2005/06 Topics and Skills

First Grade

• Present a whole language platform through songs and chants that internalize frequent vocabulary, structure, grammar, and linguistic patterns in preparation for formal study. This also provides pronunciation and expression practice through mimicry.
  
• Introduce comprehension and speaking for greetings, courtesy expressions, numbers 1-20, 4 colors, days of the week, several fruits and animals.
  
• Places where Spanish is spoken

• Build on exposure to whole language through songs and rhymes to internalize structure, grammar, and linguistic patterns in preparation for their formal study.
• Extend and reinforce comprehension and speaking for topics in earlier grades.
• Introduce comprehension and speaking vocabulary for months, weather expressions, family relationships, foods, places in the community, sports, school subjects, the date, numbers to 30, following instructions, expressing likes and dislikes. Create new phrases from a model (example: “My favorite x is y ”)
• Introduce phonetic pronunciation of each letter of the alphabet. How to sound out unknown words phonetically as well as using the written word as a cue for familiar vocabulary.
• Introduce spelling and punctuation for specific words.
• Introduce the concept of gender for nouns.
• Spain and Spanish exploration of the Americas, the Caribbean and Mexico

• Extend and reinforce comprehension and speaking for topics in earlier grades.
• Reinforce and extend phonetic skills for each letter of the alphabet as well as all combinations including accent marks.
• Introduce comprehension, speaking, reading and writing vocabulary for classroom objects, numbers to 50, extended family members, parts of the body, seasons, and clothing.
• Introduce comprehension and speaking for requesting permission and expressions frequently used in classroom conversation.
• During the second half of the year, when phonetic skills are in place, children read, memorize, and perform a fairy tale skit in Spanish. This provides the whole language platform which enables students to internalize conversational structures and language patterns in written as well as spoken language before the formal study of grammar, as well as practice what they are currently learning.

• Extend and reinforce comprehension and speaking for topics in earlier grades.
• Introduce comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing vocabulary for 15 verbs, 30 words related to social studies content, extended list of foods, measurement, the home, personal pronouns, telling time.
• Introduce construction of spoken and written sentences using the verb “to be” in the affirmative, negative and interrogative modes.
• Introduce translation skills using a bilingual dictionary, cognate recognition and formal understanding of sentence structure.
• Introduce recognition of suffix and prefix patterns of nouns and verbs. Introduce conjugation patterns of the present tense for the verb “ser” with all the pronouns.
• Introduce formalized study of adjective agreement and placement in sentence structure.
• During the second half of the year, students read, memorize, and perform folk tale skits providing the whole language platform which enables them to internalize the more sophisticated conversational structures and language patterns in written as well as spoken language that will be formally introduced later on.
• Introduce investigation and use of Spanish language resources to research Spanish speaking countries, including location, capital, geography, history, cuisine, and general cultural aspects.

• Extend and reinforce comprehension and speaking for topics in earlier grades.
• Introduce vocabulary for interrogative pronouns, 20 more action verbs, physical descriptions, professions, possessions, feelings, and extended clothing vocabulary.
• Introduce and extend formal study of conjugation patterns spoken and written, in the present tense for 6 high frequency verbs (ser, estar, tener, ir, querer, gustar) and the regular ar, er, and ir pattern verbs.
• Introduce how to construct questions using the interrogative pronouns
• Introduce how to express common emotions and reactions in conversation with useful idiomatic expressions and the verb estar.
• Introduce the use of the verb ir a to express future tense
• Introduce the personal “a” with “al and “del”
• Introduce inferring meaning from context when using authentic materials (videos, newspaper, radio, song lyrics)
• Introduce Latin American dance rhythms and steps.
• Cultural pen pal exchange with a school in Madrid

• Build on proficiency through integration of the four skills of comprehension, speaking, reading and writing of all material covered so far through a variety of activities that accomplish this.
• Introduce extended vocabulary for places in the community, professions, verbs, possessions, feelings, social studies content, descriptive adjectives, possessive adjectives, prepositions, and idiomatic expressions .
• Introduce and extend formal study of verb conjugation patterns in the present tense, including stem changing patterns.
• Extend formal study of rules governing accent marks
• Extend inferring meaning from context when using authentic materials (videos, newspaper, radio, song lyrics)
• Study the presence of Latin American heritage cultures in the United States through authentic music and video materials.