Spanish Instruction
International research in second language acquisition, a growing global market, faster communications, and the changing demographics in California, have reshaped our Spanish Language program.
We are happy to announce that starting with the 2007-2008 school year, the foreign language program is no longer just focusing on Spanish language exposure, but Spanish language fluency.
Spanish is taught at every grade level two times per week, with classroom teacher collaboration occurring in the lower grades, to be progressively phased in at all levels as the school year progresses.
Grades K/1
The program at this grade level is designed to help children feel comfortable listening and speaking Spanish and includes many auditory, visual and kinesthetic experiences. Students learn songs and play Spanish language games, they learn to greet each other with simple phrases and common expressions and they use puppets and other props to act out daily interactions and simple commands. They learn to pronounce the Spanish alphabet, count to 20, identify the days of the week, listen for and select cognates, and speak and form simple sentences. Students get introduced to the geography, literature, customs and values of the Spanish-speaking world.
Grades 2/3
Speaking and listening experiences continue to be the focus at this grade level. Students build on previously learned content and skills through a variety of hands-on and role-playing activities. Students learn to speak using more complex sentence structure, reading and listening to and translating short passages in Spanish, develop Spanish vocabulary related to mathematical expressions, basic body parts, animals, foods, months of the year and the four seasons. They attend to basic grammatical structures (articles, nouns, pronouns and adjectives). Students learn more about the geography, literature, customs and values of the Spanish-speaking world through lessons presented in Spanish and English.
Grades 4/5
Students at this grade level apply, practice and expand previously acquired speaking skills through games, role-plays, short performances, songs and conversations. They explore various media, including newspapers, magazines and short stories in Spanish. They practice writing, vocabulary and grammar skills by writing paragraphs, letters to pen pals and short stories. Students expand their knowledge about the geography, literature, customs and values of the Spanish-speaking world through lessons and presentations taught primarily in Spanish.