Aztecs, Birds, and Fashion Shows

January, or enero, as we say in Spanish (and no, it is not capitalized) has been very busy in our classroom.  

Kindies & Firsties

have been learning about Ancient Aztecs in conjunction with their general classroom study of                              Native Americans.   We are making little books that explain where Aztecs are from, what they ate (and still eat), and what they wore.

                          

Do you think of Aztecs as being Native Americans?  Why or why not?  

Twos, Threes, and Fours

are getting ready to put on a fashion show. (pictures, and with any luck video, coming soon).  We've had a long sequence of learning how to introduce and talk about other people followed by basic color and clothing vocabulary.  Soon, we will put this all together to introduce a partner and describe their outfit for our show.  

Fives and Sixes

Fifth and sixth graders have been studying birds... in Spanish.  We are using two science kits from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) prepared with Spanish language materials.  VINS created the kits so that their education materials would be accessible to more students.  This is the first year that they are available, and we have been able to use them at no cost in return for providing feedback on the materials.  

After learning some key bird vocabulary, students examined five nests, noting the shape or style and the construction materials used.  

     

Next, we divided into groups to read information about the habitat and migration patterns of the birds, writing a summary in English.  Finally, we are creating short multi-modal google slide presentations on our birds in Spanish.  Each presentation should include information about the nest, habitat, migration habits, and reproduction of the birds.  Students have been encouraged to include pictures, maps, videos, and even sound files of bird song if they wish.