3rd and 4th Grade Vocabulary

¡Hola! Our 3rd and 4th grade students have quizzes this week over vocabulary.  In this second quarter, we will be building on the vocabulary we have learned and adding some grammar, including definite and indefinite articles, how to make nouns and adjectives plural, adjective agreement, and much more.  Our students have these handouts in their binders, but I wanted to share them here for your convenience: 

Hola—hello

Buenos días—good morning

Buenas tardes—good afternoon

Buenas noches—good evening

Maestro—male teacher

Profesor—male teacher

Maestra—female teacher

Profesora—female teacher

Señor—Mr., sir

Señora—Mrs., ma’am

Señorita—Miss

Amigo—friend (boy)

Amiga—friend (girl)

¿Cómo se llama Ud. (usted)?—What’s your name (adult)?

¿Cómo te llamas?—What is your name (child)?

Me llamo—my name is (I call myself)

¿Cómo está Ud.?—How are you? (adult)

¿Cómo estás?—How are you? (child)

Bien, gracias—Fine, thanks.

Mal—bad, not well.

Así-así—so-so, OK.

¿Cuántos años tienes?—How old are you?

Tengo ___ años—I am ___ years old.

Por favor—please

Gracias—thank you

De nada—you’re welcome (it was nothing)

Adiós—goodbye

Hasta luego—See you later

Hasta mañana—See you tomorrow

Nos vemos—See you later

0 – cero

1 – uno

2 – dos

3 – tres

4 – cuatro

5 – cinco

6 – seis

7 – siete

8 – ocho

9 – nueve

10 – diez

11 – once

12 – doce

13 – trece

14 – catorce

15 – quince

16 -dieciséis

17 – diecisiete

18 – dieciocho

19 – diecinueve

20 – veinte

21 – veintiuno

22 – veintidós

23 – veintitrés

24 – veinticuatro

25 – veinticinco

26 – veintiséis

27 – veintisiete

28 – veintiocho

29 – veintinueve

30 – treinta

31 – treinta y uno

32 – treinta y dos

33 – treinta y tres

34- treinta y cuatro

35 – treinta y cinco

36 – treinta y seis

37 – treinta y siete

38 – treinta y ocho

39 – treinta y nueve

40 – cuarenta

50 – cincuenta

60 – sesenta

Book is a libro, map is a mapa

And a puerta is a door.

Table is mesa, scissors—tijeras,

And eraser—borrador

Chalkboard—pizarra,

Ruler is regla,

And a silla is a chair

Pen is a pluma,

Notebook—cuaderno,

Calendario—calendar

A globe is globo,

Papel is paper,

And a clock is un reloj,

Pencil is lápiz,

Ventana, window,

Desk is escritorio

Days of the week in Spanish

In Spanish, days of the week are not generally capitalized, and Monday is usually considered the first day of the week.

Monday—lunes

Tuesday—martes

Wednesday—miércoles

Thursday—jueves

Friday—viernes

Saturday—sábado

Sunday—domingo

To express doing an activity on a day of the week, we use the definite articles <<el>> and <<los>> to say “on”.  If it only happens once, use <<el>>.  If it happens every week, use <<los>>.  Examples: Voy a una fiesta el viernes. (I’m going to a party on Friday).  Vamos a la casa de mis abuelos los domingos. (We go to my grandparents’ house on Sundays).

Los meses

enero - January

febrero – February

marzo - March

abril - April

mayo - May

junio - June

julio - July

agosto - August

septiembre - September

octubre - October

noviembre - November

diciembre - December

They have also learned several prayers in Spanish, and we are learning the Apostles' Creed, as well.  

For the quiz, each student will get three questions.  Some examples of the types of questions are: "Name three things that you use in school each day." "What month were you born in?" "¿Qué día es hoy?" "¿Cómo te llamas?" "¿Cuántos años tienes?"  They will be graded on pronunciation, fluency, correctness of the response and, if the question is in Spanish, on comprehension.  They have done a fabulous job with this material in class, and I am confident that they will be just as successful on their quiz.  ¡Buena suerte! :) 

Oral Quizzes--Tips for Success

The most disappointing thing to hear in my college classes is that students have already studied Spanish for years, but couldn't speak it if their lives depended on it.  What a waste of their time! Along with speaking Spanish regularly in our classroom, we also assess our students' speaking proficiency with oral quizzes and oral sections on every chapter exam.

It doesn't have to be scary.  Honest.  There are simple things that you can do to make sure that you do well:

1. Slow down and breathe.  When you get nervous, you naturally start to speak faster.  Your perception of time becomes distorted, and you feel as though you are taking longer than you really are.  Stop and take a deep breath.  Think through your answer, and say it clearly without rushing.

2. Stick with what you know.  It is tempting to want to use words and expressions that you haven't learned yet.  I am testing you for the things we have covered, not material that you haven't seen yet.  Even if it doesn't include all of the details you want to share, use the vocabulary and grammar that we have been going over in class.

3. If you get stuck, say it another way.  Everyone has moments where the word is on the tip of your tongues and you can't find it.  Nearly always, there is a different way to communicate the same idea or elicit the same information.  If you are talking about the near future and can't remember how to use ir + a + infinitive, just use the present tense.  If you can't remember a vocabulary word, think of a more general term.

4. If you make a mistake, fix it and go on.  Regardless of the language, most of us can think of times we wished we could take back a word as soon as it left our lips.  You can.  If you realize that you meant to use a different word, let me know.  If you correct yourself, I won't have to.  However, don't get caught second-guessing yourself.  Unless you are sure, just keep going.  You may have been right to begin with, or I might not notice a mistake if you keep talking and the rest of what you say is right.  :)

5. Practice, practice, practice.  The more you speak, the more comfortable you will be.  Get used to hearing native speakers, and your pronunciation skills will improve.  Use Spanish every chance you get, and it will show in your confidence and skill!

Love Notes and Scavenger Hunts

One of my favorite things about our school is the sense of community and the way that students from different grades look out for each other.  It doesn't always work out that our Spanish concepts match up, but this week my 6th grade students are learning estar with prepositions, and the 7th graders are reviewing estar as they work on the differences between the verbs ser and estar.

This morning, my 6th graders left a surprise for the 7th grade class.  They took sticky notes and wrote sentences in Spanish using estar and the prepositions to express where the note would be, and then stuck it around the room. So it might read something like, "El papel está debajo del escritorio." Or, "El papel está al lado del reloj."

 

Our 7th grade class will go on a little note hunt, sort of like an easter-egg hunt, to see how many they can find, and will then read them to the class. :)

We have been a bit note-card happy lately, in more ways than one.  As a way to build our friendships, we have been taking note cards and each class period everyone writes a card for our student of the day.  They may mention things that they like or admire, or a word, they can draw a picture or write a favorite memory--just something to build up their friends.  I read through all of them (easily one of the best parts of my day!) and then give them to the student to keep.  The deep thoughtfulness that goes into some of these cards amazes me, and the look on the students' faces as they read through their cards is priceless.  Often siblings will keep track of when it will be their brother or sister's turn, and ask if they can slip a card in.  It is absolutely precious.  Looking for sticky notes is a fun way to practice Spanish, but looking for the best in each other is even better.