7th and 8th Grade

For the first few weeks, as we review and get the basics down, 7th and 8th grade will be covering some of the same things, albeit at different paces with different contexts. Such as below (click the links for practice activities!)

• Numbers 1-100
• Definite Articles (el, la, los, las)
• Indefinite Articles (un, una, unos, unas)
• Changing words from singular to plural

We quiz over these on Thursday, so practice, practice, practice!

Fifth and Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade has some new grammar to think about!

• Pronunciation and Spelling in Spanish
• Gender and Number in Spanish Nouns

Remember also that Sixth Grade has a quiz on the following items (the links lead to flash cards!):

• Numbers 1-199
• Ordinal numbers 1st - 10th
• Greeting and introductions

Fifth Grade has some new vocabulary:

• Numbers 1-199

 And they have a short quiz on their greetings and introductions (flash cards linked to above!)

And here's a picture of a killer whale with a kitty face!

Try giving me a belly rub now. Try it.

Tips on Reading Comprehension Questions

Throughout the year in all middle school grades, we look at various reading-comprehension exercises. Here are some tips to make your experience successful!

• Don't panic! You are not expected to understand every word of the text.
  
• Take a positive approach to your reading. Concentrate on what you do understand, not on the difficult words and phrases.
  
• Have a good look at the title of the text as well as any illustrations. They may give you some important clues. Most importantly, read the question(s) carefully and use that as a guide when reading through the passage.
  
• Read the whole text before attempting to answer any questions. It is usually better to read the text twice at a brisk pace, than to struggle along once, slowly.
  
• Be clear as to exactly what each question wants. For example, should you be picking out precise details (for example, the date of someone's birthday) or should you be reading the whole passage in order to draw some broad conclusions (for example, a comparison of two people's attitudes to television)?

Be aware of different ways of finding out the meaning of words. For example:

• Can you guess the meaning of a difficult word in a sentence if you understand what all the other words mean?
  
• Can you find similarities between Spanish and English words? (e.g., farmacia = pharmacy)
  
• Can you find links with other Spanish words? (eg una mesa = a table: una mesilla = a small table)
  
• Are you aware of language patterns? (e.g., 're' in front of a word often means again: recomenzar = to start again)
  
• Use your knowledge of grammar. For example, if you can identify a plural, a verb tense, an adjective, an adverb or a preposition, you will be in a better position to make an intelligent guess at a meaning.
  
• Use your knowledge of Spanish-speaking countries. For example, knowing about Spanish food or the music of Mexico could be very useful if your passage falls in one of those categories.
  
• If you have to write answers in Spanish, be as clear as possible; but remember you will not be penalized for small mistakes when the point of the exercise is reading comprehension.
  
• Don't spend too long on a difficult item. Come back to it later.

Now decide which strategies will work best for you and practice using them as much as you can! The more you practice them, the more you are likely to remember to use them during the exercises.

Seventh Grade

Behold!

• Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
• Greetings and Introductions

Remember also our lessons on cognates and Romance Languages. They'll show up again and again as days go by!

The Fedora's days have gone by. Gone.

La Primera Semana

The first week of school saw an open house, a retreat to a cub scout camp, a few pre-tests, and even some actual Spanish (yay!).

So what did we do?

Fifth Grade:

• Greetings and Introductions! 

Sixth Grade:

• Greeting and Introductions (Spelling Quiz on first 10 items on Tuesday the 13th)
• Numbers 1 - 100 

Eighth Grade

• Vocabulary Review (pay special attention to the verbs!)
• Verb Conjugation Review

Seventh Grade's first day was mostly devoted to working through the syllabus and taking our pre-test. Speaking of pre-tests: I'm going to hold onto them for the next couple of weeks and then we'll take it again. We'll see how much we learned and compare it to how much we remembered from over the summer!

In conclusion: Grumpy Cat

El Gato Desagradable

Welcome Back!

The First Days of School are upon us! Let's dive in, shall we?

Below are links to digital copies of useful documents for the beginning of the year. Each student will receive one of these on the first day of class, but a digital copy is always helpful!

• Sixth Grade Scope and Sequence
• Sixth Grade Syllabus
• Seventh Grade Scope and Sequence
• Seventh Grade Syllabus
• Eighth Grade Scope and Sequence
• Eight Grade Syllabus

PLEASE NOTE that all Scope and Sequences are subject to change in the days leading up to Curriculum Night!