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Señora Patana |
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What can I do to improve my grade? And other questions asked by parents and students.This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
I don't know a Foreign Language. What can I, as a parent, do to help? Learning a foreign language takes a lot of discipline and a lot of memorization. What is a language without words? Vocabulary is an easy area where you can help your child greatly. You can say the words in English and have your son/daughter say the words in Spanish. Because spelling is important also (Spanish is a phonetic language... how it sounds is how it's spelled), you may say the words in English and have them write it down in Spanish. There is additional information on the Important Handouts page on how to use Flashcards too! Why English to Spanish when learning vocabulary and using flashcards? This isn't a FAQ from parents... but it is from students! It is harder to learn new vocabulary from English to Spanish. Our goal is to speak Spanish not just listen to it. In order to do that, the vocabulary must be readily available in our brains. Because Spanish is similar to English, it is easier to listen and recognize the words than to produce them ourselves. Did you know Ms. Patana, you have a reputation for your class being hard? Yes. I hear that every now and then! Rest assured that I'm not "being hard" or trying to make life difficult, but I do expect all students to do their homework (this tends to be a difficult area for some). Homework is necessary to reinforce what has been taught. The homework, for the most part, is not very demanding. There is homework every night and it does reflect what we have been doing that day or week. For the most part, it should not take over half an hour for the student who takes his/her time to do the work (or is struggling in class). Also, it is important to do homework correctly, as if you are quizzing yourself. Treat the homework as if it were a test or quiz to see how much you already know! Think first with a pencil... then either take out your notes or look in the textbook to review what you did not understand, then make the necessary changes. By thinking first, then reviewing notes, you're employing your thinking skills (brain) to do the homework instead of just writing down answers or transferring information from the notes/pages to the homework (which lacks the involvement of your brain). What can we do to start preparing for the Final Exam now? First and foremost doing the homework with the intent to learn and review at the same time. Think with a pencil and correct with a pen! In addition to this students should be organizing their 3 ring binder again to make sure they have all of their notes. Make a list of all that they can remember learning and then bring it in to me so we can go over it or get together with another student to compare notes! Then ensuring that they have all this information in their 3 ring binder and any information that is missing should be either looked up in the book and take notes (or copy notes from another student), and do activities from the book. Reviewing their workbook activities and doing any activities they may have not done and making a list of what needs to be reviewed. Is there any additional help? Additional practice that I can do? Yes! I'm available, there are online activities and free Spanish tutors. I am available after school usually 2 days a week. I try to keep Mondays and Thursdays available for students. In addition, there are activities that can be done online... many that coincide with the textbook! Click on "Add't Textbook Activities for Spanish ...." on the home page, then follow the directions to find the activities. Furthermore, the Spanish Club provides free tutoring to those students who are interested. Just contact me if you'd like to request a student tutor! What do you mean by doing my homework as if it were a quiz? It is important to do homework correctly, as if you are quizzing yourself. Treat the homework as if it were a test or quiz to see how much you already know! Think first with a pencil and answer as many of the questions/blanks as you can ... then either take out your notes or look in the textbook to review what you did not understand, then put your notes away- again- and make the necessary changes. By thinking first, then reviewing notes, then thinking again about what you reviewed, you're employing your thinking skills (brain) to do the homework instead of just writing down answers or transferring information from the notes/pages to the homework (which lacks the involvement of your brain). Whew! It works though!!! Yes! For every test, you can do a test reflection sheet to get back 5% of your grade. You have one week from the time your test is given back to turn this in. Fill out the Test Reflection sheet and do your activites on the back or staple it to the back. These are availabe on line under the Important Handouts link ("Extra Credit for Tests")or in the front of the classroom on the table. Also for Quizzes and Homework you can look under the Important Handouts Link to see what you can do with los Burros Bolivianos. ("Remediation: Los Burros Bolivianos for Homework and Quizzes") |
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