Non-Spanish Speakers
Course Description
This course is designed to teach basic communication skills in Spanish and to develop an understanding of and appreciation for the Spanish language and culture. The goal is to create a positive, enriching, and rewarding environment where students gain confidence to speak in Spanish inside and outside the classroom.
Through a variety of cultural activities, group-based and individual projects, songs, music, games, and technology resources, students learn reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The primary focus is for students to develop proficiency in oral comprehension and speaking as well as in reading and writing, within the limitations of the vocabulary and grammatical structures introduced.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: Primeros Pasos (First Steps)
Greetings, introductions, numbers 0-30, the alphabet, classroom objects, classroom expressions, weather, seasons, dates, months of the year
Grammar: Tú vs. Ud., definite and indefinite articles, gender of nouns
Culture: Spanish-speaking countries, México and the Día de los Muertos
Unit 2: ¡Así Soy Yo! (The Way I Am!)
Likes and dislikes, numbers 31-100, verbs in infinitive, verb “Ser”, transition words, colors, animals.
Grammar: Adjectives, singular subject pronouns
Culture: México y Guatemala “Amate Bark paint”
Unit 3: La Educación (Education)
Time, school subjects, school life, the schedule, cardinal numbers, verb “Estar”, prepositions, classroom objects, shapes
Grammar: Subject pronouns, present tense verbs –ar
Culture: Panamá “molas”
Unit 4: La Salud (Health)
Food and beverages for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; healthy eating habits, me gusta, me encantan, fruits and vegetables of the Americas
Grammar: The plural of nouns; present tense of verbs ending in –er, -ir verb “preferir”
Culture: El tianguis
Unit 5: Mi Familia (My family)
Family, diminutives, review learned vocabulary and grammar structures
Grammar: Asking questions, possessive adjectives, verb “tener”
Culture: “La familia” Fernando Botero (Colombia)
Course Description
A continuation of sixth-grade Spanish, this course places further emphasis on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students read two short novels completely in Spanish to expand their vocabulary, learn more complex grammar and sentence structure, and improve their proficiency in the language. Through a variety of cultural activities, videos, music, group-based and individual projects, and technology resources, students gain a deeper understanding of the language and culture.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: Primeros Pasos (First Steps)
Review greetings, introductions, numbers 0-30, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, dates, colors, gender of nouns, adjectives, likes and dislikes, verb “Ser”, verb “Estar”, transition words, prepositions, definite and indefinite articles.
Unit 2: Un Día en la Escuela (My Day at School)
Time, schedule, school subjects, school life, present tense verbs –ar, numbers 31-100, subject pronouns, verb “Tener”, expressions with “Tener”, ordinal numbers, Mexico and Día de los Muertos.
Unit 3: Una Dieta Saludable (A Healthy Diet)
Food and beverages for breakfast and lunch; present tense of verbs ending in –er, -ir; healthy eating habits; the plural of nouns; Cuánto cuesta?; the restaurant; the plural of adjectives; me gusta, me encantan, me gustaría; fruits and vegetables of the Americas.
Unit 4: Una Ocasión Especial (A Special Occasion)
Clothing, stem-changing verbs (pensar, querer, preferir), demonstrative adjectives, las molas Panamá, el tianguis, asking questions.
Unit 5: A Dónde Voy con mi Familia? (Where Do I Go with my Family?)
Family, pastime activities, verb “ir +a (al)”, places in a city, directions, asking questions, more regular and irregular verbs, chores, present progressive.
Unit 6: De Viaje por los Países de Habla Hispana (A Trip around Spanish- speaking Countries)
Spanish-speaking countries, Hispanic food, culture, location, clothing, weather, the flag, currency, regular, irregular, and stem-changing verbs.
Course Description
Eighth-grade Spanish as a Second Language is an interactive course designed to provide a rich learning environment where students experience different techniques to learn the language. Students select their own learning system to apply and review grammar skills in various oral and written exercises and projects. Skill components include listening, oral, reading comprehension, and writing. This course connects to multicultural activities with the preparation for the Day of the Dead, the Mexico trip, the Spanish Immersion Program, and the Spanish poetry contest. As an important component, students will explore and learn different concepts, such as immigration, morality, courage, and exile, through cultural and language activities. Every unit of study is reinforced with the use of technology by using the Rosetta Stone Spanish Lab Program and by completing projects and visiting multiple teacher-selected web sites. Each cultural or language unit is reinforced with educational videos, games, and melodies. At the end of eighth-grade, students have a functional proficiency in Spanish, having completed two brief novels. They should be able to apply Spanish vocabulary in oral and written presentations, employ grammar skills, participate in conversations, read, tell stories, and write summaries in Spanish.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: Immigration
Review vocabulary with conversations, interviews, acting, and writing exercises. The stories in this unit relate to the concept of immigration. The unit is complemented with a Spanish Immersion Program in preparation for the Mexico trip.
Unit 2: The Day of the Dead: Comparing Cultures
Focus on an ancient indigenous holiday as students prepare for the ceremony of The Day of the Dead. Students make traditional crafts such as papel picado, flowers, and sugar skulls. Eighth-graders practice a choral poetry to present during the ceremony to enrich appreciation for the values and traditions of another culture.
Unit 3: What is Morality?
Review the present and present progressive in brief stories related to morality. Use of reflexive pronouns.
Unit 4: What is Respect?
Identify adverbs in different stories and magazine and newspaper articles related to respect.
Unit 5: What is Courage?
Brainstorming activities describing the concept of courage; review “ser” and “estar” in stories related to courage.
Unit 6: How do you Express your Courage?
Introduction to the past tense in different stories related to courage.
Unit 7: What is Exile?
José Bernal paintings. Regular and irregular verbs in past tense.
Unit 8: Is it Possible to be Exiled in one’s own Home, Community, or Country?
Future tense verbs and autobiography project.
