Spanish students have the writing portion of their NYS Final exam on Thursday, during class. This portion is worth 10 points out of the 100 for the Final Exam. We are practicing this week in class.
Monday, June 18, Spanish students will take the listening and reading portions of the Spanish Final (75 points out of 100).
The remaining 15 points for speaking Spanish will conclude on Friday.
Students are encouraged to keep studying, although it is challenging.
Sr. McGrath Spanish 8 June 4-8
Study vocab and remember your speaking appointment (see Spanish Google classroom)
Speaking portion of final exam, this week (15% of final exam) Writing portion of final exam, next week (10% of final exam) Listening and Reading portions on June 18th (75% of final exam)
Areas to study: --topical vocabulary (vocab packet) -- interrogative words -- easy and common expressions -- common questions (contents page 2)
Use Google Classroom for resources.
May 29 -- June 1
Spanish -- 8th grade -- Sr. McGrath
Students will continue reviewing vocabulary from 6th, 7th and 8th grade in preparation for the NYS Proficiency Test, which is also their final exam in 8th grade. A Vocab review packet has been distributed and are also available through Google Classroom. The Listening, Reading, and Writing portions of the test are taken on Monday, June 18th. The Speaking portions of the test will be administered before the 18th. There is an informal speaking portion (assessed daily in the classroom until the 18th) which is worth 5 out of 100 points. Then there is a one to one (student - teacher) formal speaking portion which will be worth 10 out of 100 points. Appointments for the formal speaking task will be made for either June 5 or 6. Students are encouraged to practice their speaking in class by participation, initiating conversations, and asking questions in Spanish. Passing the NYS Proficiency Test (8th grade Final Exam) with a 65 or higher awards High School credit to the student. It will also count toward their overall grade in Spanish for their 8th grade year.
Week of May 21 -- 25 La clase española de Sr. McGrath
Students will be doing an important writing on a childhood celebration or tradition. This will be a test grade. The grading and instructions have been discussed with all students. Students will also be given a hard copy of a review packet that summarizes all 3 years of Spanish language study here at the middle school. This will be an important document to prepare for the NYS final, given at the end of the year.
Spanish 8 Sr. McGrath
May 14 - May 18
This week students will continue preparation and practice for the upcoming summative written assessment. The summative assessment has been delayed until next week, May 22 and 23. Students will be generating word lists. They will be translating sentences from English to Spanish that are appropriate to our topic of Celebrations and Traditions. The will also prepare by reading in Spanish, and practicing some paragraph writing. Transitions words, in Spanish, are the new vocabulary being studied this week. Grades on classwork will be given. See resources in Google Classroom.
Spanish 8 Sr. McGrath
May 7 - May 11
This week Spanish students will be taking a Visual Presentation test. They will watch a video of a Spanish celebration, and then answer questions based on what they heard and saw. This will be on Thursday. A small quanitity of words will be supplied to the student ahead of time, otherwise a review of the interrogative words and celebration vocabulary might help for this assessment. We also continue to prepare for an important writing assessment. Students will be writing about a celebration or tradition in their past. Both past tenses should be used appropriately: The Preterite and Imperfect. For this assessment, students should review the formation of these tenses (contents pages 4,5, and 9), and review and revise their practice writings done in class.
See resources in Google Classroom
Eighth grade Spanish -- Sr. McGrath
April 30 - May 4
Students will continue working with the two past tenses: the Preterite and the Imperfect. These tenses will be used in an important summative writing assessment that will occur in about two weeks. Students will be writing about a tradition or celebration of their childhood. Further students will need to be familiar with certain expressions that prompt either the use of the Preterite or Imperfect tense. There will be a quiz on these expressions, and the formation of the Preterite and Imperfect tenses on Friday.
Students will practice writing sentences using the preterite and imperfect past tenses. Together these sentences will tell a story. Students will recreate their story by answering questions on Thursday or Friday for a classwork grade. See Google Classroom for additional resources.
April 9 - 13
Students will be studying the two important content pages, number 8 and 9. Number 8 is clothing vocabulary, and number 9 is on the Imperfect tense. There will be a quiz on some expressions on number 9: expressions used with the Imperfect, and expressions used with the Preterite. All students will take the quiz on Friday, but they can decide to keep or drop the grade that they earn. cont_8__la_ropa.docx
Students will continue studying vocabulary associated with the Unit: Celebrations and Traditions. Grammar study will continue with the Imperfect tense. One new grammar topic will be "signal words", that is words and phrases that indicate the use of the preterite OR the Imperfect tense. A quiz on Contents page 7b will be on Friday.
Please check Google classroom for any additional resources.
March 26,27,28,29 2018 Spanish 8
Students will receive a hard copy of the vocabulary important to their new unit of study (Celebrations and Traditions). Most of this vocabulary has been learned before, but still requires review and study to become part of the students working vocabulary. A quiz on the first side of this vocabulary page will be given on Thursday. See google classroom for additional resources.
This week the third trimester begins. We will also begin a new unit of study entitled: Celebrations and Traditions. Vocabulary will focus on this topic, with much vocabulary having been previously introduced in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. The grammar focus will be new: The Imperfect tense. This tense, along with the Preterite tense, will allow students to write about their past experiences. A small quiz on interrogative, and common questions will be given on Friday (review).
March 12 - March 16
Spanish students will be taking a MYP summative assessment on Friday. They will view a video in Spanish, and then answer questions. This activity will culminate the Travel Unit, and also mark the end of the 2nd trimester at the Middle School. We will soon begin the unit of study called Celebrations and Traditions.
March 5 - March 8
On Tuesday (Mar. 6) students will fill in a map with Spanish Speaking Country names (spelled correctly in Spanish). On Wednesday and Thursday, Students will do important classwork for a grade. The classwork simulates they NYS Proficiency Test, that students will take as a Final at the end of the year. The topic will be limited to travel. Check Google classroom for resources.
Related to our Travel Unit, students will be reviewing Spanish Speaking countries. Students should be familiar with the maps and correct spellings regarding these countries. Capitals will be reviewed. Quiz on Friday, March 2.
MCGRATH SPANISH 8 Feb 12 - Feb 16
Students continue practice with the preterite tense, focusing on a worksheet requiring conjugation and translation. A small quiz taken from the worksheet will be given on Friday. An assignment from the SR WOOLY website will also be due Friday. Students will be given class time for these activities, but some work outside of class may be necessary for completion and/or a high level grade. Please see links below, or Google classroom.
Tuesday and Wednesday (make-ups Thursday) Spanish students will be taking a summative reading assessment on the theme of travel. Students will read and then answer questions in writing to assess their comprehension. Students should review the vocabulary associated with the Travel Unit.
Jan 29 - Feb 2
Students will be working on Travel vocab from contents page 6.
They will also be preparing for a MYP summative reading assessment by studying some phrases from the reading, which are found on the back of Contents page 5
Both pages have been posted previously, and can be found in Google Classroom.
Jan. 22, 2018 (4 day week for students)
Acquiring Spanish travel vocabulary is the goal this week.
There will be a quiz on the vocabulary located on the first side of Contents page 6 (see below) on Thursday.
Students will continue Spanish studies centered around travel. Students have been given a homework sheet that will be due on Friday, in class. Some class time will be given to help its completion, and students should come to class with any questions regarding the homework. Thursday of this week there will be a quiz on the verbs listed on "Contents page 5." These verbs, given out earlier, are irregular in the preterite tense. Students should be familiar with the formation and meaning of these verbs. See documents below (also in Google Classroom).
Just in: Homework sheet has been distributed, due Thurs. See Google classroom, Jan 9 post.
Students will continue the study of the preterite tense in Spanish, with the theme of TRAVEL as the context. Students will take a quiz in Google Forms, on Monday (due to Fri cancellation). Students will also speak a small passage in Spanish at the end of the week for a quiz grade. The passage and a recording for pronunciation are attached below, and are also in Google Classroom.
Students will be introduced to a new unit of study: Travel and Transportation. Starting Jan 3, a cognate sheet as well as an additional page of irregular verbs in the preterite will be given and reviewed. A short quiz on the meanings of these verbs that are HIGHLY irregular in the preterite will be administered on Friday. These verbs include: Ser, Estar, Ir, Poner, Poder, Saber, Querer, Tener, Hacer, Dar, Ver, Andar, Producir, Traer, and Venir. see complete list below
Students of Spanish will continue the challenging task of learning the irregular forms of the preterite (past) tense. A grade will be given for an assignment that should be completed as homework, this drawing-Spanish exercise is due in class Dec. 15 (see attached below) In small groups students will be creating and performing a short restaurant skit in Spanish. Class time will be given for creation and practice. The skits will be performed in class the week of the 18th. This will be for a TEST grade. Grading rubric to follow. hw__dec_12___drawing_and_preterite_-ar__also_restaurant_skit.pdf
Students will continue the study of the Preterite Tense in Spanish, with an emphasis on -er and -ir verbs. Thursday or Friday, students will be assessed on their speaking. Most of the assessment is attached below.
Intro to the preterite tense, one of the two principal past tenses used in Spanish. Quiz on -AR verbs in the preterite tense, either Thursday or Friday.
NOTE: Eighth grade Spanish students will be taking a test on Thursday, November 9. This is our first test this year and I generally announce via email tests that are being given. Unlike the many quizzes we have taken, test grades are permanent and are only retaken with rare exception. We are currently studying food vocabulary and expressions that are common with this topic. Students who have been paying attention in class and working diligently on learning the important vocabulary will do fine on this assessment. The format of the test mimics the NYS final exam given at the end of the year, and includes listening, reading, and writing sections. Resources for students are given out in class, and are available electronically through the MS website, as well as Google classroom.
Spanish students will study the food vocabulary regarding condiments, table settings, and flavors. A quiz on these words, as well as stem-changing verbs ("boot" verbs), will take place on Thursday. The vocabulary lists are attached below.
Vocabulary Study: La comida (food), veggies and meal names and associated verbs. (see vocab pages linked previously). ALSO: interrogative words (knowing them in Spanish and knowing when to use which ones when, how, and why). ; ) Quiz on the above, Thursday or Friday.
Oct. 23 - 27 La clase de español -- octavo grado
We continue with vocabulary study, focusing on a new section of the list below: the page that includes BEBIDAS, POSTRES, OTRAS COMIDAS. Students should continue to study outside of class. Online sites include: Freerice.com, Quia.com, and StudySpanish.com. Quiz on vocab this Friday.
Oct 16 - 20
A quiz on Thursday will focus on meat and fruit vocabulary. The vocab list is attached below.
Small quizzes will occur each week and be announced at a later date.
Spanish 8 Sept 25-29
In our last week of review, students will recall verbs that are irregular in their present tense conjugations. These important verbs include: Ser, Estar, Tener, Querer, Ir, Poder, Hacer, Decir, Jugar, and Saber. Students will be given a hard copy of the document below. This document provides the material for a quiz on Friday.
In Spanish class, and possibly at home, students will be working on an autobiography . The questions that must be answered, and the grading rubric, are attached below. It will be due in handwritten form on Friday.
In addition students will review some critical verbs used commonly in Spanish, including: Ser, Estar, Necesitar, Querer, Tener, Ir, Poder, and Hacer. A quick quiz on these verbs, and the subject pronouns in Spanish, could occur later in the week.
Most students of Spanish have completed their Final Exam. Students missing portions of the exam will be making them up this week. Students will receive some additional materials that will be important for their study of Spanish next year in High School. Their first unit next year will be on the ENVIRONMENT.
Students will be given a grade for their notebooks and note-taking.
Please continue to notice and appreciate Spanish language and culture in world, country, state, town, and family.
Que tengan un verano excelente.
June 5 - 9
This week will be dedicated to the speaking, writing, and listening portions of the Spanish 8 Final Exam. The Formal Speaking will be occurring this week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The writing portion of the Exam has been moved up from the 9th to the 8th (Thursday). Students have practiced in class for both the informal and formal speaking portions of this final exam, as well as the writing, listening, and reading portions. They have been encouraged to study. Please see the attachment below for any revised Exam details.
This four day school week will have Spanish students preparing for the Spanish Final exam (the main portion is administered June 9 and 12). Attached below is a Parent letter that describes the Spanish 8 Final Exam in more detail. In addition, students will be doing a paper in class for a class participation grade.
Students will learn of the future tense in Spanish. A small quiz will take place either Thurs. or Friday on this new grammar. In addition, students will be practicing questions that will prepare them for the Final Exam in Spanish. An email detailing the importance and scope of this final exam will be distributed soon.
Students will take a make-up interrogative quiz on Wed. to try to improve the grade of a similar test taken a couple weeks ago. On Thursday, there will be a quiz on NQTIP + INFinitive, which is an important and easy way to express yourself more fully in Spanish. This formula was covered earlier in the year, and is being stressed again, with a particular focus on IR +A + INFinitive, as a construction to express what is going to happen, i.e. the future tense, which is the grammar for this professions unit.
Spanish students will receive a hard copy of the vocabulary for the unit Future Plans and Professions. An electronic copy is linked below. This vocabulary will be on a quiz this Friday. A possible addition to this quiz could be the grammatical construction of IR + A + INFINITIVE, which is one way to talk about the future in Spanish. This grammar is a review and has been taught earlier in the year, but will be very important for this unit.
Students will continue acquiring the Spanish vocabulary needed to talk about the world of work and jobs. There is a possible small quiz on the interrogative words in Spanish on Friday.
April 24 - 28
Students will determine their profession. Students will be given hard copies of vocabulary pages for this professions unit. Students will also review the interrogative words using professions/jobs as the context.
April 17 - 21
This will be the last week for this unit on Celebrations and Traditions. We will be reviewing what was covered. Next week will begin the unit titled: Professions. Students will learn names of jobs and professions, and the vocabulary needed to talk about them. The new unit will introduce the future tense in Spanish.
On Friday, April 21, students are recording some spoken Spanish for a grade. The following link will help them study.
March 27 - 31 Students prepare this week for an important writing assessment next week. Next week students will write an essay about a past celebration or tradition of their choice. This topic will allow them to demonstrate their knowledge of both the imperfect and preterite tenses in Spanish. Students must write 100 to 150 words in Spanish. At least 50 words must be written to receive a grade greater than 0. Practice this week will allow students to be more confident and less nervous about this coming assessment. Students should also review Content pages 4,5, 8, and 9.
Spanish students will continue practicing for a longer writing assessment which will take place in a couple weeks. Class notes will be important. Students are also beginning their last trimester of the school year. A grade will be given for their participation in class this week.
March 13 - 17
This week, Spanish students will be working on a translating assignment which is attached below. They will also be practicing writing about a past celebration preparation for an important grading writing that will take place in about 2 weeks.
This week of 4 days will continue study of celebrations and traditions, both in the USA and in Spanish speaking countries.
Students will take an important assessment on Wednesday. A video will be shown about a Spanish holiday. It will be in Spanish, with Spanish subtitles. Students will write down answers to questions about the video. The video will be shown twice. Specific studying for this type of assessment is difficult, because it evaluates a students cumulative acquisition of the Spanish language of the course of years. It should not be too difficult for most students. One specific area of study that would be helpful are the interrogative words in Spanish.
The second trimester ends March 20th.
Week of Feb 27 - Mar 3
Spanish students will continue studying the differences between the two main past tenses in Spanish: The Preterito and the Imperfecto.
In addition students will practice writing small paragraphs around the topic of Celebrations and Traditions. Also, a quiz will be given on Friday on words and expressions that often signal the use of the preterite tense or the imperfect tense.
Quiz Friday: On the Imperfect tense. How is it formed? What are the 3 irregular verbs in this past tense and how are they conjugated? Under what circumstances / conditions is the Imperfect tense used. Examples of this tense in simple sentences, and their English Translations will be required.
This new past tense coordinates with our new Unit: Celebrations and Traditions. Students will be able to give accounts of past experiences by using the preterite and imperfect tenses.
Students have been given access to a new website entitled: This is Language. They can do study and do work here, and in the future, at times this will be for a grade.
Week of Feb 6 through Feb 10
Students will finish their speaking evaluations. Classwork on the Clothing and Shopping unit will be graded this week and put into gradebooks. An introduction to the Imperfect Past tense will be introduced in preparation for our third unit of study: Celebrations and Traditions.
ALL Students should be ready to speak the dialogue on Friday the 3rd of Feb., remaining students will be tested on Monday, the 6th of Feb.
Week of Jan 23 - 27 2017
Our focus this week is on an important speaking evaluation about a past shopping experience. Students will speak only in Spanish, and follow a pre-given format to describe the experience. The link below is the script that we will follow. Students can sign onto Voicethread, and practice recording their voice as an important exercise in developing correct pronunciation and intonation. evaluación_oral_-_conteste_las_preguntas_en_español.docx__3_.docx
Week of Jan 16 - 20 2017
Students will continue studying in the unit: "Clothing and shopping".
Students will study the 2nd side of the vocabulary sheet (see prior posting). Students will also be given a script/template for an important MYP speaking assessment that will occur next week (the week of Jan 22).
This script is also linked below, and in Google Classroom.
Students have received addtional vocabulary for the clothing / shopping unit. This will be the main subject of Friday's quiz, along with some review of grammar and past vocabulary. vocabulario___la_ropa__contents_page_7.docx
4 day week. Students will be taking an MYP Reading summative assessment, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Aside from their basic vocabulary lists on travel, they should study the following specified vocabulary
Spanish students will be studying the 8 verbs (irregulars in the preterite), on the bottom of Contents Page 5. The link to the page is below. We are also studying Spanish readings in preparation for a MYP reading summative assessment. Students should be maintaining or increasing their Spanish vocabulary DAILY.
December 5
Students have received an important page of Grammar notes about the irregular forms of the preterite tense. It is attached here. Grammatically this is a very challenging piece in Spanish. There will be a quiz Friday concentrating on the first 12 important/common verbs on this page, as well as some review of past irregulars that we have studied. We will work hard in class, but students are encouraged to study outside of class for the best retention. contents_page_5__irreg_preterite_and_study_guide.pdf
Week of Nov 28th Before Thanksgiving recess, students were given important MYP summative assessment information. Each student will be presenting information in Spanish about a Spanish speaking country of their choice. They must answer the questions given to them with correct grammar, correct pronunciation, and with a sense of audience. This will be an important MYP test grade, that cannot be changed. Class time will be allotted, but students should also practice outside of class. Presentations will begin on Thursday, December 1
Students will continue study of the Preterite Past Tense in Spanish, which has many irregular forms... Students will also be responsible for the 2nd side of the vocabulary page for travel (Contents page 3 and 4). A Friday quiz will be on this vocabulary.
Students are studying Spanish via a new computer program called Voice Thread. An assignment using this program will be counted as a classwork grade. All students have accounts for Voice Thread, which can be accessed away from school. Students will submit recordings of their simple autobiography, receive feed back on pronunciation, and re-record their piece. Class comments on the assignment and closing question (done in Google classroom) are also part of their class participation.
Week of Oct 24
In Spanish, students will be expected to contribute to casual conversation at the beginning of each class, this is part of their participation grade, as well as their effort grade.
Students will receive a hard copy of Spanish vocabulary related to travel. They have been asked to learn (or relearn) the words on the first side of this page. There will be a quiz on Friday, with students being expected to use some of these words in simple sentences in conjunction with the preterite (past) tense.
This week's studies and quiz on Friday will focus on the Preterite tense. Specifically the -ar, -er, and -ir verbs that are regular in this tense. This will afford us an opportunity to further integrate the Spanish subject pronouns that are related to verb conjugation. Resources are available on line, by simply searching: Preterite tense and/or subject pronouns.
Señor McGrath
Assignments and topics for the week of: Oct 10, 2016
This week will include geography of Spanish speaking countries. We also will work with two verbs important in this travel unit: Viajar and Volar. A map of Spanish speaking countries will be graded.
Señor McGrath
Assignments and topics for the week of: Oct 3, 2016
Students will begin our first new unit in Spanish: Travel. Quizzes will continue on a weekly basis on current vocabulary and grammar being discussed in class. This week's quiz will be on travel cognate vocabulary, as well as verb conjugation in the present tense (review) and in the preterite/past tense for -AR verbs (new).
This will be our last week of review. We will study numbers, stem-changing (boot) verbs, differences between ser and estar, common questions, and conjugation.
On Friday, an short autobiography in Spanish will be collected and graded as a classwork / participation grade.
Los estudiantes van a repasar más. Students are going to review more.
There will be another quiz on Friday: 4 common questions, and their translations and answers; Subject Pronouns (English and Spanish); interrogative words (English and Spanish); and the important verbs represented by the acronym NQPID. Student's took the notes they need to study for this quiz on Monday, Sept. 19.