Foreign Language
The Greene School Foreign Language program is to expose students to ample listening and reading opportunities with classes four times a week. Fourth grade Spanish curriculum integrates speaking, reading, writing, and listening, to help students achieve a level of proficiency. It is a gentle immersion to the language and culture as a whole. Students are encouraged to answer in Spanish with one word or sentences according to student’s level with approximately 90% of the class communication in Spanish.
Students acquire language proficiency with visual and interactive support using grade level vocabulary and techniques such as Total Physical Response (TPR) and Natural Approach. The goal of both of these strategies is to allow students to learn a second language in the same way they learned their first language – through their senses, encouraging long-term retention of the language. The approach to learning the language is naturally fundamental and repetitive as vocabulary is recycled to ensure mastery of the vocabulary words.
Fourth grade students use the ¡Qué chévere! and Realidades curriculum textbook which integrate development of language proficiency into cultural understanding using project-based learning activities, multimedia resources, songs, games, and stories .
Students will learn: there is\there are, to be (ser), to be (estar), to go, to have, to want, to like.
Students will learn five more high frequency verbs: to say, to do, to give, to see, can.
Students will learn to answer question words (what, when, how, how many, who, why, how many).
Students will learn additional vocabulary: to listen, to understand, to practice, to answer, to remember, to think, to speak, to stand-up, to sit-down, to look, be able to, to say, to know, to do, to see, to give, to start, to finish, to close, to open, to write, to draw, to play, to walk, to run, to jump, to drink, to dance, to eat.
Students will understand (listen and read) these verbs and start conjugating them with all pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they).
Students will learn vocabulary focusing on PQA and retelling stories.
Students will learn through topics: greetings, likes and dislikes, school, family, weather, sports, animals, physical descriptions, personality traits, and chores.
Content is delivered using the following strategies:
Collaborative Storytelling
MovieTalk
Embedded Reading
PictureTalk
TPR (Total Physical Response)
Personalized Questions and Answers
Read and Discuss
Technology is used to incorporate independent listening, speaking and reading. Technology is crucial in our Spanish class to differentiate instruction and to play games. Music, games, stories, and videos engage students on their learning journey.
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