Why should students learn a second language?
- Less than
9% of the world's population speaks English as a first language (The
Journal Science, February, 2004)
- South Carolina exported
goods to 188 nations in 2003, generating more than $11.8 billion for
South Carolina's economy (S.C. Department of Commerce)
- Over
39 languages other than English are spoken by residents of our state,
according to the most recent census results (www.mla.org/census_main)
- South
Carolina has the second highest percentage of citizens working for
internationally owned companies, second only to Hawaii (S.C. Department
of Commerce)
Special activities at St. Paul School
- Seventh and eighth grades participate in the National Spanish Exam, which will be given at St. Paul in the spring. Students are encouraged to practice online at the NSE site.
- St. Paul participates in the Annual Foreign Language Declamation at Clemson University each year. Our eighth students are typically the youngest to participate and have won many medals over the years.
- St. Paul has a charter for its own chapter of
La Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad, a Spanish society for
elementary and middle school students that is a division of the AATSP
(American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese). Our
chapter is called Misión Nombre de Dios after the first mission
in the U.S.(St. Augustine, our first permanent establishment, was founded
by the Spaniards in 1565. The first Mass was celebrated there.
Visit the Tropical Rainforest.
The 4th grade focused on the Tropical
Rainforest in Spanish and Art Classes in 2005-2006 with the aid of a grant
from the diocese. Other grades also contributed to the project. All students toured the "Rainforest".
I thought this was funny. Find out what else is happening in SC in the field of foreign languages.
Grade Specific Ativities
K4 Students in K4 learn shapes and colors. They also learn to follow directions in
Spanish. "Siéntate" (Sit down), "Levántense" (Stand
up), "Ven aquí" (Come here), "Silencio" (Quiet), and
"Escúchen" (Listen) are some of our main directions. We
sing songs with greetings and farewells.
K5 Students
in K5 learn the alphabet. We practice reading the vocabulary
words that start with the letter of the week.
1st Students
in 1st grade learn to read and write their days of the week and months of the year.
We count, say the alphabet, and name numbers out of sequence. We
continue to work on following directions in Spanish with instructions
such as "Pongan sus libros en sus carpetas rojas" (Put your books in
your red folders) or "Escriban sus nombres" (Write your names) or
"Saquen los lápices" (Take out your pencils).
2nd
Students in 2nd grade plant seeds and a rooted plant as part of an
extension of their study in Science. We observe their
growth (counting leaves each week) and continue to talk about the parts
of the plant and needs that they have (agua, tierra, y luz del sol).
3rd Third
grade students learn how to express the different times of
day (mañana, tarde, noche) and some of the routines we follow.
4th Fourth
grade students learn about animals. We use the world
map to identify the continents where they live, we talk about
what they eat (carne/meat or plantas/plants), we describe them by
color (gris, café , o amarillo) and size (grande o pequeño),
and we have compared their habitats (el desierto, las montañas,
etc.). We still sing and review basic vocabulary, and as always,
understanding and following directions is an important part of
interpretive language.
5th Students
in the fifth grade participate in a unit study of the weather, seasons, and clothing. We improve our geographical knowledge as we discuss climate
variations and seasons as they relate to the equator.
6th Sixth
grade students travel to K4 to read their set of handmade color books
with them. Who enjoys it more would be difficult to say.
Students begin a more formal study of Spanish grammar by learning
the conjugation patterns of regular verbs. They get used to more written work and to following a text (Converso Mucho),
but they still have many opportunities for oral practice, both
listening and responding.
7th
Seventh grade students enjoy a fruit breakfast as part of their unit on fruits. We sample many fruits that are less commonin
the U.S. The students learn el Ave María (the
Hail Mary), la Gloria a la Santa Trinidad (the Glory Be), El Padre
Nuestro (the Our Father), and El Credo Apostólico (the Apostles
Creed) and the
Pledge
of Allegiance. We will say the Rosary in Spanish by
the end of the year.
8thEighth
grade makes slide shows about different Spanish speaking
countries. Students are strongly encouraged to conduct all
class business in Spanish.
