Monthly Archives: May 2021

05.21.21
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TNCS-Curated Academic Resources for Summer 2021!

Each year at The New Century School, teachers offer resources to families to help prevent the “summer slide” phenomenon that can happen to kids over summer break when they might be less academically engaged than during the school year and lose scholastic ground as a consequence. Although this problem disproportionately affects underserved communities, it is nevertheless felt to a certain degree across the board, as teachers find themselves re-teaching concepts that were learned the previous year and then forgotten. Some research has shown that students can lose as much as 3 months of reading and math achievement over the course of just one summer. (See Making Summer Count for more details on relevant studies.)

To negate this effect, here are this year’s recommended resources in core subjects. (Look for your child’s division within some subjects.)

English Language Arts

For elementary and middle school students, ELA teacher Jalynn Harris assigned a mandatory novel and a secondary novel (middle school students) and gave Summer Writing Prompts to encourage a minimum of 30 minutes of writing twice a week. Grammar Review and keeping a Reading Log are also encouraged.

Mandatory Middle School Novel: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Secondary Middle School Novel: Choose from the list below or from your own library.

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
  • The Maze Runner by James Dashner
  • Call of the Wild by Jack London
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore
  • We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
  • Legend trilogy by Marie Lu
  • The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
  • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Finally, i-Ready, TNCS’s online reading and vocabulary program, will be available all summer. Students should complete a minimum of 30 minutes of i-Ready lessons per week.

Math

In addition to making practice workbooks available for purchase to elementary and middle school, math teacher Nameeta Sharma recommends these sites:

  1. iReady math is available to students over summer. Please encourage your child to do  iReady lessons at least an hour per week. This will help them stay on level, especially since they will have the first math diagnostic test in fall for the next school year.
  2. Khan academy. – Please remind students to use the school gmail account to log in so as to save their progress.
  3. Free printable math worksheets are available at these sites too:

Mandarin Chinese

“Wow, what a year!” said Li Laoshi. “To better state that what a complicated but great year!” Please see the following information and resources that will help your child can review and maintain their Chinese proficiency during the summer holiday. 

Websites

  • Duolingo
    • Target Age: 1st–8th grades
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Hello-World
    • Target Age: 1st–3rd grades
    • Target Level: Beginner
  • Epic
    • Target Age: 1st–8th grades
    • Target Level: Beginner and up

Books

  • Better Chinese, Volumes 1–4
    • Target Age: 1st–8th grades
    • Target Level: Beginner and up

Global Studies and Science

Mr. Brosius offered the following optional summer activities with detailed instructions for Global Studies and Science extended projects.
The Summer Road Trip was primarily designed to be a global studies assignment, but does touch on a few science themes. The Time Lapse was primarily designed to be a science assignment, but can be adapted for various uses.
Also, check out citizen science projects in the United States!

Spanish

For 3rd- to 8th-graders, Sra. Noletto strongly recommends continued exposure to Spanish language during the summer fun days. “The more practice, the easier for them to remember what they learned,” she said.

Collection of Spanish Books

  1. Go to https://www.getepic.com/students
  2. Enter class code gun8437
  3. Select your child name
  4. Check his/her mailbox
  5. Enjoy!

Practice Reading Skills: Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grades:

  1. EL Mono Silabo has a complete collection of educational videos of the Spanish “Silabas” to teach and practice reading in Spanish for emerging readers. Kindergarten students already have practiced reading skills using this educational resource. Ask your children to tell you what sounds “Silabas” they remember from classes and then watch the corresponding chapter from EL Mono Silabo.

  1. 123 Andrés has a complete collection of educational videos for every letter of the Spanish alphabet (samples shown below, but there are 24 more!).

3. If you want to make a good investment, You can pair the experience educational videos of El Mono-Silabo with the collection of books made by Scholastic of 36 different books, one for each silaba. Or you can buy just a few depending on the level of engagement of your student.

4. If your student hasn’t finished the entire book of “Silabas” called “El Silabario,” you can find this interactive book at the summer resources folder from the Google Classroom along with other printable materials ideal for summer reading.

Apps and Websites

  • Spanishdict.com: The students are familiar with this app, and my classrooms are linked to it. It has grammar lessons, conjugations, vocabulary, conversations, videos, quizzes, and assessments that the students like to practice with.
    • Target Age: Elementary school and up
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Conjuguemos: This website is packed with Spanish learning games that your student can use to practice verb conjugations, new vocabulary, and tricky grammar rules like “por versus para.” It is easy to navigate and helps students retain what they learn by reviewing their mistakes and providing explanations for the correct answers. For students looking for additional instruction, Conjuguemos also provides a reference section with clear, straightforward explanations of Spanish verb tenses and how they function.
    • Target Age: Elementary school and up
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Duolingo: This gamified language-learning app can help your student learn Spanish on-the-go through short, daily practice sessions. Duolingo is based on a communicative model of language teaching, so it focuses on getting your child to use Spanish from the start and skips the long, technical grammar lessons.
    • Target Age: Middle school and up
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Mango Languages: This popular language-learning program is available for free through many public libraries. Through its innovative multimedia platform, it helps students build proficiency in reading, writing, listening and even speaking in Spanish.
    • Target Age: Middle School and up
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Spanish Playground: This is an amazing resource for parents who want to help their children learn Spanish through fun, hands-on activities! You can search through their activities by age, theme, or type (e.g., curricula versus music), so there’s something for everyone.
    • Target Age: Preschool and up
    • Target Level: Beginner and up
  • Spanish con salsa: Originally developed as a television series to teach Spanish to young children, Salsa Spanish is now available online, with free activities designed to accompany its 42 video lessons. The 15-minute videos are similar to Sesame Street and focus on a single Spanish concept—like food vocabulary or colors. The dialogue is easy to understand, so it’s appropriate for students who are just starting to learn Spanish, although true beginners might benefit from some additional parental support.
    • Target Age: Preschool through Elementary
    • Target Level: Beginner (best with some prior exposure to Spanish)
  • FluentU Spanish: Language teachers often tell their students to watch television in Spanish to further improve their listening and speaking skills. While this is a great suggestion; sometimes what students like is too challenging for them, not challenging enough, or even terribly scripted because of the direct translation. This is what makes FluentU Spanish a unique app for all Spanish students. First, browse through their library of multimedia content ranging from Spanish music videos, world-issue related interviews, and sporting events. While watching the video, users can click on any word in the script to read the definition before continuing. What’s even cooler is you can save these words and add them to a reference list which FluentU allows users to save and go through any time afterward. The app goes even further to suggest videos and other media content featuring those specific words.
  • Think Bilingual!: The basis of this game-based educational app is for Spanish students to not only memorize new words; but also act them out. Listening and doing is Think Bilingual’s way of teaching. Students will be introduced to two aliens who they will have to guide through everyday situations from cleaning, cooking, and driving on different levels. Before the start of each new level, a vocabulary list is shown so students can have a look and study. Once ready, students have to write out the words correlating to the actions the aliens must do to continue onto the next level.
  • Memrise: Like its name, Memrise, uses the technique of memorization and repetition for users to reach their next level language skills. Before each level’s test; users can listen to words and see how its spelled. Right under the word there’s also attributes to the word such as the phonetics and seeing how to pronounce it correctly. Each level is categorized by different subjects; greetings, cooking, directions etc.
  • Mosalingua: Mosalingua knows that motivation is the key to learning another language, therefore the app combines both motivation and repetition so learners don’t quickly forget everything they learn. Rather than quickly forgetting all that new information, Mosalingua builds new exercises that are repeated but simply delivered in different ways so users continue to be motivated and absorb all there is to know about Spanish.

Books

Kindergarten:

Beginner:

Intermediate:

Advanced:

Spanish Songs Playlist

You can also make a Spotify or Apple iTunes playlist with the most popular songs that we sang during the school year by these popular children’s groups:

  1. Una idea tengo yo, 123 Andrés
  2. La semilla, 123 Andrés
  3. El baile de la fruta, de Pica Pica
  4. El Baile de los Animales
  5. Chocolate de Jose Orozco
  6. El Pirata Benjamin, 123 Andrés
  7. Salta, Salta 123 Andrés
  8. Buenos Días, Jose Orozco
  9. Vamos a contar mentiras de Enrique y Ana
  10.  De Colores, 123 Andrés
  11. Un elefante, 123 Andrés
  12. El Girasol, 123 Andrés
  13.  Soy una serpiente
  14. Hola amigo, 123 Andrés
  15.  El Pirata capirote de Juana la Iguana

Whatever activities and summer fun your child has planned this summer, make time for reading, writing, speaking, and tinkering!

05.14.21
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Talking the Talk: Benefits of Multilingual Education at TNCS!

Ever wondered about the potential benefits your child could gain from a multilingual school? The list of benefits is impressive!

Your child’s education is one of your top priorities. You want them to have every possible advantage for a happy, healthy, and prosperous future.

Our children are growing up in an increasingly multilingual society. Studies show that children who have exposure to languages at an early age have an academic advantage. 

Choosing a school that offers multilingual opportunities for students provides many benefits for your child. And these benefits go far beyond the ability to adapt within a different country or culture.

Here are some of the foremost benefits of multilingual education.

Facilitates Cognitive Development

Children who learn more than one language as they grow up can benefit cognitively. For example, children exposed to language education perform better in pattern recognition, problem-solving, and creative thinking tasks.

Young learners have the ability to soak in new concepts, which makes early childhood an ideal time to begin multilingual education. Plus, learning another language is fun for children.

It helps them develop greater linguistic awareness and a deeper understanding of their primary language as well.

Boosts Academic Achievement

Exposure to more than one language provides an academic advantage for children as they get older. In addition, multilingual education challenges them to communicate and find meaning in multiple languages.

This gives students an edge in communication skills, social interaction, and understanding of complex ideas. However, some educators believe students should master their primary language before learning another.

But children have the unique capacity to learn more than one language simultaneously. As a result, children who understand and can communicate in more than one language have a distinct academic advantage over their monolingual peers.

Furthers Career Possibilities

In an interconnected global economy, a multilingual education can be a huge asset. As a result, many employers look for multilingual candidates who can communicate with business leaders and customers worldwide.

Within global companies, multilingual employees are highly valued. Starting your child off at a young age with a quality multilingual education can lead to a solid career and income potential in the future. 

Multilingual adults are more sensitive to cultural differences and are comfortable interacting with diverse populations. All of this makes multilingual employees an asset for any globally focused business.

Promotes Brain Health

Multilingual education increases cognitive function and enhances brain health. Although learning another language isn’t a miracle cure, research suggests improving memory and delaying dementia in some older adults.

People who think and speak in more than one language switch back and forth between languages on an ongoing basis. This is an effective exercise for the brain.

It’s best to begin multilingual education at a young age. However, it’s never too late to learn a new language. Learning a new language at any age is beneficial for cognition and brain health.

Expands Educational Opportunities

Multilingual students are also multi-literate. This provides a firm foundation for academic achievement and expanded educational opportunities.

A multilingual child may have more options for higher education and more opportunities to go to their college of choice. In addition, they may find more opportunities to study abroad or participate in exchange programs.

Multilingual students benefit from opportunities to immerse themselves in another language and culture. All of these opportunities can help to guide or enhance their future career paths. 

Broadens Cultural Exposure

As children participate in independent school multilingual education, they don’t just learn new words. They learn about history, geography, and other world cultures.

Students engage in language through songs, stories, play, and art in multilingual education. As students are immersed in print, sound, and play, they absorb language. In addition, they develop a deep appreciation for other ethnicities and nationalities.

You want your children to thrive and value others as they grow. In an ever-changing world, children who can communicate within various cultures may have an advantage over those who cannot.

Multilingual education provides so many opportunities for students to grow in their knowledge of languages, other cultures, and the beauty of a diverse world.

Cultivates Collaboration

Learning to work well with others is an important skill for any child. In addition, dual language programs offer students a broader world view.

They encourage communication and working within diverse groups. Multilingual education programs allow students to work together, learn from each other, and appreciate diverse viewpoints.

Students in quality multilingual programs learn to appreciate cultural differences and the value of the individual. This leads to enhanced social and communication skills.

These ideas help students become better collaborative learners as they learn about other cultures and value systems.

Enhances Lifelong Learning

Students who begin multilingual learning at an early age benefit in so many ways. But students of any age benefit from learning another language. 

Students learn the value of learning something beyond the traditional curriculum, enhancing their learning potential for life. In addition, studies suggest multilingual or bilingual capabilities can improve brain health and slow the aging process of the brain.

Young children can absorb new language and concepts easier than adolescents or adults.  These benefits enhance a child’s potential for success in school and for learning throughout their lives.

Amazing Benefits of Multilingual Education

As a parent, you have many things to consider when choosing the best private education for your child’s needs. However, as you make this important decision, don’t overlook the value of multilingual education.

Choose a school that values global awareness, critical thinking, and language learning. We would love to talk with you about your child and all that The New Century School has to offer. 

Contact us to learn more.