Important Dates for 8th Grade Spanish

Today the 8th graders received their review packets for the Spanish I midterm. The dates for the midterm are: January 14, 15 & 16.  Below are the due dates for completing the review packet. ALL 8th grade students will be required to complete the review packet regardless of their homework eligibility.

Review packet due dates

lunes, 10/12	martes, 11/12	miércoles, 12/12	jueves, 13/12	viernes 14/12
		Partes A-D	Partes E-I	Partes J-O
lunes, 17/12	martes, 18/12	miércoles, 19/12	jueves, 20/12	viernes 21/12
Partes P-X	Partes Y-CC	Partes DD-EE	Partes FF-GG

el día de los muertos

For the Day of the Dead a couple of weeks ago the 8th grade students made skeletons to capture the festive spirit of the holiday.  All of the Spanish students voted for their favorite skeleton from each class. Here are the winners:

The students did a great job working on their skeletons this year. It was tough to predict which skeletons would win because there were so many good ones! ¡Buen trabajo!

Upcoming Quizzes

7th Graders:  Your next vocabulary quiz is martes, el 27 de noviembre. It is on the Describe Frequency and Describe Classes sections of your U2L1 vocab lists. Make sure you can identify and spell the words/phrases.

8th Graders: El martes, el 27 de noviembre, tienen una prueba de vocabulario en las partes Plan a Party y Talk About Gifts del vocabulario.  Jueves, el 29 de noviembre, van a tener una prueba de la parte Talk About Chores and Responsibilities. 

ALL estudiantes de español should review vocabulary over Thanksgiving break. You should not go cinco días without practicing your vocabulary or some Spanish!

7th Grade Test

7th Graders: Remember that you have un examen el martes.  You should study this weekend! Make sure you know your vocabulary well and that you can write sentences making sure that your articles match the gender and number of your nouns.

• I shared a blank copy of the practice test that we did on Wednesday with you in Google Drive. That would be a good way to review. Do the practice test without looking at your notes. Then you can check your answers with your sheet from Wednesday.
• I also shared some practice sentences to translate.  You can translate them in the doc (you don't need to share it with me) and then you can check your answers here:

1. The girl is tall.=La chica es alta.

2. We (masc) are intelligent.=(Nosotros) Somos inteligentes.

3. You (familiar) are funny (fem).=(Tú) Eres cómica. 

4. You (form) are short (fem).=Usted es baja.

5. She is blond/has blond hair.=Ella es rubia. OR Ella tiene el pelo rubio.

6. The boys are nice.=Los chicos son simpáticos.

7. Rafael & Paco are athletic.=Rafael y Paco (or Ellos) son atléticos.

8. The teachers (fem) are serious.=Las maestras son serias. 

9. I am young.=(Yo) Soy joven.

10. Señora Bergmann is brunette/has brown hair.= La sra. Bergmann es castaña. OR La sra. Bergmann tiene el pelo castaño.

8th Grade Policy Change

Today the following information was given to the 8th grade Spanish students and their parents. Please note that this information only applies to 8th grade Spanish students.  

The following are some changes for Spanish students who will be going on to DGS.

• ·         The midterm exam will be taken here at Lakeview in December. As soon as I receive the review materials I will give them to the students.
• ·         The final exam will be taken in May at DGS. When more information is shared with me, I will let you know.

In order to help students be more prepared for high school, we are instituting a new homework policy in 8^th grade Spanish class.  This will ensure adequate preparation time for all students while also rewarding students who are maintaining the grades they need to be successful at DGS. The following guidelines apply:

• ·         Completing homework assignments will be optional for students who have an A or B in Spanish class. They will be marked as exempt (“ex”) in the grade book.
• ·         I will continue to remind you which specific concepts or vocabulary you should be reviewing daily. For those of you who do that, keep doing what you do!
• ·         Students with a B- or lower will be required to complete homework assignments when they are given.
• ·         Students with an A or a B may complete the homework assignments for points if they wish. 
• ·         The homework points are not extra credit. They will go towards a student’s homework grade.
• ·         Every two weeks, beginning Monday, October 29 the students will be notified of their current overall grade in the class. If a student has an A or a B then homework assignments will be optional for him or her until the next grade check. If a student has a B- or lower, he or she should use the opportunity of that guided practice to help him or her prepare for our upcoming tests and quizzes to try to bring up his or her grade.

Please feel free to contact Señora Bergmann with any questions.  Have a great weekend!

D.O.P. Practice

Here are the answers from the green sheet we did in class today. Remember: the DOP can go in front of the conjugated verb or be attached to the infinitive. If there is only one verb in the sentence, the DOP has to go IN FRONT OF the verb.

1.  Rafael lo va a leer. OR Rafael va a leerlo.
2.  Marta los necesita comprar. OR Marta necesita comprarlos.
3. Mis amigos la tienen que estudiar. OR Mis amigos tienen que estudiarlo.
4. ¿Tú lo acabas de tomar?  OR ¿Tú acabas de tomarlo?
5.  Anita me va a invitar.  OR Anita va a invitarme.
6.  Lo necesito comprar (para jugar al béisbol). OR Necesito comprarlo (para jugar al béisbol).
7. Ellos lo van a practicar (el sábado). OR Ellos van a practicarlo (el sábado).
8. Yo te voy a llamar por teléfono. OR Yo voy a llamarte por teléfono.
9. Lo acabamos de alquilar. OR Acabamos de alquilarlo.
10. La tengo que hacer (para la clase de inglés). OR Tengo que hacerla (para la clase de inglés).

Optional D.O.P. Practice

8th Graders: On Friday your homework was to complete #1-10 of the orange D.O.P. #3 worksheet. If you wanted to, you could have done #11-20 for extra practice.  Here are the D.O.P. sentences for #11-20.

11. Hernan la lee.
12. Nosotros los alquilamos.
13. La maestra los mira.
14. Jorge los compra (en Target).
15. Mi hermano las levanta (en el gimnasio).
16. Nuestro equipo siempre los gana.
17. Nosotros lo jugamos (en el verano).
18. Mi casa la tiene.
19. Yo las saco (en la clase de español).
20. Samuel los practica (con los amigos).

¿Preguntas? Come in to see me Tuesday morning or Tuesday or Wednesday during Study Hall.

¡Repaso, repaso, repaso!

7th & 8th graders: You have a test next miércoles! Make sure you are prepared for it. That means that this weekend you need to spend some time studying.
7th graders: Here is a blank copy of your vocab list for Unidad 1 Lección 1.  You should practice your activities vocabulary this weekend.
8th graders: Here is a blank copy of your vocab list for the test.  Make sure you remember your clothing items and colors. Since the colors are adjectives, they need to match the ________________ and ______________ of the nouns they modify. If you took the extra practice activities for Direct Object Pronouns or o>ue stem-changing verbs, remember to do them!

   Have a great weekend and happy studying!

Columbus Day

      On Monday we don't have school in observance of Columbus Day.  However, not all people in the Americas celebrate Columbus's arrival to the Americas.  His arrival meant the coming and colonization of the Europeans and some people remember that this destroyed the way of life for many of the indigenous people living in the Americas at the time of his arrival.

    Many people with of indigenous backgrounds celebrate el día de la raza in October instead of Columbus Day. Día de la raza means "Day of the Race" so people remember and celebrate their ancestry and heritage. 

    On Monday, my family and I will celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving because my father is from Canada.

  I hope everybody has a wonderful long weekend, whatever you are celebrating!

8th Grade Quiz Review

Here is a copy of the review sheet that we did in class today if you want to practice more. Remember-it is the same format as your quiz with the exception of the definitions of verbs.

6th Period:
  Prepositions
1.  El libro está a la derecha del diccionario.
2.  El lápiz está encima del libro.
3.  El papel está dentro del libro.
4.  La pluma está lejos de la calculadora.
5.  María está delante de José. 

Bullying Prevention Month

October is National Bullying Prevention Month! Lakeview's first Spirit Day this year will be on Monday, October 1 to support the prevention of bullying.  Lakeview students: wear a blue shirt on Monday to stand up against bullying!  Click here to learn more about National Bullying Prevention Month.

Study Habits

This week we talked about study habits in Spanish. Here are the highlights of what we discussed:

• Students should spend time studying a little bit everyday rather than just studying a day or two before a quiz.  
• Even when students don't have an actual homework assignment, there is always weekly vocabulary that the students should and can review.
• When studying for vocabulary, students need to make sure that they can produce vocabulary, not just recognize it.  That means they need to be able to spell it instead of just recognizing the words.
• Students need to spend a little time every day practicing Spanish because repetition is the best way for Spanish to "click".  It is also the best way to help them remember their Spanish for a long time.

¡Viva México!

Many people think that Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on May 5 (cinco de mayo), but that's not true! Mexican Independence will be celebrated this weekend, September 15 & 16. On Monday the students will learn more about how Mexico declared and then won its independence from Spain and what other countries were inspired to declare their independence as a result of Mexico's declaration.  

La geografía

Yesterday the 7th graders took their quiz on the countries and capitals of Central America and the Caribbean.

For our first quiz I was impressed with the number of students who got 100% on the quiz!  Next Thursday is our quiz on the countries and capitals of South America.  Let's try for a new record of students getting 100%!

Have a great weekend!

Upcoming Quizzes

7th Grade
     Next Thursday will be our first quiz! It will be on the map we filled out in class today on Central America and the Caribbean.  You will need to be able to identify the countries on a map and know their capitals.  


8th Grade
    Next Friday will be our first quiz.  It will be on the verb ser and the vocabulary from pages 2-3 in your textbooks. Spelling will count. 

Spanish Class Information

It was so nice to see so many of you at Curriculum Night last night. Again, I look forward to working with you all and your students this year.
  As I shared last night, if you need to contact me I can be reached via email at jbergmann@ccsd66.org or via voice mail at (630) 783-5014.

The websites that the students will have access to after they are given their login and password information (after MAP testing is finished) are:

¡Avancemos! website with online textbook and online activities and assignments: 

 my.hrw.com 

Conjuguemos is a website that provides vocabulary and grammar activities for extra practice or for a challenge.

www.conjuguemos.com 

We had a busy first week back. I look forward to getting into a more normal routine next week with the students as we dive into our Spanish language studies!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend!

Spanish

The 8th grade scores are back from DGS and each student has been given their score on the exam.  Please ask your student to show you the small slip of paper that they were given with their score.
DGS will review the semester final grades and the Spanish I grades from Lakeview to determine if the students will get credit.  Parents will be notified by mail around Sept. 15th if the students will receive the credit.  Lakeview will also be notified. 
I want to wish all the 8th grade students success in high school and hope that it is a positive experience for each of them.  They are a very nice group of young people and I am sure they will do well.
Sra. Jones

Spanish

7th grade students will have an exam on Unit 3/Etapa 2 on Monday, 5/21.
8th grade students will be taking the DGS final exam the week of 5/21.  Their third review packet should be finished by 5/15 so that we can review for the exam.  It is going to be very difficult to make up the DGS exam, so students are encouraged to prepare for the exam and be in school on the exam days.  Students who pass the exam will get credit for Spanish I at Lakeview.

Spanish

Students now have the second part of the review packet to work on.  This will be due on Wed. 5/9.  Based on the check done in class, most of them have completed the first part and done a good job.  We will be going over any problem areas.  The students should come before school or during study hall if they do not understand the activities.  We will do a formal review closer to the exam.  If at all possible, it is important that the students are at school when the exam is given.

8th grade DGS final exam

The second semester DGS final exam in Spanish will be the week of May 21.  We will start reviewing for this next week.  The students will have a study guide that will be due on Monday 5/14.  It is quite long and they shouldn't wait until the last minute to do it.  Please ask to see their review materials and check to see how they are progressing.  Any new material will be taught before the exam.  This is the first year that our students can earn high school credit for taking Spanish at Lakeview.  They took the first semester exam this year so they should be familiar with the format. 

Spanish

Our textbook has a companion website at www.classzone.com. The students can do vocabulary flashcards or do small self check quizzes before the classroom quiz or exam. Since all classes will be having chapter exams soon, it might be a good idea to visit the website and do some of the activities in the on-line workbook that is found under "student tools". I really like the flashcards that "speak" to you.

Spanish - Sra. Jones

I want to thank everyone for helping me out the last two weeks. This has been a challenge for me but it is so nice to be back for a short time. Mrs. Bergmann did a wonderful job of preparing for her leave. The students are well behaved and enthusiastic. The teachers and administration are helpful and welcoming. I have always said that Center Cass is a wonderful district and that I had the best job in the district. That certainly hasn't changed.
I hope everyone has a relaxing break and some fun times. We will all come back ready to finish out the year.
Don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.
N. Jones

Changes in Spanish- Sra. Jones

I am sure all of you have heard that Mrs. Bergmann had her baby and will be out for the rest of the school year. I am very happy to be back at Lakeview and teaching her classes. Some of you might remember me if you have older students. I taught Spanish here for 25 years and retired to enjoy my grandchildren and travel in 2007. So, this will be a change for me as well as the students. I will do my best to prepare the 8th graders for their DGS final exam and to prepare the 7th graders to continue next year. Students may see me before or after school for help or during study hall. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at Lakeview.
N. Jones

U4E3 Affirmative and Negative Words

Here's some practice on your Affirmative and Negative words on Word Dynamo. Don't forget to study for your test on Tuesday!

Baby Name Suggestions

A few months ago, one of the students made a suggestion box for students to give me their suggestions for names for Baby Bergmann. Here are the suggestions. Baby Bergmann might like some, but I think he'll be glad that we haven't picked some of them...We had a good laugh in our classes looking through them today.

¡Carnaval!

This week the 8th graders read about Carnaval, which is celebrated in many Spanish-speaking countries. The celebration occurs right before the Lenten season, which Spanish-Speaking Catholics celebrate. We read about how different countries have slightly different variations of how they celebrate Carnaval. In the Spanish Canary Islands, many of the colorful costumes have an African influence because the Canary Islands are located off of the coast of Africa. In Barranquilla, Colombia, the celebration is a combination of indigenous, African and European traditions.

Interrogatives

7th Graders: You should be studying your new interrogatives that you learned either with me or with Señora Jones. You need to know the definitions so we can practice using them in questions in class next week. Happy studying!

Language Acquisition

I read an interesting article this week about language acquisition in children. People talk about how learning a language can be challenging, but when we are born, our brains are capable of learning ANY language. We lose that capability as we get older. I'm obviously interested in language acquisition because I watch my students work on their acquisition of Spanish every day. The other reason I'm interested is because I want Baby Bergmann to start learning both English and Spanish from a young age. I know that the younger he is when we start teaching him both languages, the easier it will be for him to acquire fluency in both of these languages. I know not everybody finds this interesting, but I'm amazed at what our brains are capable of! Read the article here to learn more about how our brains acquire language.

7th Grade U2E2 vocab

You can practice for the vocab quiz here to quiz yourself on the words. Don't forget to use definite articles with the nouns!

El estudiante ideal

The 7th graders created the "ideal student" this week and presented them to the class. They told us what the ideal student does. Some of the things were, "Nunca llega tarde a la clase."; "Siempre escucha a la maestra."; "Rara vez saca malas notas." and "Prepara la tarea todos los días." Many of the students also did a great job presenting their ideal student and practiced their pronunciation. Great job!

8th Grade Word Dynamo

Here are some of the vocabulary lists for the rest of the year so that when I'm gone you can practice your vocabulary on Word Dynamo!

• U4E3: Food, Drinks & Desserts





• U5E1: Reflexive Verb Infinitives





• U5E1: Parts of the Body





• U5E2: Rooms & Furniture in the House





• U5E3: Food





• U6E1: Professions (Use the masculine form of each noun)

Happy Studying!

7th Grade Word Dynamo

Here are some of the vocab lists for the rest of the year so that when I'm gone you can still practice your vocabulary on Word Dynamo!

• U2E3: -er/-ir infinitives





• U3E1: Emotions (Use the masculine form for the adjectives)





• U3E2: Sports & Equipment





• U3E3: Seasons, Clothing & Accessories

• U3E3: Tener phrases

Happy Studying!

8th Grade Vocabulary

8th Graders: You have a vocabulary quiz next Thursday on your new vocabulary lists. They are the items from el mercado and your technology vocab. You should study the words this weekend! Make sure you're prepared for the words that have accents. If you want to practice on Word Dynamo, the list is there. Happy studying!

8th Grade Technology Vocab

If you didn't get the technology vocabulary during class today here are the words that you need for your orange sheet.

• la cámara digital=digital camera



• conectar a Internet=to connect to the Internet



• la dirección electrónica=e-mail address



• estar en línea=to be online



• hacer clic en=to click on



• el icono=icon



• mandar=to send



• el mensajero instantáneo=instant messaging



• navegar por Internet=to surf the Internet



• la pantalla=screen



• quemar un disco compacto=to burn a CD



• el ratón=mouse



• el sitio Web=Web site



• el teclado= keyboard



• tomar fotos=to take photos

¡Felicidades!

Congratulations to all of the 8th grade Spanish students. Each one of them received the required score or higher for part of their Foreign Language credit requirement for DGS! Some of them now have an idea of how challenging exams will be next year and how they need to prepare for them. Way to go, guys!

Have a great weekend!

¡Feliz año nuevo!

Happy New Year & Welcome Back!

The students dove back into Spanish class this week. The 7th graders took a quiz on their vocabulary that they reviewed (I hope!) over break. The 8th graders took their Spanish I midterm from DGS. We'll find out how they did when DGS sends their scores back!

El año nuevo is celebrated in different ways in Spanish speaking countries. In Perú, a large part of the population is of Chinese descent so one New Year's tradition in Perú is to touch a Chinese lion. The Spanish ring in the new year by eating 12 grapes at midnight to represent the 12 strokes of midnight that begin the New Year. In Columbia people make papier mâché figures to represent the "old year". At midnight they burn the figures to represent starting fresh in the New Year.

I always think it is interesting to learn how many different ways to celebrate the same holiday. Everyone has such unique customs that get passed down from year to year.