Thursday, May 2, 2019

Summer Resources

Occasionally, students or parents will ask how they can learn more Spanish on their own.  Between our local libraries and online resources, there is no shortage of material:
  • Holland's Herrick Library (both branches) and Zeeland's Howard Miller Library feature growing collections of children's material in Spanish.  Discover a new book or find an old favorite in a new language.  Check out their DVD collections and audio books for great listening practice in Spanish.
    • If you have Herrick Library account, be sure to check out Little Pim (for younger students) and Mango Languages (for older students and adults).  Both are available for free online with your library account. 
  • Listed below are some online resources I've used or recommended in the past.  Most are music or game based to make learning Spanish as much fun as possible!  
    • (Parents, please note that many of these sites use Google Ads.  I can not control nor predict the ads that are shown.  You may want to preview the sites with ads ahead of time or have an ad blocker set up on your browser.)


Games and Activities for Students:

Rockalingua:  This site offers great songs and games to practice different vocabulary themes in Spanish.  Some resources require you to purchase a subscription, but there is a lot of material that is available for free.

Online Free Spanish:  The "beginner" level includes a lot of basic vocabulary.

1, 2, 3, Teach Me:  In addition to games and vocabulary activities, this site also includes listening activities with simple conversations.

StoryPlace:  Listen to a story online, then follow up with online activities, a "take home activity" (craft), and get suggestions of other books to borrow from the library.  Great for younger (K-2nd) learners.

Salsa Online Video Series:  According to their website, "Salsa is Georgia Public Broadcasting's award-winning Spanish language series for young learners in kindergarten through the third grade. Puppets in familiar stories, digital graphics and animation teach the language."

PBS Spanish Games:  These games feature PBS Kids characters in a variety of Spanish games.

BBC Primary Languages:  This site is geared toward slightly older students (3rd grade and up), and features vocabulary practice, games, and videos.  (Note:  This site emphasizes the pronunciation and culture of Spain while most US-based sites emphasize Latin American pronunciation and culture.  See what differences you notice!)

SpanishTown:  This site provides 30 "lessons" of interactive vocabulary lists and short videos.  There are also printable activities and grammar lessons for older students.

Duolingo.com:  Parents will want to check this one out as it can be a bit "reading heavy" for young learners.  It may be an activity you can complete together.  Older students, however, will love the competitive game-based language learning!

For Parents:

Spanish Playground:  A fantastic resource with ideas and resources for teaching Spanish.

Mommy Maestra Blog:  This blog is run by a Latina homeschooling mom.  She posts a lot of bilingual books, resources, and other activity ideas.



5th and 6th Grade: May 1, 2019

Today in class, students were able to use stickers they had earned in class to buy small prizes.

We also played Toma Todo, a traditional Mexican game.  The spinning tops we used in class were from Mexico, but you can follow THESE DIRECTIONS to make your own version of the game to play at home!

Vocabulary:
  • pon - put
  • toma - take
  • todos - all, everyone
  • todo - everything
  • toma todo - take it all
  • todos ponen - everyone put one in
Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!

4th Grade: May 1, 2019

Today in class, students were able to use stickers they had earned in class to buy small prizes.

We also played Toma Todo, a traditional Mexican game.  The spinning tops we used in class were from Mexico, but you can follow THESE DIRECTIONS to make your own version of the game to play at home!

Vocabulary:
  • pon - put
  • toma - take
  • todos - all, everyone
  • todo - everything
  • toma todo - take it all
  • todos ponen - everyone put one in
Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!

2nd and 3rd Grade: May 1, 2019

Today in class, we played Toma Todo, a traditional Mexican game.  The spinning tops we used in class were from Mexico, but you can follow THESE DIRECTIONS to make your own version of the game to play at home!

Vocabulary:
  • pon - put
  • toma - take
  • todos - all, everyone
  • todo - everything
  • toma todo - take it all
  • todos ponen - everyone put one in
Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!

1st and 2nd Grade: May 1, 2019

Today in Spanish class, we finished our "signs of spring" flower activity.  In Spain, they look forward to the almond trees blossoming as the first sign of spring.

Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!

Kindergarten: May 1, 2019

In class today, we celebrated by singing along with some of our favorite songs and playing our favorite games!  The game Tierra y Mar and Bebé Tiburón are probably the favorites!

Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!