Heroes in Japanese 5-6

英雄たち

Mr. Blackwelder's Japanese 5-6 class, after learning about the process of modifying sentences (From "Andy studies Japanese every day." to "The person who studies Japanese every day is Andy."), then sketched and described a hero of theirs to the rest of the class. Heroes ranged from parents, to celebrities, to athletes. 

The Biggest Loser!

Earlier in this blog, Señor Lawhead had challenged Profe Bañuelos to a weight-loss competition with the "loser" required to wear either a San Diego Chargers or Oakland Raiders jersey.  After 30 days, the results are in with Señor Lawhead beating Profe Bañuelos by 3 lbs!  Students and staff very much enjoyed stopping by Rm 258 and complimenting Profe on how nice he looked in his Chargers jersey. 

Here is a link to a short video of the weigh-in and completion of the wager (2:43).
 

Essays, group presentations and poetry in Spanish

Dr. Jacobson's AP Spanish classes worked collaboratively this week to prepare group presentations related to the theme of technology.  Each group, employed the Promethean board to share their conclusions with class members.  Spanish 5-6 classes wrote short essays comparing themselves to a friend, practicing the forms of ser and estar.  Essays will be posted on the class bulletin boards. 

Dr. Jacobson read aloud a poem she wrote and informed students about the up-coming poetry contest.  The winning poem will be printed in the SRHS Falcon newspaper.  All poems will be displayed on the World Languages Bulletin Board during the month of December for all students to enjoy. 

TPR/S - First Oral Test for Spanish 5-6 Students!

Señor Lawhead's Spanish 5-6 students are facing their first oral test this upcoming week!  Through the Total Physical Response w/Storytelling (TPR/S) method, students have overcome much of their fear of speaking Spanish naturally and without rehearsal.  This week they have the opportunity to show how much they've learned!  For more information about TPR/S, follow this link.

Generous Local Business!

This week Ms. Pryor visited a local company and was able to secure free samples of pens, tablets and flash lights for students in her ASL classes.  These free samples  had been sent all over the world, but the packets were not deliverable and returned to the company.  Ms. Pryor successfully made contact with one of the companies representatives and they invited her to visit their corporate office. Once there, she was given several post office size containers. Which she gave to each one of her classes.

Students opened free samples addressed to people from as far as Norway.  When opened, whatever they found in the packets they were allowed to keep.  Students were overheard saying "it's like opening Christmas presents".  The students had so many packets that they shared them with Mr. Blackwelder's and Ms. Redelings'  students.

Bienvenidos, Bienvenus, Welcome!

How do the World Language Teachers welcome students to the new year and how do they help them make friends in class?  Here are several activities that began the year:

Señora Trott asks her students to fill in information about themselves on t-shirt graphics.  Students personalize them and then present them to class in Spanish.

 

In Señor Lawhead's Spanish 3-4 class, he asks students to interview each other in Spanish and write a short biography of their partner.  Students also do their best to draw their partners to illustrate the biography.

 

Madame Leidhoff's French students present "C'est Moi"(It's me).  They have a legend of interests.  Students express what they like and don't like using the visual icons and symbols.

 

 Dra. Jacobson has her AP classes interview and write a comparative essay about a another student they have met in class.

Señora Ranzolin also has her students interview a partner and write two paragraphs about what they learned.  Then, students present their partners to the class.

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"Mental Tatoos"

Students in Spanish 5-6 with Profe Bañuelos have worked during the last two weeks on creating "mental tattoos" on the present, preterit, and imperfect tenses that they covered in previous Spanish classes that cover over 100 different verbs.  It is imperative that students have these tenses permanently "tattooed" in their minds before moving on to more complex concepts and conjugations that will be taught in the course.

¡Ras Tas Tas!

Fresh back from South America where he spent 38 days in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup and the rest in Colombia, Profe Bañuelos taught his Spanish 3-4 and 5-6 classes one of the Colombia National Soccer Team's goal celebration dance, the "Ras Tas Tas."  The lesson was tied to how one properly pronounces Spanish vowels and a read-aloud article about the World Cup's top goal-scorer, #10 James Rodríguez (pictured).

Vous Avez Francais?

Madame Leidhoff's students of French 1 are ready to go in French class.  They are playing Jacques a Dit to learn classroom language using the TPR method.  Students are learning salutations and culture of the French-speaking world.  Students know their numbers to 30.  In structure of language, they understand subject pronouns and learning the verb: TO HAVE  (avoir).

Back to School Night, Thursday, September 18

The World Languages Department is excited to meet parents this Thursday, September 18!  Presentations begin at 5:40 PM with classroom visitations starting at 6:00 PM. 

Many of us remember those very hot evenings without air-conditioning and the surprise of many parents to experience what their children were experiencing during the school day.  We're so very excited to talk to you about the World Languages programs in the pleasant cool of 74.5 degrees!  All classrooms in the upper 200 building have air-conditioning!

For more information on the Back-to-School Night scheduling, please go to the SRHS website.