Spanish
This will be another exciting year in Spanish at Green Woods Charter School.  Students in grade 3 through 8 will be working on conversation, listening, reading, and writing skills as we study topics integrated into each grade's general curriculum.  As we explore the Spanish language, we will focus on becoming better "global citizens" by learning to appreciate and borrow from other cultures and viewpoints.

Spanish class has been very busy with  creative, stimulating activities which engage all students in meaningful learning of language and culture. We have also been incorporating other content areas such as Music, Art, English, History and Geography.

The year began with 3rd and 4th grade learning about Picasso and creating portraits with Spanish language practice in description of self and others.

These groups continue to make connections with English words and Spanish words through cognates.  These engaging activities are giving each student a chance to  demonstrate how he or she would learn a language best.  We have been incorporating Spanish music, children's stories in Spanish, and artwork that complement the learning process.  We have even learned about the different types of Spanish dancing and the origins of each type of dance.  Students are becoming more aware  how we are all a "global community" with many cultures influencing each other in language and the arts.

5th and 6th grade have been very busy learning more complex skills in Spanish.  We are continuing the study of cognates and how to incorporate them into daily life.  One example would be our study of some Spanish newspaper headlines.  So many words and phrases in Spanish look and sound the same as some English words we use on a daily basis.  This type study forms of platform of solid learning of another language.  5th and 6th grade also have been learning common phrases.  The ability to carry on a basic conversation in Spanish  is so essential in today's world with increased travel and  greater influx of Spanish-speaking individuals to the United States.  5th and 6th grade has also wrapped up a unit on Spanish dance have actually performed some of the dances in class in cooperative learning groups.  They have enjoyed discussions on the origins of the dances, especially the video clips we viewed on Flamenco.

7th and 8th grade (as well as 5th and 6th) created sugar skulls (Calaveras) during a unit we completed on the Day of Dead celebratins in Mexico.

Students also saw a video about a real family from Mexico and how they managed to prepare for this special day--which in some cases takes months.

The students have a greater appreciation for the simplicity of life of some other Spanish-speaking cultures.  In addition, we have been focusing on the conjugation of verbs and the usage of  verbs in sentences and paragraphs.  7th and 8th grade have been learning to work in teams (cooperative groups) to complete all categories of classwork, as high school will require more independent work,  and have been very on-task and accountable during all phases of learning.  Latin and Spanish dance was our recent topic in February, with focus on the Flamenco and its origins.  Students had a chance to try out the dances which also required group work in the process.