Lower School Curriculum

 Lower School Spanish

Program Philosophy

            The foreign language program in the Lower School 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 activities that address the individuality of each student while developing listening, writing and reading skills. Students in first through fourth grade have Spanish twice a week for a total of 60 minutes. Students in fifth grade have Spanish twice a week for a total of 100 minutes a week.

Essential Skills

            At each grade level, students are expected to actively participate in games, conversations, and written exercises with comfort and ease.  Even though many themes are revisited every year, the expectations are different for each grade level.

First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth
Participate in dialogue by responding to questions and using greetings, farewells & gestures.  Respond with feeling and state of being words to "How are you?" Name parts of the face. State numbers 11-20 in sequence. Name family members. Name common pets Name classroom items. State weather conditions.	Participate in dialogues with information about self. State the day and date.  Name classroom objects. Understand multi-step classroom directions. Recognize numbers 1-50. Demonstrate understanding of information exchanged between teacher and peer.	State time to the hour and half hour. Spell familiar words. Demonstrate understanding of information exchanged between teacher and peer. Recognize interrogatives. Skip count to 100 by 5s and 10s. Recite months of the year. Read and write the days of the week and months of the year using lower case letters appropriately. Comprehend, read aloud and write simple, commonly-used and sight words selected from level-appropriate literature.	Participate in a non-memorized exchange of personal information that includes the student asking at least one question using a question word. State time to the hour, half hour, minutes after the hour and the: 15 quarter after the hour. Respond spontaneously to questions about the weather, day and date. State food likes and dislikes. Orally recombine learned vocabulary to describe an object or picture using short phrases and sentences. Point to numbers 100-1000 out of order. Identify places in the city from oral cues. Follow oral directions to move from place to place in the city.	Participate in an extended, non-memorized exchange of personal information that includes the student asking at least three different questions using question words. Read and comprehend simple sentences with familiar vocabulary and sight words. Point to numbers 0-1000 and numbers by 100s in and out of order. Show time to the hour and half hour, minutes after the hour, quarter hour: 15 after the hour and the quarter: 15 before the hour. Follow oral directions or comprehend written sentences involving basic prepositions. Indicate the current day, date and weather condition for classmates and teacher. Recite a marketplace or restaurant dialog from memory with a peer or teacher. Name new vocabulary words from a visual cue. Describe a clothing outfit in simple sentences.

Technology Integration

            Technology is used throughout the year to enhance learning. A variety of online apps such as Glogster, Animoto and Voki help students practice and apply their knowledge and to practice meaningful communication with peers. Students use iPads, laptops, the eBeam projector and clickers to make learning Spanish more engaging and relevant.

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