3rd and 4th Grade: May 13, 2015

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

Have a great summer!  ¡Qué disfruten el verano!

3rd and 4th Grade: April 29, 2015

In class today, we reviewed the nature-related vocabulary words.  Then we compared the state symbols of Michigan to the national symbols of Honduras.  There were some interesting similarities.

Ask your student:

• What national symbols of Honduras were the same as Michigan's state symbols?  (Their national tree is the white pine and their national animal is the white tail deer.)
• What symbols did you choose for yourself?  (Each student chose at least 4 symbols to represent themselves.)

Today's vocabulary:

• el animal - the animal
• el árbol - the tree
• la flor - the flower
• el pájaro - the bird
• el pez - the fish
• la piedra - the stone
• la piedra preciosa - the gemstone 
• el reptil - the reptile
• la tierra - the soil

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Cantaré.
• Practice our vocabulary words with these Quia games:  hangman, flashcards (with pictures)
• Complete this Quia Assignment (worth 2 pegatinas)

3rd and 4th: April 22, 2015

In class today, we started our final unit.  We learned some nature-related vocabulary and we talked about the state symbols of Michigan.  Next week, we'll see how they compare with the national symbols of a Spanish speaking country in Latin America.

Ask your student:

• What state symbols did you talk about?  Were there any that surprised you?  (Most students were surprised to learn that Michigan has a state soil.  Click HERE to learn more about it!)

Today's vocabulary:

• el animal - the animal
• el árbol - the tree
• la flor - the flower
• el pájaro - the bird
• el pez - the fish
• la piedra - the stone
• la piedra preciosa - the gemstone 
• el reptil - the reptile
• la tierra - the soil

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Cantaré.
• Practice our vocabulary words with these Quia games:  hangman, flashcards (with pictures)
• Complete this Quia Assignment (worth 2 pegatinas)

3rd and 4th: April 15, 2015

In class today, we finished our unit about Jonah!  We took some time to review our vocabulary words and then we acted out the story as a class.

Ask your student:

• Did you play a role in acting out the story today?  Who were you?  (We have some very talented actors and actresses!)

Today's vocabulary:

• Review~No new vocabulary

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Cantaré.
• The final assignment for the Jonah unit was handed out in class.  If you misplaced it, you can print a new copy HERE.

3rd and 4th Grade: March 25, 2015

Today in class, we continued learning vocabulary to tell the story of Jonah all in Spanish.  We played a vocabulary game that challenged us to think quickly to remember our vocabulary words.

Ask your student:

• Did you like the game you played in Spanish today?  (We played a "concentration" style game where students had to practice saying our vocabulary words to a beat.  We learned that it's tricky to do that!)

Today's vocabulary:

• ora - he/she prays
• obedece - he/she obeys
• tira - he/she throws
• el pez - the fish
• la tormenta - the storm
• come - he/she eats

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Cantaré.

• Practice our vocabulary words with these activities:  Flashcards/Matching
• Quia assignment. (Completing this assignment is worth 2 pegatinas)

3rd and 4th Grade: March 18, 2015

Today in class, we continued learning vocabulary to tell a Bible story all in Spanish.  Students figured out that we would be talking about Jonah.  While we haven't learned enough vocabulary to talk about Jonah, we had enough to tell a ridiculous, made-up story in Spanish.

Ask your student:

• What do you remember about the silly story in class?  (It was about a man who traveled all over in a boat.  His mom would tell him to go to Orlando, but he wouldn't listen because he was afraid of Mickey Mouse.)

Today's vocabulary:

• el hombre - the man
• el barco - the boat
• se llama - he/she is called (used with names)
• le dice - he/she says to him/her

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Cantaré.
• Practice our vocabulary words with these activities:  Flashcards/Matching, Rags to Riches
• Quia assignment. (Completing this assignment is worth 2 pegatinas)
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)

• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: March 11, 2015

Today in class, we began a new unit.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be learning the vocabulary to retell a Bible story all in Spanish!

Ask your student:

• What Bible story do you think you'll be learning about in class?  (At the end of class, every student made a guess.  5 students got it right!  We'll learn more words next week.)

Today's vocabulary:

• quiere ir (a) - he/she wants to go (to)
• habla - he/she speaks
• oye - he/she hears
• ¡Oye! is also used as an informal way to get someone's attention--like "Hey!" in English.
• el hombre - the man
• la ciudad - the city 
• otro/otra - other
• escucha - he/she listens
• va (a) - he/she goes (to)
• ¡Va! is also used as a command:  Go!

Homework:

• Listen and sing along with our song:  Eres Todopoderoso.
• Practice our vocabulary words with these activities:  Flashcards/Matching, Hangman
• Quia assignment.  (Completing this assignment is worth 2 pegatinas)
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: March 4, 2015

Today in class, we finished talking about cascarones by reading Carmen Lomas Garza's own description of her painting.

Ask your student:

• Do you remember what Carmen Lomas Garza said about making cascarones in her family?  What would her brothers always do? (They would make cascarones together.  On Easter, after church, they would go swimming, and after swimming they would eat lunch.  After they ate, they would take out the cascarones.  Sometimes her brothers would put flour in the cascarones.  Then it would turn into a messy paste in everyone's wet hair.) 

This week's vocabulary:

• traviesos - sneaky, mischievous 
• nuestros hermanos - our siblings
• cabezas - heads
• harina - flour

Homework:

• Sing along with our song:  Siempre que me muevo
• Our assignment was handed out in class.  If you misplaced it, you can print another copy HERE. ****Please note***The handout says the assignment is due April 17.  That is a mistake.  It is due March 11.  
• Also for the assignment, you may need the following links:
• Sandía Painting
• Tamalada Painting
• Tamalada Reading
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: February 25, 2015

Today in class, we continued to look at a painting by Carmen Lomas Garza.  She painted a picture of her family making cascarones...Mexican Easter eggs. We also watched a few short videos about cascarones.  If you're interested in learning a little more, I have some extra links in the homework section.

Ask your student:

• What are cascarones?  How do you make them? (They are egg shells filled with confetti. You make them by carefully making a small hold/taking a bit of the top of the egg off, pouring out the white and yolk, cleaning the shell, filling it with confetti, and decorating it!) 

This week's vocabulary (it may seem a bit random, but next week, we'll read Carmen Lomas Garza's description of her painting and it will make more sense!)

• íbamos a nadar - we would go swimming
• rompíamos - we would break
• comíamos - we would eat
• sacábamos - we would take out
• sorprendíamos - we would surprise
• después de - after 

Homework:

• Sing along with our song:  Siempre que me muevo
• Practice our vocabulary with this QUIA PRACTICE
• Complete QUIA ASSIGNMENT (worth 2 stickers)
• Extra~Read about the history of cascarones:  Article #1, Article #2
• Extra:  How to make cascarones.
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: February 18, 2015

Today in class, we looked at a painting by Carmen Lomas Garza.  She painted a picture of her family making cascarones...Mexican Easter eggs.

Ask your student:

• What do you remember about the painting you looked at in class?
• http://carmenlomasgarza.com/artwork/paintings/

This week's vocabulary

• los padres - the parents
• el huevo - the egg
• la iglesia - the church
• alrededor de - around 
• está cortando - is cutting 
• está decorando - is decorating

Homework:

• Sing along with our song:  Siempre que me muevo
• Practice our verbs with this QUIA PRACTICE
• Complete QUIA ASSIGNMENT (worth 2 stickers)
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: February 11, 2015

Today in class, we started a new unit.  We'll be talking about a Mexican tradition, but before we can learn about it, we had to learn how to say "-ing" verbs in Spanish.

Ask your student:

• What is the difference between these 2 Spanish verbs:  "habla" and "está hablando"? (Habla means s/he talks.  Está hablando means s/he IS talkING.) 

This week's vocabulary

• We focused on some "-ing" verbs
• está comiendo - he/she is eating
• está llorando - he/she is crying
• está saltando - he/she is jumping 
• está caminando - he/she is walking
• está jugando - he/she is playing
• está cantando - he/she is singing 
• está bailando - he/she is dancing
• está descansando - he/she is resting 

Homework:

• Sing along with our song:  Siempre que me muevo
• We watched THIS VIDEO from Sesame Street as an introduction to "ing" verbs in Spanish!
• Practice our verbs with this QUIA PRACTICE
• Complete QUIA ASSIGNMENT (worth 2 stickers)
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: February 4, 2015

We finished our "shopping" unit this week by talking about the difference between needs and wants.

Ask your student:

• How many pélares did you have to spend in class?  What did you buy? (Pélares are an imaginary currency.  Students received anywhere from 30-100 and had to choose what to buy.  See the picture below.)

This week's vocabulary

• Quiero - I want
• Necesito - I need

Homework:

• Our new song:  Siempre que me muevo
• We realized we need to brush up on numbers in Spanish (especially for saying how much something costs!).  Practice counting by 10s in Spanish with this song.  Here's another video that practices counting to 100 in Spanish.
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: January 28, 2015

Today in class, we practiced a few buying/selling conversations in Spanish before we headed to Market Day to try them out "for real."

Ask your student:

• Did you try speaking some Spanish at Market Day? (I was impressed that so many students decided to try talking to one or two of the older students in Spanish.)

This week's vocabulary

• Review
• Estoy mirando. ~ I'm looking/browsing.

Homework:

• Our new song:  Siempre que me muevo
• We realized we need to brush up on numbers in Spanish (especially for saying how much something costs!).  Practice counting by 10s in Spanish with this song.  Here's another video that practices counting to 100 in Spanish.
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: January 21, 2015

Today in class, we continued learning some shopping vocabulary.  Next week, we'll be going to Market Day during Spanish class.  If students choose, they can speak Spanish with some of the 5th and 6th grade students at their stores.

Ask your student:

• Do you think you will try speaking some Spanish at Market Day? (We'll practice a little in class before heading to Market Day.  Students will earn stickers for speaking Spanish.)

This week's vocabulary

• compra - he/she buys
• vende - he/she sells
• ¿Quieres probarlo? - Do you want to try/sample it?
• Tengo - I have
• Tienes - you have/do you have

Homework:

• Our new song:  Siempre que me muevo
• We realized we need to brush up on numbers in Spanish (especially for saying how much something costs!).  Practice counting by 10s in Spanish with this song.  Here's another video that practices counting to 100 in Spanish.
• January/February Bible Verse:  James 4:8 (AUDIO Version)
• Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes.  Santiago 4 versículo 8.

3rd and 4th Grade: January 14, 2015

Today in class, we started learning some shopping vocabulary.  Students will have a chance to try it out as they shop at Market Day in a few weeks.

Ask your student:

• How do you say "A bargain!!" in Spanish? (Una ganga.)

This week's vocabulary

• la tienda - the store
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? - How much does it cost?
• Cuesta... - It costs...
• dólares - dollars
• centavos/céntimos - cents
• Es muy caro. - It's very expensive.
• Es muy barato. - It's very inexpensive.
• ¡Es una ganga! - It's a bargain!
• Una oferta - an offer/a deal

Homework:

• Our new song:  Siempre que me muevo
• We realized we need to brush up on numbers in Spanish (especially for saying how much something costs!).  Practice counting by 10s in Spanish with this song.
• Quia
• Practice our vocabulary words with THIS ACTIVITY.
• Complete THIS ASSIGNMENT (worth 2 pegatinas).

3rd and 4th Grade: December 17, 2014

Today in class, we continued talking about a New Year's Eve tradition in Spain.  We even had a chance to try it out for ourselves!

Ask your student:

• What is the New Year's Eve tradition in Spain? (As the clock on TV chimes 12 times, you eat a grape for each chime.)
• How do they eat grapes in Spain?  (They peel them!)
• Were you able to eat all twelve grapes "on time"? (Instead of whole grapes, I cut them into quarters to avoid a choking hazard in class.  We watched last year's TV broadcast and tried it out for ourselves!  Everyone did great!)

Today's Vocabulary

• la campanada - the chime
• el cuarto - the quarter (every 15 minutes, there is a "cuarto"...it's like the song a Grandfather clock plays)

Homework:

• Do you want to watch the "Campanadas" again?  Here's last year's broadcast.
• Check out THESE IDEAS for some fun activities over break.
• Bible Verse:  Psalm 56:3
• Cuando siento miedo, pongo en ti mi confianza.  Salmo 56 versículo 3.
• Audio Version (Coming soon)
• By memorizing this verse and saying it to me on or before December 17, you will earn 4 stickers!

Christmas Break Activity Ideas

If you're looking for some fun, Spanish-related activities to do over break, check out some of these ideas:

1. Try a new recipe!
1. Mexican Hot Chocolate
2. Mexican Christmas Eve Salad
3. Spanish turrón
2. Try a craft!
1. Poinsettia ornament
2. Farolitos (Luminaries)
3. Piñata ornament
4. Papel Picado
3. Learn some new songs (All are available through Herrick Library)
1. Merry Navidad!:  Christmas Carols in Spanish and English by Alma Flor Ada
2. Feliz Navidad:  learning songs and traditions in Spanish by Anna Maria Mahoney
4. Read a book (All are available through the Herrick Library or library loan)
1. The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola
2. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola
3. N is for Navidad by Susan Middleton Elya
4. Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! by Virginia Kroll
5. The Gift of the Poinsettia by Pat Mora and Charles Ramírez Berg
6. A Piñata in a Pine Tree by Pat Mora
7. 'Twas Nochebuena by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

3rd and 4th Grade: December 10, 2014

Today in class, we began talking about a New Year's Eve tradition in Spain.  We didn't cover all of the specifics, but we know it has something to do with grapes!

Ask your student:

• What do you think the New Year's Eve tradition is? (So far we know it has something to do with grapes and watching TV.)
• What is the "Puerta del Sol"? (It's a place in Madrid, a large open square.)

Today's Vocabulary

• la tradición - the tradition
• la gente - the people
• se sientan - they sit down
• el comedor - the dining room 
• los imágenes - the images
• el reloj - the clock

Homework:

• Practice our vocabulary words with THIS Quia game.
• Complete THIS Quia assignment.  (Worth 2 pegatinas)
• Bible Verse:  Psalm 56:3
• Cuando siento miedo, pongo en ti mi confianza.  Salmo 56 versículo 3.
• Audio Version (Coming soon)
• By memorizing this verse and saying it to me on or before December 17, you will earn 4 stickers!

3rd and 4th Grade: December 3, 2014

Today in class we finished our unit "Las Islas" by talking about foods!  This week we talked about different things and places and different things to do on the islands.

Ask your student:

• What foods did you sample in class today?  What did you think about them?  (We sampled mangú (mashed plantain) and morir soñando (orange juice and milk drink).  The mangú got mixed reviews from the students, but almost everyone liked the morir soñando.)
• What word doesn't exist in Spanish?  (Just like we don't have a word for "mangú" they don't have a word for "fudge" in Spanish.  We describe mangú as mashed plantains.  In Spanish they would talk about fudge as a sweet made from chocolate and cream.)

Today's vocabulary:

• los dulces - the sweets/candies
• los batidos - the milkshakes/smoothies
• la naranja - the orange
• los plátanos - the plantains
• los mangos - the mangos
• las piñas - the pineapples
• la leche - the milk

Homework:

• Our final assignment for this unit was handed out in class.  If you misplaced the worksheet, click HERE to print a new copy.
• Did you like the mangú and the morir soñando? Here are the recipes for you to share with your family!
• Mangú
• Morir Soñando (In class, I used a little sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar.  I also made a dairy free version by simply mixing orange juice and canned coconut milk.)
• New Bible Verse:  Psalm 56:3
• Cuando siento miedo, pongo en ti mi confianza.  Salmo 56 versículo 3.
• Audio Version (Coming soon)
• By memorizing this verse and saying it to me on or before December 17, you will earn 4 stickers!

3rd and 4th Grade: November 26, 2014

Today in class we continued our unit "Las Islas."  This week we talked about different things and places and different things to do on the islands.

**NOTE** Next week, we will be sampling (very small portions) two different Dominican foods in class.  I will link the recipes I'll be using.  If your student has any allergies or food sensitivities, please let me know ahead of time.

• Mangú Recipe (Traditional mashed plantain breakfast)
• Morir Soñando Recipe (Traditional orange juice and milk drink.  Several students mentioned that they don't drink dairy milk, so I'll make two versions: one following the recipe listed, the other version replacing the milk and sugar with canned coconut milk.)

Ask your student:

• What is a favorite sport on Mackinac Island?  How about the DR?  (Golf is popular on Mackinac Island, baseball is a favorite in the DR.)

Today's vocabulary:

• los carros - the cars
• bicicletas - bicycles 
• la escuela - the school 
• dólares - dollars
• pesos - pesos 
• el hotel - the hotel 
• golf - golf
• béisbol - baseball
• hablan - they speak
• usan - they use

Homework:

• Practice our vocabulary with THESE Quia flashcards.
• Practice our new vocabulary words with THIS Quia game.  (Battleship style game!)
• New Bible Verse:  Psalm 56:3
• Cuando siento miedo, pongo en ti mi confianza.  Salmo 56 versículo 3.
• Audio Version (Coming soon)
• By memorizing this verse and saying it to me on or before December 17, you will earn 4 stickers!