| AUGUST 22: ¡Hola! This week, students in fourth grade began learning class rituals and routines. They started with a password to enter the Spanish room (dime la contraseña/ tell me the password), went to their assigned table numbers, and had a quick class meeting. Our first order of business was to discuss their primary task for the year: to memorize a play in Spanish, which they will present for the entire Lower School community. The catch? This year, the play will be performed in February (earlier than usual). Time to get to work! Fourth graders jumped into their first mini unit, focusing on expression and showing, not telling. For example, they had to “dive into a pool, be a rock, fall down dramatically, play basketball, army crawl, run in slow motion,” etc. The overarching idea was to begin thinking about stage presence and how to communicate a plot to an audience that might not speak Spanish. Every year, the play’s plot is based on the adventures of Pato (my stuffed animal duck), so naturally, he had to make an appearance. We tried to teach him some Spanish, but he came to class out of uniform and kept misinterpreting everything we said. Oh my. The principal is going to talk to him about the uniform situation (LOL). I will keep you posted. P.S. HERE is a link to the fourth grade Spanish page and playlist on my website–please bookmark for future reference. |
| AUGUST 29: ¡Hola! This week, students in fourth grade continued learning class rituals and routines. They added on to their password from last week, where one person asks and the other responds, one by one: Dime la contraseña/ Tell me the password. No me acuerdo/ I don’t remember. Later, they had an easy, “¿Qué prefieres?/what do you prefer?” question (los tenis/ sneakers OR las chanclas/ sandals, etc.), and if you didn’t answer, we dramatically said, “¡Contesta la pregunta!” (answer the question!). We continued focusing on expression and showing, not telling, and acted out short scenes individually in front of the class. Last but not least, we looked at a draft of their Spanish Play, and were coached to read between the lines. What is on stage for this scene? Do we need any props? How could we show this without translating? Gracias for another great week! HERE is a link to the fourth grade Spanish page. And for anyone looking that far ahead, the Spanish Play performance this year will be on February 4, 2026 right after Flag. |
| SEPTEMBER 5: ¡Hola! This week, as has become our Friday routine, students in fourth grade played the whisper [telephone] game to learn the new Spanish password… which was, “¿Qué dices?” (What are you saying? What do you mean?) Students began leading the, “¿Qué prefieres?/what do you prefer?” daily question en lieu of yours truly. Then, we launched into play rehearsals. Right now, we are still getting our feet wet with how to read a script and working with a draft of the play. We are fiddling with and revising parts and roles, and adding as we go. Students do have assigned lines in class, but nothing is set in stone yet, especially since we are still on page one. We practiced “interrupting on purpose” in Spanish this week — Maestra, espera, espera, espera (teacher, wait, wait, wait) — and being overly dramatic, which has been great fun! Your children are AMAZING AND HILARIOUS!! |
| SEPTEMBER 12: ¡Hola! This week, students in fourth grade learned the new password: “La contraseña es… la manzana” (the password is… apple). On Monday, fourth graders were having trouble pronouncing, “tiburón” (shark), so we listened to the Spanish version of “Baby Shark”. Now, this is a song that, personally, I can only handle listening to once a year, as the earworm never leaves your brain. EVER. This quickly became a class joke, of course, so I have been singing it all week long whenever I see fourth graders–and Coach even played it as their warm-up song in PE. It will–of necessity–make its way into our play. Don’t you worry. On Friday, fourth graders were introduced to a new scene in the play. They have been working on ‘self-starting’ during class (initiating the task of beginning rehearsals independently), and also reviewed the Floor Map from years’ prior. |
| SEPTEMBER 19: ¡Hola! This week, students in fourth grade learned the new password on Friday: “Dime la contraseña o no puedes entrar” (tell me the password or you can’t come in!). They also reviewed the Floor Map again (país/ country). However, our main focus was on introducing more scenes and characters to their play. I will send along a general synopsis once we get a little farther along. Although we are still in the beginning stages, students have been very productive. They come to class with great energy and enthusiasm! The Spanish Play performance this year will be on February 4, 2026 right after Flag. |
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