September Spanish News

September Spanish News - By Maria Asunción Myers, Elementary Spanish Guide

T.P.R.S.  (Teaching Proficiency Through Reading And Storytelling)

This summer, I attended the N.T.P.R.S. 2015 (National Conference on Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). It was exhilarating. I enjoyed conversations with teachers and presenters that I had know only through the internet or by fame and was eager to meet in person. I took classes in six different languages and experienced how students feel when I teach them Spanish. This year’s presenters came from 12 different countries! T.P.R.S. is a method of second-language teaching that uses highly interactive stories to provide comprehensible input and create immersion in the classroom.

Lower Elementary students love to practice T.P.R. (Total Physical Response).

Lower Elementary  through  Middle School  Practice "Brain Break"

The purpose of Brain Break is for students to practice "Yo soy" (I am), and have them move around the room and practice adjectives. For example, I will say, “Yo soy alta" (I am tall). If the student is tall, they stand up and repeat, “Yo soy alta” and clap 3 times.  I add many adjectives that describe the students in the room. Students really enjoy moving and learning at the same time.

Students have been practicing Me llamo (My name is), Se llama (His/Her name is),  Me gusta (I like),  Le gusta (He/She likes), etc.  We use Cómo? (How) and Qué? (What), to ask questions and to keep the conversation going.

Personalization: Each class finds out about each other's interests by telling us their likes and dislikes. For example,  to understand a student's culture, we will ask about their favorite movies, sports, songs, foods, etc. This information will help them when they personalize their own stories.  Some students personalized their own lesson.

Lower Elementary is working with a group of stories from ¡Cuentame! (Tell me), and ¡Hola Niños!  (Hello children!).   All the lessons are full of cognates (words that are similar to English).  The lessons are full of student participation and repetition.  Repeating means that students work with the same word, but use different structures by recycling words that they know and then adding new ones.

Middle Elementary students are working with a group of mini-stories in which they use a mini-situation and extend reading in each lesson. The first two stories that they are working on are  Las Montañas de California (California Mountains)  and La Vaca y el Mono (The Cow and the Monkey).

 

Another group is working with the novel Hudini (Houdini), a famous magician. They are covering honesty, friendship, grandparent relations, and peer pressure.  The novel is presented in the present tense first, they will follow with activities in the past tense. Some students have brought some magic tricks to show to the group.

Upper Elementary students are working with two novels. 
The first is Noches Misteriosas en Granada (Mystery Nights in Granada).  Students will work on the topics of friendship, study and travel in other countries, and diversity.  They will learn about the Moors influence in Southern Spain.

The second novel is Brandon Brown Quiere un Derro (Brandon Brown Wants a Dog). Students will work on the topics of friendship, pets, responsibility, and peer pressure.

Middle School students are working with the novel Robo en la Noche (Robbery during the Night).

The students will learn about:

(a) The rainforest

(b) Illegal animal poaching as an industry

(c) Culture

(d) Traveling in Costa Rica

(e) Geography of Costa Rica

(f)  Typical Costa Rican food and eateries

(g) The Nicoya Peninsula

(h) The Curú Wildlife Refuge

The novel is based on real issues facing the government of Costa Rica and the United States. Amigos de las Aves is a real organization located in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Students are researching for presentations.