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Goals
- To develop an appreciation of Latino culture and the differences
among Spanish-speaking countries
- To motivate students to want to continue to learn Spanish and to
give them the confidence to do so
- To lay a groundwork for further study of Spanish. After completing
the elementary program, students will have good aural comprehension
and the ability to produce target vocabulary using good pronunciation.
Materials
- Props
- Video cassettes (Muzzy, Cuentos Populares Latino Americanos,
Cuento de Fantasmas, etc.)
- Audio cassettes (songs, stories)
- Spanish "notebooks" produced and collated in class
- ACTION ENGLISH PICTURES (Action series picture sequences) by
Maxine Frauman-Prickel; Alemany Press
- PARLONS ESPAGNOL (Rouge et Or; France 1990)
- Books of familiar fairy tales
- Games
Core Curriculum
The core-curriculum is aimed towards achieving aural comprehension
and good pronunciation. Class is conducted (almost) completely in
Spanish, except for country/culture study units. A variety of methods
are used, the principle one being TPR (Total Physical Response).
TPR is based on the fact that elementary children learn best by
doing. They are asked to recognize different words and respond to
them long before they are asked to say them. Students understand
complicated grammatical structures ("With your left little finger
touch the chair that is between Joe and John.") and are expected
to demonstrate their understanding physically but are not required
to produce them orally.
Students are required to produce language, memorizing and reciting
dialogues, and, beginning in the fourth grade, write their own short
dialogues. Students use language they have learned in the classroom to
ask each other for objects, give directions, and ask simple questions.
Each class begins with some review (re-entry of vocabulary being
important), presentation of new material (using TPR, puppets, or games),
followed by varied forms of practice and reinforcement.
Reinforcement Includes:
- Repetition
- Substitution drills: whole class, chain drills, in pairs
- Games
- Songs and poems
- Drama: mini-dialogues, role-plays
- Information-gap communicative activities
- Listening comprehension activities
Cultural studies are an important part of the curriculum.
We study Spain, Central America, and South America, contrasting the
three. Mexican holidays are used as a focus for cultural study, as
is Latin Cultural Heritage Month. Mexican Independence Day, Day of the
Dead, Christmas in Mexico and Cinco de Mayo are studied. Mexican
holidays are focused upon because of the large Mexican population
in San Francisco. Holiday studies culminate in a cooking project and
are often connected with participation in city-wide celebrations.
Whenever possible cultural study is tied in with concurrent Project Time
units.
We encourage parents to expose their children to Spanish outside the
classroom as much as possible, i.e. watching Spanish TV stations,
listening to Spanish radio (1010, 1050, 1170 AM), visiting
Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, participating in Spanish celebrations
occurring in the city (Mexican Independence Day in September, Day of
the Dead in November, Cinco de Mayo).
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