World Languages

Week of October 7-11

Student-led Parent-Teacher Conferences on THURSDAY

Please make sure you have signed up to meet with your student's Advisory teacher on Thursday, October 10. Students have been working on reflections during their Advisory periods in preparation for what they will discuss with you and their Advisory teacher. These conferences will last 15 minutes. You will not meet with your student's other teachers on this day. If you have concerns about a specific class, please reach out to that teacher.

This week in our classes!

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

Last week, our students focused on learning vocabulary related to school subjects, ordinal numbers, and school supplies. They also practiced describing their schedules using the new vocabulary. Additionally, students created posters highlighting various Hispanic celebrations as part of their cultural exploration.

Next week, students will take a Formative and a Summative assessment focused on listening skills, where they are expected to demonstrate a solid understanding of the vocabulary learned in class.

As part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, students participate in Hispanic culture-related activities every Wednesday. On Wednesday, October 9th, we will have a Hispanic food potluck, showcasing traditional dishes from various Spanish-speaking countries.

Sra. Gonzalez y Sr. Fontalvo

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

Next week, students will have an open-notes Practice & Application (PA) assignment on vocabulary concerning places around the city and the verb IR on Monday, October 7. On Tuesday, October 8, they will complete an IB formative listening assessment on the verb IR and places. Wednesday's focus will be on introducing vocabulary related to giving directions. There will be no SpanishDict.com homework next week since there is no school from Thursday through Monday. We will prepare for the final writing formative and summative the following week.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

Hola! At the end of this week, Spanish 2 students will have just completed a summative project in which they summarized the first two chapters of our novel, Esperanza. This story follows a Guatemalan family as they make the courageous decision to immigrate to the United States in the mid-1980s, exploring themes of hope, resilience, and cultural identity.

In early November, we will be hosting a panel discussion featuring Spanish-speaking members of the Deal community who have experience in immigration, either through their professional work or personal journeys. This event will provide students with invaluable insights and perspectives on the themes we are exploring in Esperanza.

If you or someone you know would be interested in participating in this panel, please reach out to Anna Henderson anna.henderson@k12.dc.gov or Kathryn Wooten kathryn.wooten@k12.dc.gov . We would love to hear from you!

Thank you for your continued support!

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Last week we looked closely at high frequency verbs. We will continue working on different grammatical concepts to better students' writing. Our reading comprehension continues with both "El Diario de Renata" and unit-specific texts. Next week students will have a writing Formative focusing on the high frequency verbs we've learned.

If you'd like to purchase anything for our classroom, click here! Thank you!

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

Esta semana marca el final de nuestra exploración de la identidad a través de la lente del Viaje del Héroe. Hoy, nos adentramos en una nueva unidad donde comenzaremos a leer "El Lazarillo de Tormes", adaptado para los niños. . Iniciaremos esta nueva unidad estudiando cómo era la vida cotidiana en España durante la Edad Media. La próxima semana leeremos el primer capítulo de Lazarillo.

Recuerden que los estudiantes deben entregar sus collages con las descripciones el viernes.

Gracias por su apoyo continuo.

This week marks the end of our exploration of identity through the lens of the "Hero's Journey." Today, we will begin a new unit in which we will be reading "El Lazarillo de Tormes" adapted for children. We will kick off this unit by exploring what daily life was like in the middle ages in Spain. Next week we will read the first chapter.

Remember that students should turn in their collages with descriptions on Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week, students read a variety of poems from the book Sí, Somos Latinos, exploring the diversity of who identifies as Latino, what connections we can make among the poems and what differences we can note as well. Students also continued to analyze examples of figurative language in the poems. They also reviewed a variety of student written poems in preparation for their next poem, which is a summative grade. In this poem, students will write using a variety of figurative language to explore the connection between the languages they speak and their own sense of their identity. At the end of the advisory, students will have a chance to bring in food and choose a poem (or talent) to share with both periods of the class, so be on the lookout for a food and poem sign up coming soon!

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

Last week students had the opportunity to flex their muscles on their first Writing Formative. Next week, we will be learning how to talk about our school day and the classes we like and dislike. Monday there will be a Listening Formative.

If you would like to donate to our classroom needs, please use this Wish List! Merci, merci!

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

Last week we learned new vocabulary, focusing on items found in a home. We also worked on contractions. Next week we will continue to review how contractions work, introduce conjunctions, and use our new vocabulary in context. Students will take a listening Summative on Tuesday.

If you'd like to purchase anything for our classroom, please click here for Ms. Balestra's wish list.

And here for Mr. Osei's wish list.

French II (Dr. Mbayu)

We have finished with our work on nationalities and relationships. We will focus next week on reading French newspaper classified ads. Our focus is on annotating important parts of what we read. We are using realia so that students use their French in real-life situations.

Chinese (Mr. Zhi, Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

Last week our students learned stroke order, pinyin and numbers. We also learned how to ask and answer dates and each other’s birthday in Chinese. Students sing happy birthday songs in class! We had so much fun learning Chinese. Friday, we had an in-class formative assessment about greetings and dates. Next week we will start learning lesson 3 School Supplies. We are excited to see their progress as they build their foundational communication skills in Chinese.

Grade 7

Last week our students had an oral presentation next Tuesday describing their daily schedules and a written summative assessment on Lesson II Time and Activities last week. Next week is a short week. We will learn Lesson 3 My house. We are excited to see their progress as they build their speaking and writing skills in Chinese.

Grade 8

Last week our students continued exploring how to describe popular cities in China, plan vacation itineraries, decide activities for summer breaks and explain why. Students will prepare for the speaking summative assessment on Dream China Trip project next week and one written summative assessment the following week. We are excited to see their progress as they build their presentational speaking skills in Chinese.