8/31 - First Esponjas, quiz, new vocab, study strategies

1. I introduced the concept of "esponjas" "sponges". These are short activities that I will post on the projector at the beginning of each class. Students will get their folders from the box in class, do the activity, we will discuss, and then return the folders to the box. I will grade esponjas once a week for participation grades.

1.5 Check and go over homework from yesterday.

2. Students got a few minutes to review for the quiz. Then we took the quiz.

3. We added new vocabulary to their lists. In an effort to teach them good methods for studying vocabulary, I am requiring students to do one of two methods to work on this list. They either may make flashcards, or they can make a 4-column vocab list. For the 4-column list, they must fold their paper into 4 columns, then copy the Spanish vocab into the first column and the English translations into the second. Then fold over the columns so you are looking at the Spanish on the left, and a blank column on the right. Try to fill in the English, then unfold and check. Finally, fold over the paper so you are looking at the English and a blank column. Fill in the Spanish, unfold and check. Eash student must bring a set of flashcards or a filled 4-column list tomorrow.

The words are as follow:
la cabeza = the head
la cara = the face
el ojo = the eye
la nariz = the nose
la oreja = the ear
la boca = the mouth
el pelo = the hair
el hombro = the shoulder
el brazo = the arm
la mano = the hand
el dedo = the finger
el codo = the elbow
el estómago = the stomach
la espalda = the back
el pecho = the chest
la pierna = the leg
la rodilla = the knee
el pie = the foot

La tarea: flashcards or vocab list, study words.

8/30 - Review of days, dates, etc. Quiz tomorrow

1. Review days of the week
2. Review months of the year.
3. Answer these 5 questions:
?Que hora es?
?Que dia es hoy?
?Cual es la fecha?
?Cuantos anos tienes?
?Cuando es tu cumpleanos?

These 5 questions will be on the quiz tomorrow!!

4. We did a listening activity to review greetings.
5. Quiz tomorrow: 5 questions, numbers, time.

La tarea: Study for quiz, Workbook pp. 6 and 8.

8/27 - "Aztec calendar" and vocab

1. Finish Aztec calendars.
2. Fill out vocab sheet; I will check it on Monday!

La tarea: Finish calendar and vocab sheet. Start sutdying for quiz on Tuesday over numbers and time, days dates and months.

8/26 - Review of time, number, classroom activties, days and months

1. Time relay
2. We read Act 6 on page 5 and answered the questions.
3. We read page 6, which reviewed classroom commands.
4. On page 7 in the text, we did activity 8 out loud.
5. On page 8, we did activity 11 aloud.
6. We reviewed the days of the week and months of the year.
7. Finally, we started an art project. Students will be making their own version of an Aztec calendar. I gave them some circles with directions of what information to fill in on each circle. Students MUST create a heiroglyph for each day, month, and season, so a total of 23 glyphs.

La tarea: None, but bring in your Aztec calendar to work on tomorrow.

8/25 - number practice, time, days and months

1. Check/go over homework

2. We practiced telling time. Remember, for 1:00 only, you say "Es la una" for all other hours, you say "Son las _____"
y media = and a half hour
y cuarto = and a quarter hour
menos = minus, use when it's close to the next hour. For example, at 4:45, you say that it's 5 minus a cuarter "Son las cinco menos cuarto." The question for telling time is "¿Qué hora es?"

3. We learned days of the week and sang a song to practice. The days are
lunes = Monday
martes = Tuesday
miércoles = Wednesday
jueves = Thursday
viernes = Friday
sábado = Saturday
domingo = Sunday

The days and months are not capitalized in Spanish.

The song is to the tune of The Addams Family song:
La semana (snap snap)
La semana (snap snap)
La semana, la semana, la semana (snap snap)
El lunes y el martes
miércoles y jueves
viernes y sábado
domingo
la semana (snap snap) we usually kind of stop there.

The months are:
enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre

To say a date, say "el(number) de (month)" for example, el veinticinco de agosto.

La tarea: page 7 in the workbook.

8/24 - Retake of quiz, textbooks, telling time

1. Check/go over homework

2 Retake spelling quiz. Scores will be posted later tonight; only the higher score will count.

3. Textbook checkout: students were given the choice of checking out a hard-copy textbook to keep at home, signing up for the online textbook, or both. Students who so wished were given the explanation for signing up online. Those who took a paper textbook filled out book cards and they may keep the book at home for the year; I will have a classroom set of books for use in class.

4. Telling time. We learned how to tell time in Spanish and did some activities using little foam or wood clocks. They did a worksheet about telling time and we went over it.

La tarea: workbook p. 3-4

8/23 - turn in supplies, ABC quiz, textbooks and workbooks

1. While students were preparing for the quiz, I checked supplies. All grades are entered in the gradebook with a note if you are missing anything.

2. Quiz. There were 5 perfect scores. The other 28 students will retake the quiz tomorrow and the better score will stand.

3. Textbooks. We read the first 4 pages of the textbook and did a few activities aloud.

La tarea (the homework): Workbook pp. 1-2. Write name on workbook. Also, study for retake and get missing supplies!!

8/20 - Oral presentations, ABC review, number review

1. Students turned in supplies. Remember, all items are due on MONDAY: dry erase markers, folder with brads loaded with paper, binder with 3 dividers labeled "Vocabulario" "Gramatica" and "Tarea", and the signed parent contact form.

2. Oral presentations. Everyone did great!

3. ABC and number practice on the white boards. We will have an ABC quiz on Monday.

La tarea: study for quiz.

19/8 - letters, greetings, introductions

1. WE learned how to introduce someone else:
Él se llama _________ (His name is)
Ella se llama ___________ (Her name is)
Students had to introduce their rows.

2. We chanted the alphabet several times, then they had to identify letters and spelling of words.

3. Oral presentation for tomorrow. Students have to present a dialog with a partner. They must include the following:
Greet each other
Ask how each other is (one asks, the other answer, then the other asks back and the one answers)
Ask each others' names (both must ask and answer)
Say some form of Nice to meet you
Say goodbye.

Students must memorize and present tomorrow in class.

La tarea: memorize and practice your dialog. Practice the alphabet.

8/18 - Conversations, numbers, ABCs, Spanish names

1. Bingo time!! Using the board they made yesterday, we played bingo to practice numbers.
2. Alfabeto. We learned the ABCs in Spanish with an emphasis on the evolution of the language and the geographic differences.
3. Choose Spanish names. Students looked at a list of many names and chose one they liked.
4. White board spelling practice, if time.

La tarea: Prepare to be able to spell your Spanish name in Spanish, practice pornouncing A E I O U (ah, eh, ee, oh, oo)

8/17 - Conversations, classroom vocab, #s

1. Review conversations from yesterday. Add in the following phrases:
¡Buenos días! – good morning
¡Buenas tardes! – good afternoon
¡Buenas noches! – good night
Mucho gusto – It’s a pleasure (to meet you)
Encantado(a) – Enchanted (to meet you)
¿y usted? – and you (formal)


We also discussed the upside down punctuation, and the difference between formal and informal forms of address.

2. Classroom vocab - We repeated the “TPR” activity from yesterday, where students had to make actions to show they understood classroom commands.
¡Cállate! – shut up – cover mouth
¡Escucha! – listen – cup ears
¡Mira! – look – point from eyes to board
¡Levántate! – stand up
¡ Siéntate! – sit down

Today we added classroom items:
El libro – the book
El papel – the paper
El lápiz – the pencil
La pluma/el bolígrafo – the pen
La puerta – the door
La pizarra – the blackboard
Abre el libro – open the book
Cierra el libro – close the book

3. Finally, we learned to count from 1-20, then by 10s through 100. Students did various activities to practice counting.

La tarea (the homework): Make and bring a 5x5 bingo board filled in with numbers between 1-100.

Hola

1. Students were taught to say "Hola" and ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) and ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?) To answer, you say Bien or Muy bien (well or very well), Mal or Muy mal (bad or very bad), or así-así (so so). To ask some one back, say “¿y tú?”

Here is a sample dialog:
¡Hola!
¡Hola!
¿Cómo te llamas?
Me llamo María. ¿y tú?
Me llamo Pedro.
¿Cómo estás?
Muy bien, ¿y tú?
Mal.
¡Adiós!
¡Hasta luego!

Homework: Start gathering your supplies for class!!

¡Bienvenidos a la clase de la Sra. Phipps!

¡Bienvenidos a la clase de la Sra. Phipps!

If you found this blog before class started, on the first day of class, bring in a note card or small sheet of paper that says your name, class period, and write “¡Me gusta mucho el blog!” (that means I really like the blog). Hand the card to me when you come in. If you do so, I will return the card to you the next day with candy attached!

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