La Paz

4/5 students spent time this week thinking about la paz (peace) around the world. Students composed poems about peace in Spanish and cut out peace dance circles. Not quite sure why they were all wearing them on their heads, but it seemed like a great idea at the time! We also made Papel Picado (cut paper) poinsettias to conclude our discussion of holiday traditions in Mexico. Clean up was fun that day!!

 

7/8 Fieldtrip

7/8's had an exciting field trip to Capital Rep to see the play, Man of La Mancha! We had a great time and the play was wonderful: singing, dancing, instruments, comedy and drama!

Night of the Radishes

Holidays are celebrated in so many ways! In Oaxaca, radish farmers carved their crops to make them more interesting for prospective buyers. Soon these carvings became popular for holiday centerpieces and the carving event an annual fiesta! Middle School students tried their skills out and carved their own scenes! Below are some pictures from our radish fest!

K/1 Alphabet!

Today K/1's brought home their alphabet books. At first glance, they seem like traditional worksheets. And they are! Yet the beauty of Parker is that for our kids they are not just worksheets, they are reminders of the interactive activities we have done in class to learn each letter and sound. Bee puppets, owl crafts, Cat and Mouse role playing of stories, songs and more! It is so much fun to see the kids be so proud of a simple colored page - not just because they colored it, but for all the steps they accomplished along the way! Look for the "alfabeto" song coming to assembly soon!

2/3's Reporter for the Day

2/3's are enjoying taking turns playing the role of reporting the daily news. As each takes a turn, they get to head to the front of the class with a Mr. Microphone and report the date, weather and other interesting information in Spanish. What a great job they are all doing putting the language together in a meaningful way!

November Feast

Teresa joined the middle school again this month with a sampling of tasty "pinchos". Similar to tapas these small snacks were delicious and fun to make. Students enjoyed putting the "pinchos" together and visiting with each other while they ate. The "tortilla" made of eggs, onions and potatoes sliced and placed on baguette with a roasted red pepper decoration was a favorite along with slices of manchego cheese. Yum! Gracias Teresa!

October Projects!

October is a busy month at school and Spanish class is no exception! Middle School is working on a travel Webquest to Spain with Carol and I in the library, 4/5's are partnering to write stories about planets using new and old vocabulary words, 2/3's are making fiesta vocabulary mobiles and cards, K/1's are learning the Spanish alphabet sounds and Pre-K is learning about colors and numbers through song and movement. Keep checking back for more activity pictures coming soon!

Pre-K visita!

Pre-K 4's had a guest reader this week all the way from Mexico! Mr. Dominguez, grandfather of a student's Au Pair, joined us to read "Goodnight Moon" in Spanish to the class. Students really enjoyed listening and asking questions of a real native Spanish speaker. It was a fun morning! 

Back to School!

Back into the classroom! We've been really busy the past few weeks. K/1's are making abeja puppets (bees) as they begin the Spanish alfabeto, 2/3's are designing celebration word mobiles as they begin their study of cultural celebrations across Spain and Latin America and 4/5's are gearing up for their first writing project on planetas! Middle School is hopping too, they've just finished up surreal collages in Dali style and are getting ready to do a webquest on Spain. We're off to a great start!

4/5 Update

After a lot of great work, 4/5's have finally finished their Latin America and Spain exploration projects! They did such a wonderful job researching and creating their presentations. Can't wait to see them present in class next week! Emily has also volunteered to come teach us Tango as a grand finale. Scrapbooks will be coming home next week and pictures to follow soon!!!

Hooked in!

K/1's and 2/3's were "hooked in" this week to both technology and to Spanish! Students tried out the new headsets in our newly updated tech lab and took advantage of interactive Spanish storybooks. What a great way to see Spanish come alive while practicing computer navigation. Moving around in an all Spanish book takes awhile to get the hang of, but by the end of class, the excitement of the computers inspired everyone to commit to the challenge!

Vocabulary Scenes

Spanish II has been busy at work this week creating scene boxes for their culminating project. Small boxes are filled with items that represent vocabulary learned throughout the year. Examples of some of the scenes are a kitchen, an apartment and a grocery store. Through this project students have the chance to demonstrate creatively how they can apply their vocabulary to real world settings.

Next, comes writing about the their scenes and then sharing them in oral presentations in class - all in Spanish.

Finished products will be on display in the Spanish room during the Parker 20th Anniversary Celebration!  Check out the photos for a sneak peak at scene building!

Getting started!

Designing and Building!

Great Example!

Scene writing begins

K/1 Twister!!!

K/1 students enjoy playing Twister in Spanish. Mano derecha en verde! Pie izquierdo en azul!!

Twister Boys!

Twister Girls!

I did it!!!

Felting

Spanish I students learn from a fellow classmate how to felt animals like those made in Guatemala.

4/5 Game Making

4/5's worked hard to design, create, test and play games that teach Spanish skills to younger school mates. I think they learned a few of their own skills along the way too!

Mayan Hands

Brenda from Mayan Hands visited the 4/5's and Middle School to share Guatemalan textiles and crafts. The students learned about fair trade and why it is important. Brenda also taught us about the various languages, people and styles of weaving in Guatemala and how the kids can help the deep poverty that exists. The students were really excited to share their thoughts and ideas and left the presentation with some new views as consumers.

If you would like to learn more about Mayan Hands and free trade, please visit their website at Mayan Hands.

Creating Words

K/1's and 2/3's LOVE to find new ways to demonstrate their knowledge of new Spanish vocabulary. Here are a few recent creations...