Just wanted to remind parents that conferences are this week. They are on Monday evening from 3:30-6:30 and Thursday evening 5:30-8:30. Call the office and set up a time with Mrs. Gruden if you would like a conference.
Also, on Thursday, I am offering a quick how to on Schoology and how it is used in class. I will also pass out parent codes for those who would like to monitor their child's progress.
Hasta Luego
Saturday, February 23, 2013
La Semana Corta (The short week)
This week was most definitely different. We had a short week after the four day weekend followed by the snow day for the ice on Friday. I am sure most of the students did not mind the extra day off on bit. The only bad news for this extra day off was that we did not get to go to the computer lab to continue working and finalizing the projects that are due the first of next week.
I am very excited to see what the students have come up with for their projects, and cannot wait to share some of them with you. I plan on taking pictures, so I can share the hard work of some of the students.
As most of you know, Spanish I is doing a power point presentation. The majority of students have the ability to work on these at home because they are using either Google Drive or they brought their own flash drive to save their work. Students know that presentations MUST be finished by the end of the period Monday. We start presenting on Tuesday and presentations will continue until Friday.
Spanish II's model and brochure project will be turned in on Monday during class periods. The groups will then present their model and explain the importance of the city to their classmates. This is one of my favorite projects to see how the different groups choose to represent their city. The possible ancient Native Meso-American cities include: Teotihuacán, Tenochtitlán, Chichén-Itza, Palenque, Tulum, Tikal and Uxmal.
After Spanish II completes the presentations, we will continue on with our language acquisition furthering our use of the past tense. We will finish up work on regular verbs in the preterite followed by irregular verbs. I am going to add some culture to go along with this. We will be looking into the foods and music of Mexico. Students will then work on a cultural project that they will choose the method of presenting, but they must use some sort of technology (blog, video, podcast, etc).
Some of you may know we are using a Learning Management System (LMS) called Schoology. While networking with other teachers, I came across and app called Remind 101. This app allows me through the Schoology program to send reminders to recipients via a text message. I type the message in my Schoology account and the program sends out a text message reminder. I do not have the recipients phone number and the recipients cannot text me back. I am trying to help students improve their abilities in Spanish and if a reminder helps, then I am all for it. I will place the contact information below if any parent wishes to join the remind 101 group this way you can see exactly what your child sees.
Step 1: open new text message
Step 2: type the phone number 513-429-7228
Step 3: type in one of the following codes in the body of the message:
Spanish 1: @mradkin
Spanish 2: @spanishii3
Step 4: Send text
You will then receive a text back asking for your full name. Respond giving your first and last name and send the text back. After this text you will be signed-up to receive all reminders I send out.
I want to link a very interesting article that parents and teachers should help students understand about the digital footprint they leave behind. 10 Things to know about your Digital Footprint
Here is what is upcoming for next week:
Spanish I: Monday- finish preparing presentations. Tues-Fri: Presentations in class. Test over all presentations will take place the beginning of the next week.
Spanish II: Monday: present model/brochure project.
Tuesday: continue with regular preterite w/ question and answers and descriptions
Wednesday: quiz on regular preterite. Start irregulars and music/food mini project
Thurs-Fri: continue with irregular preterite with relevant readings, listening acitivities and videos
If anyone ever has any questions, do not hesitate to email me at shawnadkins@nelsd.org
Hasta Luego!
I am very excited to see what the students have come up with for their projects, and cannot wait to share some of them with you. I plan on taking pictures, so I can share the hard work of some of the students.
As most of you know, Spanish I is doing a power point presentation. The majority of students have the ability to work on these at home because they are using either Google Drive or they brought their own flash drive to save their work. Students know that presentations MUST be finished by the end of the period Monday. We start presenting on Tuesday and presentations will continue until Friday.
Spanish II's model and brochure project will be turned in on Monday during class periods. The groups will then present their model and explain the importance of the city to their classmates. This is one of my favorite projects to see how the different groups choose to represent their city. The possible ancient Native Meso-American cities include: Teotihuacán, Tenochtitlán, Chichén-Itza, Palenque, Tulum, Tikal and Uxmal.
After Spanish II completes the presentations, we will continue on with our language acquisition furthering our use of the past tense. We will finish up work on regular verbs in the preterite followed by irregular verbs. I am going to add some culture to go along with this. We will be looking into the foods and music of Mexico. Students will then work on a cultural project that they will choose the method of presenting, but they must use some sort of technology (blog, video, podcast, etc).
Some of you may know we are using a Learning Management System (LMS) called Schoology. While networking with other teachers, I came across and app called Remind 101. This app allows me through the Schoology program to send reminders to recipients via a text message. I type the message in my Schoology account and the program sends out a text message reminder. I do not have the recipients phone number and the recipients cannot text me back. I am trying to help students improve their abilities in Spanish and if a reminder helps, then I am all for it. I will place the contact information below if any parent wishes to join the remind 101 group this way you can see exactly what your child sees.
Step 1: open new text message
Step 2: type the phone number 513-429-7228
Step 3: type in one of the following codes in the body of the message:
Spanish 1: @mradkin
Spanish 2: @spanishii3
Step 4: Send text
You will then receive a text back asking for your full name. Respond giving your first and last name and send the text back. After this text you will be signed-up to receive all reminders I send out.
I want to link a very interesting article that parents and teachers should help students understand about the digital footprint they leave behind. 10 Things to know about your Digital Footprint
Here is what is upcoming for next week:
Spanish I: Monday- finish preparing presentations. Tues-Fri: Presentations in class. Test over all presentations will take place the beginning of the next week.
Spanish II: Monday: present model/brochure project.
Tuesday: continue with regular preterite w/ question and answers and descriptions
Wednesday: quiz on regular preterite. Start irregulars and music/food mini project
Thurs-Fri: continue with irregular preterite with relevant readings, listening acitivities and videos
If anyone ever has any questions, do not hesitate to email me at shawnadkins@nelsd.org
Hasta Luego!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
¿Qué pasó en español?
¡Hola todos!
You may be asking yourself what happened in Spanish this week (qué pasó). Well, we spent the first two days researching major projects, and the last two days continuing our language acquisition.
Spanish I has started working with the verb estar (to be) and using prepositions to tell where things are located. Schoology discussion post is due Saturday evening.
Spanish two was introduced to the world of the past tense, learning the preterite, the first of the two past tenses. We started with regular verbs this week, and will be heading towards irregulars.
Schoology discussion post is due Saturday evening.
What's on tap next week:
SPN I: presentation outline due Tuesday (2/19)
Vocabulary quiz on Wednesday (2/20)
Computer lab to type up presentation Thursday & Friday
SPN II: quiz on regular preterite formation (2/20)
Computer lab/model construction Thursday & Friday
A new wrinkle I added to class was posting notes on Schoology, so students who are absent will be able to set down and listen to the notes and not just rely on copying someone else's. My goal is to build this into flipping the classroom, so students will take notes and watch a presentation for homework and come to class and work on the things they have learned. I hope to start this in the next couple of weeks.
Projects are to be completed soon. I's will present 2/26-3/1, and II's will present their model and brochure on 2/25. Picture updates will come following to show the wonderful job the students will do.
Do not forget, interim reports go home next Friday, February 22.
You may be asking yourself what happened in Spanish this week (qué pasó). Well, we spent the first two days researching major projects, and the last two days continuing our language acquisition.
Spanish I has started working with the verb estar (to be) and using prepositions to tell where things are located. Schoology discussion post is due Saturday evening.
Spanish two was introduced to the world of the past tense, learning the preterite, the first of the two past tenses. We started with regular verbs this week, and will be heading towards irregulars.
Schoology discussion post is due Saturday evening.
What's on tap next week:
SPN I: presentation outline due Tuesday (2/19)
Vocabulary quiz on Wednesday (2/20)
Computer lab to type up presentation Thursday & Friday
SPN II: quiz on regular preterite formation (2/20)
Computer lab/model construction Thursday & Friday
A new wrinkle I added to class was posting notes on Schoology, so students who are absent will be able to set down and listen to the notes and not just rely on copying someone else's. My goal is to build this into flipping the classroom, so students will take notes and watch a presentation for homework and come to class and work on the things they have learned. I hope to start this in the next couple of weeks.
Projects are to be completed soon. I's will present 2/26-3/1, and II's will present their model and brochure on 2/25. Picture updates will come following to show the wonderful job the students will do.
Do not forget, interim reports go home next Friday, February 22.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Projects Have Started
¡Hola Todos!
The projects are underway and students have been using class time researching their topics. These projects allow students to see other cultures in different ways. Students can become aware of the history, people, places and celebrations of other cultures. We live in a muli-cultural world and the more students can experience other cultures the more they will be prepared for a vastly diversified world.
Spanish I is doing a powerpoint presentation on various Mexican topics. I want the students to see beyond tacos and Mexican restaurants. Food is just one part of what makes up a culture. There are so many other areas that come together and make people what they are today. We can learn so much from others and learn to appreciate and understand the differences that others have. We can agree or disagree with others, but we must not judge or degrade any other society or people. Projects will be presented starting February 26 and finish up that Friday, March 1.
Spanish II is doing a two part project on ancient cities from the two ancient indigenous tribes from Mexico (Aztec and Maya). Part one is a model of the city or the main pyramid/temple. Part two is a travel brochure that highlights the city they are researching. Projects will be due on Monday, February 25.
I cannot wait to share some photos from the finished projects. It is always interesting seeing what the students come up with and how they share the information they found.
Hasta luego
The projects are underway and students have been using class time researching their topics. These projects allow students to see other cultures in different ways. Students can become aware of the history, people, places and celebrations of other cultures. We live in a muli-cultural world and the more students can experience other cultures the more they will be prepared for a vastly diversified world.
Spanish I is doing a powerpoint presentation on various Mexican topics. I want the students to see beyond tacos and Mexican restaurants. Food is just one part of what makes up a culture. There are so many other areas that come together and make people what they are today. We can learn so much from others and learn to appreciate and understand the differences that others have. We can agree or disagree with others, but we must not judge or degrade any other society or people. Projects will be presented starting February 26 and finish up that Friday, March 1.
Spanish II is doing a two part project on ancient cities from the two ancient indigenous tribes from Mexico (Aztec and Maya). Part one is a model of the city or the main pyramid/temple. Part two is a travel brochure that highlights the city they are researching. Projects will be due on Monday, February 25.
I cannot wait to share some photos from the finished projects. It is always interesting seeing what the students come up with and how they share the information they found.
Hasta luego
Thursday, February 7, 2013
¡Bienvenido a blog land!
¡Hola todos!
I have decided to venture into the world of blogging to keep parents updated on the happenings in the worlds of Spanish I and II. Trying to find ways to keep many notified is a demanding task. I feel as though I haven't done that good of job doing that this year, and I am looking to make up for lost time.
Both levels have begun projects. They are both dealing with Mexico and their culture. The I's are doing a power point presentation while the II's are making model representations of ancient Mayan cities and also making a travel brochure. The due dates for The I's is February 26, and the II's is February 22. I look forward to sharing some of these projects after they are completed.
Hopefully, some of you have heard about the addition of an Internet site that has allowed me to begin using a blended curriculum. I utilizing technology to enhance the student's Spanish and improving their abilities. We are using a website called Schoology (www.schoology.com). Ask you daughter/son to show you how this works. I really love the possibilities. I will be working on getting parent codes, so you can monitor progress on Schoology just like many of you do on progress book.
Both levels will be having tests on Friday, February 8. Both will take the tests in the computer lab via Schoology.
Iam looking for different ways to utilize technology to enhance class and make class time more productive. One goal I am shooting for is to flip the classroom. The homework would be the notes and then in class we would use use the skills and apply them in meaningful situations.
I am willing To demonstrate Schoology to anyone interested on the second night of Parent/Teacher conferences at 6:30
We'll, I think I have said too much, so I will wrap it up. If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me at shawnadkins@nelsd.org or call the school 328-6575
¡Hasta Luego!
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