Practicing Spanish and Hanging Out

Eighth grade students in Ms. Bravick's Spanish classes had a unique opportunity last week to practice their beginning Spanish speaking skills with another group of seventh and eighth grade students from Hillsborough, NJ.  Using Google Hangouts via Chromebooks, students were able to meet in small groups and have a conversation related to what they have been learning in class this year.  As beginning speakers, students went back and forth asking one another questions about, for example, their favorite hobbies, sports, classes in school, and the make-up of their families.

Students were surprised at how well they could understand the Spanish spoken by their peers and how well they were able to translate their own thoughts.  Some students even mentioned that they were able to pick up some new vocabulary.  

Ultimately, this experience offered our students the chance to gain some confidence in their Spanish speaking abilities while at the same time providing the opportunity for them to meet students from another part of the country.  We look forward to future connections with our new friends in Hillsborough as well as connecting with other schools from native Spanish speaking countries who are interested joining in a Spanish-English language exchange.

Spanish Language Practice Using Photostory

Sixth-graders in Mrs. Hurst's Spanish classes used Photostory3 to illustrate and share information about themselves using the Spanish that they learned during the first semester. To complete the project, students had to write 13 facts about themselves in Spanish and then add audio to five slides of their choice. Students really enjoyed sharing the Spanish that they learned while also creating a rich multimedia project about themselves.  See some examples of their final products below.