Name:______Due: ___/___/___

“Mi casa, mi vida;” thematic Spanish. (Señora Novak – 6th grade cycle Spanish)

Concept:

Students will build a house out of small cardboard boxes. Each “cuarto” (room) of the house will be represented by a separate box. Each “cuarto” of the house will be featured as the setting for a thematic unit lesson with vocabulary and phrases related to that “cuarto”. For example, we will move through the “casa” and acquire vocabulary and some conversation skills as follows:

  1. “La cocina” (kitchen) – foods, meals, cooking (family member “la madre”)
  2. “El comedor” (dining room) – family, culture, holidays (family member “el tío” / “la tía”)
  3. “La sala de estar” (living room) – entertainment, movies, music (family member “el abuelo” / “la abuela”)
  4. “El dormitorio” (bedroom) – emotions, sleeping, waking, clothing (family member “el hijo” / “la hija)
  5. “El cuarto de baño” (bathroom) – grooming, washing, health and body parts (pet “el perro” / el gato)
  6. “El cuarto de niño” (playroom / nursery) - alphabet, colors (family member “el niño” / “la niña”)
  7. “La oficina” (office) – numbers, time, date (family member “el padre”)

Each 6th grade Spanish class period will collaborate and reach an agreement on a theme or style for their “casa.” Students will work in groups of 2 to 4, and will be given approximately the first 3 weeks of the marking period to complete “cuarto” construction with their partners outside of school. This is to maximize classroom instructional time. During this time, students will work in class “at the front door” on learning about classroom phrases, greetings and departures, and introductions, and “in the yard” learning to talk about the weather. In an effort to support families with very busy schedules I will offer a few dates when late busses are available, so that students may stay after school in my classroom and work on their projects. Those dates will be announced in class.

Figures representing a “familia” must also be created and incorporated into the house and will be used as puppets for students to perform presentations for assessment of their learning for each unit (each room). Each room is assigned 1 family member to include as described above. Family members must be free-standing, unattached to the room, and labeled with their names and family vocab word provided above.

Vocabulary lists for each room will be provided. Conversation pieces will be acquired during “Housewarming party” when students will work in groups at learning stations where each room will be displayed. Working from a guide they will use classroom resources to complete various tasks based on careful study of each room.

In the last weeks of the marking period each class will assemble its house into one complete structure. The houses will be displayed in the media center. Students will campaign to peers to vote for their casa. The winning period earns a class “fiesta” on the last day of class.

Construction:

·  Working with their groups outside of school, students will have roughly 3 weeks to complete their “cuartos.”

·  Cardboard boxes no bigger than a small shoebox are to be used. Boot boxes are too large and not permitted. 8”L x 12”W x 4”H is the largest acceptable size box. It should be large enough to fit in a realistic quantity and quality of objects.

·  Boxes must be reinforced with duct tape or strong glue around the outside and the box should be turned on its side so the “cuarto” can be seen as a diorama with the lid attached securely underneath to act as a “floor.”

·  All items and decoration must be placed inside the box. The outside (top, bottom, and sides) must be flat and smooth so that all “cuartos” can later be stacked and attached securely.

·  Once assembled “cuartos” must fit onto classroom bookshelves for storage throughout the marking period. Due to the stacking and maneuvering required for storage and presentation, all items must be tightly secured to the box. Items should be so secure that shaking and stacking does not knock anything loose. “Cuartos” should be durable enough to remain intact for the entire marking period.

·  Just as in a real house, the first step of interior design must be flooring and wall covering. No cardboard should be visibly exposed on the inside of the box. Some suggestions for this are, wallpaper, carpet remnants, wrapping paper, felt, food wrappers, construction paper, etc.

·  Items in each “cuarto” should include furniture, appliances, accessories, products, utensils, and decor.

·  I cannot guarantee the return of every item so please refrain from including anything valuable.

·  This is a creative project. Purchased items are discouraged. Some of the best “cuartos” have been completely hand-made. Up to 5 Extra effort points will be awarded for hand-made projects.

·  Last and MOST IMPORTANTLY, any items in the “cuarto” representing our class vocabulary and the “cuarto” itself must be labeled in Spanish. There should be NO ENGLISH words anywhere on the diorama. The grade will be largely based on this.

Grading:

The “cuartos” will be graded in the weeks to follow after they have been put to use in a scavenger hunt. (See “durability” explanation below). Grades will be based directly on the criteria below and how well the “cuarto” serves its function in the lessons:

1. The theme should be very obvious at first glance. This is to help put you in the running for the contest.

2. The overall appeal is important. It should be neat, realistic, colorful, creative, etc.

3. As explained above, durability is an important factor. Each “cuarto” will be moved around, examined, used in presentations, stacked, touched, etc. There will be no fussing with “cuartos” once they are handed in.

4. You should wisely choose which items to assign labels to within your “cuarto”. You must have 10 to 20 items labeled in addition to the room title and labeled family member. Each label should clearly represent an item. Only words from the packet provided count.

5. Accuracy is expected. Correct spelling, punctuation, and accurate vocabulary should be incorporated in your project. Vocabulary lists will be provided, but are located on conjuguemos.com. A link, and usernames and passwords to this site are provided on my links page.

¡Disfruten! – (Enjoy!)

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Student X ______Parent X ______Date __/__/__

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Room assigned: ______“family member” assigned: ______

Group members: ______