Throughout this term students across the school have engaged in an exploration (albeit virtual!) of Italia. We’ve discovered that it has a very unique shape, that its major cities are very varied, and that there’s more to pizza than the ubiquitous round shape! In Roma you can buy pizza al taglio and in Napoli you can try a delicious pizza fritta! Students have engaged in experiences which enabled them to discover traditional and popular music, sports, customs and traditions, active volcanoes and historic landmarks. In prep-2 we’ve also focused on the alfabeto italiano, remembering that it does not include the letters j,k,w,x,y except when they are borrowed from English in words like il weekend. Students are building their capacity to spell familiar vocabulary and to use singolare/plurale. We also discovered that pasta dishes are always written as a plural (eg spaghetti!)…who wants only one spaghetto on their plate!
As a whole school we’ve enjoyed the beautiful music of Giacomo Rossini as we followed the adventures of Figaro, Rosina, Count Almaviva and Aunty Bartola in Opera Australia’s performance of The Barber of Seville.
Student projects have varied from a trip to Italia with Muzzy, complete with an aeroplano and on board menu`, a student designed pizzeria/gelateria, animations about the world of calcio (soccer), student designed kahoot quizzes, replicas of landmarks such as il Colosseo, la Torre di Pisa and la Fontana della Barcaccia. Others have enjoyed creating their own cooking shows where ingredients are listed and interactions take place in Italian. Beautiful Venetian inspired maschere have been created and itineraries to places of interest (such as 3 days in Positano), a role play about gladiatori and an exploration of the iconic Giro d’Italia! Students have expanded their Italian vocabulary through these investigations, adding many new nouns and adjectives to their repertoire!
Exploring the alfabeto italiano, le vocali and new vocabolario!
