Foreign Language

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. Seventh/eighth 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. Seventh and eighth 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

Seventh and eighth 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 and teachers will communicate using Spanish 90% of class time.

• 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, and to come back.

• Students will also learn the verbs: to help, to encender, to feel, to cry, to laugh, to ask, to stay, to describe, to hear, to touch, to buy, to sell, to need, to carry, to wear, to combine, to compare, to travel, to introduce to, to visit, to come, to analyze, to communicate, to find, to look for, to celebrate, to go for a walk, to go out, to listen, to understand, to practice, to ask question, 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 ski, to repeat, to respond, to learn, and to teach.

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

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

• Students will be introduced to possessive adjectives, -ir verbs, contractions (al/del), stem-changing verbs, direct and indirect object pronouns, and past and future tense.

• Students will review and use subject pronouns, present tense -ar, -er 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 topics: house and furniture, entertainment, shopping (price and payment), clothing and accessories, food and food preparation, places around me, and transportation.

• Students will read 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 seventh and eighth grade prepare for and take the National Spanish Exam.

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