About the Elementary Spanish Program

All students in first through fifth grade have Spanish class for one hour per week.  In the lower grades (1-3), students split the hour with music and have Spanish twice a week. In the upper grade (4-5) students have Spanish for a full hour once a week. As of this year, I am pleased to say that Kindergarten has Spanish as well! They will have Spanish for 30 minutes, once a week. 

I try to immerse students in the language as much as I can, so classes are taught primarily in Spanish. I use pictures, gestures and routines to help students know what I am saying. Oftentimes I hear students helping each other understand as well!  Early in the school year students learn the rules in Spanish and a lot of the classroom commands and phrases so that they grow accustomed to hearing them. Vocabulary and phrases are taught through games, songs, books and short plays. 

The way in which students learn Spanish is similar to the way in which they learned their first language. We focus mostly on listening and speaking in the beginning and then gradually add more reading and writing, as students become ready for it.