World Languages

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World Language Trip Interest Meeting for 7th Grade Families - NEW START TIME

Deal will host an interest meeting for 7th grade families in-person at Deal at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, June 3rd. Please note this is a slightly earlier time than previously shared. The World Language trips will take place during the 8th grade year, but planning for these trips starts now!

As part of Deal's commitment to inspiring excellence, curiosity, and compassion in our students, Deal Middle School will once again plan optional international trips as a supplement to our world language program. 8th grade students enrolled in Spanish, French, Chinese, or Spanish Humanities will have the opportunity to join their designated trip. 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. We find these trips to be a powerful experience for all involved.

All families interested in taking part should plan to attend the meeting. Additional details will be shared in future 7th grade team newsletters. See you there!

Spanish Language and Culture

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

Last week, students learned and practiced the present tense conjugations of the irregular verbs ser, estar, and tener. Through interactive class activities, students worked on using these verbs in context while building their confidence in listening and writing in Spanish.

Next week, students will complete a writing summative assessment. For this assessment, students should be able to correctly conjugate verbs and describe activities they like to do in their free time. We encourage students to continue reviewing their verb conjugations and vocabulary at home to help them feel prepared and successful.

https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=6a0ef43e79004f3a33d38e1f

https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=6a0ef5fdf96fac81ca22145c

Thank you for your continued support!

Spanish I

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

8th Graders will be out of class to complete STAMP Spanish Proficiency Testing from May 25-29. They will make up missed work during subsequent classes.

This week will feature additional review and student participation activities. Students will work on reading and summarizing a passage about healthy food choices.

No more SpanishDict.com homework for the rest of the year.

The following graded assignments are also included this week: 4PA4.LBCR - La buena comida de todos los días Reading Resumen and 4PA5.LBCP - La buena comida de todos los días Reading Preguntas

Spanish II

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Almanza)

This week, students have worked really hard on the STAMP exam. As they report their scores to you, remember that the DCPS goal for Spanish 2 students is a 3 (novice high) or 4 (intermediate low) on the ACTFL proficiency scale (1-9). Once the tests are completely scored by AVANT, we will send home score reports explaining their reading/listening/speaking/writing scores, which you can keep for your records and also share with their high schools. Next week, any students who have not finished STAMP will continue, but we are excited to get back to normal instruction! We will be learning new vocabulary in preparation for chapter 5, reading chapter 5 of La Calaca Alegre, and then starting a mural study of "Gulliver en el pais de las maravillas"- making observations and inferences before reading an interview with the artist Hector Duarte to fully understand the message of his impactful work.

Spanish Humanities

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Next week students will work on corrections to their Summative. The summative focused on the two past tenses : preterit and imperfect. Many students did not master the endings that follow patterns. These endings need to be memorized so that when students produce written or spoken language, it more accurately reflects their level of understanding.

We began writing poems last week in the style of Pablo Neruda's odes to everyday items. We read Oda al Tomate and then with their small groups, students wrote short poems about different food items. I will be sending out their poems next week!

We will begin our work on our class poem next week, also.

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

This week in 7th Grade Spanish Humanities, we have begun tackling our first summative assessment of the advisory: an analytical essay on the first eight chapters of El épico fracaso de Arturo Zamora. Students have spent the week developing thesis statements and will begin defending their ideas in the body of their essays in class today. We plan to wrap up our essays early next week and then continue on with the novel at a quicker pace as we work toward finishing the book by the end of the school year.

With the DC CAPE schedule and my own absence last week, I have extended the deadline for turning in missing work from the midpoint of the advisory to this Monday.

I hope everyone is looking forward to enjoying Sneaker Ball this weekend and has a wonderful weekend ahead! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Español

Esta semana en Humanidades de Español de 7.º grado, hemos comenzado nuestra primera evaluación sumativa del período: un ensayo analítico sobre los primeros ocho capítulos de El épico fracaso de Arturo Zamora. Durante la semana, los estudiantes han trabajado en desarrollar una tesis y hoy comenzarán a defender sus ideas en el cuerpo de sus ensayos. Terminaremos los ensayos a principios de la próxima semana y luego continuaremos con la novela a un ritmo más rápido para poder terminarla antes de finalizar el año escolar.

Debido al horario de DC CAPE y a mi ausencia la semana pasada, he extendido la fecha límite para entregar trabajo faltante de la mitad del período hasta este lunes.

¡Espero que todos disfruten del Sneaker Ball este fin de semana y que tengan un excelente fin de semana! Por favor, no duden en comunicarse conmigo si tienen alguna pregunta.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week, students have worked really hard on the STAMP exam. As they report their scores to you, remember that the DCPS goal for Humanidades 2 students is a 5 (intermediate mid) on the ACTFL proficiency scale (1-9). Once the tests are completely scored by AVANT, we will send home score reports explaining their reading/listening/speaking/writing scores, which you can keep for your records and also share with their high schools. Next week, any students who have not finished STAMP will continue, but we are excited to get back to normal instruction! We will pick up with chapter 13 of La última cuentista, diving back into conversations of conformity vs individuality, the importance of story and memory, and the importance of acts of kindness and humanity in the face of struggle. As we near the end of the year, students need to keep up with their reading outside of class. For example this week (May 15), students are reading ch12 for HW and next week (Fri May 22), students will need to read Ch15 outside of class. I also have provided audiobook files on canvas.

French Language & Culture

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

This week students will be completing their summatives (listening and writing). On these assessments, students will be writing all about themselves in French! This will be their chance to really reflect on all we have learned together. It's been amazing to watch them prepare--ask them to show off for you!

8th Graders in introduction to French will be out of class to complete STAMP French Proficiency Testing from May 25-29. They will make up missed work during subsequent classes.

What can we do at home?

Vocabulary is KEY to language learning. Students should be reviewing their vocabulary for at least 5 minutes every night. They are welcome to use this newly updated resource to support their learning.

French I

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

Next week we will continue to do listening comprehension work. Students are listening to a series of dialogues that take place in stores. We will also continue to work on our Writing Summative, which is a narrative that must include appropriate clothing for where the story takes place.

French II

French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)

Students learn about travel in French‑speaking countries and make cultural connections. They apply language skills to real‑world travel contexts.

✅ Student Goal: I can connect French language to global cultures.

Chinese

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

G6

Last week in Chinese class, we continued exploring body part topic with an emphasis on speaking and listening. Students engaged in fun partner conversations and listening exercises to help reinforce their understanding of key vocabulary and sentence patterns. We will have a summative speaking and writing next week. Keep up the great work, everyone—let’s continue building our Chinese skills together!

G7

Last week, we learned common weather vocabulary and practiced new sentence patterns through engaging speaking and listening activities in class. Next week Friday, we will continue building on this foundation and have an in-class formative assessment to check for understanding. Keep reviewing your notes and practicing at home to prepare!

G8

Last week, our Grade 8 students completed the listening and speaking sections of the STAMP test. Great job to everyone for your focus and effort! Keep up the hard work, and best of luck! Grades will be ready next week.