When we discussed our Unit 8 assignment menu back on 01/17, students learned that our final task of the semester would be to earn Postre points by completing a 20-point online quiz about the Body and Clothing. The time has come to learn more about that task!
In class on Thursday 01/26, each student will receive a Quia.com instruction sheet which includes a username and password. Students who wish to practice our Body and Clothing vocabulary before taking the online quiz can then login from home and play a variety of different vocabulary games including Battleship, Jeopardy, and Concentration. Forgot the login information at school? No worries — just click here to play the games!
Our 20-point online quiz will be activated during class on Friday 01/27 and we will go to the computer lab together to complete that final task. After students submit their responses, a summary screen will automatically appear to let them know how many points they earned (out of 20). We will add those points to our current Unit 8 assignment menus and then tally up our total Unit 8 scores. And then Spanish will be over for the year!
Students who miss class for any reason on Friday 01/27 are required to complete the online quiz themselves over the weekend (by Sunday 01/29). They will need to enter their pre-assigned username and password at http://www.quia.com/web in order to complete the online quiz. If the student doesn’t know the correct username and password, please email me and I will be happy to help.
Thanks for a wonderful 7th grade semester! See you again next year!
Students have received their yellow Unit 8 assignment menus detailing the various options available to earn points (out of a possible 100 in all). Each student has also received a Unit 8 Study Guide detailing what information to review in preparation for our Grade 7 Summative Assessment.
In Unit 8 we will:
devote 3 days to reviewing content listed on the Unit 8 Study Guide in preparation for our Grade 7 Summative Assessment
take our Grade 7 Summative Assessment, which will count as our Unit 8 Quiz score. Mrs. Devlin will also refer back to this assessment data next January when the high school requests initial recommendations regarding Spanish 2 eligibility before 8th Grade Spanish begins.
use a variety of songs (1 adapted and 2 culturally authentic) along with related props and physical motions to introduce new vocabulary regarding clothing items and parts of the body ♫ Juanito cuando baila … ♪
♫ Ojos, orejas, boca y nariz … ♪ ♫ A mi burro, a mi burro le duele la cabeza …♪
extend our clothing vocabulary with the Battle of the Baskets (laundry baskets, that is). This is one of Mrs. Devlin’s all-time favorite classroom activities!
reinforce our new vocabulary by completing a variety of online activities in the computer lab during class
HOME-BASED ACTIVITIES FOR UNIT 8: - Complete worksheets not finished in class. Remember, the worksheets are not for me, they’re for you! They enable you to practice what we’ve learned, recognize whether you understand it, and decide what questions you might want to ask me. – Study for 01/20 Summative Assessment. We are devoting 3 days to reviewing the content listed on our Unit 8 Study Guide in class. You should bring your binder home to continue reviewing this information outside of class as well. In class, each student is moving the relevant documents over to the Unit 8 section of his/her binder to make reviewing at home even easier.
REMINDER: Seventh grade Spanish ends Friday 01/27 and Creative Math begins Monday 01/30!
During Unit 8, students will complete a Grade 7 Summative Assessment encompassing information learned throughout the semester here in Spanish class. The results will count towards our Unit 8 quiz score. I will also refer back to the results next January when the high school contacts me to request my preliminary recommendations regarding Spanish 2 eligibility.
To prepare for this test, we will devote several class periods to reviewing information learned this semester.
The Grade 7 Summative Assessment will be held on Friday 01/20.
(announced in class and online 12/20; dates revised 01/09)
Start Date: Monday 12/19
End Date: Tuesday 01/10 Friday 01/13
Students will receive a yellow Unit 7 assignment menu detailing the various options available to earn points (out of a possible 100 in all).
In Unit 7 we will:
learn indirect object pronouns: me, te, le, nos, os, les (these are the words that help us say: to me, to you, to him/her, to us, to you guys, to them)
learn infinitive verb forms for many activities: comer (to eat), beber (to drink), leer (to read), correr (to run), etc.
learn vocabulary related to snacks/drinks: papas fritas (french fries), fruta (fruit), galletas (cookies), jugo (juice), etc.
use indirect object pronouns together with gusta + infinitive verb forms to talk about what we and others like to do (or don’t like to do). We can create combinations such as: Me gusta tocar la guitarra. (I like to play the guitar.) A él no le gusta estudiar. (He doesn’t like to study.) ¿Te gusta comer helado? (Do you like to eat ice cream?)
compare/contrast English sentence structure with Spanish sentence structure. In English we say “I like to watch TV”, but the Spanish version (Me gusta mirar la televisión) really means “To watch TV is pleasing to me.”
create “wish lists” similar to those being written by Hispanic children around the world who eagerly await the arrival of the Three Kings on January 6th: el Día de Reyes. To do this, we will practice using the verbs tener (to have), querer (to want), and necesitar (to need).
practice reading, writing, and listening skills while participating in a variety of classroom activities
practice speaking skills as we hold conversations with classmates about what we and others like to do
HOME-BASED ACTIVITIES FOR UNIT 7: - Complete worksheets not finished in class. Remember, the worksheets are not for me, they’re for you! They enable you to practice what we’ve learned, recognize whether you understand it, and decide what questions you might want to ask me. - Study for the Tuesday 01/10Wednesday 01/11 QUIZ: Review the Unit 7 section of your binder!
- Our closing project is an interpersonal speaking task held in the classroom, so there is no home-based project for this unit. Students can, however, practice at home by creating a series of questions and answers regarding what people may or may not like to do (in full sentences using the Spanish vocabulary from this unit). For example: Do you like to listen to music? Yes, I like to listen to music. Do you like to eat french fries? No, I don’t like to eat french fries. What do you like to eat? I like to eat cookies. What do you like to do? I like to play the guitar. What do you like more, to talk on the phone or to read a book? I like to talk on the phone more.
REMINDER: Seventh grade Spanish ends Friday 01/27 and Creative Math begins Monday 01/30!
"If you have lived your whole life in a monolingual environment, you could easily come to believe that this is the regular way of life around the world, and that people who speak more than one language are the exceptions. Exactly the reverse is the case. Speaking two or more languages is the natural way of life for three-quarters of the human race."
David Crystal, How Language Works, p.409
Juanito Cuando Baila
You're never too old (or too young) to learn our classic "body parts" song! This little guy provides a great refresher for last year's students. Remember the order? Top to bottom: cabeza, hombro, codo, mano, cadera, rodilla, pie, dedito!
The National Center for Fair and Open Testing provides various online Fact Sheets regarding K-12 testing here in the U.S.
Links
Click flamenco image to visit Jim Becker's "Best Spanish Web Sites"
Catalonia Region of Spain Bans Bullfighting
Did you know that Spanish is not the only official language in Spain? In Catalonia (where the city of Barcelona is located), people also speak Catalan. Some believe the new bullfighting ban stems from Catalonia's wish to strengthen its separate identity within Spain. Are you for or against the tradition of bullfighting?
(NY Times story),
(BBC News story)
Mrs. Devlin’s Favorite Online Multilingual Dictionary and Forum
REMINDER: Seventh grade Spanish ends Friday 01/27 and Creative Math begins Monday 01/30!
