Today we learned about the habitats in and surrounding each grade level's country they are studying. First grade, learning about Mexico, researched deserts and oceans. Second grade, learning about Cuba, researched the oceans and reefs around Cuba. Third grade, who are learning about Argentina, researched the deserts, rainforests and Antarctic habitats in and around Argentina. Fourth grade learned about a new habitat they had never heard of, Chaparral, present all over Spain. Fifth grade did their own research about the countries they chose at the beginning of the year.
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For the rest of the year we will be learning about the IB Transdisciplinary theme of Sharing the Planet.
We will do a variety of projects, including a recycled art garden, learning about animals and habitats, etc. Students are starting to work on designs to decorate the gym for their big tournament. We are learning about Mexican Folk Art. We made small tiles (out of paper) and glued them all together into a big collaborative piece.
Students are starting to practice the game in PE class! We had to modify some of the rules. Instead of putting the hoops high up, we decided to put it on the ground because it was too difficult for the kids. Then we had to add a no kicking rule because it starting to be much more like soccer.
This week we are working on making Mesoamerican style masks to wear during the game. This is a collaborative art project with art class. The students started by cutting tracing and cutting out mask templates. There are four mask templates; an eagle, a monkey, a jaguar, and a llama. These animals were chosen because they have significance to ancient mesoamericans. Then they decided on the two colors to make their mascot. Most took the two colors that their homeroom teacher was from, except for 4C who chose the army colors in respect for their teacher Sergeant Thompson. They were able to do whatever kinds of designs they wanted, and some even added elements like feathers. This week students will be practicing the list they came up with about phrases they will need to understand and say to their teammates during the Aztec Ball Game. Here are some of the phrases:
We will practice these by playing games like:
Simon says Scenes from a hat The students came up with the list of vocabulary they will need to be successful in our game. We will split this unit up into two parts; body parts, and action phrases. Here is the list of body parts they will be learning:
Some of the ways we will practice these words are:
Go fish with body parts cards Bingo Scenes from a hat Simon says I'm excited to say that the schedule for Spanish has changed significantly. Instead of me going into the classroom to teach for 30 minutes, students will now come to the library and learn Spanish with the bilingual students. It will be almost like a dual language setting. I'm excited because I can't wait to see how much thy learn from native speakers and see how they develop new friendships and understandings with students of other cultures!
Our school even bought shirts for the new program! Here is the list of rules the students came up with for our Aztec Ball Game.
1. No touching the ball in anyway with the palm of your hand That's it! It is a pretty simple (but difficult) game to play. You can use whatever body part you want to get the ball in the hoop. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins! We will have 4 teams per grade level and do a tournament style competition. Winners will not be sacrificed in real life, but the tournament style of elimination is supposed to symbolize that they are no longer allowed to play (in ancient times losers and sometimes winners were sacrificed). I'm looking forward to this game so much! We will learn words for body parts, actions and phrases you would use on a team. The bilingual students will be their teammates and they have been instructed not to speak English. Let the games begin and the odds be ever in your favor :) |
Mrs. CoxenPreston Hollow Elementary Spanish Teacher Archives
April 2016
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