Summer Packet 2024

PREVIOUS YEARS: Link to ALL SUMMER PACKETS!

My Dear Friends, Fellow Linguists, and Citizens of the World:

Much like the image above, there can be an air of mystery surrounding the subject matter I teach. There is actually a reason for this intangible, nebulous aura: you might not be able to see the whole picture. You see, when someone asks what we do in Spanish class, I like to remind them that “learning Spanish” includes a lot of things: first, there is reading, writing, listening, and speaking the language; then, there is the food, sports, music, art, and traditions of a culture; and third, “Spanish” isn’t simply one culture–it is the culture(s) of 21 Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish encompasses a lot!

In my classroom, we tap into these categories from all different angles and perspectives. This summer, pick a category you would like to work on each day, week, or month. Use the links below to guide you.

Language

READ
- Visit the foreign language children’s section of your local library. Find books in Spanish and look for any words you know or can guess what they might mean.
- Are you watching a movie with your family? Turn on the Spanish subtitles or closed captioning (“CC”), and pause the video every once in a while to see if you know any words.
- Work on the Duolingo app. Log in with your school account so that you get credit for any lessons you complete over the summer.
- Try the Spanish Wordle. Visit this page to spell some of the wall word signs that students are used to seeing in my classroom.
- To read along with fairy tales in Spanish and English, click HERE.
WRITE
- Instead of a pen or pencil, choose a unique medium–spaghetti, dot markers, fingerpaint, PlayDoh, etc.–to practice spelling words or sentences in Spanish.
- But maestra, I like writing in pencil! Great! Try journaling in Spanish. Write a word a day. Or track the weather in Spanish.
  - WEATHER VOCAB: hace frío (it’s cold); hace calor (it’s hot); hace mucho calor (it’s really hot); está nevando (it’s snowing); está lloviendo (it’s raining); está nublado (it’s cloudy); hace viento (it’s windy); hay una tormenta (there’s a storm).
  - FUN FACT: Did you know that Pablo Picasso’s first word as a baby was lápiz (or pencil)? He spoke Spanish!
- Make a Spanish graffiti wall of all the words you are learning. Find a good place in your house for this (or with chalk outside on the sidewalk).
LISTEN
- Listen to music in Spanish! The Spanish Song Playlists are on each grade level page linked below. For even more music, click HERE.
  - PK Spanish (PK3 & PK4)
  - K Spanish (Kindergarten)
  - 1 Spanish (First Grade)
  - 2 Spanish (Second Grade)
  - 3 Spanish (Third Grade)
  - 4 Spanish (Fourth Grade)
- Play the Ear Training Game (and guess the language!). We play this mostly in third and fourth grade, and it is a great challenge.
- Watch Movies & Cartoons in Spanish. Pick a series you enjoy in English and watch in Spanish instead. For example, Bluey is a favorite among many.
- Visit my new YouTube channel to see if I’ve posted a video about Pato (#SummerProject). Subscribe for notifications.
SPEAK
- Go to a Spanish-speaking restaurant and ask the waiter how to order. Please don’t assume your child knows something or pressure them into speaking–rather, encourage them by learning together and being vulnerable yourself. Speaking another language takes a lot of courage.
  - NOTE: Personality and confidence play a large role here. I have some students who understand every word I say, but rarely produce any Spanish in class, and I have others who cannonball into the language and will try to say anything and everything, even when they don’t understand. It varies significantly from child to child.
- Talk to yourself in Spanish. Hang post-it notes around your house with labels or phrases you know, and say those words whenever you are in said room. Visit this page for a few ideas to get you started.

Culture

FOOD, SPORTS, MUSIC, ART, TRADITIONS
- Try a new food, meal, or recipe you haven’t before. I like pairing a radio station with a meal (esp. with radio.garden — all of the green dots are cities, and you click on one to hear a radio station from that country). For example, if you are making spaghetti, tune in to Italy. If you are eating empanadas, tune in to Argentina.
- Play soccer/fútbol or learn about Chapitas (Venezuela); pick a route and then go hiking (Spain); build with or play dominoes (Dominican Republic).
- Fill your summer with Music & Songs!
- Do a culture-based art project:
  - Colorful Town (Colombia)– create your own colorful town!
  - Rainbow Mountain (Peru)– paint!
  - El Prado (Spain)– make your own Spanish museum!
  - Sawdust Carpets (Guatemala)– use chalk to fill your driveway or sidewalk with beautiful designs!
- Read about interesting Traditions & Holidays.
21 SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
- Click on the Culture Guide images below to learn something new!
- Look for names of Spanish-speaking countries on tags and labels of items around your house and at the store. Chart HERE.
- Look at world maps. Plan a trip somewhere!

This year’s packet is short and sweet because there are already so many resources on my site. Feel free to spend some time exploring! For instance, if you would like weekly tasks or challenges, click HERE. If you want to read more, check out Summer Packets from other years. And if you were curious, the ‘mysterious’ image at the top of this page is from Viñales, Cuba. Have an amazing summer, and see you in the fall!

Gracias,

-Your Resident Linguist❤️