Upper School Spanish News - January

Lower Elementary

Lower Elementary students are learning how to describe the five main classes of vertebrates, starting with insects, or insectos. We are learning the names of insects in Spanish, as well as facts about them including habitat, color, and size. Each student made a mask of their favorite insect.   

Students match the insect’s English name to its Spanish name.

They write the names of the insects in the singular and plural forms.

They use infinitive verbs (volar – to fly; saltar – to jump; etc.) to describe each insect. 

The students write sentences in Spanish to describe their favorite insects.

We wrote a story about an ant and a butterfly and took turns reading it.

  

Upper Elementary

Upper Elementary students continue to work with singular and plural nouns, and practice by writing sentences and stories. Students work together to help each other master the lesson.

Students make grammar columns to separate the different parts of a sentence: articles, nouns, verbs, and adjectives. They form sentences using this method. 

Students learned that every noun in Spanish is masculine or feminine.

 Students change sentences from positive to negative statements: “La casa es grande (The house is big)” to “La casa no es grande (the house is not big).”

Aumentativo and Diminutivo is a new lesson for the students: for example, gato/gatito, perro/perrito. We use this skill in sentences in stories. After students receive a lesson, they can give the same lesson to other students.

 They adapt sentences from singular to plural.

Students are reinforcing Indirect Object Pronouns through lessons in their grammar workbooks.

Sentences work with the verb tener - to have.  A group of activities follow each lesson.

Some of the students learned Spanish dances, including the salsa.

Middle School

Middle School students are working with the verb tener - to have. We use it to talk about what we have or what others have. We conjugate the verb and write sentences: Tenemos clases los lunes - we have class on Mondays, etc.

Then we introduced que in a sentence. We discussed how to use the infinitive in a sentence: Tener + que + infinitive - Tengo que estudiar - I have to study. The students enjoy teaching each other what they have learned.

The Middle School Spanish class decided on their own to hold a Spanish book drive for the students at Cole Elementary School. The students are proud to contribute their time to help provide educational resources for this community.