THIRD GRADE UPDATE 2/22

READING WEEK (2/1-2/5):
Many of my students enjoyed the after school sessions about Puerto Rico's adorable, but very LOUD tree frog - The Coquí! Students got to see this tiny frog in action on-line and hear it's wonderful singing. They then got to make tree-frog shadow puppets and performed wonderful Spanish skits for their families!
¡Coquí! ¡Coquí! ¡Co-quí-quí-quí-quí!

MORE ON VERBS & WORDS FOR CLASSES:
I'm delighted by how well the third graders have learned their Spanish verbs. Not only have they been able to learn the correct verb endings for the "I" form of these words, but they're becoming comfortable using them when referring to other people.
Here's an example: (Yo) corro. (I run.) Rosa corre. (Rosa runs.)
The students have looked through their notebooks and listed all the verbs they've learned on one page so they have easy access to them when doing writing assignments. They've also listed the names for their classes and composed sentences in which they say what they do in their classes. This has helped them during speaking practice.
Example: ¿Qué haces en la clase de español?/What do you do in Spanish class?
Hablo en la clase de español./I talk in Spanish class.

VALENTINE FORTUNE TELLERS:
For our Valentine celebration the students made Origami Fortune Tellers which they used to review their numbers and colors. They've also enjoyed making up "fortunes" to read to their families and friends. After making the fortune tellers, the students walked around the classroom and had a lot of fun speaking in Spanish as they read their classmates "fortunes."
Here are a few examples: Más amor/More love, Más amigos/More friends, Más diversión/More fun...

DON QUIJOTE:
The students loved learning about one of the world's oldest books: Don Quijote de la Mancha! I read the chapter on the windmills to the children and then they discussed the characteristics of three of the characters: want-to-be knight Don Quijote, his "squire" Sancho Panza and the beautiful lady Dulcinea. I taught the students how to use bilingual dictionaries to look up the English adjectives they thought up for each character.

STORY - ¡NO TIRES TUS DULCES!/DON'T THROW YOUR CANDIES!:
I'm now reading this funny story to my students. It's all about a chain reaction of events that could happen if a girl spills her bowl of candies...

SHARING IN CLASS:
Thank you so much for providing opportunities for your children to speak Spanish outside of school! So many of the students are sharing their "Spanish" experiences with their friends at the beginning of class. ¡MUCHAS GRACIAS!