"Quarter 1" ends

We  are finishing up Unit 1, Lesson 1 - our unit on camping, national parks and preterite (past) tense. It's the end of the third term (we no longer have quarters!), third term of 6 this semester. This week and next, we have the following assessments:

1. "postal" (post card) - students will write a post card, telling of activities they did on a camping trip. They may use a dictionary and their vocabulary list, but no translators or outside help. It is a written performance assessment. We will do this tomorrow and Tuesday. 

2. Oral assessment - students will get a picture sequence, will be given a short time to prepare a story and will record the story on the spot. The stories are related to the chapter vocabulary on camping and outdoor activities and the student should use the preterite. This will happen the week of October 18th.

3. Unit 1, Lesson 1 exam - reading and listening comprehension, writing proficiency assessed. Students should study the vocabulary, preterite and the cultural readings we've done. Particularly helpful is the @hometutor in the online text: my.hrw.com This will happen the week of October 18th.

Best wishes and hope to see you at conferences Monday and Tuesday 4-8pm!

Unit 1 - our first *NEW* unit!

Hello parents!

By now, you have seen your son/daughter's grade for the greater part of our Leccion Preliminar unit test, which was all review from Spanish 1 and 2. I'm pleased with the grades overall, although for a few students it may be apparent they have a bit more studying to do. My first recommendation would be to check out the online text resources - especially the @hometutor, which is so helpful. My daughter is currently a freshman in Spanish 2 and she has really benefited from that!

Online text website: my.hrw.com 

Tuesday we have a brief reading comprehension test, then a brief oral exam on Wednesday. We have been speaking in class since day one, so this is very typical for what we do on a daily basis. It is recorded, which may scare them a bit. They will just be answering questions about what their friends and family are like, what activities they do and like to do, and school, all pretty basic.

Our review unit, Leccion Preliminar, is a wrap!

UNIDAD 1
















We are about to begin Unidad 1. It focuses on authentic culture and real-life communication using Spanish in Mexico. It practices reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and introduces students to culture typical of Mexico. Through completing the activities, students will employ critical thinking skills as they compare the Spanish language and the culture of Mexico with their own community. They will also connect to other academic subjects, using their knowledge of Spanish to access new information. In this unit, students are learning to talk about what they did with friends, to describe a camping trip, to talk about nature, to discuss activities, skills, and abilities, to talk about family vacations, and to describe a place and its climate. I personally LOVE camping, hiking and being in nature. I believe my passion for Spanish and the subject matter will be contagious :)

Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado 1980

Chasm Lake (Longs Peak in background) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 2015

They are also learning about grammar—the preterite tense of regular verbs, irregular preterites, stem-changing verbs in the preterite, imperfect tense, and preterite vs.imperfect. These are concepts that we will be working on throughout the year as well.

As always, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at tmjensen@mpsomaha.org.

Check point

Today we had a "pop" verb quiz. This serves 2 purposes:

1. Kids see how they would do were the test today
2. I see how they are doing and adjust my teaching

I will return the quizzes to students to see how they did. If they "test out" (in other words, if they have already mastered the material), they will not need to fill in a verb chart (that I gave all kids). Then, there will be another verb quiz that will replace their previous grade (next week some time). Those who already mastered it are excused from doing it.

Grades for the "pop quiz" go in today or tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

The review begins...

This week we officially began reviewing what we should already know in order to begin Spanish 3. This is called Leccion Preliminar. 

Study a little more... So far, I would say the main area for most kids to spend extra time reviewing in the online text resources would be with "me gusta" and verbs like it (encantar, interesar).

Our thematic vocabulary is pretty simple and useful: 

*activities

*places around town

*daily routine

*foods and their descriptions

*emotions

There will be an EXAM over this on Friday, September 4th

What if my student needs more help?

By all means, come in for help! I'm available in room 2614 most days. Sometimes I have Spanish Club or Spanish Honors Society meetings, so it's best to make an appointment just in case!

The online text has SO many resources. Did you know there are graded practices you can do at home, levels A,B,C? You can choose the level of difficulty and the computer even gives you instant feedback how you did! There are also flashcards, helpful video explanations of grammar and games. To access the online text, go to: 

https://my.hrw.com 

The student should sign in with his/her student email and password. 

Best wishes!

On-line fun!

Just a brief update. A majority of students have already completed the initial questionnaire due tomorrow. See IC if you aren't sure if your son/daughter has or not.

Next Thursday we will be going to the computer lab and exploring our online textbook. It is FABULOUS! Students can access their book of course, but they can also do customized workbook pages (they choose from 3 levels of difficulty), practice speaking and get feedback from me, complete listening activities, read current articles, review with flashcards, charts, videos and games, and so, so much more! If they cannot wait, the online text is found at https://my.hrw.com  Their username is their school email and password. If it doesn't work with their whole school email, try just the username (without the @millardps.org).

Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Don't worry, this will be in English so you can keep in the loop, parents!

Please FOLLOW BY EMAIL (look to the RIGHT) to keep abreast with what we are learning, important dates for IB assessments, and other news. This will be the primary way I keep in touch with you and older messages will all be stored right here in one place for ease of access.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
As always, please contact me at tmjensen@mpsomaha.org if you have questions or call the office (402) 715-1406 and the office will message me to call you back.

I look forward to working with your children this year!