Tuesday, May 25, 2010

ADIOS Y QUE PASEN BIEN EL VERANO/GOOD-BYE AND HAVE A NICE SUMMER

Dear Parents,

It's been a wonderful year of learning for our Spanish students, and an especially meaningful one for me, since it's my last year at Shorecrest. I won't be far away, though, since I've accepted a teaching position at the University of South Florida.

Before I go, I'd like to thank my students for their curiosity and enthusiasm in learning a new language; and I'd also like to thank you, the parents and guardians, for your collaboration and the support which you give to your children.

Sincere regards,

Sra. Starr

THIRD GRADE UPDATE: 5/25/2010

The third graders did a great job learning the Definite Articles (el,la,los,las)and impressed me by also telling me the meaning of the sentences on the evaluation.

Way to go Third Grade!

We're now saying our goodbyes (sniff-sniff) by playing Jeopardy, singing a new song (Como se dice en espanol?) and joking around with "Lazaro," the class puppet.

Sra. Starr

FOURTH GRADE UPDATE: 5/25/2010

The fourth graders have been hard at work finishing their stories and going over their writing together with me. They're now mostly done, and have put a great deal of effort into their writing.

On the last day of Spanish class I'll be returning their stories to them along with their Spanish folders to take home. Please encourage your child to read their story out loud and to share what their story is about with you and other family members.

Sra. Starr

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Lyrics to "Tengo dolores:

¡Tengo Dolores! (Tune: Mamá yo quiero)

© 2001 Uwe Kind/Mark Schaffel

Characters: Dolores & the doctor

Dolores: ¡Tengo dolores! ¡Tengo dolores! ¡Ay, ay, doctor, tengo dolores!

Doctor: ¿Dónde los tienes? ¿Dónde los tienes?

Dolores: ¡Aquí, aquí, aquí, doctor, aquí!

Doctor: ¿Tiene usted fiebre? ¿Tiene usted fiebre?

Dolores: ¡No, no, no, no, no tengo fiebre!

Doctor: ¿Dónde los tienes? ¿Dónde los tienes?

Dolores: ¡Aquí, aquí, aquí, doctor, aquí!

Doctor: ¿Es la garganta? ¿Es la garganta?

Dolores: ¡No, no, no no es la garganta!

Doctor: ¿Dónde los tienes? ¿Dónde los tienes?

Dolores: ¡Aquí, aquí, aquí, doctor, aquí!

Doctor: ¿Es la espalda? ¿Es la espalda?

Dolores: ¡No, no, no, no es la espalda!

Doctor: ¿Dónde los tienes? ¿Dónde los tienes?

Dolores: ¡Yo creo que debe ser mi corazón!

Translation:
¡Tengo dolores! = I have pains; ¿Dónde los tiene? = Where does it hurt?
Aquí, doctor, aquí! = Here, doctor, here; ¿Es la garganta? = Is it your
throat?; No es la garganta = It’s not my throat; ¿Es la espalda? = Is it
your back?; Yo creo que debe ser mi corazón = I think it must be my heart.

FOURTH GR UPDATE: 5/14/2010

Story Wrtiting (TPR Story-Telling):
The fourth graders have resumed writing their stories based on the situational drawings from earlier in the year (the boy with the mice). It's rewarding for me to observe the students as they look up words, help eachother out, and make corrections to their earlier drafts; adding both adjectives and location words to their stories. ¡Muy bien cuarto grado!/Well done Fourth Grade!

New Song (Lingo-Tech):
The students have been enjoying making up the dance moves to a new song by Mr. Uwe Kind. The song's called "Tengo dolores"/"I Have These Pains" and is about a patient's visit to the doctor. In the song they learn to name some new areas of the body and say where they are hurting.

I've borrowed some stethoscopes from the school nurse, and the students have enjoyed using these as they demonstrate the different areas of the body mentioned in the song.

¡Qué divertido!/How fun!

Sra. Starr

Sra. Starr

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Last Third Grade Self-Evaluation: 5/11/2010

I plan on giving the third graders an informal evaluation on the following days:

Hensler: Wednesday, 5/19
Wolfrath: Thursday, 5/20
Laduke: Friday, 5/21

This evaluation will be on the Spanish Definite Articles. I'll give the students a list of ten words, and I'll ask them to write the correct definite article in front of the word.

About Definite Articles:

There are four ways to say "the" in Spanish. These are "el","la","los," and "las."

All masculine singular(one thing) words take "el" in front of the noun.

Example: el perro/the male dog

All feminine singular words take "la" in front of the noun.

Example: la perra/the female dog

By adding an "s" at the end of the word, we make it plural(more than one). And if it's masculine, it'll take "los" in front.

Example: los perros/the male dogs

If the word's feminine and plural, it'll take "las" in front of it.

Example: las perras/the female dogs

HOWEVER: THERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT DON'T FOLLOW THESE RULES.

Example: el día / the day, el mapa / the map, el agua/the water


STUDY LIST (The words may not necessarily be in this order on the evaluation, and are taken from the song "Una pera y dos bananas.")

la pera - the pear

las peras - the pears

la banana - the banana

las bananas - the bananas

el peso - the dollar (or Mexican dollar)

los pesos - the dollars

el beso - the kiss

los besos - the kisses

el día - the day

los días - the days

¡Buena suerte! / Good luck!

Sra. Starr

Monday, May 10, 2010

Trabalenguas / Tongue Twisters: 5/10/2010

Here are some the tongue twisters I frequently ask my students to say before leaving the third/fourth grade Spanish room. I find that tongue twisters are good practice for pronunciation, since many of the sounds are repetitive. You may want to ask your child to repeat his (or her)favorite tongue twister to you, other family members or friends.

Diviertase! / Have fun!

1.
Tres tristes tigres toman te.

Tress treess-tehss tee-gress toh-man teh.

Three sad tigers drink tea.

2.
Pepe el pato patina sobre el piano.

Peh-peh ell pah-toh pah-tee-nah soh-breh ell pee-ah-noh.

Pepe the duck skates on the piano top.

3.
Quiero a mi abuelita con la cara tan bonita.

Key-eh-roh ah mee ah-boo-eh-lee-tah cohn lah cah-rah tahn boh-knee-tah.

I love my granny with the pretty face.

4.
Quiero mucho a mi tio. Es un gran amigo mio.

Key-eh-roh ah mee tee-oh. Ehss oon grahn ah-mee-goh mee-oh.

I love my uncle. He's a great friend.

5.
La nina pequena come pina en el bano.

Lah knee-knee-ah peh-keh-knee-ah coh-meh pee-knee-ah ehn ehll bah-knee-oh.

The small girl eats pineapple in the bathroom.


And here's a popular Spanish saying:

En boca cerrada no entran moscas.

Ehn boh-cah sseh-rrah-dah noh ehn-trahn mohss-cahss.

No flies enter a closed mouth. (Sometimes it's better to stay quiet.)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO!!

TERCER GRADO / THIRD GRADE:

The third graders have just finished their unit on the extended family and are learning a great deal about the Mexican Cinco de Mayo celebration; it's origins and how this holiday is celebrated in the United States.

In order to do this I've shown them an iteresting film made for and by children their own age. In the film, they've watched Latino-American children having fun at a Piñata celebration and dancing traditional folk dances.

The third graders will soon be bringing home colorful drawings celebrating the Mayan legend of the discovery of Mexico.

CUARTO GRADO / FOURTH GRADE:

Skit Performances:
The fourth graders are now putting on their fire skits for their friends. I've very much enjoyed the process of observing the students as they came up with ideas, written their lines, selected their props and rehearsed. I can tell they're proud of the results of their hard work, as I see their faces light up on hearing their classmates' loud applause. WAY TO GO FOURTH GRADE!

Cinco de Mayo:
For the Cinco de Mayo celebration the students are/will be revisiting the Mayan Creation Myth, reciting a cute Cinco de Mayo poem, and making colorful drawings of Mayan hyroglyphic figures.

¡VIVA EL CINCO DE MAYO! ¡BRAVO! ¡OLÉ!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

NO TUTORING MONDAY (5/10)

I'm cancelling both drop-in and enrichment tutoring on the week of May 10th., due to additional work duties during that week.

All tutoring will resume as usual on Monday, May 17th.

Hasta pronto (See you later.),

Sra. Starr

Saturday, May 1, 2010

THIRD GRADE UPDATE: 5/5/2010

The third graders have been extending their knowledge of the family by coloring in a drawing of a family. For example, I've asked them in Spanish to use a specific colored crayon to fill in the color of an item of clothing worn by a famiy member. In this way the students have reviewed their colors, learned new items of clothing and extended their knowledge of family members.

The family vocabulary is as follows:

La familia/The family

el tío - the uncle
la tía - the aunt
el primo - the boy cousin
la prima - the girl cousin
el padre - the father
la madre - the mother
el papá - the dad
la mamá - the mom
el hijo - the son
la hija - the daughter
el abuelo - the grandfather
la abuela - the granmother

La ropa/Items of Clothing

el suéter - the sweater
los pantalones - the pants
la camisa - the shirt
la blusa - the blouse
la falda - the skirt
los zapatos - the shoes
el vestido - the dress
la chaqueta - the jaquet

Los colores/The Colors

azul - blue
amarillo - yellow
negro - black
blanco - white
rosa - pink
rojo - red
morado - purple
verde - green
café (marrón) - brown

Friday, April 30, 2010

QUESTION FOR OUR FRIENDS IN MADRID (4/30)

Hola a nuestros amigos del "Colegio Giner de los Ríos,"

Les queremos hacer una pregunta en español:

¿Adónde vas en tu tiempo libre?

Abrazos,

Vuestros amigos de Shorecrest

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello to our friends at the "Giner de los Ríos School,"

We'd like to ask you a question in Spanish:

Where do you go on your free time?

Hugs,

Your friends at Shorecrest

Thursday, April 22, 2010

THIRD GR PINATA PARTY SUCCESS!

¡Todos los grupos de tercer grado entregaron sus tareas a tiempo! ¡Felicitaciones a todos!

All the third grade classes have turned their homework in on time! Congratulations to all!

Sra. Starr

FOURTH GRADE UPDATE (4/22)

PIÑATA PARTIES & ADJECTIVES HOMEWORK:

Congratulations to the fourth grade classes who handed in their adjectives homework on time.

It was great showing you the dance moves for the song "El cuerpo Señor."

Did you know that this song was created by world-famous language teacher and pop-star "Etiénne?"

Etiénne is from Canada and teaches kids both Spanish and French. This motivated language teacher travels around the world teaching cool dance moves and songs to kids of all ages and natinalities.

Boy, you kids can really hit a Piñata!


SPEAKING QUIZZES:

The fourth grade did a terrific job answering the questions I assigned to them for their recent speaking quiz.

Our Spanish students' comprehension is excellent and their accents are near-native.

Awesome!


FIRE VOCABULARY:

The students have worked very hard at learning the fire vocabulary. They've done this by writing the words and completing enjoyable word-searches.

Here's the vocabulary they've learned:

el bombero - the fireman
la ambulancia - the ambulance
la boca de incendios - the fire hydrant
el extintor de incendios - the fire extinguisher
la alarma de bomberos - the fire alarm
ayuda - help
auxilio - help
socorro - help
ayudame - help me
fuego - fire
incendio - fire

FIRE EMERGENCY SKITS:

After discussing an imaginary emergency scenario, the fourth graders have been hard at work using their imaginations and acting skills to create Spanish skits to perform in front of the class.

The kids are now practicing their lines and starting to use the props available in the Spanish room. The performances take place in restaurants, parks, and hotel rooms, and include such interesting characters as martians, talking cows, parrots and mariachi entertainers!

TECHNOLOGY ASSIGNMENT:

The students have completed this assignment and have become quite savvy at using our Spanish blog.

¡Una pera y dos bananas! (Song Lyrics)

Una pera, dos bananas

Tres tortugas, tres manzanas

Cuatro cuadros, cinco días

Seis semanas, seis tortillas


Una pera, dos bananas

Tres tortugas, tres manzanas

Cuatro cuadros, cinco días

Seis semanas, seis tortillas


Una pera y dos bananas

Una pera y dos bananas


¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!

¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!


Cinco sellos, seis semanas

Ocho ríos, nueve ranas

Diez calles, veinte días

Treinta tías, cuarenta días


Cinco sellos, seis semanas

Ocho ríos, nueve ranas

Diez calles, veinte días

Treinta tías, cuarenta días


Una pera y dos bananas

Una pera y dos bananas


¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!

¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!


Sesenta gatos, ochenta pesos

Noventa platos y cien besos

Sesenta gatos, ochenta pesos

Noventa platos y cien besos


Sesenta gatos, ochenta pesos

Noventa platos y cien besos

Sesenta gatos, ochenta pesos

Noventa platos y cien besos


Una pera y dos bananas

Una pera y dos bananas


¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!

¡Arriba, arriba, a la derecha!

¡Abajo, abajo, a la izquierda!


From: “Tune in to español,” lyrics by Uwe Kind; music by Mark Schaffel; teaching through song & movement developed by Mr. Kind at Harvard University.
For more information about this music, go to the links list and click on Lingo Tech Song Lyrics.

Monday, April 19, 2010

THIRD GRADE UPDATE: APRIL 19

After reviewing the clock on the hour and learning the clock on the half hour by playing "Clock Baseball," the third graders learned the enjoyable song: "Una pera y dos bananas (One Pear and Two Bananas)."

I have the kind permission of Mr. Uwe Kind, the author of many catchy Spanish songs, to put his lyrics on our blog. Please ask your child to sing it for you and maybe you'll be singing it soon too!

The students are now learning the names for the extended family by role playing different family members.

Here's a list of the family names:

La familia - The Family
la mamá - the mom
el papá - the dad
la hija - the daughter
el hijo - the son
la abuela - the grandmother
el abuelo - the grandfather
el tío - the uncle
la tía - the aunt
la prima - the cousin (girl)
el primo - the cousin (boy)

Lázaro, the puppet, has again appeared on the scene and is teaching the students how to say the name's of their family members. Here's a couple of examples:

Mi padre se llama Anthony. (My dad's name is Anthony.)
Mis padres se llaman Susan y Anthony. (My parents names are Susan and Anthony.)

The students have been also been having a lot of fun learning the names of Lázaro's many brothers(hermanos) and sisters(hermanas). His brother's names are Timoteo and Tomás, and his sister's names are Teresa, Tatiana, Tomasina, Tania and Tuti!

Hasta luego/See you later,
Sra. Starr

Friday, April 16, 2010

THIRD GR PINATA PARTY HOMEWORK REMINDER

THE DEADLINE FOR THE THIRD GRADE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT IS FAST APPROACHING!

LADUKE: TUESDAY, APRIL 20
HENSLER: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
WOLFRATH: THURSDAY, APRIL 22

SO FAR, THE CLASS WITH THE MOST ASSIGNMENTS HANDED IN IS SR. WOLFRATH'S CLASS. SRA. LADUKE'S CLASS AND SRA. HENSLER'S CLASSES ARE TIED FOR SECOND.

I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE OUR PARTIES. SO FAR WE HAVE A DRAGON PINATA AND A BURRO PINATA, BUT I'M LOOKING AT TWO MORE REALLY COOL ONES TO GET FOR US.

THE ASSIGNMENT'S REALLY EASY TO DO. MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS WERE DONE IN FIVE MINUTES.

THE ASSIGNMENT:
WRITE FIVE SENTENCES DESCRIBING ONE OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS. YOU'LL NEED YOUR SUBJECT, YOUR VERB (ES) AND YOUR ADJECTIVE.

FOR EXAMPLE:
MI MADRE ES VALIENTE. (MY MOTHER IS BRAVE.)
MI PADRE ES AMABLE. (MY FATHER IS KIND.)

HASTA PRONTO/SEE YOU SOON,
SRA. STARR : )

Thursday, April 15, 2010

School in Madrid likes our Blog

Saludos,

The "Giner de los Rios" School in Madrid has modeled their English blog along the lines of our own Spanish blog.

If you'd like to take a peek at their blog, just type the following address into your browser window:

http://ingleseandoginer.blogspot.com

Hasta luego,

Sra. Starr

Bienvenidos a Nuestros Amigos de Giner de los Rios

¡Hola!

Les queremos enviar un gran saludo a nuestros amigos de la escuela Giner de los Rios en Madrid, y especialmente a los alumnos de Eva.

Estamos encantados con vuestro blog, y nos gusta los carteles que hicieron de la Florida. Tambien fue interesante ver las fotos de las cartas en espanol que algunos de nuestros alumnos les enviaron.

Muchos saludos,

Sus amigos de Shorecrest


PS: ¡La caricatura de Homer Simpson estuvo chulisima! : )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi!
We'd like to send a big "Hello!" to our friends in Madrid at the "Giner de los Rios" school, and especially to Eva's students.

We really like your blog and the posters you made of Florida. It was also interesting to see the pictures of the Spanish letters some of our students have sent you.

Best regards,

Your Friends at Shorecrest

PS: The Homer Simpson cartoon was really cool! : )

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

THIRD GRADE: CLOCK QUIZ: EXAMPLES FOR STUDYING (3/30)

ES LA UNA. (1:00)
ES LA UNA Y MEDIA. (1:30)
SON LAS DOS. (2:00)
SON LAS DOS Y MEDIA. (2:30)
SON LAS TRES. (3:00)
SON LAS TRES Y MEDIA. (3:30)
SON LAS CUATRO. (4:00)
SON LAS CUATRO Y MEDIA. (4:30)
SON LAS SEIS. (6:00)
SON LAS SEIS Y MEDIA. (6:30)
SON LAS SIETE. (7:00)
SON LAS SIETE Y MEDIA. (7:30)
SON LAS OCHO. (8:00)
SON LAS OCHO Y MEDIA. (8:30)
SON LAS NUEVE. (9:00)
SON LAS NUEVE Y MEDIA. (9:30)
SON LAS DIEZ. (10:00)
SON LAS DIEZ Y MEDIA. (10:30)
SON LAS ONCE. (11:00)
SON LAS ONCE Y MEDIA. (11:30)
SON LAS DOCE. (12:00)
SON LAS DOCE Y MEDIA. (12:30)

ADVANCED (NOT REQUIRED):
ES LA UNA Y CUARTO. (1:15)
SON LAS DOS Y CUARTO. (2:15)

Friday, March 26, 2010

THIRD GRADE QUIZ WEEK OF MARCH 29

The third graders have been having a lot of fun playing Clock Baseball! They've learned to tell time on the hour and the half hour and have written the following in their notebooks:

Es la una. (1:00) It's one o'clock.
Son las dos. (2:00) It's two o'clock.
Son las tres y media. (3:30)It's three thirty.

I plan on quizzing them on the clock the second time I meet with them next week (wk. of March 29).

Buena suerte! Good luck!

Sra. Starr