Spanish

 

About Spanish classes:

Grades K-2

Course Description: Students will work on basic vocabulary, spoken and written expression and listening comprehension.  Students will also study and discuss various cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world.  The focus of this class will be on basic communication and developing an appreciation of the language and cultures. 

 

Grade  2 will have Spanish folders that they can bring home and back to school. I will ask all regular teachers to send completed papers home in their folders to keep parents updated on what we are studying.  They may also want to keep assignments for their own future reference.

 

Textbooks: Grades K-2 will not have a textbook.

Class Rules and Expectations

  • Be prepared with all materials each day.
  • Participate positively in class activities.
  • Follow directions the FIRST TIME, without comment.
  • Be respectful of the teacher, other students, and yourself.
  • Speak as much Spanish as you are able to. (We’re all here to learn!)
  • When you don’t understand something, remember to follow these steps:

       1)   Escucha. (Listen)      

       2)   Mira. (Look)    

       3)   Pregunta. (Ask)        

 

Grading

  

   Participation is the most important factor in the younger grades' Spanish scores.

      Grades K-2 receive E, G, S, N, or U on their report cards for Spanish.

 

    Grades K-3 will rarely have homework. "Homework" for them will be work that they did not finish in class time  

 

Topics:

Kindergarten

Basic greetings

Basic leave-takings

Ways to respond to ¿Cómo estás?

Began to discuss gender and how adjectives change depending if you are a chico or chica

Numbers 0-30

Colors

How to give their name and age

Classroom objects

Family vocabulary, some pets

Days of the week

Weather

 

1st

Basic greetings

Basic leave-takings

Ways to respond to ¿Cómo estás?

Began to discuss gender and how adjectives change depending if you are a chico or chica

Numbers 0-30

Colors

How to give their name and age

Classroom objects

Family vocabulary, some pets

Days of the week

Weather

Seasons

2nd

Basic greetings and leave-takings

Basic classroom commands

Ways to respond to ¿Cómo estás?

Alphabet

Numbers to 30

Classroom objects

Colors

Animals

Family members

How to describe someone’s personality and give a physical description

Days of the week

Weather

Seasons

Clothing

Grades 3-5

Course Description: Students will work on basic vocabulary, spoken and written expression and listening comprehension.  Students will also study and discuss various cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world.  The focus of this class will be on basic communication and developing an appreciation of the language and cultures. 

 

Students will have Spanish folders that they can bring home and back to school. I will ask all regular teachers to send completed papers home in their folders to keep parents updated on what we are studying.  They may also want to keep assignments for their own future reference.

 

Class Rules and Expectations

  • Be prepared with all materials each day.
  • Participate positively in class activities.
  • Follow directions the FIRST TIME, without comment.
  • Be respectful of the teacher, other students, and yourself.
  • Speak as much Spanish as you are able to. (We’re all here to learn!)
  • When you don’t understand something, remember to follow these steps:

       1)   Escucha. (Listen)      

       2)   Mira. (Look)    

       3)   Pregunta. (Ask)

  

Textbook:

            Grades 3, 4, and 5 use Hola: Viva el Español, which will be kept by me as a class set.

  

Grading:

     Participation is the most important factor in the younger grades' Spanish scores.

 

     Grades 3-5 receive G, S, N, or U on their report cards for Spanish.

    Grades 4 and 5 will occasionally have homework (about one every other class (every other week).

 

Objectives Overview, Grade 3:

Answer how you are

Greetings

Ask names and identify people

Question words (cómo, quien, qué, cuál, cuánto)

Review numbers

Write and say addition problems

Describe classroom (Hay dos globos.)

Animals

Review colors

Say what you like (using “favoirte”)

Days of the week

Talk about going places (verb ir)

Places in a school

Places in a town

Give dates

¿Cuándo?

Numbers 1-49

Cultures studied: Mexico, Costa Rica

 

Objectives Overview, Grade 4:

Give dates

¿Cuándo?

Talk about classes in school

Read schedule

Verbs related to classroom activities

Regular -ar verbs

Words to describe performance (muy bien, mucho)

Ir + a + infinitive

Seasons

Talk about weather

Say likes and dislikes (verb gustar)

Temperature

Talk about activities done in different months

Talk about who is doing something

Use of tambien and tampoco

Adverbs siempre, nunca, a veces

Cultures studied: Spain, Puerto Rico

 

Objectives Overview, Grade 5

Talk about who is doing something

Use of tambien and tampoco

Adverbs siempre, nunca, a veces

Review of weather

Say what you like and dislike (gustar)

Abbreviate sentences by replacing nouns with el or la

Gustar with object pronouns

Verbs for daily activities

Around the house vocabulary

Describe who does what and when

When to use and usted

Tell ages

Possessive adjectives

Talk about feelings

Verb tener and tener expressions

Birthday celebrations

Cultures studied: Ecuador, Argentina, Nicaragua

Grades 6, 7, and 8

 

Course Description: Students will be expected to participate in all classroom and homework activities which will involve reading, writing, listening and speaking in Spanish. These activities reinforce what is being taught.  All students are responsible for their own success in the class.  The focus of the class will be two-fold in that while the students will be learning how to communicate with others in Spanish, they will also become familiar with the culture, history and geography of many Spanish-speaking countries.  Equal emphasis will be placed on developing the student’s communicative ability in the areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking in Spanish.

 

Text:   The 6th & 7th grades use ¡Exprésate! Level 1A, and the 8th uses ¡Exprésate! Level 1B, Holt, Rinehart and Winston. These books are the first in a series of books which are designed to be the middle school equivalent to a Spanish I course at the high school level. The students have their own copy of this book to be returned at the end of the year in the same condition as given.

Other Requirements: Students are required to have a three ring binder or folder with a notebook. If students would like to keep their work organized, I advise to that they have 3 dividers and that they are labeled as follows:

  • Gramática y Vocabulario – Grammar and Vocabulary
  • Apuntes y Trabajo - Notes and Classwork
  • Tarea - Homework

 

Classroom Rules:

    1. Be prepared.  What this looks like: When class begins, student is in assigned seat with a working writing utensil and needed materials on desk.

    2. Be polite.  What this looks like: This is a requirement that all students respect their teachers, their classmates, their materials, and themselves! Each student takes care of his or her own property and avoids damage to the school’s or others’ property. Student uses positive language, and does not put anyone down.

    3. Be productive. What this looks like: Student follows procedures for individual and group work, turning in assignments, and other classroom directions from the teacher in order to use our class time efficiently.

Goals:

     Be proud.    (Doing your best is strongly encouraged.)

Consequences:   Verbal warning, Note or call home, Silent Lunches, Student does work alone instead of buddy work, Student writes a written reflection or apology for his or her actions, Loss of free time or computer time, Demerits

Rewards:  Praise or notes, Spanish games time, In-class homework time, and Tickets (billetes) will be given out for good behavior seen throughout a class (being ready to begin class, working well in alone work and/or cooperatively in a group, etc.).  The tickets may be put in a collection upon exiting each class and I will draw names for prizes periodically (at least once a month). Prizes will include fun school supplies, candy, or points on assignments.

 

Grading  - 6th grade

  • 4 written quizzes:                     20%
  • 2 spoken quizzes:                      20%
  • Presentation/Project:               10%
  • Classwork/Homework:            25%
  • Homework will be given once a week.
  • Participation:                            25%

 

Grading Policy - 7th and 8th grade:

   

  • 3 tests:                                        30%
  • 4 written quizzes:                      10%
  • 2 spoken quizzes:                      20%
  • Presentation/Project:               10%
  • Classwork/Homework:            15%
  • Homework will be given once a week.
  • Participation:                            15%

Late Work

Students are expected to have homework completed at the beginning of the class period. Late work for full credit will only be accepted in the case of an excused absence. Some work will be graded based upon completion, and some of it will be based on correctness. I will let the students know which way I will be grading.  Each day an assignment is late, 10% will be taken away.

 

If a student is absent, getting the make-up assignment is each student's personal responsibility. All homework and long-term assignments will be posted on my homework web pagethe day they are assigned.  If a student does not have internet access, it is their responsibility to come to me or check with a classmate to get their missed assignment(s).  The assignment will be due the next time he/she has Spanish class.

                             

Extra Credit:

Grades 6 - 8! 

If you'd like extra credit, simply work on one of the sites in the games, quizzes, or tutorials sections of the Links and have a parent or guardian write me a note or e-mail saying what you did and for how long. 20 minutes of playing/studying in Spanish = 5 points extra credit to add to the total points you have. (That's worth half of a classwork assignment.) You may do this up to 5 times.

      

Objectives Overview, Grade 6

Review greetings and emotions

Give personal information (age, phone number, e-mail)

Tell time

Review dates; schedules

Describe who does what and when

Verbs: ser, tener, estar, vivir, llamar,

Parts of speech – subjects and verbs in a sentence, subject pronouns

Describing people - Ser with adjectives

Review gender and adjective agreement

Form questions; ¿por qué? vs. porque

Tell what they like to do and what they want to do (gustar, querer)

Preposition de

Verbs ir and jugar in present tense

Ir + a + infinitive

Review weather

Using pronouns after prepositions

Sports and hobbies (review)

Cultures studied: Spain, Puerto Rico, Spanish-speakers in the United States

 

Objectives Overview, Grade 7

Review of gustar and querer

Verbs ir and jugar in present tense

Ir + a + infinitive

Review weather

Using pronouns after prepositions

Sports and hobbies (review)

Tell what you do and how often

Tell what you have and what you need

School supplies and subjects

Indefinite articles (¿cuánto? -  mucho, poco)

Verb tener and tener expressions

Tell when people arrive at an event (Venir and venir + a + time)

Review time

Give invitations

Discuss plans

Irregular present tense verbs (hacer, poner, saber, traer, ver)

Verbs salir and salir + de

-Er and -ir verbs in present tense

Use of tag questions (¿no? ¿verdad?)

Family relationships

Possessive adjectives

Stem- changing verbs (o to ue and e to ie)

Talk about where others live

Prepositions of location

Chores

House vocabulary

Estar + prepositions

Negative words: nunca, tampoco, no, nadie, no

Verbs tocar and parecer

Texas, Costa Rica, Chile

 

Objectives Overview, Grade 8

Review (capítulo puente):

Greetings and emotions

Give personal information (age, phone number, e-mail)

Tell time

Review dates; schedules

Describe who does what and when

Verbs: ser, tener, estar, vivir, llamar,

Give invitations

Discuss plans

-Ar verbs

Review weather

Using pronouns after prepositions

Food vocabulary

Comment on food

Review adjective agreement

Take and give orders of food

Make polite requests

To be -  Ser vs. estar

Verbs: pedir, servir, preferir, poder, probar

Give instructions

 Affirmative informal commands

Use of direct objects and direct object pronouns

Informal commands and pronouns

Review how to tell time

Talk about daily routine

Staying fit and healthy

Verbs with reflexive pronouns

Infinitives and conjugated verbs with prepositions

Tell how you are feeling with verbs estar, sentirse, and tener

Negative informal commands

Use of direct objects and reflexive pronouns with informal commands

Healthcare

Giving advice

Introduction to past tense

–ar verbs

Temperature

Pastimes review

Ask and give opinions about looks

Ask for help in a store

Tell how much something costs

Numbers to one million

Past tense of –ar verbs (comprar, gastar)

Clothing vocabulary

Cultures studied: Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic