Materials Needed for Class

Grading

Classroom Expectations

About Me

Welcome to Señorita Burke’s 8th Grade Spanish Class

 

 This Month:

We have finished the review from the previous year.  Students have started to study the Unit 6 first half.  This unit pertains to ordering in a restaurant.  Students should be able to order a meal by the end of the unit.  They will be covering food vocabulary and stem changing verbs (e to i).  We will also be looking at the differences between ser and estar in dealing with foods.  The project for this unit will be a restaurant conversation.

 

Contact Information

Please feel free to contact me through my email at rburke@d107.org or by phoning 708-246-7366. I will do my best to get back to you within a day or two.

 

Materials Needed for Class

Students are expected to bring their book, a notebook, paper, and a pen or pencil to the class. Also current homework is expected to be with the student the day it is due.

Extra help:

·       After school most Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays until the late bus

·       Before school at 8:00 and only with a pass that was requested prior by the student

Grading

Ms. Burke follows the school district’s grading scale. I do my best to put grades in a timely manner. Tests may take a little longer due to amount of writing involved.

Tests and Quizzes:

Students will receive their quizzes, homework and projects back for them to keep. District test assessments will be gone over in class with the students but then kept by the teacher. Parents are welcome to call for an appointment to see and go over completed tests with the teacher.

Tests usually assess reading, writing, and listening proficiency. Projects often assess the speaking aspect of the language. Vocabulary quizzes will occur at the beginning of the unit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Prior notice will be given. Tests will occur about every three to four weeks.

 Mastery of Learning Guideline Procedures:

Students may do second attempts when the following is completed:

·       Student initiated

·       Student needs to make a plan outlining what he/she will do differently for studying for the second attempt in order to improve. 

·       Student needs to get a parent signature on the plan

·       Student is to make up the second attempt at their own time- before school, after school, study hall.

·       The new grade will replace the first grade. A notation of the original grade will be made in the comments section.

 

Homework:

Students can typically expect homework two to three times a week. At the beginning of the unit vocabulary exercises and quizzes will be turned in and done on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It should not take more than fifteen to twenty minutes to complete unless it is studying for a test or quiz. If no homework is assigned, it can be very beneficial for students to review current vocabulary and grammar for ten to fifteen minutes a night.

Instructional Strategies:

Spanish is taught through a variety of mediums including:

·       Paired or group communicative activities

·       Lecture and note taking

·       Whole class answer and question sessions

·       Practice activities in reading, writing, speaking and listening

·       Songs to strengthen grammar and vocabulary

·       Games to review and drill material

·       Videos pertaining to a topic or grammar point

 Absences:

It is the student’s responsibility to come and ask for missing work or what needs to be made up from his/her absence. Written work typically has one day for everyday of absence in which to make it up. For tests and quizzes students need to make them up within one week of returning from the absence.

Classroom Expectations

Students are expected to respect others, the teacher and items.

Students are expected to be in the classroom on time.

Students are expected to be prepared.

About Me

Ms. Burke has been teaching for 31 years. She has been a faculty member of Pleasantdale since 1992. She has taught 5^th through 8^th grade during this time. Prior to Pleasantdale she was at another school for 11 years. 

 

Ms. Burke graduated from DePauw University with a B.A. and National Louis University with a Masters. She studied in Seville, Spain for a semester in college. Two summers in the 1980’s she spent in Guadalajara, Mexico taking courses. She has traveled numerous times to Spain, and Mexico. Recently she has had the opportunity to visit South America. She went to Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Argentina.

 

Additional Information

Students may access the textbook through go.hrw.com with the keywords being found in the textbook.

 

Mastery Statements

 

Eighth Grade Spanish Mastery Statements (2010)

Purpose Statement:Students will use grammar to write original multiple paragraphs in Spanish and will read multiple paragraphs in Spanish. They will be able to listen and speak spontaneously in Spanish.

The Mastery Statements can be found on the District website.