First Chapter Test

All classes will be having their first chapter tests next week.

French I- 7th grade will have theirs on October 7th.
8th grade A-day class will have the test on October 6
8th grade B-day class will have the test on October 5

Spanish I- B-day class will have the test on October 5th
A-day class will have the test on October 6th

All students have been provided with a study packet. They can also visit their class web page on quia.com for review activities.

Spanish and French Alphabet

Click here for the teachertube video of our Spanish alphabet song.


A new French alphabet song.


This video goes into detail about the French alphabet letters and pronunciation.

French "Avoir" Songs

To help you learn the conjugation of the verb "avoir".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puUFkMr_GyU&feature=related

(Watch out, it gets stuck in your head. It's a little creepy in places. The song is all in French. Attention! They say the forms and then spell them.)

French "Etre" Songs

Check it out:

Here are some videos/songs to help you learn the verb "etre" and it's conjugation.

The first one is from a Middle School French teacher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-YGqUkkcEY&p=EDD39FA26BA32209&playnext=1&index=4

From : foreignlanguagehouse.com

Then, there's one from Spongebob:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgjOpxPi9jI&feature=related

French- Questions of the Day????

Today in my French I class (3rd block,b-day)the kids explored Paris. There were a couple of things none of us were sure about. If you know the answers, please post them to my blog.Correct answers will earn students a special treat the next time they come to class.

1.Which war was ended by the Treaty of Versailles?
2.Which war was ended by the Treaty of Paris?
3. Which King of France was married to Marie Antoinette?
4. What is the longest river in France?
5. Is Chartres the home to the crown,scepter, and cape of Charlemagne?

Palabra del dia

Spanish word of the day from Pablo-Paco in my Clase Blanca; electrical outlet is "la toma de corriente".

Homework Diaries

Students need a folder,composition book, and index cards in order to complete their assignments at home. These items should travel to and from school with them.

Homework and studying are vital parts of learning. Students have homework on the nights that they have Spanish or French,and should study briefly EVERY night during the school week. I have suggested to them that they read over their vocabulary or verb conjugations in the last three minutes before falling asleep- this is all that many students need in order to improve their retention of the subject matter.

All students have recently received information on our "homework diaries". Students receive a graphic organizer that is in the form of a BINGO sheet.

Students do one activity per night (on the days they have class) and turn the sheet in after two weeks.

They will have done five activities in a row on the sheet.

They can do diagonal, up and down, or across.

It is acceptable to substitute an activity if the student is unable to do it for some reason.

All written work should be done in their composition book or spiral notebook. Students should record their work habits daily in the composition book so that they can effectively reflect on their efforts and how those efforts do or do not lead to academic success.

September 10, 2010

My students continue to thrill me this year- what a great work ethic they seem to have!They are helping each other in class and are very focused on their academic performance, but are still willing to have fun. Students in my block 1 Spanish class today did fantastic on their oral presentations and finished them all! Students in my French I class today got about half way through the presentations, and my 4th block Spanish class will be doing theirs on Wednesday the 15th.

Students should be able to do the following orally, without reading:

greet someone
say "pleased to meet you"
ask someone's name and tell their name
ask someone's age and tell their age
ask how someone feels today and answer the same question
ask someone what they are like (personality or appearance) and answer the question
say good-bye

All of these skills are part of preparing for their Oral CRES. This is the same CRES that is given to HS students. Students have to get a 60% in the class and on the CRES to get credit. The first oral CRES will be given in October, and this oral evaluation is the first assessment leading up to that CRES.

Please don't hesitate to email me with questions. nissa.quill@fcps.org.

French 1, First Block B-day

This class is my 7th grade class. Their oral test is postponed until 9/16 due to the assembly today during class.

White Class- Spanish I, Block 4 (a-day)

They did not finish with preparing their conversations in class, so their oral presentation/quiz is postponed until the 15th of September.

Labor Day

I am so thrilled with my classes this year. The students have all shown me such a high level of humor, enthusiasm, and willingness to work that I can't help but feel optimistic and energized. They have almost all been willing to help one another in class, really teaching and guiding each other to achieve their academic goals. Each class is a pleasure to work with and I hope I can make their experience with French or Spanish a valuable and memorable one.

So, on Labor Day, I thank my students for a job that I LOVE!!!

On another note, if your child needs to re-take the pre-quiz for the first set of vocabulary words and the verb "to be" (etre or ser), they should be prepared to do so in class tomorrow or Wednesday.

We have Thursday off this week- a very short week indeed.

Homework- 9/2 and 9/3

Students should study for their re-take of the parts of speech/ "to be" verb quiz. Only students who made less than 80% must re-take it, but any student wishing to re-take the quiz and improve their score may do so. This re-take will be given on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Students should have a composition book or spiral notebook to bring to class on Tuesday or Wednesay as we will begin using them at that time.

Tuesday next week will be an A-day and Wednesday will be a B-day.