Bueno Amigo y Buena Amiga

The phrase-of-the-week for March 21 is:

Bueno Amigo/Buena Amiga

Good Friend

Click to hear how to pronounce: amigo or amiga.

This is a great opportunity to explain that in Spanish nouns (a person, place, or thing, such as "friend") can be masculine or feminine. Usually, masculine nouns end in the letter -o (amigo) and feminine nouns end in the letter -a (amiga). The adjective (descriptive word) takes on the masculine or feminine nature of the noun (bueno amigo; buena amiga).

Most nouns are either masculine or feminine. But when we're talking about our friends who might be a boy or a girl, the word amigo/a can be either, depending on whom we're talking about. A good friend who is a girl is a buena amiga. A good friend who is a boy is a bueno amigo.

Phew! It seems like a lot of work to an adult, but to children who hear the Spanish language spoken early in their lives, it's easy. So encourage your Claxton student to get the hang of it now. Maybe by singing along with one of these videos:

Llego la Primavera (Spring Is Here)

Did you know Ms. Brown, our wonderful new librarian and media coordinator, supports Spanish Integration by reading and discussing bilingual books when grades K and 1 visit the library?

This week, she's been reading Llego la Primavera (Spring Is Here) by Taro Gomi.

Here's what she has to say about her choice of this book and how she's using it to involve students in Spanish learning:

I selected this sweet little bilingual book because we have been reading books with a springtime theme during our read-alouds in March. This book offers simple sentence structure and great vocabulary that the kids practice saying with me. The students also follow along by reading the English translation of each page out loud. On some pages, we examine individual words, like "mundo" for earth. Because the book offers simple sentences of three or four words each, we notice how the structure of the sentences in Spanish are not always the same as the structure of the sentence in English. In English, sentences are most often constructed with the noun preceding the verb. This is often the reverse in Spanish with the verb coming first. I've enjoyed integrating Spanish into library storytime and hope you all are having a wonderful start to your 'primavera'! 

Buen trabajo!

The phrase-of-the-week for March 14 is:

Buen trabajo!

Good work!

For pronunciation, click here.

This is a great phrase to use to praise your Claxton student for his or her buen trabajo with the new Spanish integration!

Another way to have fun and celebrate ...

Dancing and singing in Spanish with Beyonce!

Spanish Integration and a Student LEAF Performance!

We are excited to announce that this year's LEAF Schools & Streets residency at Claxton will unite arts integration with our new Spanish integration program.

Fifth graders will perform at this spring's LEAF with Chilean musical artist Nano Stern. Described in the LEAF catalogue as "a voice for his generation," Stern is influenced by Chilean music, indigenous African and European techniques, and classical and jazz elements. "Nano will bring to students a style that oscillates between personal and political, that utilizes music as both a meditative tool and a language of its own."

In the week leading up to spring LEAF, Stern will come to Claxton for a three-day residency with the fifth grade classes. All fifth graders are invited to perform with him at LEAF on Saturday, May 14th at 10:00 a.m. at Eden Hall. Mark your calendars now!

Many thanks to LEAF Schools & Streets and to our own Claxton PTO for funding this residency!

Here's a sample of Nano Stern performing:

Buenas Tardes!

This week's phrase-of-the-week is:

buenas tardes

good afternoon

For help with pronunciation, click here.

Keep singing! 

Happy Español el Jueves!

It's Español el Jueves, or Spanish on Thursday at Claxton!

Students will be taking brain breaks in Spanish today, and everyone who chooses the "listen to reading" option during Daily 5 gets to listen to a Spanish or bilingual book.

It's easy to listen to Spanish or bilingual books on MyOn, the electronic library to which all Claxton students have access. And it's a great way for young brains to soak up the Spanish language.

The screenshot below shows how to access Spanish and bilingual books on MyOn so your child can do this any time at home!