The bulk of student classroom work for this years second and third grade
class is pulled from a teacher source book of lesson plans, worksheets, and
classroom activities that work together to provide students with variety
(Teach Them Spanish!, By Winnie Waltzer-Hackett, grade 4). Supplemental
material is added from the grade 4 book, as well as several other curriculum
series, if needed. An outline of the year’s lesson subjects is as
follows:
2/3 Grade
Year at a Glance
Essential grammar and vocabulary
1) The Spanish alphabet vs. the English alphabet
a. Identify the additional letters in the Spanish alphabet.
2) Pronunciation of vowels & consonants
3) Word pronunciation
4) Greetings & feelings
5) Age and titles
6) Phrases
a. Say: Please, thank you, & you’re welcomes.
7) Verbal question recognition
8) Verbal command recognition
9) Numbers 0-100
10) Definite and indefinite articles
11) Masculine and feminine nouns
12) Colors and Shapes
13) Extended family
14) Calendar (days, months and seasons)
15) Classroom
16) Food
17) Clothing
18) Face & body
19) Adjective & noun agreements
20) Animals (farm and zoo)
21) Places and directions
22) Question words (who, what, where, when, and why)
23) Written accent marks; in association with question words and general
vocabulary.
24) Verbs: infinitives vs. conjugates
Verb: is/are, I like, I go.
There will be no "formal" testing in 2/3 grade Spanish. Near the end of each
quarter, a written test is given to start prepairig them for the future, as
well as quing me into any gaps. Grades are bassed upon classroom priciples
and contributions; behavior, participation, positive attitude, self
discipline, and respect for themselves, their classmates, and teacher.
Students are at such different places within their language acquisition
process, it would be very difficult to test the group in any
uniform manner and have it "count" for, or against, them. Furthermore, I
have found the atmosphere of the classroom is most conductive to learning if
all students prioritize the principles listed above, as opposed to individual
academic gain.
*At home, to help your child make connections between what they’re
learning in class, and “the real world”, you can continue to bring Spanish
out of the classroom and into the home. Ask them to sing you their Spanish
songs. Maybe they could give you a lesson on vocabulary in front of the
calendar (numbers, months, days), or teach you Simon Dice (Simon says) in
Spanish. They have worked on basic conversational skills in greeting and
saying goodbye, so encourage them to teach you what they know.
