February has been all about family!  We learned a new song in Spanish that has been a huge hit with the kiddos.  Many students already knew the song in English but luckily for us there is a Spanish version of "Baby Shark" (Bebé Tiburón).  Besides "Bebé Tiburón" we sang a traditional song called "Familia Dedo".  We then acted out the song with finger puppets.  That was a big hit as well with the students.  They love puppets!  Mrs. Sims' first grade class did a really good job.  We also played several games to practice the family vocabulary.  

Looking ahead in March... First grade we will talk about the migration of "Las Golondrinas" from Africa over Spain as they head north for the summer.  In second and third grades we will be talking about Cuba.  We will talk about the location, the flag, the capital, common foods, vintage cars, and common sights.  

We will also be reviewing weather, talking about seasons, months, days of the week, clothing, and body parts.  

When I get discouraged your students always brighten my day.  They love greeting me in Spanish.  They love telling me about their loose teeth or that they lost a tooth.  They give me hugs!  They use words and phrases in Spanish that we have been practicing in class.  I am so glad to be their Spanish teacher.

.  

¡Feliz año nuevo!  Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone had a great break and that everyone is staying warm!  ¡Qué frío!  It's so cold!  That's one of the vocabulary words we are going to be practicing in January.  

In January Kindergarteners will be practicing weather vocabulary (hace frío (it's cold), hace calor (it's hot), hace sol (it's sunny), and está lloviendo (it's raining).  We will also practice shapes which are really easy since they are almost all cognates (words that look very similar to their English equivalents).  We will continue to review colors and numbers which we practiced a lot the first semester.

We are comparing and contrasting the tooth fairy and Ratoncito Pérez.  Children in Spanish speaking countries put their teeth under their pillows and Ratoncito Pérez takes the teeth and replaces them with a coin.  First graders will also be practicing weather vocabulary.  We will include (hace frío (it's cold), hace calor (it's hot), hace sol (it's sunny),está lloviendo (it's raining), hace buen tiempo (it's good weather), and hace mal tiempo (it's bad weather).  We are going to continue to practice answering the question ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?).  

Second and third graders will be reviewing weather vocabulary.  They will review (hace frío (it's hot), hace calor (it's hot), hace sol (it's sunny), está lloviendo (it's raining, )hace buen tiempo (it's good weather), hace mal tiempo (it's bad weather), hace viento (It's windy), está nublado (It's cloudy), está tormentoso (it's stormy), and está nevando (it's snowing).  

I am so glad to be back!  I am amazed at what my students can do!  They love greeting me in Spanish.  I love hearing them speak Spanish.  It's amazing with only 30 minutes once a week what they can do.  ¡Qué fantástico!

It's the end of September!  Time for my monthly newsletter!  Unfortunately the platform I used in the past to send you my newsletter is now defunct.  I have been searching for an alternative.  I am going to give Padlet a try.  

Kindergarten  Words introduced in the Intro:  Hola(hello), adiós(goodbye), buenos días(good morning), buenas tardes(good afternoon), buenas noches (good night), Yo soy un niño/una niña (I am a boy/girl), Yo me llamo...(My name is...), mira(look), escucha(listen), levanta la mano(raise your hand), no hablen(no talking), piensa(think), tiene(has), lleva(wear), salta(jump), marcha(march), baila(dance), camina(walk), corre(run), alto/para(stop), habla(talk), canta(sing), grita(yell), duerme(sleep), aplaude(clap), señala(point), and  saluda(say hello), 
    We have been practicing counting 1-10.   We have been singing the colors and numbers song.
      Kindergarten's cultural focus for the year is Mexico.  During the week of September 16th we talked about Mexican Independence day and how Mexicans celebrate.  We watched a short video about the pyramid of Chichen Itza built by the Mayan people over 1,000 years ago.  Chichen Itza is located in the Yucatan Peninsula not far from Cancún.    

First Grade   We review all our vocabulary at the beginning of every class when we do the "Intro".  

We have been practicing numbers 1-20.  We have been singing the Colors and Numbers Song and the Basho and friends number song.

We talked about the tradition in Catalonia, Spain of building human towers.  We watched a short video.  At the end of August we also talked about the tradition of the Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain.  It's the biggest tomato fight in the world.  

Second and Third Grades

We review all our vocabulary at the beginning of every class when we do the "Intro".

We have been focusing on using the word Tengo (I have) to talk about pets.  I asked students if they had a pet and the name of their pets.  

Our cultural focus for August, September, and into October has been Costa Rica.  We talked about a toucan called Grecia that was injured.  It was rescued by Zoo Ave in Costa Rica.  Zoo Ave worked to get Grecia a prosthetic beak.  Grecia now lives a normal and happy life  at Zoo Ave.  

The Birmingham Zoo hosted a Celebración on September 23rd.  They asked area teachers for artwork to decorate the zoo.  Students colored and created pictures of Grecia that we sent to the  zoo.   I went to the Celebración  and got to see their pictures hanging up around the zoo.  I took pictures of the artwork and shared the pictures with the people at Zoo Ave in Costa Rica.  They were really impressed by the pictures and posted the pictures on Facebook.  

.¡Hola!  My name is Joelle Jones a.k.a. Señora Jones.  I currently teach all the Kindergarten classes at Heritage and Columbia elementary.  I also teach Mrs. Mullins' and Mrs. Adams' first grade classes, Mrs. White's, Mrs. Porter's, and Mrs. Wilson's second grade classes at Columbia elementary.  I teach all the K-3rd grade classes at Heritage elementary.

I have been teaching elementary Spanish at Columbia and Heritage since the program began in January of 2014.  I live in Madison with my husband and our four sons.  Our oldest son is working to get his Siemens certification.  Our second oldest son will be leaving this weekend to move into the dorms at UAB.  He plans on studying biology.  Our third oldest son is a sophomore at Bob Jones.  He plays in the Bob Jones Marching Band.  Our youngest is a fourth grader at Horizon.  We have lived in Madison for 7 years.  We love living here!  What I love best about living here is the people, the barbecue, sweet tea, college football, the warmer weather, and the schools!!!

It has been great to be back at school.  We have had an awesome start to our year.  In Kindergarten we have been practicing how to sit on the carpet (criss cross apple sauce), to keep our hands in our laps (so we don't get our fingers stepped on), and that only one person can talk at a time.  We have also been learning to say "hola" (hello), "adiós" (bye), "Yo me llamo" (My name is...), and "Buenos días" (good morning).  We will continue working on greetings in September.  We will also talk about Mexican Independence day, the colors of the Mexican flag, and a pyramid in Mexico.  We will begin practicing counting 1-10 in Spanish.  We will be busy in September!

In first grade we have also been practicing our classroom expectations for Spanish class.  We have talked about how important it is to have our "ojos" (eyes) on me so they can fully understand what I am saying in Spanish.  I try to speak a majority of the time in Spanish.  To make it comprehensible for students I have to use my hands a lot.  I remind students that if their "ojos" are not on me then they could miss the meaning of what I am saying.  We have been reviewing our greetings.  In September we will be talking about Spain, the Tomatina festival (when a city in Spanish has a huge tomato fight), ) and the colors of the Spanish flag.  

In second and third grade we have been reviewing classroom expectations and our greetings.  We picked out silly Spanish names to help review vocabulary.  In September we will be talking about Costa Rica.  We will be talking about the animals of Costa Rica.  In particular, we will be talking about a toucan named Grecia.  Grecia was believed to be attacked by a group of kids when Grecia was still a baby.  Grecia's top beak was broken off and he was unable to eat.  A group of people came together to make a prosthetic beak for Grecia using a 3D printer.  We are coloring art work of Grecia. The art work will be displayed at the Birmingham Zoo for their annual Celebración on September 23rd.

It is so great to be back and to be teaching 3rd grade again.  I am so excited about the future of this program.  I cannot wait to see the growth and progress of my students.  It is so exciting!  I am blessed!

20, 19, 18,... we are counting down to summer vacation (in Spanish), of course!  If it would only feel like summer now.  Right now, as I type this, it is 51 degrees!  I am ready for it to feel like summer!
In Kindergarten we have been practicing how to say "Me gusta"(I like) and "No me gusta" (I do not like).  We watched a  video that helped us practice these expressions.  The week of Cinco de Mayo we learned about Cinco de Mayo. To celebrate we danced the Mexican Hat Dance.  I managed to get some video of some of the classes.  Look below and click on the button to see those videos.
In first grade we finished our special days of the week caterpillar projects.  They turned out really cute.  I was excited about how well they turned out.  The kids worked really hard on them.  We sang the days of the week song(over and over again because they really liked this song).    Mrs. Gammon's class did a great job of singing the song.  Look below and click on the button to see the video of her class singing the song.
In second grade we practiced the months by singing a song to the tune of the "Macarena".  Mrs. Wells' class did a great job singing that song.  Look below and click on the button to see the video of her class.  
We just finished Teacher Appreciation week and I felt so appreciated!  Our PTA, parents, and community went out of their way to encourage us this week.  Wow!!!  It has been great!!!!
Have a great May.  If you have any concerns please feel free to contact me.
Joelle Jones

Happy April! Spring is finally here! Take a deep breath and hold on! The end of the year madness is almost upon us! It's a good thing we have summer vacation to look forward to with everything there is to do at the end of the school year!
In Kindergarten we have learned almost all of the "Intro" vocabulary! The "Intro" is a group of commonly used nouns, verbs, and expressions that we review and practice at the beginning of every class of every grade. Every word has an action and is shown with a picture. The "Intro" is like a song or a chant, it is geared towards all types of learners, and it is fun and engaging. Since we only see students once a week for 30 minutes repetition is really important. The "Intro" is the foundation that is used to enable students to begin communicating with each other. It is about 90 words and expressions in total! It's quite an accomplishment. Good job, Kindergarteners! 
In April we are going to work on expressing preferences (Me gusta/No me gusta), feelings, food, and weather.
In first grade we are learning and practicing the days of the week. Lunes (Monday), martes (Tuesday), miércoles (Wednesday), jueves (Thursday), viernes (Friday), sábado (Saturday), and domingo (Sunday). A couple of trivia facts are...in Spanish speaking countries their calendars start the week with Mondays and finish with Sundays. Also they do not capitalize their days of the week or months. 
We watched a funny video by Señor Jordan about the days of the week. We have also been singing a days of the week song by Rockalingua. We are just beginning the story of "La Oruga Muy Hambrienta" (The Very Hungry Caterpillar). In April we are going to focus on vocabulary from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", on preferences (me gusta/no me gusta), and on weather vocabulary.
In the beginning of March second grade worked on some alphabet skits to celebrate the visit by author, Jerry Pallotta. Due to timing the students didn't have a lot of practice with the alphabet before they did the skits. They did a fantastic job. I am so proud of their videos (see below). A couple of trivia facts about the Spanish alphabet are... the letter "e" is the most common letter in both English and Spanish, the letter "w" is the least used letter in Spanish, and the Spanish alphabet has 27 letters. The extra letter is "ñ". In the past "ch" and "ll" were considered letters but were officially removed by the Royal Spanish Academy in 2010. 
We have been continuing to practice the alphabet. We have been singing an alphabet song to review and we have been playing hangman to reinforce our practice of the alphabet. In April we are going to work on weather vocabulary, days of the week, months, preferences (me gusta/no me gusta), and food. 
I plan every lesson with the goals of comprehensible input and communication. Comprehensible input means that when I am speaking in Spanish I use pauses, hand gestures, props, and pictures so that students are able to understand what I am communicating to them.  They may not understand every word but they understand the overall idea of what I am trying to communicate. In every lesson I ask myself am I keeping students active and engaged, am I staying in the target language 90% of the time, and am I giving students an opportunity to communicate in Spanish? I don't always reach those goals with as much success as I would like but I am always getting better (mostly because I am learning as much from my students as they are learning from me). I am so excited to see what students can do even with only 30 minutes once a week. It amazes me! I am so glad to have the opportunity to witness their growth. It is so rewarding! Have a good spring and happy April!

lowers are starting to bloom, the birds are singing, and soon it will be time for shorts and flip flops. I can't wait! 
Even though it's spring time, the students at Heritage Elementary are not stopping to smell the flowers. They are more like busy bees, working hard!
In Kindergarten we finished our "Hombre de Nieve" (Snowman) unit. We practiced and reviewed "el sombrero"(hat), "la cabeza"(head), "los ojos" (eyes), "la nariz"(nose), "la boca" (mouth), "la bufanda"(scarf), "los botones"(buttons), and "los guantes"(gloves). We continued our review and practice with a visit from "Señor Cabeza de Papa"(Mr. Potato Head) and "Señora Cabeza de Papa" (Mrs. Potato Head). In March we will be starting our spring unit and focusing on weather, some clothing vocabulary, and food. 
In first grade and second grades we read about the "Biblioburro". Luis Soriano Bohorquez operates a traveling library in rural Colombia with his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto.  In first and second grades we also practiced expressing how we feel "estoy contento" (I am happy), "estoy triste" (I am sad), "Tengo frío"(I am cold), "Tengo calor"(I am hot), "Tengo hambre"(I am hungry), "Tengo sed" (I am thirsty), "Tengo miedo"(I am afraid), and "Tengo sueño"(I am sleepy). We practiced speaking about something that hurts as well "Me duele la cabeza, el pie, la rodilla, el estómago, (my head hurts, my foot hurts, my knee hurts, my stomach hurts). In second grade we have started practicing the alphabet in Spanish. We have been singing the alphabet song. In March we are going to focus on our spring time unit vocabulary (weather, months, days of the week, clothing, food, and some leisure activities). 
At the beginning of February the Spanish teachers attended the Alabama World Language Association's annual conference in Auburn, AL . I have spent the last week trying to think of what I want to tell you about the conference and what I have been learning. There is just too much to say! I will try to keep it short and simple. Not too long ago I was listening to a podcast about second language acquisition and I had an "aha moment". What I heard was that if I make communication my goal then acquisition will follow. That's my new goal for 2017. Get students communicating in Spanish!!!! I will not teach about Spanish or teach the language of Spanish. I will teach in Spanish. It's more difficult goal but much more worthwhile.
Happy Spring! Contact me at joellejones@madisoncityschools.k12.al.us if you have any questions or concerns.

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great break. We started our semester with a snowy theme. My friends, Olaf and Frosty, came to class with me. (Alabama is no place for a snowman! Olaf and Frosty are feeling the heat!) In class we sang "Mi Hombre de Nieve" which is a song about a snowman and set to the tune of Frosty the Snowman. We practiced some vocabulary associated with the snowman song. Students dressed me up like a snowman. After they had practiced putting a "sombrero" on my head, "una bufanda" around my neck, and "los guantes" on my hands they dressed Olaf. Olaf was "triste" because he didn't have "un sombrero", "los guantes", or "una bufanda". They found it very funny because the hat, scarf, and gloves were way too big for little Olaf.  During another class Olaf was sad because he didn't have a hat, scarf, or gloves.  He asked his friends for a hat,  a scarf and some gloves and they shared, of course!  Olaf was very happy!  We did all of this in Spanish which was very exciting for Señora Jones.
Looking ahead we will be continuing our snowman unit with the Kindergarten, First graders and second graders will be learning body parts and reading the book "Fuera de Aquí, Horrible Monstruo Verde" by Ed Emberly.
I would like to thank the Madison Street Festival Committee for awarding Heritage a grant of $200 to buy Spanish books for the school library.  We were able to order 13 books for the school library.  Awesome!  
Stay warm! No, wait it's in the 60s right now...stay cool! Or it could be cold again by the time you read this...who knows? Whatever the weather...your students are awesome and I am blessed to be their teacher! Gracias.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  This is my favorite time of the year.  I love the decorations, the food, and the time off to spend with family.  I get almost as excited as the kids.
November has been an exciting month for our program.  Bethany Powell, the elementary Spanish teacher at Mill Creek and Rainbow, and I attended the American Council on Teaching Foreign Language in November.  There were 8,500 world language teachers from all over the world there.   We got to network with early educators just like us!  We ate dinner with the president of the Alabama World Language Association!  We attended many sessions with ideas and techniques that will help us grow our students' proficiency! It was all very exciting!
 I read a teacher's tweet about the conference and she described it as an "information overload".  I have to agree with her.  I am really looking forward to implementing what I learned.  I just have to sift through it first!  
This year the three elementary Spanish teachers paid to have a Christmas tree displayed in downtown Madison.  The Kindergarteners colored. "burros", "sombreros", and "maracas".  I had some people pick the best three of each class and I laminated those to hang on the tree.  The first graders made "estrellas" (stars) out of beads and pipe cleaners.  The second graders made "ojos de dos" out of yarn and popsicle sticks. There is a contest and we are hoping to win the "People's Choice" award since we have so many students.  The public can vote for the People’s Choice Award by visiting the Christmas Magic in Downtown Madison Facebook page or by stopping in at any of the businesses in Downtown Madison (Main Street) December 5 – December 9, 2016. Please vote for our tree!  Better yet, stop by and see our tree!  Our students worked hard to decorate it.  
In Kindergarten we have learned  Hola "hi", adiós "bye", buenos días "good morning", buenas tardes "good afternoon", buenas noches "good night", yo me llamo "my name is.."), yo soy "I am", mira "look", escucha "listen", levanta la mano "raise your hand", no hablen "no talking", piensa "think", tiene "has", salta "jump", marcha "march", carmina "walk", corre "run", alto/para "stop", habla "talk", canta "sing", grita "shout", duerme "sleep", applaude "clap", saluda "say hi", señala "point", muerde "bite", llora "cry", basta ya "that's enough", juega "play", "agarra "grab", tira "throw", patea la pelota "kick the ball", batea la pelota "bat the ball", rebota la pelota "bounce the ball", busca "look for", pega "hit", monta en bicicleta "ride your bike", "monta a caballo" (ride your horse), "nada"(swim), "flota"(float), "toca la puerta"(knock on the door), "toca el tambor"(play the drums), "toca la guitarra" (play the guitar), "va"(go), "salud" (bless you), "gracias"(thank you), and "de nada" (you're welcome). .  We continue to practice  numbers one to ten (uno 1, dos 2, tres 3, cuatro 4, cinco 5, seis 6, siete 7, ocho 8, nueve 9,  diez 10. 
In first grade we reviewed all our verbs, our vocabulary, and we continue to work on numbers 1-20. We will be talking about the holiday traditions of Spain and singing "Cascabel" or Jingle Bells.   
In second grade we reviewed all our verbs, our vocabulary,  and we are continuing to practice 1-50.   We will be talking about Puerto Rico and some of the cultural aspects of Puerto Rico including the holiday traditions.  We will be singing "Feliz Navidad" sung by José Feliciano, a Puerto Rican.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at joellejones@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Happy holidays!
Joelle Jones

Happy fall!  Fall is one of my favorite times of the year.  The leaves change colors and the weather gets cooler.  There are football games, fun fall festivals, and pumpkin spice lattes!  These are only a few of the many good things that happen in fall.  There are many good things happening too with the Madison City Elementary Spanish program!  
In Kindergarten we have learned  Hola "hi", adiós "bye", buenos días "good morning", buenas tardes "good afternoon", buenas noches "good night", yo me llamo "my name is.."), yo soy "I am", mira "look", escucha "listen", levanta la mano "raise your hand", no hablen "no talking", piensa "think", tiene "has", salta "jump", marcha "march", carmina "walk", corre "run", alto/para "stop", habla "talk", canta "sing", grita "shout", duerme "sleep", applaude "clap", saluda "say hi", señala "point", muerde "bite", llora "cry", basta ya "that's enough"), juega "play", "agarra "grab", tira "throw", patea la pelota "kick the ball", batea la pelota "bat the ball", rebota la pelota "bounce the ball", busca "look for", pega "hit", and  monta en bicicleta "ride your bike".  We continue to practice  numbers one to ten(uno 1, dos 2, tres 3, cuatro 4, cinco 5, seis 6, siete 7, ocho 8, nueve 9, diez 10). We have read "El Oso Café" (Brown Bear, Brown Bear).  We are practicing the vocabulary from "El Oso Café" (el oso café "brown bear", el pajáro rojo "red bird", el pato amarillo "yellow duck", el caballo azul "the blue horse", la rana verde "the green frog", el gato morado "the purple cat", el perro blanco "the white dog", la oveja negra "the black sheep", el pez dorado "the gold fish", la maestra "the teacher", and los niño "the children").  Looking ahead to November we will discuss some cultural aspects of "El Día de los Muertos".  We will talk about how on November 1st and 2nd Mexicans remember their loved ones who have passed away with food, flowers, and by spending time together with their families.   We will also learn the sound of  "los vocales" (vowels) in Spanish.  Remember you can always look at the "What's Happening" page of our website for more detailed information. I've included the link to our website at the bottom of the newsletter.
In first grade we reviewed all our verbs, and we continue to work on numbers 1-20.  In October we have been reading the book "El Artista que Pintó Un Caballo Azul" (The Artist who Painted a Blue Horse.  We have been reviewing colors and learning some new  animal vocabulary words (El caballo azul "blue horse", el cocodrilo rojo "red crocodile", la vaca amarilla "the yellow cow", el conejo rosado "the pink rabbit", el león verde "the green lion", el elefante anaranjado "the orange elephant", la zorra morada "the purple fox", el oso polar negro "the black polar bear", and el burro con lunarnes "the donkey with spots".  In November we will be moving on to learning the sounds of the letters in the Spanish alphabet.  Remember you can always look at the "What's Happening" page of our website for more detailed information. I've included the link to our website at the bottom of the newsletter. 
In second grade we reviewed all our verbs and we are now working on practicing numbers 1-50. In October we have been reading "El Artista qui Pintó Un Caballo Azul"(The Artist who Painted a Blue Horse).  We have been reviewing colors and learning some new animal vocabulary words (El caballo azul "blue horse", el cocodrilo rojo "red crocodile", la vaca amarilla "the yellow cow", el conejo rosado "the pink rabbit", el león verde "the green lion", el elefante anaranjado "the orange elephant", la zorra morada "the purple fox", el oso polar negro "the black polar bear", and el burro con lunares" the donkey with spots".  We talked about the Dominican Republic.  The most relevant facts we discussed were that  1) DR is located on the island, Hispaniola, along with the Haiti and that it was one of the islands that Columbus "discovered".   2) DR is a very poor country and that the dream job for every boy is to be a major league baseball player.  Besides the United States the Dominican Republic has produced more MLB super stars than any other country in the world.  We watched a short movie trailer showing some Dominican Republic baseball players  and their journey to the "Big Leagues".  3) DR is a popular vacation spot and one of the favorite things for people to do is go whale watching.  Humpback whales come to the waters around the DR to birth their calves.  
Culture is always a great way to make the language come alive.  The kids are always talking about someone they know visiting a Spanish speaking country.  If you have any pictures of your children in a Spanish speaking country I would love to show them to their classes.  You can always email them to me.    I really enjoyed seeing pictures of everyone visiting the replicas of Columbus' ships.  The kids loved sharing that they had seen the ships!  
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at joellejones@madisoncity.k12.al.us
Happy fall!!!!
Joelle Jones