Fourth grade classrooms could have been confused with the produce section of a supermarket as Fairfield Elementary School students learned the Spanish words for different fruits. The lesson by Señora Julianne Loney was part of the district’s Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools program.
For the “ensalada de fruta” or fruit salad activity, each student was given an index card that listed a fruit. The goal was to find the classmate or teacher with the same fruit. Students asked questions in Spanish until they found a match.
The endeavor promoted conversational skills and helped students further develop their Spanish vocabularies. The FLES program includes twice-weekly Spanish lessons for students in grades 3-5 and prepares them for middle school when they can select from among four languages to pursue.