Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Intermediate Spanish- Week 3-6

¡Hola, papas!Just wanted to update you all again with the material we have cover in class and give you an update on how the class is going. I can't believe that we are already in week 7th of Spanish class, but I am pleased with what the kids have learned. I will again put all the vocabulary words we have covered, so you can practice with your kids anytime!

    I recently, started a point/star system, in which the students get a stars for coming on time, for participating, showing good behavior and take out starts away for disruptive behavior. At the end of the week, whoever has more stars gets a prize from the prize bag. So far, this system has worked well and every student has been participating. Also, I started to do a point system/star where is the teacher vs. the students. The only way they can a star if the whole class is participating and paying attention if not, I will receive the star. If the students get more stars than the teacher, they will get the chance to pick a fun activity/game they want to do at the of month or they will be a delicious treat for them.


    Here is a quick recap of the class: Everyday  for the first 4-5 mins of class I always do review with them of the words we have learn so far. I usually make flashcards of each word to put up in the board for the kids to come up, say the word in spanish and write in english. They also started to write all their vocabulary words in the journals at the of the week so they can keep track on what they have learned.




Week 3:

      In week 3, we focus on the Spanish alphabet. By now, it seems like all the kids know their alphabet, which I couldn't be any happier. I introduce the alphabet with a spanish song and went over each letter with flashcards and pictures. The first two days or so, I had them create their own picture alphabet book, which came out great. (Part one was tracing the letter. Part two writing words that begin with that letter and lastly draw a picture that began with that letter)Having them think of words that began with that letter was a bit of challenge, but I was able to introduce a lot of new vocabulary words ----->new words that they learned 

For review for week 7: We played a game of Snakes of Ladders using the alphabet by making the game life size. (I put all the letters spread out in the floor in the form of the board game). The kids had to role the dice and walk to the letter. Standing on the letter, they had to say the letter in Spanish, the sound it made and a word that begin with that letter. The kids absolutely enjoyed it!

                                                                                                 
 
Alfabeto                                                                                


Link to alphabet song/sounds of letters : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8MlEtSdJx0  

Other activities that has help them remember the alphabet:
- Game of bingo with the alphabet 
- At the of the week we played another game, which the kids enjoyed. I cut out the letters and put them all around the studio floor. I had the students move around/dance while music was playing. (They all seem to love the song called "Voy a Vivir"- by Marc Anthony) which some of them know part of the lyrics now. Once the music called, they had to step on a letter and tell me either the sound it made or a word that began with that letter. 

Week 4: Synonyms and antonyms -Sinónimos y antónimos
-We spent the whole week learning synonyms and antonyms.
Vocabulary words:

Pequeno-Grande: Small/Big
Alto/bajo: Tall/Short
Afuera/Adentro : In/Out
Caliente/Frio: Hot/Cold
Rapido/Despacio: Fast/Slow


Limpio/Sucio: Clean/Dirty
Feliz/Triste: Happy/Sad
Arriba/ Abajo: Up/Down
Dia/Noche: Day/Night
Joven/ viejo: Young/Old
Cerrado/Abierto: Close/Open
Vacio/lleno: Empty/Full

Activities/Games:


-The kids had the chance to make collages using these words. They had to write the opposites words or either draw/paste a picture that explain the two pair of words.
Lento-Rapido,  Frio-Caliente,   Grande-Pequeno 
                                                                                     

-We also played a memory game, which the kids enjoyed while it also worked to test what they knew. (The cards were faced down and they had the find the two pair that matched. However, they were able to keep the pair if they knew what the word meant in English.
 
Memory game/Review of words

-Another activity:(Race with Synonyms and antonyms) Each student was giving a small white board to either draw the synonyms/antonyms words or write it down. In this game, I called out a word and whoever wrote it or drew the picture with the word that went together receive a point. 
Race with Synonyms and Antonyms

The last game we played with the words was another race game. I posted all the words in the wall and pictures that describe the word. I had two kids go against in where they needed to run to the wall to see who could find the correct word/picture first that matched with the word I called out loud. Ex) HOT-  they needed to look for the word Cold.    





Review: At the end of the week for review I had them go up to the board, pronounce the words and match it with the pair by connecting the word to other side of the board with a dry marker.


Week 5'-6

In week 5, we focused on learning different school supplies and things around a classroom
Here is the following words:
Lapiz-Pencil
Papel-Paper
Escritorio-Desk
Silla- Chair
Puerta: Door 
Ventana: Window

Day two:
Mesa- Table
Pen-Pluma
Borrador-Eraser 
Cuaderno-Notebook
Libro-Book
Tijeras: Scciros

Day 3:
Calculadora- Calculator
Regla- Ruler
Sacapuntas:-Sharpener 
Crayones: Crayons
Mochilla: Backpack
Globo- Globe 
    Mapa-Map                                                                       


Activities/games:
“Around the Room” worksheet.  In the two different worksheet, they copied the Spanish word for the classroom objected picture. Second they wrote the spanish words from above next the English words.

- Game: Again we played a game of Jeopardy using the school supplies/classroom objects, since the kids are always asking to play that game. I put the kids into teams and they had sound buzzers to answer the questions (For example "Como se dice Pencil en Espanol" -Lapiz. Each team was giving points if they answered the question correctly.

Jeopardy game with school supplies

-We also, played a game of bingo using the words that we learned. By playing bingo the kids get the chance to hear the words over and over,  which it helps them remember.

-Fun friday game: 
we played a game to review called "Que hay en tu mochilla?"- What's in your backpack?" (I had the kids use their backpacks to play this game) I had two kids go against each other and had them be on opposite side of the room. Every time I called a school supply in spanish, they had look in their backpacks to see if they had the supply I was looking for. The first one to find it and put inside the basket that was in the middle of the class room got a point. This game gave them the opportunity to review the words and move around. The kids loved this game!!
                                                  Look at their excitement! lol 

Week 6: Body parts
In week 6, we focused on learning different body parts. I was happy that by the end of the week mostly all the kids knew all the words we covered. I wanted to cover body parts, since Halloween is around the color, which would be a nice transition into next week for Halloween/Day of the Dead.
Here is the following words we learned
Cabeza-Head


Brazos: Amrs

Manos-Hands
Piernas-Legs
Pies- Feet
Hombre-Shoulders
Pecho-Chest
Rodillas: Knee

Ojos-Eyes
Oreja-Ears
Narriz-Nose
Labios-Lips
Boca-Mouth
Dientes-Teeth
Cuello- Neck
Dedos-Fingers
Ceja- Eyebrows 

Codo- Elbow 
Espalda- Back
Tobillo-Ankle
Mueca- Wrist
Cintura-Waist 

Activity: Worksheet- The kids had the chance to draw the parts with the given body part words next to it.





















Link to body parts review:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTrFeTDdXqU

Activity/ game: We played a memory game using the words and pictures that I made for them. The students had to match the body part word with the correct picture, but the only way they were able to keep the pair was if they could tell me the wold in English.




















                                                                                                                                                                    Activity/game: For review I put all the body pictures in that wall and the kids needed to tape the body part word with the correct picture. 





























Activity: We spend the last 2-3 day working on art project that involved them tracing their own bodies. They had the chance to work with each other, paint their outlines bodies with paint and label all the body parts they learn, The kids really enjoyed doing it since they though it was pretty cool thing to have. 







Saturday, October 25, 2014

Beginning Spanish: Weeks 1-6

¡Hola padres!

We're heading in to our seventh week of Spanish class, and I am so pleased with what the kids have retained so far!  

I've implemented a star/point system, which has worked out well.  Each child starts the class with five stars, and they get an extra star for being early.  Throughout the class, I give stars based on participation and focus and take stars away for lack of participation or disruptive behavior. Every Friday, the three students who have the most points get a prize from the prize bag!

At the beginning of the month, I also introduced teacher vs student points.  The students get a point if the entire class is participating, being respectful, and paying attention.  I get a point if they do the opposite.  If at the end of the month, the kids have more points than the teacher, they get a special day!  This could be anything from playing games to a special bocadillo (snack).  This has really motivated the kids to help each other to focus on what we're doing that day.

Here's a recap of what we've covered:

Week 1- 

Meeting the kids!
This was a fun way to get to know the kids and their personalities.  I asked them all to hold the frame and make whatever face they'd like, and this is the result!



                        

The kids learned how to say mi nombre es ______, tengo ___ años, yo soy de _____, buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches and some basic commands that we use almost every day in the class room.

Week 2- Los colores y las formas

This week we learned the colors and shapes!

To make sure they retained what I had taught them, I had them play running bingo.  I would call out either a shape or a color, and the kids would have to run to the card that had whatever I said. Here's a picture, but they were moving so fast that all I got were blurry pictures!
Running bingo- this was the clearest picture of them all!
Some other games that we played were:

A form of Pictionary-  I would say a color or a shape in Spanish and they would either draw the shape or write the color in English on mini whiteboards.

Find it!- I would say a color and a shape in Spanish, and the kids would have to point out the correct card on the wall.

Week 3- El alfabeto

This week we learned the alphabet!  The kids picked up the four differences between the English alphabet and el alfabeto en español really quickly (ch, ll, ñ y rr).  They had a lot of fun practicing how to pronounce the four *special* letters of the Spanish alphabet, even though some of the kids couldn't roll their r's.  But they certainly ha a great time trying!

The video I showed them every morning to review was this one: Spanish alphabet - Learn Spanish with BASHO & FRIENDS. They kept on asking for Basho, the little white dinosaur in the video, every morning so I didn't need to find another video to peak their interest!

Some of the games we played this week included: 

What letter am I?- I would either say a the letter in Spanish or the sound it makes, and the kids would have to write down their guess on the mini whiteboards.

Form it!- I would say a letter and the kids would have to form the letter using their bodies.
 
A- First attempt
A- Second attempt
Ñ

O

M
SLAP!- The kids paired up, spread out their stack of letters and tried to "slap" the letter once it was called out. Whoever got the most letters, won!

Hangman- Using terms that we had learned the week before (shapes and colors), I had the kids guess letters in Spanish.

Week 4- Repaso

We reviewed all the things we learned the previous three weeks!

Here is the list again-





Games we played:

Draw it!- Kids divided in to teams and I would call out a shape and a color in Spanish. They would either crab walk or bunny hop to the other side of the room and draw the shape with the correct color.
Crab walking
Bunny hopping 
So exicted!
What is it?- I would say a command/phrase in Spanish and the kids would have to either show what the command was saying or translate it.

Spell it!- Using the alphabet cards, they kids had to work together to spell the word correctly.
Spelling cubo

¡Cubo!

Spelling cuadrado

Spelling rectángulo

Alphabet ball- Kids would toss a beach ball that had the alphabet taped on and whichever letter landed facing them, they would have to say it or the sound it makes.

Shape it!- Using glow sticks, the kids had to manipulate them to form the letter called out.
Ñ

Week 5- En la escuela

The kids learned different objects you could find in a typical classroom. I drew the items on little flashcards and had the kids first identify what it was in English.  I would then tell them what it was in Spanish and had them write it down in their notebooks.

One of the projects for the week was ¿Qué hay en tu mochila? (What is in your backpack?).  If the specified term could fit inside a backpack, the kids taped it on to a backpack printout.

 Games that we played:

Find it!- The school items were placed in the room, I would say the item in Spanish and the kids would have to point out the item.

Pictionary- Kids would pick out a strip of paper that had the school item written in Spanish, and they would have to draw it on the whiteboard so the other kids could guess what it is!
                       

Week 6- Pronombres personales y la familia

This past week the kids learned personal pronouns and family members.  Our project for the week was labeling family pictures! I also had the kids write down in their notebooks the personal pronouns and family members in Spanish/English.

Some games we played:

What do we use?- The kids would tell me the correct pronoun used. I would form them in to groups and they would have to say the correct pronoun based on the grouping.

Find it!- I would say a personal pronoun in English, and the kids would have to find the correct sticky note that was placed across the room.

Spell it!- Using the alphabet cards, the kids had to spell out the terms they learned this week.


That's it for now! Once we have our next review week, I'll update the blog again. Until then...


¡Adiós!

 Maestra Analy