World Languages

Week of February 10th

This week in our classes!

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

Last week, our students learned how to describe people, focusing on personality traits and physical appearance. They did a great job using new vocabulary in fun activities!

Next week, we’ll continue practicing and have two formative assessments:

• Reading: Understanding descriptive language.

• Speaking: Describing people using learned vocabulary.

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

This week, students will continue to build their reading skills and further develop their command of common verbs. Students will also receive three new SpanishDict.com homework assignments on ER verbs (3HW8.InfER), IR verbs (3HW9.InfIR), and verbs used with infinitives (3HW10.InfV). On Tuesday, they will complete a reading comprehension formative (3FormB2.LC) in the present tense with chores. Wednesday and Thursday feature additional practice readings focused on conjugations and comprehension questions.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

This week in Spanish 2, we did a listening summative, testing students' ability to use the new vocabulary from the first 2 chapters of the book "Los Baker Van a Perú" as well as their knowledge of the main characters, setting, and plot of these first 2 chapters. Students had to show that they could understand the vocabulary in context as well as use it to describe a new context, as well as identify which character would have said certain phrases and support their answers with an explanation in Spanish. We also reflected on the 2nd advisory and celebrated our accomplishments. In the third advisory, we will be focusing on our speaking and listening skills, so expect more homework assignments that require students to record speaking, as well as more opportunities for speaking Spanish (for longer sustained periods) in class. Students will be reading the book "Los Baker Van a Perú" and also learning about the culture of Perú. Next week, students will be working on new vocabulary and reading the third chapter of the book, which deals with a game show. Students will have opportunities to participate in various games and describe in Spanish what they have to do, what the judge does, how to win, whether they are games of skill and luck, etc. Students will also get to invent their own game show and describe it to peers in Spanish, and decide which of their peers' games they would be best at, find easiest, most fun, etc. The goal of all class activities it to maintain Spanish while using the new vocabulary, but also having fun and finding engaging subject matter to discuss together in the target language. Please continue to check canvas and see your teachers in tutoring when absent!

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

We have finished reading Cajas de Cartón! Students will take a Summative on Tuesday, after we do a thorough discussion of events and themes on Monday.

Wednesday and Thursday we will be focusing on the use of the accent mark in written Spanish.

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)

In 8th grade humanities, students ended the 2nd advisory reading the vignette "No Speak English." We analyzed various statistics about 1st generation, 2nd generation, and third generation Latino immigrants: their language proficiency in speaking/ writing Spanish, their preferences for listening to music in Spanish v English, and their language use at home. Students illustrated the perspective of a character from this vignette and were able to make personal connections to the text as well as express their opinions about how they may want to use different languages in their future families and their opinions about how important it is that future generations of Latinos maintain the use of Spanish. We also ended the week with shout outs and reflections from the advisory. As we begin the 3rd advisory next week, students will read the next few vignettes of Casa en Mango Street, beginning analyzing the various women that Esperanza has for role models in her community and reflecting on influential women that they know in their own lives, in the Spanish-speaking world, and in society in general. As we finish the book in the 3rd advisory, students will have the opportunity to choose the own creative project to reflect on the book before we move onto our next unit.

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

This week in Introduction to French we will be learning our first official verb conjugation! Anyone who learned a world language in high school remembers the joy! We will be learning the most important verb in the French language—être (to be)! This will help us describe not only ourselves, but others since this unit is our friends and family unit. As always, students are encouraged to review our vocab nightly so they can communicate in French,

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

Last week we did a thorough review of the present tense of -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs. Students took a quiz to show mastery of these verb endings. Students also took a Reading Formative to show mastery of the vocabulary we have learned until now.

Next week students will continue building their vocabulary, this time with activities that use the verb JOUER. They will take a Formative on vocabulary, including adverbs of frequency. Students should be reviewing their vocabulary lists daily. Students will also be introduced to reflexive verbs.

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)

We had an exciting and productive week in G6 Mandarin! Students wrapped up their unit on zodiac animals and adjectives for describing pets. They demonstrated their learning through a summative written test on Wednesday and a summative spoken test on Friday. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and effort in applying new vocabulary and sentence structures! Next week, students will begin learning about countries and how to talk about nationalities in Mandarin. This will expand their ability to describe people and places using the language. We also have an exciting Lunar New Year field trip coming up! This will be a wonderful opportunity for students to experience cultural traditions firsthand and celebrate the holiday in an immersive way.

Grade 7

This week, our G7 Mandarin students focused on using the key conjunctive phrase "not only... but also" to enhance their sentence structures. They practiced applying sentence patterns in both written and spoken exercises. To assess their learning, students completed a summative written test on Wednesday and a summative spoken test on Friday. Their progress in expanding their Mandarin communication skills has been wonderful to see! Next week, students will begin learning how to make phone calls in Mandarin, an essential real-world skill that will help them navigate conversations more naturally. Additionally, we are excited for our Lunar New Year field trip! This will be a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in cultural traditions and celebrate the holiday together.

Grade 8

G8 students explored the topic of international travel, learning key vocabulary and phrases to help them discuss trips, itineraries, and travel experiences. They completed a formative quiz on Friday to check their understanding. Next week, we are excited to take students on a field trip, providing them with an immersive learning experience outside the classroom.