Haciendo el aprendizaje significativo – Making the learning meaningful

¡Bienvenidos familia, amigas, y amigos! Greetings! A goal of the Spanish Language Program is to connect the target language instruction to existing classroom themes, making the learning more relevant to the learner.  Making these connections provides the opportunity for each class to learn additional Spanish vocabulary. 

Our 3’s/4’s program follows an Emergent Curriculum / Project Approach which means that themes, projects and studies most often come from the ideas and interests of the children in each of the classrooms. For instance, the Cardinals and Catbirds have taken a great interest in learning about “trees,” therefore their Spanish Language experience has been learning the parts of the árbol  through games, technology, puppetry, and songs. Ask them to sing the chant they have been learning:

hojas (leaves)

ramas (branches)

tronco (trunk)

raíces (roots)

To compliment the Owls’ current theme of study, we have been learning the names of body parts. Using storybooks, picture cards, games, and song and movement the Owls have been learning the basic parts of nuestro cuerpo, our body:

Vocabulary words:

Ojos (eyes)

Oidos (ears)

Brazos (arms)

Manos (hands)

Dedos (fingers)

Boca (mouth)

Rodilla (knee)

Foot (pie)

Nariz (nose)

The Kindergarteners have been studying the five senses and most recently, they have begun to research musical instruments. We have combined the two topics and have participated in games and activities to help us reinforce our learning.

veo – I see

toco – I touch

huelo – I smell

oigo – I hear

saboreo – I taste

Veo con mis ojo – I see with my eyes.

Toco con mis manos. I touch with my hands.

Huelo con mu nariz. –I smell with my nose.

Oigo con mis orejas. – I jear with my ears.

Saboreo con mi boca. – I taste with my mouth.

During our most recent class, we read Mayra L. Dole’s book, Drum, Chavi, Drum! ¡Toca, Chavi, Toca! This is a story of a little girl who wants to play the tumbadora (drums) but no one in her Cuban American neighborhood thinks girls should play the drums. Determined, she continues to play the drums until she finally proves to everyone that she could play the tumbadoras, regardless of her gender. During various moments in the story, Chavi drums on pretty much anything; the sofa arm, her Mami’s cheeks, store window, and so on. So, every time Chavi drummed on something, the Kindergarteners did so as well using rhythm sticks that Jason and Aedín loaned us. What great sounds we made together!

In first grade, many connections have been made to their most recent study on the journey of the Monarch butterfly. We played games, read stories, watched videos, and participated in art projects that reinforced vocabulary for the stages the butterfly goes through during metamorphosis as well as some facts about the culture of México where the butterflies migrate to.  

Vocabulary words:

mariposa - butterfly

metamorfosis – metamorphosis

huevo – egg

oruga – caterpillar

pupa o crysálida – chrysalids

mariposa adulta – adult butterfly

 

Stay tuned to hear what other grades in our community are studying!