Studies have shown that the sooner children are introduced
to a second language, the easier it is for them to grasp it. In order for
students to learn the basics of a second language, and make an easier
transition to learning Spanish in High School, Spanish Club was created at
Jackson Elementary.
In Spanish Club, students met bi-weekly during lunch and learned
basic vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation, and a little about the
culture. The lessons taught in those sessions were aligned with the first few
chapters in their high school Spanish Book. Spanish Club was offered to 5th
grade students and the response was great. At Jackson Elementary a total of 24
students signed up, and were excited to attend. Students were broken into two groups
of twelve in order to participate in a small group setting. Due to the large
number of students who showed interest at Jackson Elementary, Spanish Club was
expanded to Cambria Elementary. Spanish Club was also received very well by
those 5th grade students with a total of 46 students signed up. This
created three groups of twelve and one group of ten. The totals from both
schools make-up nearly half of their 5th Grade class.
Students at both schools were wonderful
to work with and always came willing and eager to learn. I was happy to have
had the opportunity to work with a great group of students. I hope they will
continue to take advantage of other enrichment activities they are offered in
the future.
