In this 15-week interactive, semester-long Spanish course, we will meet as a group once per week for 45 minutes to learn Spanish. In the class students will develop the ability to understand and communicate in Spanish while playing games and having a ton of fun! Here is what you can expect throughout the course.

Hola! Welcome to my Spanish  course. This course will be great for students that have had at least a year exposure to Spanish. Students will be able to read, write, speak, and listen in Spanish at a beginner level after completing this course. I also offer 1:1 private tutoring if they need extra live help. I also offer a full curriculum for Spanish 2 and 3 if you wish to continue down the path of learning Spanish.

I use Google Slides to teach this unit. Students do not to have  previous knowledge of Spanish to join this class.  I teach with a focus on Comprehensible Input and not grammar since that is not how language is naturally acquired.  Comprehensible input Spanish readers are a game changer in the classroom. Leveled readers in Spanish tell captivating stories and incorporate repetition of high-frequency language making them an extremely effective way to engage students.  We will read a novel entirely in Spanish, have discussions in Spanish and play games/activities to expose students to the target language. Some fun traditional games that we will play are Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect 4, Sorry, Snakes and Ladders and Pictionary. The focus will be on developing skills in the areas of listening, speaking and reading.  

In this immersion class, students will learn new vocabulary by reading TWO comprehensible novels: ‘Felipe Alou: Desde los valles a las montañas (Felipe Alou from the mountains to the valleys) AND Selena.  Through reading, class discussion and games students will increase their vocabulary and reading/speaking proficiency while gaining confidence in the target language.  Students meet for 45 minutes a week to interact and play traditional games and activities to reinforce class content. This is a 90% immersion class. I will give instructions and explanations in English, for the benefit of your child.  However, most of the class will be in Spanish. 

The focus will be on developing skills in the areas of listening, speaking and reading. Class novels and games/activities will be used to expose students to the target language. Please note that it is important for your child to be willing to repeat the Spanish words during class, and practice saying them with me in the lessons.


Class Novel 1- Felipe Alou 
Under ordinary circumstances, the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of becoming a Major League Baseball player, but Felipe Alou’s circumstances in 1955 were anything but ordinary. He was a black athlete living in the Dominican Republic, and he spoke no English- not exactly a recipe for success in the U.S., especially during the height of the civil rights movement. This is Felipe’s amazing (true) story of perseverance and determination to beat overwhelming odds and insurmountable obstacles to become one of baseball’s greatest players and managers.  The low unique word count and high-frequency factor (the number of times core structures are embedded in the text) in the Comprehension-based™ reader, ‘Felipe Alou: Desde los valles a las montañas’, make this an ideal read for beginning Spanish students. Each page is loaded with cognates (words that are similar in English and Spanish), recycled vocabulary, and illustrations, which makes this read highly comprehensible.

Selena Book Description
At the age of 23, Selena Quintanilla was considered the "Queen of Tejano Music" and was well on her way to becoming one of the most famous musical performers of all time. Her incredible talent and unique Latin style had a profound and lasting impact on the music industry. Learn how this young tenacious woman built a legacy of music, fashion, and family.  The low unique word count and high-frequency factor (the number of times core structures are embedded in the text) in the Comprehension-based™ reader, ‘Selena’, make this an ideal read for advanced beginning Spanish students. Each page is loaded with cognates (words that are similar in English and Spanish), recycled vocabulary, and illustrations, which makes this read highly comprehensible.


Class Novel 1- Felipe Alou 
Under ordinary circumstances, the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of becoming a Major League Baseball player, but Felipe Alou’s circumstances in 1955 were anything but ordinary. He was a black athlete living in the Dominican Republic, and he spoke no English- not exactly a recipe for success in the U.S., especially during the height of the civil rights movement. This is Felipe’s amazing (true) story of perseverance and determination to beat overwhelming odds and insurmountable obstacles to become one of baseball’s greatest players and managers.

The low unique word count and high-frequency factor (the number of times core structures are embedded in the text) in the Comprehension-based™ reader, ‘Felipe Alou: Desde los valles a las montañas’, make this an ideal read for beginning Spanish students. Each page is loaded with cognates (words that are similar in English and Spanish), recycled vocabulary, and illustrations, which makes this read highly comprehensible.

These will be our weekly focuses:
Week 1 -  
Students will read and discuss chapters 1-2 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. Students will listen to clips of Selenas songs and watch short videos of her life. Past tense conjugation will be the focus of this novel.  Students will learn the difference between preterite and imperfect verb tenses. 

Week 2 -
Students will read and discuss chapters 3-4 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 

Week 3 - 
Students will read and discuss chapters 5-6 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.

Week 4 -
Students will read and discuss chapters 7-8 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.. 


Week 5 - 
Students will read and discuss chapters 9-10 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.

Week  6 - 
Students will read and discuss chapter 11 of the novel Selena. Students will practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.  Students will be provided an optional writing assessment over the book. End of the book reinforcement activities will be provided. 

Week  7  
Read chapter  1  of Felipe Alou: Desde los Valles a las Montañas and answer comprehension questions based on the story. Students will learn about the culture of the Dominican Republic (history and geography).  The grammar focus is past tense.  Students will practice the preterite and imperfect verb tenses. 

Week 8
 Read chapter 2 of Felipe Alou: Desde los Valles a las Montañas and answer comprehension questions based on the story.  Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 
 
Week 9
Read chapter 3-4 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story. Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 

Week  10
Read chapter 5 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story. Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.

Week 11
Read chapter 6 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story. Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities.



Week  12
Read chapter 7 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story.   Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 

Week  13
Read chapter 8 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story.   Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 

Week  14
Read chapters 9-10 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story.   Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. 

Week  15
Read chapter 11 of Felipe Alou Novel and answer comprehension questions based on the story.   Practice vocabulary and structures in a variety of fun and engaging activities. Students will be provided an optional writing assessment over the book. End of the book reinforcement activities will be provided.