Guac It Out!

We closed out this year of Spanish at MBTS the same way we began it: with lots of fun! Our program is designed to spark a love of language learning through hands-on activities, songs, stories, and games. See some examples of this learning in action by viewing the photo library and reading the captions below.

Grade 3 students learned a song about Guacamole, including the ingredient names and their respective measurements. They took this a step further with a cooking class! Each student took turns mashing the aguacate, and some helped add in the ingredients as they were announced. Then, it was time to enjoy the guacamole that we prepared. ¡Delicioso!

What started out as a Casa lesson plan turned into a program-wide activity that sparked joy in each level, all the way to Grade 6. Below you see the Kinder students practicing their fruit vocabulary by tracing and copying the word with dry erase marker, then creating the fruit using play dough. In Grade 5 and 6, they read a story snippet and recreated the story with small figurines to act out the scenes. It’s the perfect calm activity that deepens comprehension through creative expression, modified for different ages and levels.

Also in Grade 5 and 6, we learned the difference between tú and usted, and practiced addressing people formally or informally. To do this, we took on alter-egos, some students as “friends,” some as “bosses,” and some as “elderly community members”. In a split second, students had to analyze with whom they were speaking and make a decision on how to address them, replicating a real-life situation. Below Alexi and Arie wear their name tags of their new personas!

In Grade 4, we created a story and reinforced the key phrases and scenes by playing Spanish dominó. Students had to match English with Spanish translations or vice versa, allowing them to practice their vocabulary while taking part in a relevant cultural activity both in the Cayman Islands and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

These are just a few examples of how language learning can take on many shapes and forms, allowing students to explore Spanish without any pressure. After all, it should be fun! I look forward to keeping this fun going in the 2025/26 school year! Have a great summer, everyone!