ECC Spanish
Program Philosophy
The foreign language program in the Early Childhood Division at St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School seeks to explore language and culture through the explicit presentation and integration of the five standards for foreign language education: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities. The main goal of the program is to expose students to Spanish, and the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries in a meaningful, engaging way, through the use of age-appropriate games and activities that address the individuality of each student, developing listening skills and encouraging students to be aware of events or situations outside of the classroom where the language or the culture may be portrayed.
Essential Skills by Grade Level
The essential skills expected to be mastered in Preschool are:
· to begin showing interest in the Spanish language;
· to begin participating in simple games in Spanish;
· to begin understanding the Spanish culture
The essential skills expected to be mastered in Prekindergarten are:
· to identify the colors: red, blue, green, yellow
· to respond in Spanish to simple greetings and goodbye by the teacher
· to join in singing simple number songs
· to follow simple directions to stand up, sit down, walk and stop
· to be able to follow along a Spanish story
The essential skills expected to be mastered in Kindergarten are:
· to recognize and respond to simple greetings and goodbyes
· to identify vocabulary and conversation related to clothing, school activities, pets, body parts, weather.
· to describe cultural traits (food, music, sports, celebrations, etc) related to Spanish-speaking countries.
Blog Address
The Spanish blog, http://spedsmeli.blogspot.com, will be updated at the beginning of each unit, to provide parents with current information about the learning and fun taking place in Spanish. The blog also has a list of resources for online games, activities and books that parents can use at home to increase the amount of exposure to the language.
Contact Information
I am always available to discuss your child’s growth and development in Spanish and hope that you will contact me as needed throughout the school year. I will also be available during scheduled parent/teacher conferences.
Name: Maria Meli
Direct Line: 816-268-6508
Email:mmeli@speds.org
