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our sixth grade program

Spanish

The Middle School Spanish Program is centered on three questions:

  • "How does one really come to understand other cultures and perspectives?”
  • “How does the study of foreign languages improve human understanding throughout the world?”
  • “How are we enriched by the study of foreign languages?"

These questions provide the framework for our purpose in teaching foreign language. With these broader purposes in mind, Sixth Grade students continue to build upon the vocabulary and communication skills taught in the Fifth Grade.
Sixth Grade students have an opportunity to listen to and read simple stories using Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), as well as have the opportunity to prepare skits, create stories and dialogues, sing, dance, play games and learn about Hispanic culture. Students explore the significance of Hispanic holidays, traditions and culture throughout the year with stories and crafts.Sixth graders continue the acquisition process of basic linguistic structures such as expressing preferences and states of being; recognizing and using first and third person singular and plural verb forms, prepositional phrases and object pronouns; and applying rules of agreement in gender and number. Formal grammar explanations are fairly brief, especially in the first half of the year. Emphasis is placed on repetition and internalization of contextualized vocabulary and basic structures, communication and the importance of understanding other languages, cultures and points of view.

The following skills are part of the Sixth Grade Spanish Program:

  • Initiating conversation, exchanging information
  • Expressing preferences and states of being
  • Asking and answering simple questions
  • Reading and telling simple stories
  • Stating chronological order of events and describing units of time
  • Writing simple stories
  • Using basic past tense forms
  • Following basic classroom commands and directions
  • Following instructions in basic classroom games
  • Using numbers, the date and the Spanish alphabet routinely in class
  • Reacting to an oral command of request using physical movement (TPR)
  • Comparing and contrasting Hispanic and American holidays and traditions
  • Reflecting on a variety of perspectives through studying other cultures
  • Sharing observations about trips taken by students and teachers to other countries