World Languages

Week of November 25th

World Language Trips approved!

World Language Trip - Registration is Open! Deadline is Friday, November 22nd!

The Deal world language team is excited to announce the 8th grade world language trips are officially approved and registrations are now open. These trips are entirely optional, funded by families, chaperoned by Deal staff, and open only to Deal 8th grade students in good academic, attendance, and behavioral standing enrolled in a language class. To register for the world language trip, please visit the following links and complete the registration process by this Friday, November 22nd:

Students enrolled in grade-level Spanish - Register for the Costa Rica trip here
Students enrolled in grade-level French - Register for the France trip here
Students enrolled in Spanish Humanities - Register for the Costa Rica Humanities trip here
Students enrolled in Chinese already received information from Mr. Zhi and Ms. Liang

Trip leaders will be in touch soon about any additional paperwork or requirements. Please submit a valid email when you register, as this is the email the trip leaders will use to communicate essential information.

Thanks to our generous ADCA, DCPS, and our travel partners, Deal has limited financial support available for qualified families. Students who meet the financial and grade requirements to receive a scholarship will be contacted directly by the school.

Families who do not register by the November 22nd deadline may be charged a late penalty or may not be able to attend the trip. We acknowledge this is a quick turnaround for families, and we appreciate your understanding as we navigate the DCPS approval process.

This week in our classes!

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

Last week, our Spanish beginner students completed a reading formative about weather in Argentina. We encourage students who got a 69 or below to come to our class to retake the test. Next week, during our two-day schedule, they will reinforce the vocabulary learned in Unit 2 through fun games and interactive activities.

We wish all our families a Happy Thanksgiving

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

Week 4 (Nov. 25-26, 2024)

To start the short Thanksgiving week, students will be introduced to demonstrative adjectives and will practice applying them in sentences. The notes page titled "Adjetivos demostrativos" will be graded as a student engagement grade based on completion. This new concept will be reinforced through activities, including a video-based exercise. There will be no homework for Week 4; homework will resume in Week 5.

Please note that the first grading deadline, after which assignments completed before that date will not be accepted late or for retakes, is Monday, December 9. The reading comprehension summative assessment, worth 20% of the term grade, will be on December 6.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

Important - the Costa Rica trip has been approved. Please register here as soon as possible:

Students enrolled in grade-level Spanish - Register for the Costa Rica trip here

This past Tuesday we hosted students from Cardozo and got a chance to practice our conversation skills meeting new people and talking about their immigration experiences. We ended the week with some new vocabulary and talking about political asylum. Next week we will read the final chapter of Esperanza in reader's theatre format, reflect on moments stress and hope throughout book, and do some culminating activities and reflections for the unit. After the Thanksgiving break, we will start a mini unit focusing on the past tenses preterit and imperfect, through the context of telling short stories.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

During our very short week, we will continue our conversation on migration, which ties into the book, Cajas de Cartón, by Francisco Jiménez.

Please note that the first grading deadline, after which assignments completed before that date will not be accepted late or for retakes, is Monday, December 9.

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)

Important- the Costa Rica humanities trip has been approved. Please register here as soon as possible:

Students enrolled in Spanish Humanities - Register for the Costa Rica Humanities trip here

This week we had a chance to practice our conversation skills with an intercambio with students from Cardozo international academy. Students participated in a series of 5 minute conversations with the visiting students about school, culture, themes of our units, and more. It was a great opportunity to practice Spanish and connect with high school students. Then we introduced the 4 themes we will be tracking throughout the book Casa en Mango Street. Students began their theme tracker, where they will record quotes and analyze what Cisneros is saying about a theme through each quote. Later we will use these to discuss how she was able to develop the theme throughout the text, or how characters' perspectives shifted throughout the text. We will use them in our writing and also class seminar. Next week students will continue to read the upcoming vignettes (Louie, Marín, Los que no). As a reminder, all missed assignments can be found on canvas, so if you see a low grade and want to take part of the Thanksgiving break to work on it, students can access instructions and needed documents in "modules" on canvas.

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

There's so much to be thankful for this year in terms of learning and growing! Students have learned so much in a few short months. This week for our short week, we will be showing off our speaking skills by giving a weather report in French. We will also be taking a moment to reflect on gratitude by learning to say what we're thankful for en français. Thanks for supporting your student by encouraging them to practice at home!

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

During our very short week, we will work on Thanksgiving-specific vocabulary, which fits seamlessly into our Unit since we are focusing on food!

We will also complete a speaking assignment.

Please note that the first grading deadline, after which assignments completed before that date will not be accepted late or for retakes, is Tuesday, December 10. The reading comprehension summative assessment, worth 20% of the term grade, will be on December 6

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

In Lesson 4, we explored the topic of family members, grade levels, and schools in Chinese, helping students learn to describe their family structure, which grade they are in and what school they attend. This week, students practiced asking and answering questions such as:

你家有几口人? (Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) – How many people are there in your family?
你有几个兄弟姐妹? (Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè xiōngdì jiěmèi?) – How many siblings do you have?
他们几岁？(Tāmen jǐ suì?) – How old are they?
你上几年级？(nǐ shàng jǐ nián jí?) – Which grade do they attend?
你上哪个学校？（nǐ shàng nǎ ge xué xiào）-- Which school do you attend?

Through these questions, students learned vocabulary related to family members, grades, occupations, and schools. They also practiced asking their grades and describing grades in Chinese, enhancing both their speaking and comprehension skills. Next week, we will continue building on this theme by introducing extended family members. Students will learn how to say their school, grades and talk about extended family members.

Grade 7

Last week, our Grade 7 Chinese class started describing tops, pants, skirts, shoes and accessories. Students worked hard to describe their outfits in Chinese, focusing on details like colors, specific measures words, and specific verbs. In this lesson, students are learning essential vocabulary for different types of clothing, accessories, and colors. They’re also practicing how to describe clothing styles and appearances, focusing on measure words “件，” “条,” “双,” “戴,” and words like "长裙(long dress)," "短裤 (shorts)," and "穿了(wear)." This topic helps students apply descriptive language in fun and practical ways. Next week we will continue learning about clothing items and accessories.

Grade 8

In Grade 8 Chinese class, we have been exploring the topics of extracurricular activities and different types of films. Students have learned vocabulary through etymology related to their hobbies outside school, such as sports, music, and clubs, and have been practicing how to discuss their interests. This week, we introduced various film genres, like "喜剧 (xǐjù - comedy)," "侦探片 (zhēn tàn piàn - detective)," and "科幻片 (kēhuàn piàn - sci-fi)," and sharing their opinions on each type. We had a summary of the whole lesson 3 last Thursday and Friday. We will have a summative written test on Lesson 3 next week on Monday before Thanksgiving