News from the Italian Program
Ciao e Benvenuti (Hello and Welcome!) to the new Preps learning Italiano at Preston Primary School!
In Term 1, Prep students have been introduced to the Italian language and culture by participating in weekly 50-minute Italian classes, with Signora Perrone.
Their enthusiasm is always exciting. They have learned how to greet and respond to some simple conversational language very quickly, often wanting to engage with their Italian teacher in the playground using their newfound vocabulary - Ciao, Buongiorno, Come ti chiami? Mi chiamo…’ Prep students are learning to count to ten, achieving this goal through games, songs and oral interactions and have also read the story about a cheeky Pappagallo. Look out for him!
Ciao e Bentornati (Hello and welcome back!) to the rest of the school!
By now everyone is back into the swing of things, working hard learning new vocabulary and revising common Italian terms. Students will either have Signora Perrone or Signora Langley taking their Italian sessions.
Grade 1 students have commenced the term by revising basic conversational language, Come stai?, Come ti chiami?, numeri (numbers) to 30 and colori. Students have a better understanding that Italy is located on the other side of the world and is easily recognisable by its shape. The children have learned a clever rhyme: Big boot Italy kicked poor little Sicily into the Mediterranean Sea. Have your children recite it for you!
In Grade 2, the children have joined the big kids, learning and playing the counting game of ‘Tira’, extending their number knowledge to numbers beyond 30. There is always excitement to see if they can beat the scores of the senior students. We have also been revising the topic of colori through song and the very cute story of an Unicorno who lost her colours. The children have been learning to ask their friends what their favourite colour is and give their preference.
Grade 3 students have extended their learning of numbers, counting and colours in Italian. Did you know that the Italian names for the days of the week were named after planets? In Grade 3, the children learnt the names of the giorni della settimana (days of the week) and their origin and are just beginning to learn the names of I mesi (the months).
In Grade 4, the children have learned the names of classroom objects and have been engaged with the language app, Languages Online, to learn and revise new vocabulary and common phrases. We have revised colori to extend our knowledge to be able to write descriptive sentences and a short paragraph about the objects in our astuccio (pencil case).
Grade 5 students have been focusing on the cultural unit of Italiani famosi. We have looked at many famous Italians of the past such as Enzo Ferrari, Galileo, Guccio Gucci, Marco Polo and in particular, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Although many lived hundreds of years ago, their work, ideas, inventions have heavily influenced modern day life. Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches helped us invent things like the car, parachute, helicopter, submarines, bicycle? He was a real genius. He was also a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist. His most famous painting is the Mona Lisa. (Lisa Giacondo). The children had lots of fun recreating their own Monna Lisa Moderna.
The long awaited ‘Carnevale’ has arrived for this year’s Grade 6 students. As part of their cultural unit, the children have been learning about the floating city of Venezia and its world-famous festival, Carnevale. It is an annual festival where it is traditional to wear masks and costumes. Every year, the children always comment on the colourful display of masks in the Italian room and look forward to their turn to make a maschera (mask) when they reach Grade 6. It is no different for this year’s children, who are now busily working on their masterpieces.
Watch this space!
Wishing you all a Buona Pasqua.
Signora Perrone and Signora Langley