Language Arts

The Greene School middle school foreign language program exposes students to ample listening and reading opportunities with two required classes each week, and an optional elective offered once per week. Sixth grade Spanish curriculum integrates speaking, reading, writing, and listening, to help students achieve a level of proficiency. Students read more complex novels to promote conversation, pronunciation, reading comprehension, and writing. Sixth graders engage in communicative tasks relevant to their lives. Lessons and activities in grammar, vocabulary, geography, and culture are included in each unit. We highlight the geography and culture of Spanish speaking countries through reading novels set in Spanish speaking countries.

Students acquire language proficiency with visual and interactive support using grade level vocabulary and techniques including:

• Total Physical Response

• Collaborative Storytelling

• MovieTalk

• Embedded Reading

• PictureTalk

• Personalized Questions and Answers

• Read and Discuss

Sixth grade students use the ¡Qué chévere! and Realidades curriculum textbooks, which integrate the development of language proficiency into cultural understanding, using project-based learning activities, multimedia resources, songs, games, and stories.

• Students will learn “The Sweet 16 List”: to be (ser), to be (estar), to go, to have, to want, to like, there is\there are, to say, to give, to do, to see, can, to put on, to know, to leave, to come back

• Students will also learn verbs: to listen, to understand, to practice, to ask questions, to answer, to remember, to think, to speak, to stand-up, to sit down, to look, to be able to, to start, to finish, to close, to open, to write, to read, to draw, to play, to walk, to run, to jump, to dance, to drink, to eat, to attack, to continue, to live, to swim, to notice, to escape, to destroy, exclaim, to talk, to take, to believe, to wait, to call, to take care of, to ride, to spend time, to change, to clean, to wash, to walk, to believe, to think.

• Students will practice answering question words (what, when, how, how many, who, why, and how many).

• Students will review greeting, farewell, alphabets, what do I want to be, interests and talents, food and health, clothes, places around me, likes and dislikes, school, family, weather, sports, animals, physical descriptions, personality traits, and chores.

• Students will learn verb conjugation in relation to all pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, and they).

• Students will learn the proper grammatical use of subject pronouns, present tense -ar verbs, infinitives, negative sentences, agreement or disagreement, adjectives, definite and indefinite articles, word order, prepositions, singular, and plural.

• Students will have in-depth practice differentiating between the verbs estar and ser (to be).

• Students will learn vocabulary through retelling stories and personalized questions and answers.

• Students will learn through the following topics: food, describing oneself, home and furniture, animals and their habitat, daily routine, shopping, and Spanish speaking countries.

• Students will read two novels related to the Spanish language.

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. Students watch videos and listen to young Spanish speakers. Students in sixth grade prepare for and take the National Spanish Exam.

Language Arts

Our middle school language arts curriculum utilizes a balanced approach to literacy, including reading, writing, and vocabulary study in an integrated and interrelated manner. Our ELA curriculum deeply engages our thriving learners in the reading, speaking, and writing process through a broad range of instructional devices. In sixth grade, students will interact with more challenging literature, articles, and other sources of information to continue to increase their vocabulary and understanding of the English language. Students participate in project-based learning experiences that weave together student engagement, discourse, and collaboration. Each student’s reading level is individually assessed at various times throughout the year, in order to provide continued differentiated instruction.

• Students will learn through a study of rich and varied literary and informational text.

• Students will learn various writing techniques and forms: argumentative, informative/explanatory, narrative, and summary of reading materials.

• Students will learn language arts skills and strategies.

• Students will work independently and collaboratively to better understand what they read.

• Students will learn to evaluate an author’s assumptions and claims.

• Students will learn to conduct research requiring the analysis of resources and an accurate interpretation of literary and informational text.

• Students will strategically and capably use technology and digital media to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use.

• Students will focus on fiction writing and narratives.

Language Arts

Our middle school language arts curriculum utilizes a balanced approach to literacy, including reading, writing, and vocabulary study in an integrated and interrelated manner. Our ELA curriculum deeply engages our thriving learners in the reading, speaking, and writing process through a broad range of instructional devices. In seventh and eighth grades, students will interact with more challenging literature, articles, and other sources of information to continue to increase their vocabulary and understanding of the English language. Students participate in project-based learning experiences that weave together student engagement, discourse, and collaboration. Each student’s reading level is individually assessed at various times throughout the year, in order to provide continued differentiated instruction.

• Students will learn through an in-depth study of rich and varied literary and informational text.

• Students will learn various writing techniques and forms: argumentative, informative/explanatory, narrative, and summary of reading materials.

• Students will learn language arts skills and strategies.

• Students will work independently and collaboratively to better understand what they read.

• Students will learn to evaluate an author’s assumptions and claims.

• Students will learn to conduct research that will require the analysis of resources and accurate interpretation of literary and informational text.

• Students will strategically and capably use technology and digital media to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use.

• Students will focus on the themes of race, identity, and the American Dream.

• Students will explore the abuse of power in the twentieth century.