment.  Some of the students who struggle more with the written exams excelled at speaking Spanish.   I love seeing our students developing communicative competence!

National Spanish Exam ~ 7th and 8th Grade

I am so excited to announce that for the first time ever, All Saints students will be taking the National Spanish Exam!  The NSE is the most widely used set of Spanish proficiency tests in the US, with more than 150,000 middle school and high school students participating in 2014 alone.

The test measures listening comprehension skills, reading comprehension skills, vocabulary and grammar according to national standards for Spanish language learners.  There are several different categories for each level, so that students who have more exposure to Spanish (for example, if Spanish is spoken at home) are ranked against their peers instead of with those who are learning it in a typical school setting.  Because students at All Saints have so much Spanish in elementary grades, the exam will classify them as OE (having outside experience).

I am preparing a study guide for the students who will be taking the exam that will include much of the vocabulary and brief explanations of the grammar that will be covered.  To give you an idea of how rigorous the exam is, I still have two-thirds of the grammar standards left to cover and I am already at 29 pages and nearly 3,000 words!

I won't lie--the exam is hard.  Most of the students who are taking it are in high school (there are plenty of sophomores and juniors taking the level 1).  Additionally, many schools only allow their top students to take it (often an A average is required for eligibility).  Finally, our students will be competing in the same group as those who have Spanish spoken at home.  An "average" score on this exam is actually far higher than an average Spanish student would be capable of achieving.  But having worked with the students at All Saints this last semester, I am convinced that they will excel.

The exam will be taken in the spring, probably in late March.  Once our time grows closer, I will be looking for some parents to help proctor the exam.  In the meantime, if you would like to practice with previous exams or use some games and links to help practice, they are available here: http://www.nationalspanishexam.org/index.php/exam-preparation/online-practice-exercises  The link offers many types of practice, including listening comprehension and reading comprehension exercises.

I am excited about all that our students have learned, and look forward to seeing that reflected in this exam.

A Million Ways to Learn

Having taught for fifteen years in a variety of settings has confirmed what any parent already knows: children don't always learn things the same way, and what works for some may not be effective for others.

St. Paul wrote, " I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some."  As a teacher, my challenge is to teach in all possible ways so that I might reach my students.  It will always be an area of growth, but here are some of the many ways we learned this week:

Listening:
As part of our Advent, we have been listening to different Spanish versions of "O Come, Emmanuel" each day.  We have heard renditions from several different countries and noted the differences in musical instruments and translations from each region.  One of our favorites was from South America, recorded for the Católicos de hoy program (Catholics Today).

Every week we practice with the ¡Avancemos! audio CDs, and I encourage students to use the links in the right side bar of the blog, as well.  This gives students exposure to a variety of accents and speakers using the vocabulary and grammar structures we are covering in class.

I conduct about 25% of the class in Spanish.  While I never want to frustrate the students, I do want to give them exposure to the sounds, rhythms and intonation patterns of a native speaker.  Usually I will say things in Spanish first, and then repeat it in English.  You can see their confidence grow as they understand what I say the first time.

The elementary classes are practicing with a dictado (dictation) this week, and it is exciting to see their competence and confidence increase!

Seeing: 
Besides reading, we love to use the Promethean board to find images of topics we are studying.

Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl

 Our 8th graders have been learning about Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl, and we found several images of those mountains that illustrate the legends associated with them.  This morning we looked at some of the chocolate in Oaxaca, and how it is mixed with spices and nuts.

Oaxacan chocolate ready to be ground

Each chapter in our ¡Avancemos! textbooks includes several DVD clips with vocabulary, cultural info and story-lines that provide a fun way to reinforce what we are learning.

Movement:
Whether it is dancing along to a song in Spanish or playing games, we try to find plenty of opportunities to move around in class.  One of our favorite things to do is to play a game of catch with a couple of very soft and fuzzy balls.  The student who catches the squooshy has to conjugate a verb or give the correct Spanish response before throwing it to someone else.  Since you never know who will get it next, it keeps us on our toes!

Señor Suave and Señor Scushi

Taste: 

Although we don't get to do this one quite as often, every one of my classes agrees that when it comes to learning about the foods and drinks of different Spanish-speaking countries, it isn't enough to read and talk about them.  We have to actually try them.  During our Country-in-a-Bag presentations, the students tried authentic tamales, tostones, papas, limonadas, and many other recipes for each of the countries that we presented.  After learning about the chocolate in Oaxaca, we all had a cup of real Mexican chocolate.  

These activities are more than fun, they are the key to engaging all kind of learners.  While we do plenty of traditional pencil and paper work, too, we know that sitting still and writing is not the only way to learn.  Recognizing that each student is unique and helping to capture their imaginations is part of why I love teaching--my students make sure that I never get bored!

 

3rd and 4th Grade Excellence

"What do you call someone who speaks several languages?"
--"Multilingual."
"What do you call someone who speaks two languages?"
--"Bilingual."
"What do you call someone who only speaks one language?"
--"American."

Sadly, that joke contains an element of truth, and I think that one reason that so few people in the United States are fluent in other languages is that, in most cases, there is no serious study of other languages until high school.  Although many schools offer it in elementary and middle school, there is often an unspoken assumption that the kids can't really learn much--just numbers, colors, maybe the names of some animals or parts of the body.

After fifteen years of teaching college students and seeing first-hand how challenging it is for students who wait to learn another language as an adult, I cannot describe my joy when Mrs. Scalet described the program here at All Saints.  Our students have Spanish at least twice a week from pre-K on.   That frequency allows us to go beyond a few basic nouns.  The children here are actually speaking Spanish, with oral sections on every test from the third grade and up.  We aren't just going over isolated nouns--they are conjugating verbs and using prepositions and the correct gender of adjectives to create complete sentences.

Excellent work from Samantha, 4-B

The last couple of weeks my third and fourth graders have been learning the present indicative forms of the verb ir, the prepositional phrases al and a la, and a number of place names in Spanish.  Today they combined those elements with the days of the week and the definite articles to express where they go throughout the week.

To give you some perspective on this, most of the college Spanish programs that I know don't teach this until about the third or fourth chapter, and then we typically see students struggling to remember to use the definite article to express doing something on a certain day, or forgetting to contract a and el to make al for masculine destinations or mixing up the gender.  These third and fourth grade students sailed through it without any problems at all (and they even remembered the accent marks on miércoles and sábado--those little things that delight the hearts of Spanish teachers everywhere).

Caitlin and Austin practicing the places with a board game.

Dani, Taylor and Ariana were the fastest group to find all the words in the sentence, and JP is the fastest photo-bomber.  :)

Jake, Nick and Owen

Kids have such a great way of living up or down to the expectations and opportunities given to them! When you expect excellence and give them the chance to learn more, they rise to the occasion.   I look forward to the day when students all over the US have a chance to really learn other languages, and I am delighted that we don't have to wait for that here at All Saints.

Country in a Bag Project

One of our projects this year in collaborative work between sixth and second graders has been our Country in a Bag project.  The students picked different Spanish-speaking countries and teamed up to research their country's history, culture, typical foods, favorite sports, famous citizens and more.  They decorated their bags with images to represent their countries and filled them with puppets, items from the country, such as coffee beans, bananas, sand from the islands, baseballs or soccer balls, and all kinds of interesting things.

However, we all agreed that it is not enough to hear about another country--it is important to experience aspects of the culture, as well.  So the students studied the cuisine for their countries, selected a recipe, and then brought food from their country to share with the classes!  It was absolutely delicious, and so much fun!  

I was so impressed with all of the information that the students learned and shared about each of the countries.  We focus most of our class time on the grammar and vocabulary of Spanish, but it is important to learn about the culture, too.  The whole point of learning a language is to be able to communicate, and appreciating the cultures of the different Spanish-speaking countries allows for a much deeper level of connection and understanding.

What I Like About You

School shootings and other terrible acts of violence have focused some much needed attention on the issue of bullying.  In a recent workshop that many of us at All Saints attended, we learned several actions that teachers can take if there were ever a dangerous situation at our school.  However, the most important thing that we can do is act now instead of waiting until it is too late.  The best defense against violence in our schools is helping all of our children to know that they are valued.

Our sixth grade class has been learning how to use "a" with a noun or prepositional pronoun, the indirect object pronouns, and the verb gustar with singular and plural nouns to express things that are pleasing to us--what we like.  I am so proud of the work they have put into that.  It sounds grammar-intensive, and it is.  But what is most impressive is how they are using these expressions.

This week, the sixth graders took lists of every one of their classmates and wrote down qualities about each person that they like and admire.  We wrote several items on the board, especially phrases that were not in the textbook.  I loved seeing the depth of their responses.  Over and over, they chose character qualities like kindness, love for God, boldness, a sense of humor and other traits as the things that they admire most about their classmates.

As a precaution, I looked over all of the responses before sharing them with the recipients, but not once was there a mean-spirited remark, and every person was included.

I am not naive enough to think that all of our middle schoolers will always be kind to each other, that there will never be teasing, or that no one will ever hurt another's feelings.  However, our students are learning that bullying is never acceptable at All Saints, and that each person here is created in the image of God.  I hope that as they read all of the things that their classmates like about them that the lesson will go beyond Spanish grammar.  I want every student here to feel valued as part of our community and liked for who they are.

P. S.  To all of the parents here--thank you for raising such likable kids.  You make my job a happy one!

Pura vida ~ 8th grade

During our professional development over Fall Break, as well as in some recent reading, I have come across more and more research about the importance of play and movement in learning.  While we think of that naturally with the pre-K and kindergarten classes, the truth is that even older students absorb and retain information much more readily when they are able to move around and experience it instead of merely sitting at a desk and doing worksheets.

I was quite excited to see that our unit this week included cultural information on "pura vida" and the artwork of internationally known Costa Rican artist, Adrián Gómez.  In Costa Rica, the phrase "pura vida" is used all the time.  It is an expression of national identity, of thanksgiving, of joy, and a response to all kinds of situations.

Image credit 

For Adrián Gómez, the gladness and exuberance of pura vida is often distilled into the image of children on a swing.  Since 1997, he has created hundreds of works of art that show swinging kids.  Most of my favorites are not in creative commons for blog use, but if you check the Google Images for Adrián Gómez artista, some fantastic pieces pop up.

Today our 8th grade class was able to combine the latest in educational research with important standards for Spanish.  We read about Adrián Gómez and viewed several of his works on the Promethean board in our classroom, then we hit the playground to put it into practice.  Seeing the 8th graders swinging high and shouting pura vida brought a huge smile to my face.  Our students are beautiful works of art from the Master Artist, and I delight in seeing them experience pura vida.

My Red Ribbon Week Story

This week at All Saints we are celebrating Red Ribbon Week, and encouraging our students to live drug-free.  I shared my little red ribbon story with my students and just thought I'd pass it on.  Growing up, my parents and grandparents were pastors, and my sister and I were homeschooled.  So we weren't in an environment where we were pressured to try drugs.  But some of our dearest friends were.  They were those kind of friends as close as family, where your hearts are just sealed together forever.  Even now, though it has been years since I have seen them, one phone call would have me doing everything I could to be there for them.

When I was 19, we went and spent the week of New Years with them.  By that time, they were all doing drugs, mostly cocaine.  They didn't use around us, and never offered it to us.  But it was so awkward.  My sister and I would walk into a room and conversations would die.  They didn't invite us to the parties they went to, and even though we didn't want to go to the parties, we wanted them to want us.  It was a long week.

A few months after we left, one of my friends talked to us on the phone.  He said something that absolutely floored me.  He told me that he had thought about our visit every single day.  I mumbled something like, "Really?", cringing inside at the memories of how stupid we felt.  He said, "Yes, because you are so free."

Romans 6 talks about the way that sin makes us slaves.  In the beginning, it feels like a choice, but the deeper we get into it, the more we surrender, the more captive we become.  Soon, it is almost impossible to break free.  While my friends never went to jail, the consequences they faced--the broken relationships, the pain their family went through, the ongoing struggle to reclaim their freedom--have been so very hard.

At 19, I didn't fully recognize the freedom that my sister and I had, but as I look back, I am more grateful than I can express that we never tried on those chains.

We know that our students will face many difficult choices, both now and in the future.  Our goal at All Saints is to help them build the strength, wisdom and love to always walk in the freedom of Christ.

Image credit: National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

Grandes y chiquitos ~ 7th Graders and Pre-K

As a teacher, you have to smile when you see the way the little ones here look up to the older kids, and the tenderness, patience and kindness that the bigger kids show the little ones.  Last week my 7th graders had the privilege of helping the Pre-K classes play Twister in Spanish.  It was the cutest thing I have seen!  All of us were so impressed with Mrs. Stafford's Pre-K students.  They did a phenomenal job with the colors, and when they began singing and counting animals, the older kids jumped right in with them.  Each of the classes had fun practicing Spanish with their buddies.

Amarillo y azul

Dos

Tiburones

Elefantes

Listening Comprehension

Image credit: WoodleyWonderworks

One of the exciting additions to our curriculum this year is the Audio Program that corresponds to the ¡Avancemos! textbook.   Among the course objectives was that students would be able to understand native Spanish speakers when speaking at a normal rate of speed.  We have been working on the listening comprehension activities using the CDs for the textbook.  This allows the students to become accustomed to accents from different Spanish-speaking countries, different voices and different rates of speed.

It is also hard!  Have you ever tried to carry on a phone conversation with someone who had a strong accent?  Our minds have to work much harder when we cannot rely on facial expressions, gestures or body language to help interpret what someone is saying.  This is a skill that requires a great deal of practice, but it is worth the effort.

One of our students asked for extra opportunities to practice.  There are several things you can do: talk to native Spanish speakers in your parish or neighborhood, listen to Spanish radio, watch a movie that you have already seen with the Spanish audio track, Youtube videos, and more.  There are also some links at the ¡Avancemos! textbook site.

We will actively work to develop listening comprehension skills this year, both in classroom exercises and exams.  Our goal is that students at All Saints will be able to understand and use Spanish in the classroom and beyond.

La tarea ~ Homework

Now that we have gotten through the first part of school review time, the Spanish classes are delving much more deeply into new grammar and vocabulary.  We are starting to have more frequent quizzes and tests as they show mastery in new areas.

Spanish builds just like mathematics.  We are constantly recycling words and grammar concepts learned before, and students will need to continue to stay fresh with the vocabulary from previous chapters.  Each new chapter adds dozens of new vocabulary words, as well as verbs, pronouns and other grammar points that will continue to be used in subsequent chapters.  It is a considerable amount of information to keep track of!

Homework can be a very helpful tool to reinforce the material that our students are learning in class.  However, as a student, I hated busywork.  As a teacher now, I still hate it--it is not fun to grade!  I will be working with the students to balance the homework assignments so that they receive the practice and reinforcement that they need, without a lot of extra work.

One strategy that helps some students is to use commercial chunks.  Pretend that your favorite TV show is not on the DVR, and instead of fast-forwarding through the commercials, use that time to review flashcards or vocabulary lists.  Sometimes, just knowing that you only have to focus for three or four minutes keeps it from being overwhelming, and it is surprising how much material you will retain.

Another tip, especially for more visual learners, is to color-code vocabulary.  Nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine.  When students write out their vocabulary for each new chapter, it can help to use blue for the masculine nouns and pink for the feminine nouns to remember whether the words are masculine or feminine.

Excellent work from one of my 5th graders!

Make it fun.  I have been amazed at some students who create beautiful and detailed pictures with all of the vocabulary words.  It may seem like a somewhat inefficient use of time, but when you are going to be looking at the words over and over for the next few weeks, it is a lot more fun if it is interesting to look at.

Organize it.  When I was a student, my notes would make sense to me as I was writing them down, but if I went too long before reviewing them I would forget details.  (And as my mother pointed out, my handwriting wasn't always legible--sometimes even I had a hard time deciphering it!)  It helped me tremendously to go back within the next day or two and rewrite them, taking my time to add details or clarification of important points, relevant examples, and make them easy to read.  The bonus was that by the time we were ready for a test, I had my own study guide ready to go!  I am encouraging my students to do this, too.

I know that nobody really likes homework, but I hope that these tips will make it less of an ordeal and a more helpful use of your time.  As you look back on all that you have learned, your homework helps provide a clear record of the things that you have mastered, and a valuable tool to remember them.

8th Grade Spanish

¡Hola!  I am very excited about the work the 8th graders are doing in Spanish!  We are already making plans for the National Spanish Exam in the spring, and will soon begin the ¡Avancemos! 2 textbook.   For any who may not have received the handouts I gave during back-to-school night, here is an overview of our course:

8^th grade Spanish continues instruction in reading, writing, understanding and speaking Spanish.  Approximately 50% of the course is conducted in Spanish.  Our goals for this course are that students should be able to exit this course with measurable oral proficiency, which is understandable to a native speaker of the target language; that students will be able to understand the target language within the vocabulary/structure limitations of the appropriate level when spoken by a native speaker at a normal rate of speed; and that students will learn to write in Spanish without the aid of other devices. Students will also have opportunities to acquire an awareness and an appreciation of the people who speak Spanish.

Textbook: ¡Avancemos! 2, Holt McDougal

Website: http://avancemos.conjuguemos.com/

Vocabulary themes: travel, sports and health, daily routines, clothes and shopping, food, family and relationships, the environment and conservation.

Grammar structures:  direct and indirect object pronouns, the preterite, the imperfect, reflexive verbs, the preterite of irregular and stem-changing verbs, formal and informal commands, the present subjunctive, comparisons and superlatives, the future tense.

Grading: 

Oral and written exams will count 50-200 points each.

Quizzes will count 20-50 points each.

Homework will be scored depending on the number of questions and level of complexity.  Most assignments will be worth 10 points.  Writing assignments will generally be worth 20-30 points.

Homework assignments are due at the beginning of class.  Late homework will receive a 50% deduction.  Make-up homework (illness, absence) will follow the handbook guidelines.

Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of Spanish through class participation, homework assignments, oral and written quizzes, oral and written exams, listening comprehension exercises, and projects.

Students who successfully pass this course should be able to take a proficiency exam to gain credit for one to two years of high school Spanish at Bishop Kelley or other high schools.

A Catholic Spanish Class

The All Saints mission statement says that we provide students with "a total educational experience emphasizing academic excellence and personal responsibility within a Catholic faith community."  How do our Spanish classes reflect our Catholic faith?  In many ways!

Our students learn several prayers in Spanish, including the Glory Be, Our Father and Hail Mary.  Later in the year we will participate in a multi-language prayer of the Rosary with all of the languages represented at All Saints.  

Today my fifth graders chose Spanish-speaking countries and gave brief presentations that included introducing themselves in Spanish, telling which country they chose, and the name of the patron saint of that country as well as some details about the lives of the saints.  Each chapter has a cultural segment that gives us many opportunities to discuss Catholic social teachings, particularly our call to family, community and participation, and solidarity.

Awesome 5th Graders

Sometimes, to our surprise, the structure of the language itself shows us little ways to be mindful of truth.  In my middle school classes, we have been reviewing saber, conocer and the personal a.  The personal a is a concept that doesn't exist in English.  However, in Spanish, whenever a person is the direct object of a sentence, we insert the personal a in front of any words that refer to that person as a reminder that there is something special about all human beings.  The a is not used for places or things, only for people.  In our Catholic social teachings we talk about the importance of life and dignity of the human person.  Each of us is created in the image of God, and Spanish gives us a tiny reminder of that with the personal a.  

I am so grateful to be a part of a school that integrates faith and academics in thought-provoking and practical ways!

A Place of Peace

At the beginning of the year, we were asked to consider our goals for the school year, and while certainly my goal is to be an effective Spanish teacher, a very vivid memory popped up.  During my second year as a high school teacher, I began a tradition of starting each class with a song in Spanish.  Sometimes it was just an instrumental track, often it was a Bible verse in Spanish set to music.  This introduced the students to new Spanish-speaking artists and the music and culture of different countries.  Additionally, the song time allowed me to take attendance, check for dress code, and make sure that everything was set for the class, including my own thoughts and attitude.  I told my students that they were encouraged to take that time for prayer and contemplation, but that they could also use it simply to rest for a moment--the goal was to allow them to let go of distractions and whatever might be swirling around in their thoughts and concentrate on Spanish.

One day another teacher stopped me in the lounge and said, "Do you know what Cody B.* told me this morning?  He said that he looks forward to Spanish class all day."  As Cody was barely hanging on to a C in my class, and had never shown any particular interest in Spanish, I was quite surprised.  She continued, "He said that you have a quiet time at the beginning of class, and it is the one time in his day where he knows that he will have a place of peace."  That went straight to my heart.  I later found out that one of Cody's grandparents was dying of cancer, and there were some other difficult situations in his family.

That has stuck with me ever since, and so one of my primary goals this year is for my classroom to be a place of peace.   Research has clearly shown that children learn better when they are at peace.  Fear, anxiety and other negative emotions inhibit higher brain function, including the acquisition and retention of new knowledge. I know that my students work incredibly hard, and we all have those weeks where every day seems like a Monday, frustrations build, anxiety gnaws, or even those times when everything is going great but it is just hard to shut off the flow of our thoughts and concentrate on the next class.  One of my priorities is to help them find that tranquility and focus.  All Saints has beautifully set a schedule of prayers and classes where we have those moments of calm to re-center our day, and I am so grateful to be a part of a school that serves the Prince of Peace.  This year, as we work to make our Spanish class a place of peace, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

*Name changed.

Adopt a Seminarian

Our students at All Saints have been encouraged to adopt a seminarian this year.  Our Spanish classes will be adopting Juan Angel Grijelda, who is at Mount St. Mary of the West Seminary in Ohio this year.  His home parish is St. Bernard's in Tulsa, so some of you may know him already! 

You can email him at grajedangel_87 at hotmail.com, and it would be especially nice to remember his birthday this October.  We are asking that you pray for him daily and we will be writing him in Spanish to let him know that we are praying for him.  It would also mean very much to him if you have a Mass said for him or say the Rosary for his intentions.  If you would like to make a designated donation to the Seminary Education Trust, please contact any of the following:

• The Knights of Columbus
• The Sierra Club of Tulsa
• Lori Hahn, Diocese of Tulsa (918) 307-4935
• lori.hahn at dioceseoftulsa.org

¡Bienvenidos!

Welcome to a new year of Spanish at All Saints!  I am so excited about the opportunity to help you succeed in Spanish.  I know that whatever you do in life, Spanish can help you to reach more people and be more effective in fulfilling God's call.  

I have been teaching Spanish for fifteen years at the university level as well as for five years of K-12.  The program at All Saints is one of the most amazing I have seen, because even before middle school you are learning to speak Spanish.  One of the saddest things to me as a college teacher was hearing students say that they had studied Spanish for a few years, but couldn't speak it if their life depended on it.  What a waste of their time!  This program is different--you will actually speak the language, as well as reading and writing it (without relying on translation programs! ;) ).  Some of your exams will be oral.  You will have the chance to hear Spanish spoken by native speakers, converse with me and your classmates, pray together in Spanish and have fun!  

My patron saint, St. John Bosco, said, "But if I have a philosophy of education, it consists in discovering a boy’s best qualities and then exploiting them to his advantage. You must admit, sir, that any person is at his best when he is doing what he likes and does best. Children are the same. Promote their positive qualities and they will thrive."

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you better, and in discovering those many best qualities in you.  I love teaching Spanish, and it is an honor to be able to share that love with you!