Mamma mia, where did term 1 go?!

It is always a busy term and this year was no different.

The Preps started the semester learning about la famiglia, through the entertaining story of Il Pappagallo (the cockatoo) and this term, Pinocchio makes an appearance to help us learn about il corpo (the body), with his friends, il gatto (cat) and il topo (mouse).

In Grade 1, we have been counting, learning vocabulary about il mare (the beach) and playing word games. The children have made their own memory game and will be taking it home to play with their famiglia soon.

For the remainder of the semester, we will be zooming in our macchine (cars) visiting many sites, italian landmarks and participating in cultural activities whilst learning about other trasporti.

The students in Grade 2 have been revising i colori, recalling the colour-words and singing about i colori. They had fun drawing a gelato and writing sentences about their colour choices. This term will be delizioso for the children. We have begun reading the funny story, ‘Mangia, Mangia’ about a boy who only wants to eat Nutella!

Did you know that the days of the week are named after the planets? Can you guess what planet mercoledi` (Wednesday) is named after? We sang, we recited and we practised spelling the days and months of the year in Italian. For the remainder of the semester, we will move on to the funny fairytale of Giacco e il fagiolo adapted from the traditional story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

In Grade 4, we learnt about oggetti found in la classe. We wrote sentences to describe the colour of our pencils, pens and books and described what we had in our astuccio (pencil case). For the remainder of semester, we are focusing on il corpo (the body), revising the names of body parts and introducing new vocabulary. The students are enjoying singing and exercising to the song, ‘Testa, Spalle, Ginocchia e Piedi’ (Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes).

Italy has produced many influential people throughout history. In Grade 5, the students learnt about a few of these famous people, such as Galileo, Guccio Gucci, Enzo Ferrari but focused particularly on Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Drawing their own modern day Mona Lisa, was a highlight. This term, we are learning about Animali - revising previously learnt animal names and introducing new animals. The children will be extending their knowledge of the language to write descriptive sentences about their chosen animale.

An important aspect of learning a language involves gaining an understanding of the country’s culture. Did you know that ‘Carnevale of Venice’ is a world famous festival celebrated every year leading up to Easter? It is a time where Venice is filled with activity and people dress up in elaborate costumes.

To celebrate Carnevale, the students in Grade 6 designed and painted their own maschera (mask). They all look magnifico!

As part of our Italian program, each year, the Grade 6 students write to children at Preston West Primary School. Last week, we received the first letters from our amici di penna (penfriends). There was a lot of excitement as the students opened their letters. For the remainder of the semester, the children will be focusing on common phrases used to introduce themselves and reading a number of letter samples to assist in writing a letter of reply to their new amico di penna. oming ‘School of Rock’ day later in Term 2.

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