Weekly Highlight October 2024: Spanish

Dear Grades Families,

Our year in Spanish is going very well!

The First and Second/Third classes are learning vocabulary through songs. They’ll learn a song one year and then come back to it and add more verses the next. We practice the vocabulary by playing games, then use the new words to respond to simple questions. We’ve learned about greetings, names, school and family life, houses, and also the numbers 1-100 with sign language. Next week, we will start exploring Fall. In First Grade we learned a poem about greetings to the sun, and in Second/Third Grade, we learned a poem about rural life.

In Fourth and Fifth Grade, we read and write this year. We started by learning the alphabet. We practice the sounds (phonics) and learn how to spell words. We work on reading and taking dictation. We are currently writing out the songs we learned in First and Second/Third grade. We are learning to identify nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles. We are also counting to 1,000,000, and telling time. We have learned a poem about Native Americans and are currently learning another one about scarecrows.

Sixth and Seventh Grade started the year reviewing the material from Fifth Grade. Now, we’re practicing conjugation of the regular and irregular verbs in the present tense. We are reviewing pronouns, articles, and numbers 1-1,000,000. Students learn short sentences that allow them to write about themselves and others. Also, we are covering vocabulary about school and verbs associated with this topic. We are currently practicing a poem about gratitude. Next, we will work on past tense regular verbs and legends.

I’m excited to continue teaching your children!

Warmly,

Ki Maria

Specialty Highlight April 2024: Spanish

First - Third Grades:

The First through Third Grade classes continue learning vocabulary through songs. As part of this process, the class will learn a song one year and then come back to it and add more verses the next. Lessons given through songs in this manner allow for new material to be introduced in a fun way, and the review and repetition help reinforce lessons from year to year. We practice the vocabulary by playing games, then use the new words to respond to simple questions. We’ve learned about food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, we focused on the fall and winter seasons, as well as the body and emotions. Last week, we started learning about the days of the week and the months of the year.

Fourth and Fifth Grades:

In the Fourth and Fifth Grades, we focus on reading and writing. We started by learning the alphabet. We continue to practice the sounds and learn how to spell words. The class learned to talk about activities we like to do, special dates, telling time, the fall season, body parts, and clothing. The students work on reading and taking dictation. Their dictations focused on transcribing songs learned in previous years. We continue learning to identify nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles. Finally, the class enjoys reading La Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood) as a group as we work on pronunciation. We danced to Latin rhythms like the Merengue, the Cha, Cha, Cha, and the Salsa.

Sixth Grade:

In Sixth grade, we practiced talking about likes and dislikes and describing an object using colors, body parts, and shapes. We also learned about the Andes and Plains regions of Venezuela, including flora, fauna, food, customs, and music. We are currently learning about clothing and weather, and the students are writing short sentences about themselves and others. We continue practicing conjugation of the regular and irregular verbs in the present tense.

Thank you,

Maria

Specialty Class Highlight October 2023: Spanish

Our year in Spanish is going very well!  The students are enjoying our songs and games, and the older students are reading and writing. We have fun in Spanish as we immerse ourselves in the language.

First through Third Grade students continue to learn Spanish vocabulary through songs. As we progress each year, a class will learn a song one year and then come back to it and add more verses the next year.  In this manner, all the students, new and old, benefit from previous lessons, and review is built in for all. We practice the vocabulary by playing games, then use our new words to respond to simple questions. These classes learn greetings, names, school, family, house, fall, and numbers 1-100 with sign language.

 In Fourth and Fifth Grades, we spend much of our time reading and writing in Spanish. We started by learning the alphabet. We practice letter sounds and learn how to spell a variety of words. We work on reading and taking dictation. This class is currently writing out the songs we learned in First through Third Grade. While doing this, the students are learning to identify nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles.  They also are counting to 1000 and telling time in Spanish.

 The Sixth Grade started the year reviewing the material learned in Fifth Grade, building review skills, and helping new students acclimate to our class. Now we’re practicing the conjugation of regular and irregular verbs in the present tense. Students learn short sentences that allow them to write about themselves and others. Also, we are covering vocabulary about school and verbs associated with this topic.  The students spend much of class reading and writing lessons in Spanish.

  I’m excited to continue teaching your children!

Kindly,

Ki Maria

Specialty Class Highlight April 2023: Spanish

First grade -Third grade

In all three grades, we have covered vocabulary for the spring season. Classes learned about planting and the growth cycle of plants, from seed to sprout to flowering plant, including dirt, buds, leaves and trees. We practiced spring clothing vocabulary words such as raincoat, boots, umbrellas. Discussions about activities that we do in Spring like flying kites and jumping in puddles; what fun we have together! We learned farm animals, and made connections to our Learning Farm animals too. Additionally, in second grade, we learned the vocabulary for weather such as thunder, lightning, clouds, rainbow, fog and dew. In third grade, we extended the lesson to include insects and animals that hibernate, such as tortugas, sapos, and lombrices (turtles, frogs, and worms). Third graders also sang about mariposas, abejas, y pájaros (butterflies, bees, and birds).

All grades played games and sang songs about the days of the week and morning routines, like vestirse, peinarse, and desayunar (get dressed, comb your hair, eat breakfast). Second graders also learned about afternoon routines (eating lunch, learning, doing homework), and third graders included nighttime routines (setting the table, having dinner, taking a shower).

Fourth grade

The fourth graders continue to take dictations of the lyrics of songs that we learned in previous years. The class was introduced to the written words for spring and also the days of the week. They were able to write a short paragraph about the climate including observation of nature and activities. The days of the week lesson included the use of action verbs which described a student’s routines throughout a day in the present, past, and future tenses. As we practiced talking about our day, students continued observing pronouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Fifth grade

In the fifth grade the class practiced writing sentences and identifying pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. We took dictation of the lyrics of the Days of the Week songs. We were able to touch on reflexive verbs by writing about the daily routines of the students. We also continued reading and improving pronunciation. 



Speciality Class Highlight March 2023: Spanish

First grade -Third grade

These classes have similar content, however, in each grade, the lesson and vocabulary are expanded.  In all three grades, we have covered vocabulary for breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. In first and second grades, we learned short sentences to express our likes and dislikes for various foods, and additionally, in third, we also learned about typical foods from different Spanish-speaking countries. In these early grades, we also took great care in learning about our bodies. We pointed and named parts of the body from head to toe and enjoyed games using them. A very important lesson was the one about our emotions and states. For example how to say “I am happy,” or “I am hungry.” Second and third graders also learned verbs associated with the different parts of the body. 

For winter, all classes learned the vocabulary for snow, cold, the clothes we wear, and the sports we practice at this time of the year. We also learned the colors blue and white. In second grade, our lessons included words and phrases about animals that live in cold climates and their body parts.  While in third grade, we studied the changes that take place in nature such as the migration of birds, the freezing of lakes, and things that we do to keep us warm during the cold months. Last week we started our unit about spring. Being able to observe the vocabulary we’re working on in the world around them makes the learning more relevant.

Fourth grade

The fourth grade class started to take dictations of the lyrics of songs that we learned in previous years. The students were able to sing as they read the lyrics. We practiced our pronunciation as each student took turns reading the lyrics. The class was introduced to the written words for body parts and emotions. We wrote brief descriptions of the location of our body parts using position words. The ideas of pronouns, verbs, and adjectives in Spanish were also introduced.

Fifth grade

In the fifth grade we continued learning the conjugation of present tense AR, IR, and ER verbs and worked on the irregular verbs SER and ESTAR. We also talked about body parts and emotions.  The class practiced writing by dictation and reading out loud.  The fifth grade will soon start learning the PAST TENSE.

Warmly,

Ki Maria