Sra. García’s Spanish Class
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September 2014
Dear parents,
Welcome to a new school year and to Spanish class! This
year promises to be an exciting one, filled with new learning
experiences and challenges. I am very happy to be part of
one of those new challenges, the introduction of the Foreign
Languages in Elementary School (FLES) Spanish program
at Tuckahoe. My goal is to provide the tools to understand
and communicate with others in basic Spanish for all of my
students who have no prior experience with the language
and to increase the level of proficiency of those who have
either previous knowledge or are heritage speakers.
As many of you probably know, although our FLES students
are not assigned homework or formal tests, the class entails
a grade, as all other ‘specials’ do. Grading is mostly based
on classroom performance, which includes class participation, effort, and progress. The students will complete periodic assessments that, even though have no bearing on their
grades, are a very important component of the curriculum.
These will allow us to assess whether students have mastered a concept we have been studying, need more support,
or are ready to move on to the next unit. They will also guide
instruction and whether we need to make modifications or
differentiations.
Several students have asked me if I could prepare a study
guide for them, and I promised I would. These study guides
are not meant to prepare them for tests but to help them
review what we have discussed in class and ask questions if
they have any. Other students have even requested homework, which was pleasantly surprising! We agreed that I
would prepare “voluntary” homework for those who wanted
to review. I have been planning several classroom activities
(including games, artwork, a student blog, and even
“fieldtrips” in the school grounds) which I hope are a fun way
to enhance the learning experience.
I encourage you to contact me should you have any questions or concerns, or just to say hello! You can reach me via
email at [email protected] or by sending me a note with
your children. I make every effort to return messages within
24 hours.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working with your
children!
Sra. García
What we’ve learned:

Greetings (hola, buenos días/tardes/noches, hasta luego, adiós)

How are you? (¿cómo estás? bien, muy bien, así así, mal, muy mal)

How do you feel? (¿cómo estás/te sientes? triste, feliz, enojado,
sorprendido, cansado)

What is your name? (¿cómo te llamas? me llamo______)

Commands (siéntense, párense, levanten la mano, cojan el lápiz,
suelten el lápiz, escriban su nombre, dibujen una flor)

Ask permission (puedo ir al baño, puedo tomar agua)
Hope I get the
chance to meet
you all during
Back-to-School
Night!