From Christina Rocha and Anna Mancl, Middle School & Academy Faculty

In the Spanish 1 class, students from both the Middle School and the Academy have been learning to express their likes and dislikes and were introduced to some Spanish and Latin American music styles and dances. They learned the differences between Flamenco from Spain, Merengue from the Dominican Republic, Salsa from Puerto Rico, Tango from Argentina, and Cumbia from Colombia, and voted on their favorites so as to learn some steps in an upcoming class. 

To enrich their experience, they took a "field trip" to the music room where Ms. Mancl had prepared a hands-on music lesson just for them, diving deeper into the rhythms of Salsa and Flamenco. Students learned tempo-related terms, and they practiced counting rhythms with accents that are off the beat. Together with Ms. Mancl and Ms. Rocha’s authentic instruments from their Latin American travels, students experienced music hands-on by playing bongo drums, maracas, claves, guiros, keyboard, and other auxiliary percussions. 

Students and teachers had a blast experiencing firsthand how language and music go together.

Way to go Spanish students!