Curriculum Overview

LOWER SCHOOL SPANISH

Teacher Francoise Thenoux
2010-2016
Cross Curricular Cultural Units
Columbus Day (The encounter of two worlds)
Day of the Dead
End of the year Holidays
Zero Unit: Review of previous grade level content at the beginning of the year
Cross-Grade Level Units (these units are introduced in the lower grade
levels and grow in complexity in the upper levels)
Gender and number correspondence
Greetings and expression of courtesy
Class Commands and polite requests in the classroom
Pronouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Pre-K (Pre-K students visit the Spanish classroom every other week to
get acquainted with content theyll be specifically learning in
Kindergarten)
Exploratory Units
Emphasis on the spoken competence of the language
Intro to Phonemic Awareness
o Numbers 0-10
o Colors- Shapes
o Intro Greetings
Kindergarten (Instruction twice a week - 30 minute class)
Core Units: Foundations for Language Learning
Emphasis on the spoken competence of the language (phonemic
awareness)
o Numbers 0-15
o Shapes
o Colors
o Sizes
o Body parts (face)
o Greetings
o Vowel sounds

o My Feelings
Intro verb to be (first person singular.) Students use the estoy form of
the verb to be to express temporary feelings for example: estoy cansado,
estoy contento, estoy fabuloso. etc
Intro verb to have (first person singular). Use tengo to tell their age and
also in expression like tengo hambre, tengo frio, tengo calor, tengo sed.
o Farm Animals
Descriptions; Students learn how to describe animals, shapes and other objects
using adjectives and the verbs is and has (es-tiene)
Cultural Unit: Argentina
Study of the countrys geography, customs, typical foods, holidays and
important historical events.

First Grade (Instruction twice a week - 30 minute class)

Spoken competence: Emphasis on the production and pronunciation of
the language (phonemic and syllable awareness)
Intro to the written competence of the language ( letters-words)
Numbers 0-20
Core Units
o The Alphabet (letters and sounds)
Intro to syllabic reading
o My feelings
Verb to be (first person singular) I am (soy- estoy) Students use the
estoy form of the verb to be to express temporary feelings for example:
estoy cansado, estoy contento, estoy fabuloso. etc . Students are
introduced to the other form of the verb to be (first person singular)
soy they learn the differences and usage of both forms.
Students continue to use the verb to have (first person singular). They
learn new expressions using tengo
o Descriptions
Cultural Unit: Mexico
Study of the countrys geography, customs, typical foods, holidays and
important historical events.
Artist study: Frida Kahlo
Second Grade (Instruction twice a week - 30 minute class)
Spoken competence: Emphasis on the production and pronunciation of
the language (phonemic and syllable awareness)
Written Competence: Intro to the construction of simple sentences
Numbers 0-30

 Extensive Unit The Calendar

El Calendario is a comprehensive unit in which students learn the days of the
week, the months of the year, the seasons and the weather. They learn how to
say the complete date in Spanish, and also refer to the days of the week using
the expressions yesterday was, today is and tomorrow will be. The students
also learn to express about the weather using different weather conditions and
also expressions like its cold, its hot, or its cool. By the end of the year second
graders have not only meaningfully learned the vocabulary, but also the
grammatical structures accompanying the content.
Cultural Unit: Spain
Study of the countrys geography, customs, typical foods, holidays and
important historical events.
Highlight: Campaign against bullfighting
Artist Study: Salvador Dali
Third Grade (Instruction twice a week - 45 minute class)
Spoken competence: Emphasis on the production and pronunciation of
the language (phonemic and syllable awareness)
Written Competence: More emphasis on the construction of
grammatically complex sentences.
Intro to paragraph writing
Numbers 0-100
Unit 1 At the School:
"La Escuela," is a comprehensive unit in which the students learn vocabulary
related to school life such as classroom objects, school facilities, school
subjects, school workers, and class commands. They also learn how to
construct more grammatically complex sentences using the verb "to be" in the
third person singular accompanied by place prepositions or using the
expression hay (there is-there are) accompanied by different words from the
unit for example: hay muchos lpices en la clase, hay una profesora en la clase
de Espaol, etc. The verb tengo (I have) is revisited, this time used to express
ownership Tengo una computadora Tengo muchos lpices
Unit 2 My Family:
La Familia is a comprehensive unit in which the students acquire extended
vocabulary not only related to family members, but also related to family
physical descriptions and pets. Students begin to build more grammatically
complex sentences and are encouraged to orally produce them. They also add
complexity to their previously acquired vocabulary and grammar content
Intro likes and dislikes (Me gusta, no me gusta, me encanta, etc)
Cultural Unit: Guatemala
Study of the countrys geography, customs, typical foods, holidays and
important historical events.

 Highlight: The Maya Civilization

Fourth Grade (Instruction twice a week - 45 minute class)
Spoken competence: Emphasis on the production and pronunciation of
the language (phonemic and syllable awareness)
Written Competence: Emphasis on the construction of grammatically
complex sentences and paragraph writing.
Creative use of the written language in the construction brief dialogues
Numbers 0-100
Unit 1 My Health:
El Doctor is a comprehensive unit in which the students revisit and learn
extended body parts vocabulary. Students also learn specific health related
vocabulary and expressions such as Me duela la cabeza, Tengo una herida,
etc.
At the end of the unit students create scripts recreating a doctors visit that
later on they act in front of the class.
Unit 2 At the Restaurant:
El Restaurante is a comprehensive cultural and linguistic unit in which
students learn not only food and restaurant-related vocabulary, but also
different typical foods and customs from different Spanish speaking countries.
They also revisit the expressions of likes or dislikes using the verb "gustar" in
singular and plural to form sentences expressing their culinary preferences.
They study specific grammatical content such as articles, gender agreement
and adjectives in this unit as well. Fourth graders also learn grammatical
expressions and expressions of courtesy used to order food in a restaurant. By
the end of the unit the students, who have built upon a strong foundation of
vocabulary, are not only fully able to order completely in Spanish but also ask
questions about the menu.
Cultural Unit: Chile
Study of the countrys geography, customs, typical foods, holidays and
important historical events.
Highlight: Chiles Turbulent Political times 1973