World Languages

Week of December 16th

This week in our classes!

Spanish Language and Culture (Mr. Fontalvo, Ms. Gonzalez)

Last week, students engaged in learning vocabulary related to food and beverages through fun games and collaborative activities. It was an exciting and interactive way to enhance their language skills!

Next week, students will take their second formative assessments of the term: one focused on reading and another on speaking.

We encourage parents to motivate their children to attend after-school tutoring sessions if they need to retake any assessments they missed or scored below 69 on. As we are now halfway through the term, please note that no assignments from the first half of the period will be accepted after December 9th.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s learning journey!

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

Unit 2: Week 6 Overview (Dec. 9-13, 2024)

This week, students will continue to deepen their understanding of clothing descriptions and related vocabulary. They will complete new SpanishDict.com homework assignments on describing clothing, which are due Friday, December 13.

The retake and makeup deadline for the first half of Term 2 is Monday, December 9. On that date, no makeups or retakes for work given on or prior to December 9 will be accepted. The week begins with a reading comprehension formative on Monday, December 9. On Tuesday and Wednesday, students will work on a close reading activity focused on clothing, enhancing their reading and analytical skills.

On Thursday, students will engage in a series of interactive activities, including a reading and drawing exercise and a video-based activity exploring clothing in different contexts.

The week concludes on Friday with the first speaking formative of the term. Students will practice their oral communication skills ahead of the speaking summative, which will take place after winter break.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

Spanish 2:

This week in Spanish 2, students started learning about the differences between the preterit and the imperfect through the context of 2 stories, "el regalo" and "igual." Next week we will continue to tell short stories in the past, gradually gaining confidence in when and how to use each past tense, and navigating the many irregular forms. Prior to the break, students will have a summative to assess their ability to distinguish between the preterit and imperfect and use them in context. Please don't forget that all missing work from the first half of the advisory is due MONDAY December 9- I showed students their grades and missing work in class, so they should know what they need to do if they are missing anything!

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Last week we talked about the Braceros Program and read Chapter 1.

This week we will read and discuss chapters 2-5.

Enjoy the Winter Break!!!

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

Esta semana, nuestros estudiantes de Humanidades están trabajando en el vocabulario clave para prepararse para la lectura del capítulo cuatro de Lazarillo de Tormes. En este capítulo, Lazarillo sigue encontrando maneras ingeniosas de engañar a su amo para sobrevivir en condiciones de gran pobreza, y nuestros estudiantes explorarán estas tácticas mientras profundizan en el contexto social de la obra.

Además, la próxima semana tendremos una visita especial: estudiantes de Español AP de Cardozo International Academy se unirán a nosotros en clase para participar en una discusión sobre la adversidad y cómo podemos desarrollar estrategias para superarla, ¡todo en español! Esta actividad ofrecerá a nuestros estudiantes una gran oportunidad para aplicar su vocabulario y habilidades lingüísticas en una conversación auténtica y significativa.

This week, our Humanities students are working on key vocabulary to prepare for reading chapter four of Lazarillo de Tormes. In this chapter, Lazarillo continues to find clever ways to trick his master to survive in conditions of extreme poverty, and our students will explore these tactics while deepening their understanding of the social context of the novel.

Next week, we will also have a special visit: AP Spanish students from Cardozo International Academy will join us in class to participate in a discussion on adversity and how we can develop strategies to overcome it—all in Spanish! This activity will provide our students with a great opportunity to apply their vocabulary and language skills in an authentic, meaningful conversation.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

Humanidades 8:

This week students read "Alicia la que ve ratones" "Darius y las nubes" "Y algunas más" and "familia de pies pequeños," short vignettes from the book Casa en Mango Street. We continue to track the 4 main themes of the book, adding quotes to our tracker and analyzing them as we go. This week we particularly discussed Esperanza's transition from youth to adolescence, and will continue to discuss how her perspective changes in the next few vignettes as she begins to experience her community more as a young women and less as a child. Students will complete a writing summative next week- more instructions to come in class! Please don't forget that all missing work from the first half of the advisory is due MONDAY December 9- I showed students their grades and missing work in class, so they should know what they need to do if they are missing anything!

French Language and Culture (Ms. Bullock, Mr. Almanza)

J'ai faim et j'ai soif! This week in Introduction to French we will continue to learn about café life by learning foods, drinks and how to order in a café or restaurant. We will start the week on Monday with a reading formative and will spend the rest of the week learning about how to pay! (I'm sure you're looking for the day when they can pay.) Learning a language takes practice. Please encourage your student to practice at home. They can use this Quizlet set to study! We wish you a restful and healthy winter break!

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

This week we will be working on our projects that will count as a Summative grade. The focus of this Summative is speaking. Ask your student to practice their presentation or dialogue with you!

Students should be reviewing their vocabulary nightly!

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

Last week we completed the topic of family members, grade levels, schools, extended families, and basic occupations in Chinese. Students completed a summative written test and received individualized feedback on their summative presentational speaking test. We celebrated their accomplishments in class last week! We will then start learning lesson 5 Chinese Zodiacs. Next week we will have a formative quiz in class on Chinese zodiacs.

Grade 7

Last week, our Grade 7 Chinese class had a summative oral test on school uniforms project and completed the review of Lesson 1-4. We also started Lesson 6 Shopping last week. We learned new vocabulary through etymology. We had so much fun describing the differences between “to buy 买” and “to sell 卖.” We will have a formative test next Tuesday in class in lessons 6.1-5.

Grade 8

In Grade 8 Chinese class, we completed the written summative - describing their weekend and Thanksgiving - by applying the key sentence structures we learned in L1-3 and started learning lesson 6 Seeing doctors. Next week we will continue learning the new lesson and have a quiz on Wednesday.