Dear parent,
In response to your question regarding homework topics, I would like to explain why it is not always about a
topic that is currently being taught. Learning languages is a bit like learning an instrument, you get better by
practicing, sometimes not necessarily a current musical piece, but rather just doing scales or exercises that will
help to place the fingers on the correct positions or will improve the reading of the notes.
We have chosen generic vocabulary topics that are covered during the first three years of language instruction
(the years the children learn foundation and vocabulary) because those are the familiar topics that are covered
by our curriculum. Sometimes the students have not yet learned it, but we are counting on the fact that it will
pick on their curiosity to simply get an idea what is coming.
Because we knew that sometimes they would have not yet learned a homework topic, we listed as many as 10
different options for the children to select an activity and we provided a list with those words for parents to
assist their children.
The ultimate goal is for your child to practice their language at least 10 minutes per day. The topic is a suggested
one, but students can try to use anything they know about what they see (i.e., colors, shapes, names of family
members, etc.). Practicing with any app for 10 minutes does the same job. It helps improve their ability to recall
vocabulary, to start making simple sentences, or to make connections with their own language.
Depending on the age of your child, s/he should be able to at least remember some words from most of the
topics on the homework given so far during the year. A kindergarten or 1 st grade student may not be able to so
we encourage you to ask him/her to tell you 5 words s/he is currently learning or try and see if there is anything
that s/he can say when looking at the pictures. Anything that makes their mind fetch for words in the foreign
language is a great way to practice.
If you have further questions or concerns, please email your child’s language teacher.
Ms. Chen (grades K-3) – [email protected]
Ms. Chen (grades 4-5) – [email protected]
Ms. Frazier – [email protected]
Mr. Gonzalez – [email protected]
Ms. Myers – [email protected]
Ms. Yu – [email protected]