Last class, now we Fiesta....

Happy Birthday piñata.

Today we finished our piñatas!!! Now we Fiesta!!!

We also worked on some papel picado (perforated paper) flags that we will use to decorate our piñata tree for our last day fiesta celebration (yes, that is right, next Tuesday).

Please make sure to bring your finished piñata so we can fill it with candy and go ahead and whack it (or not, if you prefer to keep it as is).

Thanks to all of you (both students and parents) who have made it possible for us to explore some Spanish basics and aspects of Hispanic culture together.

I will miss Academy and my Spanish students, but as they say, all good things...

See you on Tuesday!!!

SER

Today we practiced how to tell time, at what time things happened and some basic descriptions using the first and second persons (singular) of the verb SER (to be) in the present tense: soy and eres.

For next week, please watch the video below (we have watched parts of it in class).

Notice that as they explain in the video depending on the country 5:45 will be Son las seis menos cuarto or Es un cuarto para las seis.

VIDEO: FLUENCY PROF. Telling Time in Spanish.




Also, check this recent post to refresh your memory on how to use the verb SER and watch the video below.

 VIDEO:  PRACTIQUEMOS: VERBO "SER" - How to use it.

La hora/The time

Today we practiced how to ask and tell the time in Spanish. We also ate some chocolate euros...¡deliciosos!

We used the verb to be (es for 1 or son for 2-12) followed by the hour(s) and the minute(s). We also learned expressions such as en punto (o'clock), y cuarto (quarter past), y media (half past) as well as menos cuarto (quarter to).


Examples:

¿Qué hora es?

Es la una y cinco, Es la una y cuarto, Es la una y media, Son las dos menos cuarto, Son las dos en punto, etc.

Please watch the video below to practice and reinforce what we learned today in class.

VIDEO: Practiquemos: How to tell time in Spanish




Also, intro students, please do pages 52-54 in you book (mediodia means noon, and medianoche means midnight). Advanced students, please do pages 79-80.

Both goups can go here to practice online how to tell the time of their liking (you choose parameters). For this interactive exercise you will see that they use de la manana (in the morning), de la tarde (in the afternoon/evening) and de la noche (in the evening/at night). You may want to refresh your memory on how we divide the day in Spanish by watching the video below (Muzzy: buenos dias, buenas tardes and buenas noches).

VIDEO: Muzzy:  Buenos días...



Please parents, it is important that your student practice this concept on their own so we can use class time for other exercises.

Next day in class we will continue working on how tell the time and we will learn how to tell at what times we are going to do some activities.

¡Hasta el martes próximo!

The Inca and the Spanish Conquest

As we saw in our last post, Spaniards encountered the Maya and the Aztecs in Mesoamerica.

In the Andean region, with its wide array of biological areas, they encountered another impressive political organization, the Inca.

Please watch the videos below in preparation for class.


VIDEO: BrainPOP - Inca Civiilization


VIDEO: Inca Creation Myth



Video: History vs. Christopher Columbus

Latin America: Precolumbian History part I

When the Spaniards arrived in the Americas they found different civilizations with high degrees of cultural, economic, and social development.

In Mesoamerica (Middle America), a cultural area encompassing parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Honduras and El Salavador, they encountered the Aztec and the Maya.

In South America they found the Inca, in the Andean region, extending from Ecuador in the North, to Chile in the South.

The resulting conflict was followed by an interchange of ideas and products that profoundly changed the world and that has become known as the Columbian Exchange.


Please watch the videos below in preparation for class. Next day in class we will explore the Inca and the Spanish arrival.


THE MAYA

VIDEO: BrainPOP: Maya Civilization



VIDEO: The Mayans Got IT Done



VIDEO: Smithsonian: The Creation Story of the Maya



THE AZTECS

VIDEO: BrainPOP: Aztec Civilization

VIDEO: Ask History: The Aztecs

VIDEO: Ask History: What happened to the Aztecs?

Geography of Latin America

For the next few weeks we are going to shift to culture and learn about the geography, foods and customs of Spanish speaking countries.

As you well know, not all countries in Latin America speak Spanish. people in Brazil, for example use Portuguese (another Romance language) as their main language, and other countries, like Peru, recognize both Spanish and Quechua (the unifying language spoken in the Inca Empire) as co-official languages.

Countries, like the US, have no official national language and although English is the common language, Spanish and English coexist in many urban areas and parts of Florida and the American Southwest.

Please watch the videos and click on the interactive links below in preparation for class.


VIDEO: Countries of the World



Check this site to learn the flags of Latin American countries. Choose one flag you like, print it (or draw it) and color it so you can bring it to class and show it to your classmates. See if you can learn anything about the flag symbol (if any) and share it with class. Mexico, for example, has an eagle and a snake on a nepal cactus and the history around this symbol can be traced, according to some, to the Aztecs.

Also, if you wish, you can play some interactive games while learning geography:  North American countries/territories and capitals here. Central American countries and capitals here, and South American countries and capitals here. Remember, you do not need to know all of them.

Enjoy!

Personal Pronouns and verb SER

Today we practiced the verb to be (SER) in the present tense. We also reviewed some personal pronouns.

Please watch the videos below as we will continue using this verb in class next Tuesday.

When you are done, write a brief description  (about five sentences for intro students and 15 for intermediate Spanish students) of yourself or somebody (a pet will do, too) who lives in your household.

Example:

Fiona es una gata. Ella no es grande. Ella es naranja y traviesa. Fiona es buena. La gata es joven.

or

Sheryl es una mujer. Sheryl es mi madre. Ella es alta y rubia. Sheryl es de Nueva York. Ella es inteligente.

Three rules when writing your description: 1. keep it simple, 2. try to go beyond colors, and 3. keep in mind number and gender agreement between subject and adjectives (eg.  la gata es bonita vs el gato es bonito). Use a dictionary if necessary to find interesting adjectives. Lots of online dictionaries and free apps out there, both for the Android and iOS markets.

See you on Tuesday.

VIDEO: Personal Pronouns Song



VIDEO: The Verb Ser.


VIDEO: Personal Descriptions.

Verbos and ¿Qué es?

Yesterday we got some good descriptions in class of famous and not so famous characters.

We used the verbs SER (to be) and TENER (to have) in the third person (singular and plural).

Students should also know by now how to say I am  (yo soy). I was so impressed that I think we are ready to proceed with verb conjugations in the present tense.




INTRO TO SPANISH

I would like to ask from parents that students try to learn the chart in page 47 of their book.  The main personal pronouns I would like for them to learn are below (there are others, like usted, ustedes, vosotros, but let's not worry about those at this point).

Yo: I
Tú: You (singular) informal.
Él/ella: He/She
Nosotros/nosotras: We (masc./fem.)
Ellos/ellas: They

Watch the videos below if you find songs help you remember things.

VIDEO: Conjugating Spanish verbs. The SER song.



The video below is VERY repetitive.

VIDEO: Ser -To Be.


When you are done with all the above, please complete the exercises in pages 47 and 48 (you can check the answers at the end of the book). Just keep in mind that the adjectives need to agree with the personal pronoun they are modifying:  Example with alto (tall)

Él es alto but Ella es alta
Ellos son altos but Ellas son altas (altas is the feminine, plural form of alto).
Nosotros somos altos but Nosotras somos altas.

Next week we are going to practice how to use the verb SER (to be) and learn how to ask what something is ¿Qué es? or ¿Qué son? (What is it?, What are they?). We will be playing a couple of games where students have to guess what something is while blindfolded.

Please bring your dictionaries to class!

Oh, I almost forgot... In the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack has just found out about Christmas and is very curious about it. See if you can identify when Jack says ¿Qué es? throughout the song. Don't worry if you do not understand anything else, you are not supposed to at this point :)

VIDEO: ¿Qué es? 



ADVANCED SPANISH

Please read the info above and go over pages 36 and 37 in your books AS WELL AS page 38

We will be using some AR ending verbs and ESTAR in class next week to describe what our stuffed animal friends do and how they feel.

El cuerpo: Descriptive Sentences.

La boca es grande

Today we practiced the parts of the face and the body with magnets and Mr. Potato pieces. Keep practicing those for next week.

We also reviewed that the definite article the translates into el/la (singular) and los/las (plural) in Spanish:

El Alamo (the poplar) / Los Angeles (the angels)
La Joya (the jewel) / Las Vegas (the medows)

Homework for both groups (intro and intermediate)

1. Please practice the videos and online activities on the parts of the body we have been studying for the past two weeks.

2. Find a picture of your favorite character, actor, hero (or draw one ) and bring it to class with a basic description of his or her face and or body. Be prepared to present your description to your group and the class. Use a dictionary if you want to find adjectives other than colors: eg. grande (big), bonito/a (pretty), interesante (interesting), feo/a (ugly).

Please use es (is) and son (are) or tiene (has) to make full sentences like the examples below. Remember that adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun they modify:  bonito becomes bonita for femenine nouns and bonitos, bonitas in the plural.

El pelo es bonito,
La boca es bonita,
Los ojos son bonitos,
Las orejas son bonitas

Link es un elfo (an elf). Link tiene pelo amarillo o (or) rubio (blond); los ojos son azules. Link tiene dos orejas; las orejas son grandes (big). La nariz no es grande.


Other color coded examples from last week:

Mr. Potato tiene dos brazos rojos, dos pies amarillos y una boca grande

Mr. Potato has two red arms, two yellow feet and one big mouth

La boca de Mr. Potato es roja, la nariz es anaranjada y las orejas son verdes. 

Mr. Potato's mouth is red, his nose is orange and his ears are green.

3. Watch this "crazy fast" video if you dare and see if you can understand anything (clue: tiene muchas partes, means it has a lot of parts. Also un/una means a or one. Es muy especial means it is very special).

VIDEO: El Cuerpo




Hasta el martes.

El cuerpo

Today we continued practicing the family and the parts of the house.

Next week we will move on to the parts of the body.

In preparation for class, please practice some of the main parts of the body by watching these videos and doing the interactive activities in the links below.

I do not particularly care if you know ALL the parts. However, see how many you can learn and memorize for class

Play the videos and online activities as many times as you need to. Remember that in learning repetition can be helpful and that hearing them once may not be enough for you to remember.



THE FACE

VIDEO: The face




You can find an interactive activity to learn the face here  and an interactive game here.


THE BODY

The song in the video below is a fun way to learn and remember las partes del cuerpo (the parts of the body). Remember, you do not need to learn all of them, though.  Parts of the song you need to know:

Las partes del cuerpo         The parts of the body,
vamos a cantar                  we are going to sing,
y tú                                    and you,
las tienes que tocar            have to touch them


Las partes de la cara          the parts of the face

Empezamos otra vez          we start again.

Y no empezamos otra vez   and we do not start again.


VIDEO: Parts of the body in Spanish. 




You can find an interactive link to practice the parts of the body here and a game here.

¿Dónde está la casa?

Today we started studying the parts of the house.

We played with our Playmobil house and described where different family members were.

We used the estar form of the verb to be, which is the verb we use for location:




* ¿Dónde está el abuelo? (Where is the grandfather?)
* El abuelo está arriba (Grandpa is upstairs)
* El padre está en la cocina (the father is in the kitchen), or
* Los niños están en la sala (the children are in the living room)

To practice location, please go over these simple videos and practice how to ask where something (supermarket, church, phone, etc.) is.

VIDEO: Mahalo: Where is the supermarket?/¿Dónde está el supermercado?




VIDEO: Where is the museum?/¿Dónde está el museo?




VIDEO: Where is the church?/¿Dónde está la iglesia?




VIDEO: Where is the phone?/¿Dónde está el teléfono?



When you have practiced the sentences above, please watch the three videos below (the very last two are a link so you will have to click on them). They will help you learn the words for the different parts of the house. You do not need to learn every part, but maybe some of the basics: living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Please remember that like in English, some rooms can be referred to differently, depending of the country; for example, bedroom can be la recámara, la alcoba, la habitación, el cuarto or el dormitorio.

VIDEO: Around the House/En la casa




VIDEO: Magical Spanish: La casa 1. 

VIDEO: Magical Spanish: La casa 2..

Do not worry too much if you find all of this a little bit overwhelming. We will keep practicing it in the next few weeks.

 ¡Hasta el martes!

San Fermín or SanFermines

Today we reviewed some of what we learned before the break. We also discussed what we may be performing for our showcase

Below I have left a couple of videos of a song celebrating the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Navarre, in northern Spain. This yearly event happen's on July 7th and it coincides with the celebration of this area's co-patron: St. Fermín.


VIDEO: Iñaki Nebreda -Pamplona -SanFermines- Encierros 2013




You can also click here for a short video of the run. Watch it, it is worth it.

The song celebrating this festivity consists, basically, of a countdown followed by some lyrics that say something to the effect that they are ready to partake.

Uno de enero, (January, 1st)
dos de febrero, (Februrary, 2nd)
tres de marzo, (March, 3rd)
cuatro de abril,  (April, 4th)
cinco de mayo, (May, 5th)
seis de junio, (June, 6th)
siete de julio, (July, 7th)
San Fermín (Saint Fermín)

A Pamplona hemos de ir, (We must go to Pamplona)
con una media, con una media. (with a stocking, with a stocking)
A Pamplona hemos de ir, (We must go to Pamplona)
con una media y un calcetín (wiht a stocking and a sock)

See if you can recognized the words in the lyrics in the song as we may choose this song for the spring festival.

VIDEO: Albertiko García: Uno de enero, dos de febrero... (it goes fast but do not dispair)




VIDEO: cloudstosheep - Uno de enero (This is a much slower adaptation of the first half for younger audiences)




Also, some of you asked me about bullfighting and training. This is a short video of a bullfight school in Portugal. Spain and Portugal have different styles of bullfighting, the one you see here is the Spanish one. We can talk some more about it in class next week if you want.

VIDEO: Bullfight School for Kids.



Intermediate Spanish:

Today we explored the effect that Conquistadors had in the Americas. Please watch the video below on the role of Christopher Columbus on the colonization of the Americas. Also, please watch the videos above on Pamplona and bull-running


VIDEO: History vs. Christopher Columbus - Alex Gendler



Hasta el martes! See you on Tuesday!

¡Felices Fiestas!

Marzipan: Dr. Who, anybody?

Today we reviewed la familia in Spanish.

 We also made some marzipan figurines, we had caracoles (snails), serpientes (snakes), fruta (fruit), verduras (veggies) and all kind of creatures and objects.

If you want a better flavor and consistency, you can glaze them with egg white and bake them in a toaster oven for a few minutes before you eat them, otherwise they are ready to eat as they are.

Snake and some Kirby characters?

Next session we will start with a quick review of what we have learned these past few months and then we will venture into new material.

Felices Fiestas/Enjoy the Holidays!

La familia y figuritas de mazapán

Today we reviewed the days, months and seasons in both classes. Some of you brought to my attention that the lady in the videos was sometimes differentiating between V/B. (Good ear Jana!). You are right, she does in some of the videos, but believe me, NO native speaker of Spanish does. For right now do not worry too much about it. We will explore those and other sounds some more next year, after the break.

We also explored how to refer to family members and made a chart with the most common relationships. Please go over the chart we created in class and watch the two videos below.

During the second half of the class we will make some traditional frutas de mazapán (marzipan figurine candies shaped like fruits), a traditional dessert that many in Spain enjoy to celebrate the holidays. We will be using a commercial confection. List of ingredients: sugar, blanched almonds, water, sorbitol, corn syrup, potassium sorbate (preservative) and food coloring.


VIDEO: mijahgi: - La familia

In this video you will hear Este/esta es mi papá/mamá (This is my dad/mom) or Estos/Ellos son mis abuelos (These/They are my grandparents)





VIDEO: FluencyProf - La Familia: Basic Spanish Lesson

This video is a little bit more involved than the one above so please watch it a couple of times. Some longer sentences; much of it already covered in class.



See you at the winter festival and in class.

¿Qué fecha es hoy?

Today in intro Spanish we learned about the days (día) of the week (semana), the months (meses) of the year (año) and how to write a date (fecha): number + de + month

Tuesday, December 2nd = martes, 2 de diciembre.

Next week we will reinforce what we learned today. Please, in preparation for class, watch the three videos below to practice how to better pronounce the days, the months, AND the seasons (las estaciones).

Also, please take a look at pages 16 and 87 in our book. Thanks and see you on Tuesday (Hasta el martes)!


VIDEO: Mahalodotcom- How to say the Days of the Week in Spanish




VIDEO: Mahalo- How to say the Months of the Year in Spanish




VIDEO: Mahalodotcom - How to say the Seasons in Spanish

Today in Intermediate Spanish we practiced our present tense conjugations.  We also started learning about the Inca. I was impressed to see that some of you had gone to the library and done research on the Maya and the Aztec. We also talked about Tintin :)

Please watch these two links in preparation for class: The Inca Empire 1 and The Inca Empire 2.

Also, if you could, after watching the English version, please watch the Spanish version of the Time Compass (Exploradores de la Historia) and see if you can recognized any words or expressions. (It will take you an extra 14 minutes, but you may find it interesting as an exercise, even if you only recognize a few words).



VIDEO: Exploradores de la Historia - Imperio Inca

Me gusta el chocolate. Yo quiero chocolate

Intro Spanish:

Today we continued practicing how to express likes and dislikes in Spanish. We also started learning about the verb to want (querer). Next week we will learn how to say dates (las fechas) in Spanish: days of the week (page 14) and months (page 15)

Also, please review your numbers from 1-30 (page 9) and watch the video below in preparation for class (you only need to learn to 30 (treinta) but since numbers after that are quite easy and mechanical to learn, go ahead and see if you can reach 40 (cuarenta) or even 50 (cincuenta):

treinta y uno, treinta y dos.....
cuarenta y uno, cuarenta y dos.... cincuenta

Do not worry if you cannot learn all the numbers, we will go over them in class little by little.

VIDEO: Rockalingua: Numbers in Spanish

Intermediate Spanish:

Today we learned about the Aztecs, the main political power in Mesoamerica at the time the first Europeans arrived to the continent.

We also practiced our subject pronouns with regular verbs in the present tense. Next day in class we are going to continue working on our present tense AR ending verbs.

Please go over pages 35-37 in your book and watch the two videos below in preparation for class:


VIDEO: Christy Land - Conjugating AR verbs -Present tense.



VIDEO: Sr. Keldsen - O, As, A, Amos, An

Me gustan los aztecas

Intro to Spanish:

Today we practiced Me gusta and no me gusta in class. Please have your students go over pages 17--20 in their books. Remember that gusta becomes gustan when referring to more than one think being liked: eg. Me gusta el perro (I like the dog) vs. Me gustan los perros (I like dogs). Also please complete watching the video we started in class, with Tina, fruits and juice.


VIDEO: Spanish for kids - me gusta no me gusta



Intermediate Spanish:

Today we learned about the Maya in our class and took a look at a facsimile of the Dresden Codex (a 12th century pre-Columbian Maya book). Please in preparation for next class watch the video below and think of the similarities and differences between the Maya and the Aztecs. Aslo, go over the personal pronouns in  pages 22 and 23 of your book (and yes, you will have to learn the vosotros, vosotras informal plural second person (think y'all, if that helps).

VIDEO: Brain POP: The Aztecs

Me gusta: I like

Poor piñata...

Today we built some Mexican paper flowers (our older group served as guinea pigs, as we practiced with them ahead of the younger ones). Some turned out beautiful and several students took extra supplies to make some more at home. Those of you who could not make it to class today do not worry, your pals made some additional ones for you :) See you next week, J and J!

Oh, I almost forgot, we also whacked three piñatas today (I felt sorry for the piñatas, those kids meant to hit them! Just see above)

Next week we will resume with grammar. Please go over the video below to learn how to say I like and I do not like in Spanish (This videos is a favorite of my classes every year so I hope you enjoy it).

VIDEO: Sesame Street: No me gusta/ Me gusta

That is a lot of layers. Good work!

Looks nice on a braid.

He looks fabulous...

Nice big flower

Pulling the petals up

Another beautiful yellow flower

Papel picado and cempasúchil flowers

Paper cempasúchil

Today we worked on decorating our skulls and set them in an "altar". Our "sugar glue" worked out quite well, I thought, and most of the cracked skulls got mended handsomely. Give them time to dry and they may stay whole for a long time. I saw lots of wonderful work.

Enjoy the picture below and watch the video on how to make "papel picado", one of our two projects for our next class.

Our other project will consist on making paper flowers similar to the cempasúchil, or flor de muertos ("flower of the dead"), depicted to the left. These flowers are named like that in Mexico because they are traditionally used during All Saints' Day, the day most families in the Hispanic world visit their cemeteries with flower arrengements.

Our skulls on display.

VIDEO: Happythought- How to make papel picado calaveras: Sugar skull decorations to make for Día de los Muertos!

Baking our "calaveras"

Today we built some "calaveras"  or "calacas" (skulls) with sugar, corn starch,  and vanilla extract (we used some lemon in our morning class). I have them in the oven drying as we speak and I will bring them to class on Tuesday for you to decorate. Some have cracked, but do not worry, we will fix them in class with "glue" (sugar paste) and I will make some extra ones in case you want to decorate those too.

Please check this link and this link for some ideas from last year.

Also, take a look at the two videos below and see you on Tuesday (¡Hasta el martes!)


VIDEO: Day of the Dead - Calaca Face Painting.




VIDEO: How to make a Mexican paper flower for Day of the dead.