Span 2010 CurriculumPDF

The Well School
Spanish Curriculum
Grades 1-5
Academic Year 2010-2011

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Prepared by
Raisa A. Lawrence
August 2010
raisalawrence@gmail.com
(603) 785-3139
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The Well School Spanish Curriculum
Grades 1-5
Academic Year 2010-2011
All Rights Reserved.
Not to be used or reprinted without express written permission.
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Page 2
The Well School | Spanish Curriculum, Grades 1-5 Span 2010 Curriculum.pages

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Table of Contents
Program Goals & Overall Approach
3
Methodology & Materials
4
The Natural Approach
4
Total Physical Response (TPR)
5
Waldorf Education
6
TPRS: Teaching Proﬁciency Through Reading & Storytelling
8
Anatomy of a Spanish Class
10
National Foreign Language Standards at The Well School
11
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Program Goals & Overall Approach
The Well School’s language program offers students in Grades Pre-K through Grade 8
instruction in Spanish. The goal is to have students immersed in Spanish as completely
as possible for the duration of class time.
In Grades 1, 2 & 3, Spanish classes run 45mins/class twice per week for a total of over
50 hours of Spanish instruction per year. Students in Grades 4 & 5 attend class twice
per week, but these run for 60 minutes each for a total of over 70 hours of instruction in
a given year. (In contrast, babies are exposed to their ﬁrst language every day, 10 hours
a day for a total of over 3,600 hours of exposure to their primary language each year.)
By limiting the number of words used in Spanish class, particularly during grades 1-5,
we make our language repetitive. That allows us to reach our students structure, or the
rudimentary “map” of the Spanish language in a limited amount of time. This “map”is at
the heart of learning Spanish well enough to read, write and speak.
The goal of the The Well School program for students in Grades 1-5 is to build enough
competency in the Spanish language so that by the end of the 5th grade year students
will be able to: create conversations, read and write simple stories, write sentences and
short paragraphs, and have a foundation of understanding about the cultures and
traditions behind the language. With these communication skills in hand, graduates of
The Well School will be prepared to interact more effectively with members of the local
and global community.
Page 3

Methodology & Materials
The primary methods used in teaching Spanish at The Well School are:
• the Natural Approach
• Total Physical Response (TPR)
• Waldorf Education-style Techniques
• Teaching Proficiency through Reading & Storytelling (TPRS)
Each will be discussed in turn below.
The Natural Approach
In landmark research about neurological development, Wilder Penfield discovered that
there are biological differences in the bilingual brain.1 There are simply more
connections between the left and right cortex, and therefore more opportunities for
connections of all kinds. As a result of these findings Penfield advocated for what he calls
the “mother’s method” for teaching second languages to children.
In three or four years, a mother may teach her child only a few hundred words of the
child’s first language, but even this will serve to develop the functional connections of the
speech cortex. Penfield suggests that when a child hears a second language and learns to
use a few hundred words in that language, his uncommitted cortex is conditioned to
continue study of that language well beyond his childhood years.
The Natural Approach, developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell, is a theory of
language acquisition that tries to explain the complex and fluid process used by mothers,
fathers and caregivers to teach language. And by breaking the process into discrete
components, Krashen & Terrell offered an overall strategy for teaching a foreign
language to older children.
At the heart of the Natural Approach are 5 basic principles, all of which guide Spanish
instruction at The Well School:
1. Language acquisition (an unconscious process developed through using language
meaningfully) is different from language learning (consciously learning or
discovering rules about a language) and language acquisition is the only way
competence in a second language occurs. (The acquisition/learning hypothesis)
2. Conscious learning operates only as a monitor or editor that checks or repairs the
output of what has been acquired. (The monitor hypothesis)
3. Grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order and it does little good
to try to learn them in another order.(The natural order hypothesis).
4. People acquire language best from messages that are just slightly beyond their
current competence. (The input hypothesis)
Page 4
1 Penfield, Wilder and Lamar Roberts. Speech and Brain Mechanisms. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959.

5. The learner's emotional state can act as a filter that impedes or blocks input
necessary to acquisition. (The affective filter hypothesis) "2
Essentially, the Natural Approach suggests that we cannot “force” language learning on
children! They will learn the language when they are ready, and only if they have been
given the proper “inputs.” A classroom rich in the Spanish language, with age-
appropriate vocabulary and basic grammatical structures, a time filled with fun and a
predictable rhythm all serve to create an environment where the learning of a second
language can occur.

Total Physical Response (TPR)
Total Physical Response (TPR) is an integral part of the Well School Spanish curriculum.
Developed by Dr. James J. Asher nearly thirty years ago, TPR was originally a technique
used in English-as-a-second language (ESL) classes.3 Like Penfield’s “mother’s method,”
the TPR approach to foreign-language acquisition models the way children learn their
first language. For example, when our children were young and first started to stand, we
often would announce (repeatedly): “Look, you’re standing!” Those words, first
understood by our babies as just sounds, accompanied a specific movement. Over time,
these three disparate parts -- sound, movement, meaning -- coalesced into
comprehension in the mind of our toddler. We strive to use TPR in Spanish class in much
the same way.
More specifically, in the classroom TPR is used by saying an action word and
demonstrating that word simultaneously. In this way, gesture is an integral part of each
song, each poem, each command, and is
therefore a vital part of each and every
Spanish class at The Well School. And a
targeted 5-10 minute TPR section of class
takes direct commands a step further, over
time building a repertoire of action verbs that
are a part of the core 600 words that establish
fluency.4
A part of assuming that comprehension and
language acquisition involves a physical
component (particularly for children), is
understanding that children will speak when
they are comfortable and ready. They should
Additional Resources
The following article, available online, offers an
excellent overview of TPR:
The ABC's of The Total Physical Response,
by Francisco J Cabello, Ph.D., Concordia
College, Moorhead, MN.
http://www.tpr-world.com/ABC.html
Page 5
2 Krashen, Stephen D. and Tracy D. Terrell. 1983. The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom.
Hayward, CA: Alemany Press. Pages 6-7
3 Asher, James. Learning Another Language Through Actions. Sky Oak Productions, Los Gatos, CA, 2000. Page 29.
4 High-frequently TPR verbs, techniques, sequencing ideas obtained from: Garcia, Ramiro. Instructor’s Notebook: How to Apply
TPR for Best Results. Sky Oak Productions, Los Gatos, CA 2001.

not be pressured to do so any earlier. This is because students, like infants and toddlers,
begin learning language with a “silent period” during which they internally decode
language until they feel comfortable speaking it.
As Brooks describes in the introduction to the Sonrisas curriculum for young children,
“The beauty of using TPR in foreign-language acquisition is that meaning is conveyed
without translation. Translation is a process that takes language out of the natural
linguistic experience and transforms it into intellectual study. This is entirely
inappropriate for children. Student comprehension can be, and should be, expressed
through gesture - children can respond with gesture long before they are ready to use
the language orally.” 5
Another important benefit of TPR is revealed in its name. Total Physical Response
engages children kinetically, bringing the language into their bodies. For young children,
this experience is both enjoyable and essential to their success in acquiring language.
Waldorf Education
When Rudolf Steiner started the first Waldorf School in Germany in the 1920s he offered
very specific guidelines for teaching foreign languages. At the heart of these objectives
was a desire to expand the capacity for communication while at the same time honoring
the creative capacities of young children.
These original objectives have been actualized in Waldorf classrooms throughout the
country. And the thematic content of Waldorf curriculums in particular is firmly
grounded in children’s everyday experience, i.e. through nature, colors, the body,
clothing, food, the home and family, numbers, etc. In Senderos: Teaching in Spanish in
Waldorf Schools, Ferrer articulates the objectives of language instruction within this
educational approach: “We want them to be able to create brief conversations, to read
simple stories, and to write sentences and paragraphs, developing the capacity to think
by letting the language penetrate their being. Also, through daily rhythms, repetition,
continuity of instruction, concentration, and follow-up, the will of the student is
developed. These activities help the individual transform the material to make it her
own.6
The structure and flow of the Waldorf Spanish class can perhaps best be described as a
“well-orchestrated concert.”7 The teacher leads students through a wide range of
activities in a relatively short period of time. In each lesson, students are given adequate
room and opportunity to move their bodies, alternating sitting positions with physical
Page 6
5 Linder, Brooks. Sonrisas: A Spanish Language Curriculum for Young Children. California, 2008. Page 21.
6 Forrer, Elena, et al. Senderos: Teaching Spanish in Waldorf Schools. The Association of Waldorf School of North America, Fair
Banks, CA 2000. Page 14.
7 Senderos quote, page 16.

activity of some kind. After an initial greeting, the class enters the oral segment that
emphasizes a lively, rhythmic pace. This portion of the class may include song,
recitation, counting, Q&A, and dancing; it brings the class together and puts students in
a receptive mood for the next activity in which new materials is introduced.
Through much of the Waldorf foreign language approach complements TPR and the
Natural Approach techniques, there is one quality that differs signiﬁcantly. While NA
focuses on comprehensible input, through which students acquire language as they
understand its meaning, in the Waldorf classroom students learn extensive poems and
verses by heart before they completely understand the content of these poems. This is
not to say that in each lesson students do not also learn through comprehensible input.
The idea of introducing substantial and often complex verse and poetry, however, is
based on the the belief that until the age of six or seven, children relate less to meaning
and more to sound. To put this another way, children relate to emotional content long
before they relate to intellectual content. Although children may not fully grasp the
meaning of the poem, they can become familiar with the language on an emotional level
through the sound of the poem.8
Below is a more speciﬁc list of the materials used in class to support Waldorf-style
instruction:
• Poetry. Each class is given a “class poem,” a poem unique for each grade. Spanish
is rich in lyrical poetry, and has many examples of poems suitable for young
children. The capacity for imitation and recitation is at its peak in the younger
grades, so poems of length are ideal. And since the poem is repeated each and
every Spanish class the students are able to memorize these verses of considerable
length. In addition to class poems, the Lower School as a group as well as 5th grade
learn shorter poems throughout the year.
• Songs. All songs are taught with accompanying gestures and movements, which
reinforces kinesthetic learning. Short poems also are introduced during this part of
the lesson, also with accompanying gestures to improve comprehension. Grades 1
& 2 spend more time in song than grades 3, 4 & 5.
• Performance. During Coffee House, students perform songs and recite poetry to
the audience. During class time, 2nd grade performs “Mini-Teatros,” which are
brief skits (1-2 pages long, 3-5 minutes duration). The 3rd, 4th, 5th grades
perform “Mini-Cuentos,” also brief skits (2-3 minutes in duration) that complement
the TPRS instruction.
Page 7
8 Senderos again

TPRS: Teaching Proficiency Through Reading & Storytelling
Blaine Ray developed TPRS in 1990 by adding storytelling to James Asher's Total
Physical Response method. With TPRS students first learn words by practicing them
with a movement or gesture. Then the vocabulary is practiced through the telling of
humorous personalized stories. Throughout each TPRS teaching block, the teacher
provides a constant stream of comprehensible AND interesting input in the target
language. The attendant, targeted readings
further develop fluency by adding yet more
repetition.9
The Well School uses a simple form of TPRS in
Grades 1 & 2 when the teacher reads children’s
stories at the close of class. By using a
technique called ‘circling,’ which involves the
teacher asking repetitive questions in an
interesting manner, target vocabulary is
repeated frequently by the teacher and by
students in a limited amount of time. This technique also is highly interactive, which
helps to maintain student interest.
In Grades 3, 4 & 5 TPRS-specific materials are used as more core components of the
curriculum. The ¡Cuéntame! series, with the cat Gabi, allows students to learn target
vocabulary and easy, fundamental grammatical structures.
TPRS is highly entertaining and interactive. The episodes in ¡Cuéntame! take full
advantage of the theater of TPRS, and are specifically designed to be funny, cute, wacky
and vaguely . . . stupid. Gabi, the loco central character in these story arcs, eats (in
order): an alarm clock, a radio, a vacuum cleaner and a handful of kitchen magnets. The
kids are, generally, riveted by her nutty behavior.
The sequence for the use of TPRS in the Grades 3, 4 & 5 is as follows:
1. The kids first learn the vocabulary for the story by using hand TPR.
2. The kids practice the vocabulary through Games.
3. The kids are read the story/episode by the teacher.
4. The kids are divided into groups, read and practice their lines/roles, and then
present “mini-cuentos.” These are short skits reinforcing the vocabulary and
grammar to be used in the episode.
5. The teacher teaches the episode using TPRS. Students follow with exercises in
their ¡Cuéntame! workbooks.
6. The teacher teaches the episode using TPRS a second time, changing details,
embellishing and adding characters to hold attention and sharpen listening skills.
Students follow with exercises in their ¡Cuéntame! workbooks.
See a TPRS class on YOUTUBE
The following link on YouTube shows Ben Slavic,
a renowned TPRS instructor, using TPRS
techniques with a 7th grade French class:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=H47hWgbAN6Q
Page 8
9 Ray, Blaine and Contee Seely. Fluency Through TPR Storytelling: Achieving Real Language Acquisition in School,
Command Performance Language Institute, Berkeley, CA, 2008.

7. The teacher teaches the episode using TPRS a third time. The teacher purposely
makes mistakes and encourages the students to make corrections. Students
follow with exercises in their ¡Cuéntame! workbooks.
8. Students read in their TPRS “novels” to reinforce vocabulary and grammar.
Also, throughout the process, students engage in Speed Writing exercises. A speed
write is where students write for 5 minutes with the goal of not editing and not stopping.
They write as fast as they can. They try to get 100 words in 5 minutes on the topic.
Below is a more specific list of the materials used in class to support TPRS instruction:
• ¡Cuéntame!, by Christine Anderson/Valeri Marsh. These workbooks and
accompanying skits, exercises and parallel stories support the learning of target
vocabulary and beginner-level grammatical structures. During the Academic Year
2010/2011, the 3rd Grade will use the first story arc from the series: Una Semana Con
Gabi (A Week With Gabi). The 4th and 5th Grades will use the second story arc during
the year: Gabi la Aventurera (Gabi the Adventurer).
• Pobre Ana (Poor Ana), a beginner, beginner novel by Blaine Ray. The entire book is
only 6,000 words -- but it contains only 300 different words, and all verbs are in the
present tense. The glossary in the back of the book encourages independence, and the
brevity of the book keeps the task of reading in Spanish manageable. For those
students who need and/or want to hear the story read aloud, Pobre Ana also is
available to students as a book-on-tape.
• Pirates del Caribe y El Mapa Secreto (Pirates of the Caribbean and The Secret Map),
is a novice beginning reader novel. Students who complete Pobre Ana move on to this
novel. The book’s back cover summarizes
the plot: “The tumultuous, pirate-infested
seas of the 1600's serve as the historical
backdrop for this fictitious story of
adventure, suspense and deception. Rumors
of a secret map abound in the Caribbean, and
Henry Morgan will stop at nothing to find it.
The search for the map is ruthless and
unpredictable for anyone who dares to
challenge the pirates of the Caribbean.”
Johnny Depp does not appear anywhere, but
please don’t tell the kids until they’re are all
finished.
• Rebeldes de Tejas (Rebels from Texas), a more advanced beginning reader novel.
Another great adventure story -- this one about the Alamo. The past tense spices
things up a bit, as does the wanton destruction of fortress walls by cannon fire. A
genuinely fun read - and a useful bit of historical fiction (in Spanish!).
Preview “Piratas del Caribe”
You can download a preview of Piratas del Caribe
from tprsstorytelling.com:
http://www.tprstorytelling.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=
200015
Page 9

Anatomy of a Spanish Class
Learning a new language can be overwhelming to young children. Establishing a rhythm
to Spanish class minimizes anxiety and allows the class to cover more content in a
limited amount of time. Students also enjoy the anticipation of knowing what comes
next. Also, a rhythm to classes offers a framework for repetition, thus making available
more opportunities for the same vocabulary and grammatical structures to be heard by
students. Below is an outline of the structure of Spanish classes in Grades 1-5.
Anatomy of a Spanish ClassAnatomy of a Spanish ClassAnatomy of a Spanish Class
Time Activity Rationale
2
mins
Opening Verse Buenos Días (Good Morning)
3-5
mins
Recitation of
Class Poem
Each class is given a “class poem,” a unique poem for each grade. Spanish is rich in lyrical
poetry, and has many examples of poems suitable for young children. The capacity for imitation
and recitation is at its peak in the younger grades, so poems of length are ideal. And since the
poem is repeated each and every Spanish class the students are able to memorize these
verses of considerable length.
5-20
mins
Songs & Poems
All songs are taught with accompanying gestures and movements, which reinforces kinesthetic
learning. Short poems also are introduced during this part of the lesson, also with
accompanying gestures to improve comprehension. Grades 1 & 2 spend more time in song
than grades 3, 4 & 5.
5
mins
TPR
TPR, or Total Physical Response, also reinforces verb comprehension through kinesthetic
learning. Students follow instructions verbally and/or through interpreting graphics without text.
5
mins
Rhymes &
Questions
Rhymes are a chance to introduce conversational phrases and standard verb conjugation
without verb diagrams. For example, “my name is ____,” “what is your name?” is taught, but
with a rhyme and rhythm to encourage correct pronunciation and verb tense use. Question/
Answers are used to encourage the use of appropriate vocabulary by individual students.
15-20
mins.
OPTION 1:
Games
Games are fun! They also allow for the repetition (repetition, repetition!) of target vocabulary to
occur with minimal boredom. For Grades 1 & 2, Games focus on thematic units (colors,
animals, parts of the body, etc.). In Grades 3, 4 & 5, Games also focus on target vocabulary for
TPRS instruction.
15-20
mins.
OPTION 2:
Mini-cuentos
ONLY FOR GRADES 2-5, NOT FIRST GRADE. These short skits offer students a chance to
read in Spanish, practice pronunciation, perform in front of the group and practice working and
groups.
15-20
mins.
OPTION 3:
TPRS
TPRS, or Teaching Proficiency through Reading & Storytelling, uses first games, then mini-
cuento performances, then storytelling led by the instructor to learn target vocabulary and
grammar. Workbooks are used to further encourage reading and writing of Spanish.
5-10m
ins
Reading
Children’s stories are used for all grades -- simple, “early reader” type stories offer ideal
opportunities for students to follow story lines. In grades 3-5, students also read the novel
“Pobre Ana” -- sometimes silently to themselves, other times out loud to the class.
2
mins
Closing Verse Buenas Noches (Good Night)
Page 10

National Foreign Language Standards at The Well School
The Well School’s Spanish language curriculum is designed to meet the National
Foreign Language Standards.
With the help of a three-year grant from the US Department of Education and the
National Endowment for the Humanities, an eleven-member task force (representing a
variety of languages, levels of instruction, program models, and geographic regions),
undertook the task of defining content standards -- what students should know and be
able to do -- in foreign language education. The final document, Standards for Foreign
Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century, was first published in 1996 and then
revised in 2008.10
The curricular elements of the Foreign Language Standards incorporate the five C’s:
Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. It is divided by
levels of Readiness, Foundations and Essential, with each level having its own set of
objectives. In order to attain these standards, students need a foreign language program
that provides rich curricular experiences. Also, classroom content ideally is delivered
with enough flexibility to accommodate the various learning styles of individual children
as well as accommodate varying levels of language learners.
The standards document -- and the fluency objectives developed as part of the effort --
has been used by teachers, administrators, and curriculum developers at both state and
local levels to begin to improve foreign language education in our nation's schools.
The Well School’s Spanish curriculum for Grades 1-5 is designed to meet the specific
objectives of the Foreign Language standards. In addition, the program strives to
develop positive attitudes and excitement toward learning the Spanish language.
Through the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, Well School students are
able to broaden their awareness, acceptance and understanding of the Hispanic culture.
The specific requirements of the FLE are detailed in the tables below.
Page 11
10 The NEW 3rd Edition Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, revised including Arabic standards, is now
available.

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
1: COMMUNICATION - Communicate in Languages Other Than English
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
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
2. CULTURES - Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the
practices and perspectives of the culture studied
Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the
products and perspectives of the culture studied
3. CONNECTIONS - Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines
through the foreign language
Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that
are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
4. COMPARISONS - Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
Standard 4.1: Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through
comparisons of the language studied and their own
Standard 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through
comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
5. COMMUNITIES - Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home & Around the World
Standard 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting
Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the
language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
Page 12

1: COMMUNICATION: Communicate in Languages Other Than English11
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and
emotions, and exchange opinions
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5 Citation
Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 1FL - R1
Greet people, make
small talk and close
conversations,
comprehend and
interpret songs and
poems
• Sing songs for between 5-25 minutes each class
• Games during class reinforce greetings, standard conversations
• Rhymes to practice greetings and remember vocabulary
• Students are encouraged to greet of Spanish teachers, other
faculty on campus in Spanish
X X X X X 1FL - R2
Give and follow simple
instructions and ask
and answer questions
• Classroom management phrases and question words are in
Spanish
• Gestures included in all songs and poetry recitations
X X X X X IFL - R3
Express likes and
dislikes
• Practice using “me gusta, no me gusta”
• As students learn other vocabulary, teacher will continually ask
for their opinions.
X X X X X 1FL - R4
Describe people, places
and things in their daily
lives
• Vocabulary for thematic units taught throughout year (objects in
classroom, family members, parts of the body, animals, etc.)
• Sing songs, recite descriptive poetry to reinforce nouns and
adjectives, common grammatical structures
X 1FL - R5
Identify occupations in
their target language
• In thematic unit on occupations, learn vocabulary about common
jobs and the verbs to describe their work
Page 13
11 Citations used with the detailed Well School curriculum refer to the FLE standards and objectives within
the Readiness, Foundation and Essential competencies. (i.e. FL1-E2: Foreign Language Standard 1,
Essential 2). The final column, Activities, provide details as to how The Well School’s program is
specifically structured to meet these objectives.

Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of
topics
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 2FL - R1
Respond to simple
commands
• Use of commands throughout class
• Targeted TPR instruction
X X X X X 2FL - R2
Read and understand
simple words and
expressions
• Gestures used in all singing and in poetry recitations to reinforce
kinesthetic learning
• In grades 2-5, students read and perform “mini-teatros” or skits,
2-5 minutes in duration
X X X X X 2FL - R3
Comprehend short
conversations/stories on
familiar topics
• Book reading at close of every class, sometimes read by the
teacher, other times read by students
• Vocabulary practiced during Games
X X X X X 2FL - R4
Identify people and
objects based on oral
and written descriptions
• Vocabulary for thematic units taught throughout year (objects in
classroom, family members, parts of the body, animals, etc.)
• Games and in-class work reinforce thematic unit vocabulary
X X X X X 2FL - R5
Interpret gestures,
intonation and other
visual and auditory cues
• Gestures used as frequently as possible throughout class-time
• Visual aids used as frequently as possible (objects students can
hold and touch, puppets, costumes, colored visual aids, pictures,
etc.)
X X X X X 2FL - R6
Comprehend the main
ideas and identify the
main character of short
stories or children’s
literature
• Children’s story read at the end of each class (in addition to the
reading children’s stories, in Grades 3, 4 & 5, Pobre Ana and
similar novice-beginner novels are read as a group)
Page 14

Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics.
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 3FL - R1
Recite short stories and
simple material (i.e.,
stories, songs, poems,
advertisements and
popular sayings) with
appropriate expression
• Each grade has it’s own “class poem” that is recited as a group at
the beginning of each class
• Additional poems also are learned and recited by all grades
X X X X X 3FL - R2
Write or orally present
brief messages
• During Coffee House, students perform songs and recite poems
to the audience
• In class, 2nd grade performs “Mini-teatros,” which are brief skits
(1-2 pages long, 3-5 minutes duration)
• In class, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades perform “Mini-Cuentos,” also brief
skits (2-3 minutes in duration) that complement the TPRS
instruction with the ¡Cuéntame!/Gabi materials
• In class, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades also engage in “Free Writes,” 5
minutes of writing in Spanish
X X X X X 3FL - R3
Present descriptions of
familiar people, places
and things to a group
• In-class art projects give students opportunities to describe their
families, place and things
• Games played regularly reinforce thematic unit vocabulary, with a
special emphasis on nouns and adjectives
X X X X X 3FL - R4
Read and recite short
poems or stories with
appropriate expression
• Songs, poetry, mini-teatros, mini-cuentos (skits), and dramatic
productions all include appropriate gestures and movements to
reinforce kinesthetic learning
Page 15

2: CULTURES: Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Standard 2.4: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices
and perspectives of the culture studied
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 4FL - R1
Use of appropriate
gestures and oral
expressions for
greetings, leave-takings
and courtesy phrases
• Cultural differences are discussed throughout the year
• The formality of Spanish culture is emphasized throughout
instruction
X X X X X 4FL - R2
Participation in age
appropriate cultural
activities such as
games, songs,
celebrations and short
dialogues
• Students will learn about and celebrate the following holidays:
Día de los Muertos, Las Posadas, Cinco de Mayo
X X X X X 4FL - R3
Identify and describe a
variety of objects from
the cultures (toys, dress,
buildings, food)
• Students will learn about the special holiday foods associated
with various holidays and in various parts of Latin America
X 4FL - R4
Identify parts of the
world where the target
language is spoken
• As part of a thematic unit, 5th grade students will look at and
label maps identifying the 20 different countries that speak
Spanish as the primary language
CONNECTIONS: Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
Standard 5.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the
foreign language
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 5FL - R1
Explore topics related to
other school subjects in
the target language
including weather terms,
math facts,
measurements, animals
or geographic content
• MATH: after learning numbers, students can do an occasional
math problem in Spanish -- in class or at home
• GEOGRAPHY: students learn about other countries that speak
Spanish
• HISTORY: students will learn a little of the history behind certain
celebrations. Also, students who progress to the TPRS novel
“Rebeldes de Tejas/Rebels fromTexas” will learn about The
Alamo
• WEATHER: students may learn weather terms and are able to
identify the weather of the day.
Page 16

Standard 5.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are
only available through the foreign language and its cultures
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 5FL - R2
Read or listen to and talk
about age-appropriate
folk tales, short stories,
poems and songs that
are written for native
speakers.
• Many songs used in curriculum are traditional folks songs
• All poems, used in individual classes or for all grades 1-5, are
written by native spanish speakers
COMPARISONS: Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
Standard 6.1: Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through
comparisons of the language studied and their own
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X 6FL - R1
Recognize that words
are borrowed from one
language to another
• During TPRS instruction, cognates are identified and used
frequently
Standard 6.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through
comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citatio
n
Objective: (The student
will:)
Activity
X X X X X
6FL -
R2
Make basic comparisons
between the celebrations
of the target culture and
their own culture
• These concepts are discussed in a targeted fashion during the in-
class celebrations of Día de los Muertos, Las Posadas and Cinco
de Mayo
Page 17

COMMUNITIES: Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home & Around the World
Standard 7.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting
(GRADE)
1 2 3 4 5
Citation Objective:
(The student will:)
Activity
X X X X X 7FL - R1
Participate in school and/
or community celebration
• Students will participate in the celebrations of Día de los Muertos,
Las Posadas, Cinco de Mayo
X X X X X 7FL - R2
Perform a song or skit in
the target language for an
audience
• Students will sing songs and perform poems during Coffee
House
• Students will perform skits in class
• Students will perform a brief drama production at the end of the
year
X 7FL - R3
Understand and listen to
presentations about
occupations or career
• 5th grade thematic unit on Careers
Page 18

Span 2010 CurriculumPDF

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