¡Bienvenidos a la clase de Señora Searls!

Cinco de Mayo Webquest

Parents & Students:

We are in 3rd quarter and moving right along!

The biggest announcement I would like to make is a reminder about proficiency.

Upper Arlington’s Global Language Department is proficiency-based. Students must be proficient (able to use the language proficiently) in 4 skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

For the purposes of giving students a numerical grade, “proficient” = 80% in the global language department. An 80% is a B-.

Any student who is not proficient in one or more skills by the end of the school year will not be promoted to the next level of language study. Furthermore, students who do not attain proficiency will not be awarded credit for their current level of language study.

This means a few things. It is possible that:
-A student may have what is traditionally considered a “passing” average – a B, for example, but not be proficient (perhaps they struggle with listening and have a 78% in this skill area) in one or more areas and that student would not be awarded credit for the current level of language study and would not be permitted to continue on to the next level.
-Conversely, a student may have a very low average (perhaps a C- or D) due to a lack of turning in homework and/or fairing poorly on pop quizzes, etc. Yet, if this student can demonstrate proficiency in all four skill areas on exams, this student will be awarded credit and be permitted to go on to the next level of language study.

It is very important that students and parents alike understand this policy and address any questions or concerns with me prior to the end of the school year. The sooner these concerns are noted, the more likely it is that we can intervene, address them, and attempt to reach proficiency.

If this is left to too late in the year, our options become more limited and, left too late, a student who is not proficient by the end of the year will need to choose an alternate route to attain credit (for example, retaking the course next year or going to summer school).

Again, please please please contact me with questions or concerns. I am very willing to work with students who are motivated to get to the required proficiency level. I am reachable via e-mail at bsearls (at) uaschools (dot) org or srasearls (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to the rest of 3rd and 4th quarter together!

Parents and Students:

Just a reminder that Students will be writing their Ch. 3 written tests on Tuesday of this week. The topic will be daily life, including morning and evening routine, daily chores and hobbies, and several key grammar points (reflexive verbs, direct object pronouns, complaining in Spanish, etc.)

Good luck and study hard!

Please be aware that because it is the very beginning of the year and there are only a few grades, the final grade that is shown on PowerSchool is not necessarily accurate of how your student is performing in class. Speaking, reading, listening, and writing assessments are most important. Until we have completed assessments in all of these skills, grades will be weighted strangely.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

María Introduces Herself

This week, you will have online listening homework! Visit the link above (if it doesn’t work, here it is to copy and paste into a web browser: http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/cgi/i/image/getimage-idx?viewid=MARIAAINTRO.MOV;cc=forglv;entryid=x-mariaaintro;view=image

You will watch a video of a native Spaniard introduce herself to you. Watch the video as many times as necessary to answer the questions on your worksheet-I will collect this worksheet for a listening grade FRIDAY in class.This should help you prepare for your listening assessment for Chapter 1, which will also be this Wednesday.

Happy Listening!(Remember to check the HW calendar for due dates!)  

¡Hola!

Today you will be completing a Web Quest that will introduce you to Spain (España). Every 2 chapters, our textbook will focus on a different Spanish-speaking country. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on Spain, and today you’ll learn more about Spain using the Web. To begin the Web Quest, follow these directions:

1. Scroll down, hold “T” and click on the first lilnk on the right called Holt Activities Level 1. It should open the website in a new tab
2. Once this page opens, click on the top link, España
3. On the next page, click España again (under the Spain heading).
4. On the next page, look for the heading Actividades Internet (internet activities) and below this heading, click on Spain once more.
5. Now you are at the site that provides you with the links needed to complete the web quest. Note that they are labelled with with headings that match those on your worksheet (Antes de navegar, En línea, and Después de Navegar)

Be sure to work on Spanish and ONLY Spanish during this time or you will lose computer priveleges in this class! You will turn in your web quest for a grade so read instructions carefully and ask questions if you have them!

If you finish eary, quiz yourself on CH. 1 Concepts using this link: Ch. 1 Activities (Link may work better in FireFox)

¡Hola!

Today you will be completing a Web Quest that will introduce you to Andalucía, España. This is a region of Spain, and it is the location on which Chapters 1 and 2 will be based. To begin the Web Quest, follow these directions:

1. Scroll down, hold “T” and click on the lilnk on the right called Holt Activities Level 2. It should open the website in a new tab
2. Once this page opens, click on the top link, Andalucía
3. On the next page, click Andalucíaagain.
4. On the next page, look for the heading Actividades Internet and below this heading, click on Andalucía once more.
5. Now you are at the site that provides you with the links needed to complete the web quest. Note that they are labelled with with headings that match those on your worksheet (Antes de navegar, En línea, and Después de Navegar)

Be sure to work on Spanish and ONLY Spanish during this time or you will lose computer priveleges in this class! You will turn in your web quest for a grade so read instructions carefully and ask questions if you have them!

If you finish early, quiz yourself on Ch. 1 Vocab and Grammar using this link: Ch. 1 Activities (The link may work better in Firefox)

Welcome back to school and a very warm welcome to Spanish class!!

Check out the video below for a little preview of all that one man was able to say in Spanish after one semester of study!

(For BI students, this should be review (you already know more than him!) and for novice students-not to worry-you will learn much, much more than what you see in the video this year!)

Enjoy!!

One Semester of Spanish Love Song

Parents and Students-

We have reached the end of our first grading period in Spanish Class! Students have completed the first two chapters of study, on the topics of “My friends and I” and “A Trip Abroad.”

In chapter one, students reviewed how to make introductions of themselves and others, and they learned MANY new adjectives to describe both their physical appearances an their personalities. They also mastered several phrases used to discuss likes and dislikes in Spanish.

In chapter two, students learned how to talk about how they feel (emotions and health), learned how to use the past tense to talk about things that have already happened, and finally learned many new pieces of language that enable them to make suggestions and respond to them in the language as well as ask for and give advice/directions. (So, they could do so if you were to drop them in Mexico and they were lost!)

One of my (and I hope students’) favorite parts of this first marking period has been the chance to explore where they might choose to live if they had the opportunity to go abroad for a year. Students are in the process currently of researching different cities across the globe in preparation for presenting information about these places, in Spanish, to their peers and myself in class this week. Some students will be making a powerpoint to accompany this presentation while others may choose to create a poster as an accompanying visual.

Students have worked hard this first marking period which has shown in many scores. If any student is experiencing difficulty, it is of utmost importance to communicate that to me as soon as possible so that we can provide intervention now before the student is overwhelmed.

It is important to note that the first two chapters serve as a review of previously learned concepts, so, from Ch. 3 onward, students will be learning more new, complex information and will want to be ready for that increased challenge as we move forward. There are many options for students who find themselves overwhelmed. Please don’t hesitate to contact me in person, via phone, or via e-mail with concerns or questions.

In closing, parents-students will be bringing home their first period grade this week (Tuesday) and will need to return it with a parent signature. Please look over your child’s grade with him or her and write any questions or concerns you have on the sheet, along with your signature, and return it to class with your child on Wednesday.

Thank you for a wonderful first semester-Students-keep up the good work as we make our way into 2nd semester- we’ll be at the midterm before you know it!

¡Hola y bienvenidos!

Welcome to 2nd semester Spanish BI. My name is Señora Searls and I will be your teacher for Spanish, level 2, for the next 4 months! This website is intended to function as a tool to keep us all on the same page. It is also a way for me to communicate with you, my students, and your parents, during the week, outside of class.

This site serves as a place for me to send out newsletters and updates on what we are doing in class. It also hosts a homework calendar for those of you who are perhaps a bit organizationally challenged!

To access this calendar, go to the “Extra” section on the right-side banner and click on the link labelled “Homework calendar.” This will send you to a google calendar which I will update once or more weekly with our current assignments, upcoming quizzes/tests, and important due dates. If ever you forget to write down the homework in class, be sure to check the homework calendar so that you can stay on track and get things turned in on time.

To close, let me just say how pleased I am that you’re in my class and how excited I am to get to work with you, speaking and learning Spanish, this semester! Please do not hesitate to contact me via comments on this site, an e-mail, or phone, with any concerns or questions. I believe in open and honest communication and will strive to do my best to answer any questions you may have and to allay your concerns!

¡Hasta Luego!