World Languages

Week of March 24th

This week in our classes!

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

Last week, students completed both a reading summative and a speaking summative. They worked hard to demonstrate their understanding of family-related vocabulary and descriptions.

Next week, students will begin learning pet-related vocabulary and how to describe different animals. We are excited to see them apply their skills in new ways! 🐶🐱🐢

Thank you for your support

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

Turning creative, students will work on a Brochure Project (3Proj1.Bro). This project will allow them to blend their language skills with research and presentation techniques, offering an engaging opportunity to demonstrate vocabulary, grammar, and cultural knowledge in a tangible final product. The focus remains on practicing consistent verb use and refining reading and writing abilities in Spanish.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

In Spanish 2, many of our students are out this week in Costa Rica, hopefully USING their Spanish, having new cultural experiences, and expanding their vocabulary. Students who are on the trip should use the module in canvas called "missed work for Costa Rica students only!" to complete their missed work. The module includes 1 mandatory assignment (reading ch8), 1 option extra credit (reading: quieres comer el cuy, and a MANDATORY trip reflection in which they will respond to questions in Spanish about their experiences on the trip! Students who will be at school with me this week will have an opportunity to engage in games in activities in a smaller group, work on missed assignments, learn more about Peruvian foods, read chapter 8, and learn more about Andean communities in Perú. Please note, the week of March 24-28, Ms. Wooten will be out of the country with humanities students, but Spanish 2 students will still have work to complete in class.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

This week we will be working in small groups and creating a unique story from one of the following prompts: How did your mythological creature come into existence?, Choose a real-life situation and explain it through a mythological story, Create a mythological creature with magical powers and tell how it uses those powers, Write the story of how you discovered a mythological creature, Create a magical world from where your creature came.

Once the stories have been written, students will use art materials to create a scene from their story!

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

I am excited to share that our 7th Grade Spanish Humanities class has begun a new unit centered around the book Los siete hábitos de los adolescentes altamente efectivos. Throughout this unit, students will engage in weekly journal entries to reflect on their behaviors, habits, and interactions with others.

This past week, we explored the paradigms we hold about ourselves and others, discussing how these perspectives influence our judgments and actions. We are also sharpening our grammar skills by focusing on the present tense, with special attention to reflexive verbs.

Looking ahead, next week we will delve into the second habit from the book, Comenzar con un fin en mente ("Begin with the End in Mind"). As part of this lesson, students will create vision boards to articulate their aspirations and dreams for the future.

Me emociona compartir que nuestra clase de Humanidades en Español de 7º grado ha comenzado una nueva unidad basada en el libro Los siete hábitos de los adolescentes altamente efectivos. Durante esta unidad, los estudiantes escribirán entradas semanales en un diario para reflexionar sobre sus comportamientos, hábitos e interacciones con los demás.

Esta semana, hemos explorado los paradigmas que tenemos sobre nosotros mismos y los demás, analizando cómo estas perspectivas influyen en nuestros juicios y acciones. También estamos perfeccionando nuestras habilidades gramaticales, centrándonos en el tiempo presente, con especial atención a los verbos reflexivos.

La próxima semana, nos enfocaremos en el segundo hábito del libro, Comenzar con un fin en mente. Como parte de esta lección, los estudiantes crearán tableros de visión para expresar sus aspiraciones y sueños para el futuro.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week, students started our new unit on Biodiversity and Environmental Justice in Latin America. Students shared their background knowledge and made predictions on things such as which 6 countries in Latin American are considered "mega-diverse" and completed a reading about biodiversity in Latin America. We then reflect on our own connection (or lack thereof) to the plants and animals in our own communities. Students broke intro groups and chose a region of Latin America or country and watched a short documentary clip in their groups. Next week, students will dive more deeply into research about the biodiversity of their assigned region and choose a few species to learn more about and profile. They will prepare a presentation and share their knowledge with the class next Thursday/ Friday. On Monday we will go over the presentation requirements, but students are working on how to engage their audience and communicate clearly in Spanish without directly reading from their slides. They will be required to create questions for the peers to listen for and then facilitate their peers sharing what they learned after each presentation. Please note that many humanities students will be traveling with me March 24-28. They will be required to complete a 4 paragraph written reflection after the trip. Students who are not traveling will have work to complete during the trip as well.

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

Last week we finished our unit 3 summatives-Youpi! This week we will be celebrating our learning with necessary review based on summative feedback.

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

This week we will use last week's Summatives to focus on what some weak points.

French II (Dr. Mbayu)

This week we started Unit 3: Le weekend, les loisirs, et les spectacles. We will complete a reading performance activity (criterion B): le metro et vive le jazz.

Next week we will delve into weekend activities in the city and the countryside from a comparative perspective.

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

G6

Last week, students successfully completed their summative assessment, demonstrating their learning and growth. We also kicked off an exciting new unit on sports, where students began exploring vocabulary and expressions related to different physical activities.

Next week, students will work on textbook assignments (Lessons 7.1 – 7.8), focusing on:

Sports preferences – learning how to express which sports they like or dislike.

Explaining why – using key sentence structures to articulate their reasons for enjoying a particular sport.

Through engaging classroom discussions, written exercises, and interactive activities, students will practice expressing opinions and preferences in Chinese.

G7

Last week, students successfully completed two summative tests, demonstrating their progress and understanding of the material covered in our previous unit. I am proud of their hard work and dedication!

Next week, we will begin an exciting new unit on Chinese food. Students will:

🍜 Learn essential vocabulary for common dishes, ingredients, and dining experiences.

🥢 Practice ordering food and expressing preferences in Chinese.

📝 Explore Chinese cuisine and cultural traditions.

This unit will provide a fun and meaningful way for students to expand their language skills while deepening their cultural understanding.

G8 - International Trip to Taiwan