Specialist Report: Italian

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CIAO! (Hello!)

Aitken Hill Primary School students have been continuing to build their Italian vocabulary!

This term, we have been focusing on developing our writing skills in Italian, using our known vocabulary of numbers 0 - 100, greetings, months of the year, days of the week and colours.

Prep: 

Preps are beginning to write words such as 'ciao' (hi/bye) 'mi chiamo' (my name is) and the colours, such as 'rosso', 'bianco' and 'verde' (red, white and green).

Grade Ones and Twos:

Grade Ones and Twos have been developing their writing skills in Italian by creating personal information profiles and vocabulary lists, where Italian words and English translations show their understanding of the connection between the two languages.

Preps, Ones and Twos have also learned about the history of pizza, with a particular focus on the Margherita pizza. Born in Naples, Italy, the Margherita represents the colours of the Italian flag: green, white and red, and was named after Queen Margherita.

*Note: Margherita has a 'h' after the g to make the 'g' hard ('g' like in the English word 'gap'). Otherwise, in Italian, the letter 'g' is soft when followed by an e or i, making a 'j' sound (like in the English word 'giant'.) An Italian word example of this is 'gennaio' (pronounced [jen-AY-oh] which means January).

Grade Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes

Middle school students have really extended themselves in Italian this term. They have created vocaulary lists and devloped their understanding of Italian in its written form, making connections between English root words, their latin origins and the Italian words derived from those bases.

Students are currently researching 'big questions' on a topic of interest about Italy. These topics range from discovering the history of the Ferrari, various Italian foods, or learning more about Italian people of interest, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Maria Montessori or Giuseppe Garibaldi. Some students have chosen a geography focus, such as exploring the three Italian volcanoes, different regions, or a focus on a particular city.

As always, students are making a fantastic effort working online. We encourage more students to participate in Italian tasks, and all Specialist tasks online, as it truly enriches their education to maintain a broad perspective of learning.

If you haven't already, a reminder for students to download the DUOLINGO (<- click here) app - it's free, and you can practise Italian at home, on a smartphone, iPad or computer!

Grazie mille! 

(many thanks!)

Best wishes,

Signora Michelle 

Italian Studies