In many ways, this is my favorite time of year as a teacher. We have patterns and procedures down, and it is time to really dig in and get to work.
Here is what we are up to:
3rd Grade and 4th Grade ~ We have been learning places in the community, the conjugations of the verb ir (to go), and the differences between masculine and feminine nouns and adjectives. Some of my college students were amazed that even the 3rd graders learn the vosotros conjugations. It really isn't particularly difficult now, but if you have to go back and learn it later, it can be challenging. It is exciting that our kids have this foundation now!
This week, we started going over the parts of the body. We have been dancing the hokey pokey in Spanish, and the students drew some magnificent "extra-terrestres" (aliens) and labeled all of the boy parts, including heads, arms, legs and more (not to mention tentacles).
5th Grade ~ We are finishing up the chapter on definite/indefinite articles and adjective agreement. They are building on the things we covered in third and fourth grade, and seeing how it all fits together. Our next unit covers the present tense of -ar verbs, telling time and the present tense of tener, and begins a cultural unit on Mexico. It is one of my favorite parts of the year, and I can't wait!
6th Grade ~ We are creating Spanish family trees, learning the possessive adjectives, writing essays, and reviewing present tense -ar, -er and -ir verbs. Culturally, we have been talking about how names work in Spanish-speaking countries. Understanding that it is not unusual for people to have four names (first name, middle name, first of their father's surnames, then first of their mother's surnames) is so important. It is so much fun to see the family trees that the students share. Their creativity is impressive!
 |
| Spongebob's family tree, by Hailey S. |
7th Grade ~ We have talked about the voseo, a special form that is used in South America. If we cover the vosotros forms, the voseo deserves time too, right? Our kids have been learning regular and irregular preterites, sports vocabulary and demonstrative adjectives. We have a lot of fútbol fans, so the info on Copa Mundial is guaranteed to get some attention! This will also be the first time for this group to participate in the National Spanish Exam. I have noticed that several have already gone through and highlighted and practiced new vocabulary in preparation for the exam.
8th Grade ~ We have been taking advantage of free dress days to hold fashion shows where the students get up and describe what each person is wearing. It is great to see how much they get into modeling for us! Our grammar has just been a recap of prepositional pronouns and verbs with irregular yo forms, but we have some fun stuff coming up with the -ir stem-changers in the preterite and i to y spelling changes. We will be doing quite a bit of the imperfect and preterite vs. imperfect before the year us up. Along with the National Spanish Exam, this class will be taking the BK Spanish placement exam. Last year, every student passed into Spanish II, and I expect that they will this year, as well.
We are definitely staying busy! But it is so rewarding to see the kids put together vocabulary, grammar and cultural information. Communication is about creating community, and it is wonderful to be a part of that.
