week of Nov 14

Spanish I students have begun a unit taking place in Mexico City.  We will learn about one of the largest cities in the world and be able to compare our lives.  Vocabulary is centered around school subjects and school related words.  Students will learn how to conjugate (change) a regular -ar verb into the five verb forms we study.  We will also learn how to express frequency of time (sometimes, never, always...) and obligations. Anticipated grades for the week include:

clicker quiz over vocab
quiz over -ar verbs (changing them to correct form)
quiz over frequency phrases and obligations

We will have a test next week.

week of Nov 1

Spanish I students have just finished a unit on family vocab, showing possession, numbers to 100, and a new verb "tener" (to have).  Tests have been posted to infinite campus.  There was a bit of a drop in both homework and test scores.  Students are encouraged to seek help on homework from Mrs. Kimbell or Ms. Elliott any time BEFORE the assignment is due.  We both arrive to school early and stay late in the afternoon.  This week we will create a photo album project about any four family members (immediate, or cousins, grandparents, uncles, even one pet!...) with a Spanish paragraph describing each member.  Students will  need a picture of each person they choose to include.  Pictures may be taken from their camaras, phones (with my supervision), jump drive, a scanned picture (bring in pic if needed), or emailed to me (jeanna.kimbell@hickman.kyschools.us). Please be sure your student gets the needed photos.  This project is worth 100 points (a test grade). Toward the end of the week we will start a unit taking place in Mexico City and start learning school-related vocabulary.

Have a safe, long weekend!  Ask your student about Dia de los Muertos...what is it?

Week of Oct. 17

Spanish I students have learned how to identify family members in Spanish.  We will continue practicing this vocabulary this week.  We will learn numbers to 100, how to show possession (there is no 's in Spanish), possessive adjectives, and months of the year.  Anticipated grades this week include:

Quiz over "tener"--to have (know all 5 forms) and showing possession (20 points)
Quiz over possessive adjectives and dates (20 points)
homework assignment--to be started in class (40 points)
Test over unidad 1, etapa 3 (100 points)

This is a busy week!  Be sure and review using the take home tutorial cd!

Week of Sept. 19

Spanish I students are learning lots of adjectives in our new unit centered in San Antonio, TX.  Students will be able to describe people and clothing (including colors), discuss likes, and the definite and indefinite articles in Spanish. Use of the flashcards on the cd (or reviewing vocabulary in the notebooks) is strongly suggested.

Anticipated grades for the week include:
Clicker quiz over vocabulary
Quiz over definite and indefinite articles
Quiz over adjective usage (maybe)

Week of Sept 12

Students will talk about likes this week and be able to express activities that they and others enjoy. After a review and test midweek, we will begin learning lots of adjectives to describe people as well as clothing items. Short reviews of notes or the cd program throughout the week would be quite beneficial.

Anticipated grades:
Quiz over "ser + de" (where people are from) and likes "me gusta, te gusta, le gusta"
written homework assignment (I will be available after school Tuesday for extra help.)
Test over Unit 1, Chapter 1 (pages 26-47)

Week of September 6

Spanish I students have begun the regular chapters in the Spanish book.  This week we are focusing on learning subject pronouns and our first verb (SER--to be), greetings, where people are from, introductions, and likes.  I strongly suggest students make flash cards for the SUBJECT PRONOUNS that we will be learning this week.  Having a strong knowledge of these pronouns will make their Spanish studies much more successful all year long and beyond. Practice for the chapter can be found on the CD tutorial under Unidad 1, Etapa 1.

Anticipated grades for the week:
clicker quiz on vocabulary (p. 30 in book)
quiz on greetings and subject pronouns (notes and book)
quiz on SER and likes (notes and book)

Week of August 29

Spanish students should be able to do the following:
greet, ask names, respond, ask where someone is from, say good-bye
recite the alphabet in Spanish (write down words that I spell aloud)
know/spell the numbers from 0 to 10
know the days of the week

Grades this week include:
Quiz over letters, numbers and days (Mon or Tues)
review and written homework (that we start in class) (Tues)
First test (Wednesday)
Begin Unit One, Chapter One (use the CD that students can checkout to practice new concepts)

Week of August 22

Spanish I students have researched a Spanish speaking country and we are in the process of presenting these presentations in class. This presentation is worth 100 points...a test grade.

As soon as the presentations are finished, we will learn the Spanish alphabet, numbers to 20, and days of the week.  There will be a quiz over these concepts around Thursday.  We will summarize what we have learned so far on Friday.  Written homework and students' first test will be early next week.

CDs are available to check out to install on your computer to review concepts learned in each chapter.  I encourage students to do this if it hasn't been done yet!

Week of August 15

¡Excelentes!  Spanish I students are off to a great start!  Ask your student to say some of the following Spanish phrases:  greet (according to time of day), ask and tell names, ask about others' names, say farewell.

This week students will be learning where Spanish is spoken.  There will be a map quiz and your student will research one of the Spanish speaking countries and prepare a powerpoint to present to the class.  The powerpoint has specific criteria so please encourage him/her to use lab time wisely.  This will be valued as a test grade (100 pts).

Please contact me with any questions.

Week of August 8

¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español I!  Welcome to Spanish I class.  The first week of class students will be listening and responding to classroom phrases, choosing their Spanish names and learning how to greet one another.  We will get our textbooks and continue learning about greetings at different times of the day. We will study where Spanish is spoken and students will choose a country to prepare a powerpoint presentation on next week.  There will be time provided in the computer lab to complete the presentations.

Grades this week will consist of a quiz over greetings and a map quiz over Spanish speaking countries.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your student.

Supply List

Spanish I students need to purchase a binder (2" is good) and four dividers.  Many students like to use page protectors for their notes and vocabulary sections because you will use this binder for at least two years.  A pencil pouch with pencils and pens to leave in your binder will help ensure that you are prepared daily.