Ms. Olah’s Spanish 1 2008-2009

Remember… Doctor E Clift
Ser – Describe, Occupation, Characteristics, Time, Origin, Relationship, Event
Estar – Condition, Location, “ing,” Feelings, Taste

Hola, clase!

¡Esta semana tenemos examenes! ¡Buena suerte!  This week is exam week! Good luck! Remember the semester exam makes up 20% of your Spanish 1 semester grade so do your best. The exam will be 40 multiple choice vocabulary/reading questions and 60 fill in the blank grammar and conjugation questions. 

There are lots of worksheets, powerpoints, and notes for you to use to study on the Teague Spanish website. And here are some more resources to help you prepare for the exam:

Thanks to Erica for this powerpoint to to review/practice you verb charts – conjugationslideshow 

Quia Games to practice vocabulary and verb conjugations:

Ch 3 Review game: http://www.quia.com/cb/266207.html 

Ch 2 Review game: http://www.quia.com/cb/366461.html 

Ch 1 Review game: http://www.quia.com/cb/366460.html

Regular -ar verbs: http://www.studyspanish.com/verbs/lessons/justar.htm 

Exprésate activites by chapter – http://go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKeywordResults?keyword=EXP1 

Blogs 

I will have all of your blogs graded by the end of the week. I am very pleased at the quality and effort that most of your are putting toward your blogs! It shows! I have enjoyed reading them. This is a project that will continue for the rest of the year so some of you will still need to get “caught up” with the requirements of this project. Other are ready to start customizing their blogs. Remember you can include any content on your blogs that is Spanish related. Here are some fun features you can play with if you’d like:

1. First step is to download this edublogs-tutorial  to see how to add pictures, videos, powerpoints, voice recordings, etc. to your blog.

2. After you know how to add media to your blog you can explore some of these sites for fun things you can add to posts or to your side bar.

***If you do not have or do not want to use your personal email to sign up for any of these sites please see me and I will give you an email to use.****

• Create and add a powerpoint to your blog or embed one of mine: First upload your powerpoimt to www.slideshare.net then embed the powerpoint into a blog post.
• Add a “Spanish word of the day” box to your sidebar from http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/spanish.htm
• Add interacitive quizzes with MyStudiyo.com
• Add a fun Spanish word collage with wordle.net 
• Add Funny Spanish videos like “First Semester of Spanish Love song” or “Conjugations Back” from Teachertube (use the “embed without search engine” option) or edublogs.tv (Youtube will not work at school nor do I recommend you use it) or feature cultural videos like this:

Hola,

This week we will be going in lab on Monday working on your Spanish blogs.  Before we continue I want to restate the purpose of these blogs. Your Spanish blog is intended to showcase your best Spanish. It will be a virtual portfolio of what you do in class. Remember it is not your personal space and should be used ONLY for educational purposes. The minute it is not, it will be shut down and you will not be able to continue with this project. Your blog will be graded on content, creativity, good grammar (English and Spanish), and having required elements. Your first two grades will be on your first two postings.

Posting #1 – Why I want to learn Spanish. – You should have correct grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Posting should show self reflection, details and examples, and explain to the reader your personal motivation for being in Spanish class. You may include facts/statistics and other reasons to back up your reasons but the posting should be about YOU and your motivaiton.

Posting #2 – You will create a graph based on the survey we conducted in class. After you save the graph as a JPG file you will put the graph into a post and then write 10 sentences IN SPANISH that discuss the findings. For example, A mí me gusta la pizza. A Ana y Juan les gusta la comida china. A diez estudiantes les gustan los deportes, etc. Make sure you proofread your sentences CAREFULLY.  You will be graded on both the creation of the graph and the sentences.

Click here for Create a Graph Directions – create-a-graph-directions (Note: on the last set of instructions on posting your graph you need to hit “Upload.”)

Here is a sample of what your post should look like: http://michelle03112.edublogs.org/ 

 I can’t wait to see your blogs!!!!!

Buenas tardes,
Well, report card time is here. I just wanted to make a few observations. First, a report card is an assessment that tells you how you are doing in a class at a certain point in time. The purpose is to give you an idea of where you are at in a class, and make changes if necessary to get where you want to be. In Spanish, your first quarter grade is an indication of how you are progressing in the concepts and skills needed to advance in the language. I cannot stress too much the importance of understanding the basic concepts learned in the first quarter and the importance of establishing good study habits. Spanish is not a subject that you can study for the night before the test and forget the next week. Everything builds on previous knowledge learned. If you do not have a strong understanding of basic concepts you will not understand the new concepts we will be moving on to. If you are struggling with Spanish so far, you will need to make drastic chances QUICKLY if you want to be successful in Spanish.

Typically there are several issues that contribute to low grades in Spanish class and to not understanding the material. First, like I mentioned above, you cannot treat Spanish like may of the other classes you have taken. For example, you cannot “cram” for tests the night before – you may pass the test but you will not remember it and be able to use it later. You must make the words and concepts your own. You need to understand them not just memorize them!! Learning Spanish is like building a house. In the beginning you are building the foundation. Your foundation needs to be strong or eventually your house will crash to the ground. If you want to keep learning and becoming better in Spanish you MUST build this strong foundation NOW! As some point very soon it will be too late and no matter how hard you try you will be too far behind to get caught up. PLEASE, see me if you have questions, concerns, etc. and need help. I will do what I can to help but you are responsible for your learning and need to make an effort!

I also want to talk to you about homework. Homework in Spanish is CRITICAL to your success. I do not give “busy work” to students. Homework has two important purposes: practice and preparation. Homework is either practicing concepts and vocabulary that we have went over in class or preparation for the next day so we can make the most of class time. If you do not do either the practice or the preparation, you will be at a serious disadvantage. The choice is always yours. You can choose to do your homework or not, you can choose to make the most out of class time or not, you can choose to practice the vocabulary and do your best on assignments or not but you need to understand that ultimately those choices have consequences. This week before report cards come out is often the time when students realize that there are consequences for the choices they have made. Good or bad, your report card reflects the choices you’ve made this last nine weeks. I hope you are happy with it and continue to work and improve your abilities in Spanish! It is worth it!! If you an not happy with the choices you’ve made you always have opportunities to make changes and other choices. I can help you if you are struggling but I cannot help you if you choose not to ask for help, do your homework, prepare for class or study the vocabulary. That part is up to you!

Enough lecturing! This week you will be continuing to learn about how to describe yourself and other. You will learn how to talk about your likes and dislikes, as well as the likes and dislikes of others. I am posting a powerpoint that will help you if you need more information than is provided in class or in your textbook.

Hola,

I hope everyone enjoyed their Monday off! This week we will be getting into the full swing of Spanish starting with Chapter 1 of our new textbook. On Tuesday and Thursday we will be in the new JJ Lab (located in the Media Center). We will be looking at the Expresate online textbook, the online sound booth recording studio, and starting a “Why Study Spanish?” project  that you will complete at home. It is required that you read this blog weekly and you are responsible for the information in it. You will also want to check out the the Spanish website for handouts, worksheets, vocabulary list, and additional anouncements. You may come in and use my classroom computer before school to keep up with the technology requirements of this class if you’d like.