Spanish

The goal of the Spanish program of The Blacksburg New School is to tap into the invaluable resource of the young child’s inherent ability to learn a second language. The Spanish curriculum of BNS follows the national Standards for Foreign Language Learning and the Virginia Standards of Learning. The goal of this program is for the child to develop a strong level of proficiency in the Spanish language. Each child will develop the ability to communicate in Spanish through the progressive skill development of speaking, listening, writing, and reading. There is a strong emphasis on speaking skills with the hope that each child that completes the Spanish program will feel comfortable using Spanish in a variety of situations. The goal will be for each class to conduct their studies entirely in the target language. This will be accomplished through a variety of methods including, but not limited to, Total Physical Response, The Natural Method, authentic materials, music, texts, readers, and theme-appropriate outings.

There will also be an emphasis on multiculturalism—exposing each child to various cultures in the Spanish-speaking world. A wide variety of learning experiences will be used to enhance global awareness and to increase exposure to history and events in Spanish-speaking groups.


Red Room (Kindergarten)

The BNS students will begin learning Spanish during their first week at the school and will continue with the progressive development of oral and listening skills while in the Red Room. The students will begin learning the language when it is the easiest and most efficient for them – when they are very young. The class will be almost entirely oral, with an emphasis on repetition, songs, physical activities, and games.

VOCABULARY

CULTURE
      The students will be introduced throughout the year to some countries and cultures of the
      Spanish-speaking world with an emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations,
      music, arts, and crafts.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      Standard 1.7: The students will develop an awareness of perspectives, practices, and
      products of Spanish-speaking cultures.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
      feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.

Textbook – Viva el Espanol A

The Orange Room will continue and build upon the Spanish learned in the Red Room. They will begin to use a workbook during the second half of the year with the overall emphasis being on oral activities - especially through oral conversation, games, songs, speaking and listening activities, and cultural content. The students will begin to learn and practice some grammatical content of the language.

VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR
        Calculations of items – the verb “hay”
        Verb “tener” to express feelings and emotions         

CULTURE
      The students will be introduced throughout the year to some countries and cultures of the
      Spanish-speaking world, with emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations, music,
      arts, and crafts.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      SI.1: The students will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish.
      SI.3: The students will understand simple spoken and written Spanish based on familiar
              topics that are presented through a variety of media.

Textbook – Viva el Espanol B

The Yellow Room students will progressively build upon the strong base of Spanish ability acquired in the Red and Orange Rooms. There will be an emphasis on oral and listening activities with some written material as well. Each vocabulary subject will be covered in more depth and with an increase in related concepts covered with each topic (i.e. verbs, questions words, adjectives…) There will also be a continuation of grammar concepts.

VOCABULARY
      Clothing/Months/Weather/School Rooms and People (review)
      Numbers (50-100)
      The House – chores and appliances, fun things to do around house
      Sports and Activities
      Fruits and Vegetables
      The Table and Items With Which to Eat
      Food
      School Subjects
      Musical Instruments
      Personal Descriptions
      Cities/Towns and Places of Interest
      Transportation
      Zoo Animals
      Going to the Restaurant/Ordering from the Menu
      Directions and Placement

GRAMMAR
      Descriptive Adjectives    
      Noun/Adjective (Gender) Agreement
      Questions Words
      Reflexive Verb “gustar” (to like)
      Verb “ir” (to go)
      Description of Placement – verb “estar” (to be – location)

CULTURE
      Students will be introduced to many countries and cultures of the Spanish-speaking
      world, with an emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations, music, arts, and crafts.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      Standard 1.1: The students will exchange simple spoken and written information in
             Spanish.
      Standard 1.2: The student will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and
            written exchanges in Spanish using familiar phrases and sentences.
      Standard 1.3: The student will understand simple spoken and written Spanish based
            on familiar topics that are presented through a variety of media.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
            feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
      Standard 1.2: S understands and interprets written and spoken language on a variety of
            topics.

Green Room (3rd Grade)

Textbook – Viva el Espanol C

The Green Roomers will continue to build upon their strong oral and aural base. There will be a continuation of the many oral and listening activities, with additional writing and reading as well. Each vocabulary subject will be covered more deeply; and we will begin to explore more grammatical concepts.

VOCABULARY and GRAMMAR
      Action words
      Time
      Hobbies and activities
      Higher numbers
      Percentages
      Descriptions – agreement of number and gender
      Manners
      The environment
      Animals
      Location and prepositions
      Writing skills
      Community helpers
      Sea animals
      Visiting the doctor
      Descriptions of ourselves
      Shopping and clothing
      Food and ordering in a restaurant
      Circus animals
      Geography terms and topics

CULTURE
      Students will be introduced to many countries and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, with
      emphasis on geography, holiday and celebrations, music, arts, and crafts.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      Standard 1.1 The student will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish.
      Standard 1.2 The student will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and written
            exchanges in Spanish using familiar phrases and sentences
      Standard 1.3 The student will understand simple spoken and written Spanish based on
            familiar topics that are presented through a variety of media.
      Standard 1.4 The student will use verbal and non-verbal cues to understand simple spoken
            and written message in Spanish.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
            feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
      Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety
            of topics.

Textbook – Hola (part of the “Viva el Espanol” series) and the accompanying Workbook

Spanish in the Blue Room continues and builds upon the Spanish learned by the students thus far. There will be continued emphasis on oral and listening activities and more emphasis on writing activities. Each topic will be covered in greater depth with more exploration of grammar concepts utilized with each vocabulary section.

VOCABULARY
      Bienvenidos – salutations
      Unidad 1 – the classroom
      Unidad 2 – identification, classification, and description of animals and objects
      Unidad 3 – numbers and calendar
      Unidad 4 – hobbies and activities
      Unidad 5 – weather and seasons
      Unidad 6 – dates, likes and dislikes
      Unidad 7 – descriptions of how one is feeling
      Unidad 8 – telling time and units of time
      Unidad 9 – description of school, expressing opinion
      Unidad 10 – Family

GRAMMAR
       Conjugations of regular “ar” verbs
       Gender/number agreement
       Descriptions
       Comparisons
       Verb “ser” and “estar”
       Verb “gustar” – likes and dislikes
       Reflexive verb “doler” – to hurt
       “tener” expressions
       Adjective formations
       Forming questions and answers

CULTURE
      Students will be introduced throughout the year to some countries and cultures of the
      Spanish-speaking world, with emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations, music,
      arts, and crafts. The students will complete mini-research projects on several different
      Spanish-speaking countries. They will explore cultural aspects of the country they have
      chosen.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      S1.1: The students will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish.
      S1.2: The students will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and written
               exchanges in Spanish using familiar phrases and sentences.
      S1.3: The students will understand simple spoken and written Spanish based on familiar
               topics that are presented through a variety of media.
      S1.4: The students will use verbal and non-verbal cues to understand simple spoken and
               written message in Spanish.
      S1.10: The students will demonstrate an understanding of the significance of culture
               through comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and the cultures of the
               United States.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      S1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings
               and emotions, and exchange opinions.
      S1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of
               topics.
      S1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
               readers on a variety of topics.

VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR
      Question words
      Descriptive Adjectives and Agreement
      Verb “ser” (to be)
      Comparisons
      Subject Pronouns and Conjugation of Verbs
      Verb “estar” (to be)
      Gender and Quantity of Nouns
      Verb “gustar” (to like)
      Verb “hacer” (to do, to make)
      Agreement and Disagreement (“creer que”)
      Verb “ir” – to go
      Stem changing verbs “o-ue” – “jugar”

CULTURE
      The Aztec Calendar
      Differences of Northern and Southern Hemispheres
      Cultural Perspectives on Friendships
      Comparison of Schools/Classrooms of Spanish-Speaking World and Here
      Cultural Perspectives on School
      Cultural Perspectives on Meals
      Cultural Perspectives on Diet and Health
      Cultural Perspectives on Leisure Activities

The students will be introduced throughout the year to countries and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world with emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations, music, arts, and crafts. The students will complete a Current Event every other Friday, in which they research an event from the Spanish-speaking world and answer questions about it. Field trips into the community will highlight expressions of Spanish-speaking culture in our own region. The student will also have 2 major research assignments this year: a Country Project and an “Una Persona Famosa” project.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      S1.1 The student will exchange simple spoken and written information in Spanish.
      S1.2 The student will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and written exchanges
            in Spanish using familiar phrases and sentences.
      S1.3 The student will understand simple spoken and written Spanish based on familiar topics
            that are presented through a variety of media.
      S1.4 The student will use verbal and non-verbal cues to understand simple spoken and written
            messages in Spanish.
      S1.5 The student will present orally and in writing information in Spanish that contains a variety
            of familiar vocabulary, phrases, and structural patterns.
      S1.7 The student will develop an awareness of perspectives, practices, and products of
            Spanish-speaking cultures.
      S1.10 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the significance of culture through
            comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and the cultures of the United States.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      S1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and
            emotions, and exchange opinions.
      S1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
      S2.1 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers
            on a variety of topics.
      S4.1 Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of
            the language studied and their own.

Group B
Textbook – Realidades B, La Gran Aventura de Alejandro (novella in Spanish),
                   “Eres tu, Maria?” video series

This class will offer students the opportunity to master a high school level Spanish course. The students will use a variety of sources to advance their skills and knowledge of the Spanish language. There is a strong emphasis on both oral and aural skills, as well as much reading and writing of the language. The students will maintain a composition book in which they will write daily. We will also read a short novel in Spanish that will challenge and interest them—and through which they will learn about the history and culture of Spain. There will also be several mini-projects related to Spanish-speaking cultures. The students will be expected to speak the language as much as possible within the classroom, and I encourage them to speak it outside of the classroom as well. They should become very comfortable with the language regardless of their current skill level. This class will complete the SOL’s for high school Spanish I.

VOCABULARY

Group C
Textbooks: Realidades 2

This group will review concepts from Realidades B then continue with Realidades 2, which is the equivalent of a high school Spanish II program. The students and teacher will conduct this class in Spanish. In addition to the more fluent speaking and listening activities, there will be many written assignments, including compositions in the target language. The course will include authentic reading materials, a video series in Spanish, a short novel, and other enrichment activities. This course will prepare students to enter a high school Spanish I class and may offer the preparation for students to enter a high school Spanish II class. Student evaluation will determine the proper high school placement.

Grammar topics:

Present Tense Conjugations of All Verbs (Regular and Irregular)
Preterite Tense Conjugations of All Regular Verbs
Indirect Object Pronouns
Various Related Vocabulary Groups
Reflexive pronouns
Impersonal “se”
Preterite of irregular verbs
Verbs with reflexive pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Imperfect verb form
Verbs with reciprocal pronouns
Double Object pronouns
Adverbs
Imperfect versus preterite – when to use each
Present perfect and regular past participles
Subjunctive

Vocabulary topics:

Likes and dislikes
Adjectives to describe people
Professions
Introductions
Stores and places around town
Competitions
Daily routine
Pastimes
Foods and ordering
Clothing and Shopping
Nature and Weather
Travel and Tourism

CULTURE
      Students will be introduced throughout the year to countries and cultures of the Spanish-
      speaking world with emphasis on geography, holidays and celebrations, music, art, and crafts.
      They will complete a Current Events project every other week in which they will explore and
      share an event from the Spanish-speaking world. The students will have 2 long-term research
      projects this year: a Country project, and Una Persona Famosa project.

VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
      The Students will cover all of the SOLs for high school Spanish I and most of the Standards
      of Learning for Spanish Level II.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE STANDARDS
      The students will cover the National Language Standards for Spanish 1, and some of the
      National Language Standards for Level 2.