SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CHATHAMS
CURRICULUM PROFILE TEMPLATE
CONTENT AREA(S): World Languages
COURSE/GRADE LEVEL(S): Spanish 8
I. Course Overview
Through the use of technology, authentic materials, and traditional texts, this course is designed to
provide students with an opportunity to continue to develop their proficiency in Spanish and to
expand their knowledge of the various cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will continue
to listen to and comprehend spoken Spanish, to pronounce Spanish correctly, and to orally express
themselves in Spanish on a variety of subjects. Reading and writing skills will be developed as well.
A sizable vocabulary of a practical and modern nature will be acquired by the end of the year. The
course requires daily homework, class participation, oral and written quizzes, unit tests, and various
projects.
The goals of this course, as aligned with the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards,
are for to students to:
1. Build language and communication skills in the interpretive, interpersonal and
presentational modes
2. Continue the process of language acquisition by focusing on the skills of listening,
reading, writing and speaking.
3. Continue to develop an interest in the Spanish language and culture and appreciate the
differences among the Spanish-speaking cultures of the word
4. Achieve proficiency at the ACTFL Novice Mid-High to Intermediate Low level.
II. Units of Study
Unit 1: Repaso: Todo de mí
Unit 2: Los días festivos y los preparativos
Unit 3: Los regalos y la rutina diaria
Unit 4: La comida española del desayuno y el almuerzo
Unit 5: Tiempo pasado
III. Learning Objectives
All students will be able to use a world language in addition to English to engaged in meaningful
conversation, to understand and interpret spoken and written language, and to present
information, concepts, and ideas, while also gaining an understanding of the perspectives of
other cultures. Through language study, they will make connections with other contect areas,
compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate in home and global
communities.
The specific objectives, as aligned with the 2009 NJCCCS are as follows:
Students will be able to:
1. Recognize familiar words and phrases, understand the main idea, and infer the meaning
of some highly contextualized, unfamiliar spoken or written words contained in
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culturally authentic materials using electronic information sources related to targeted
themes.
2. Demonstrate comprehension of a series of oral and written directions, commands, and
requests through appropriate physical responses.
3. Recognized some common gestures and cultural practices associated with the target
culture(s).
4. Identify people, places, objects and activities in daily life based on oral or written
descriptions.
5. Demonstrate comprehension of short conversations and brief written messages on
familiar topics.
6. Identify the main idea and other significant ideas in readings from age- and levelappropriate, culturally authentic materials.
7. Identify the main idea and most supporting details contained in culturally authentic
materials using electronic information sources related to targeted themes.
8. Demonstrate comprehension of oral and written instructions connected to daily activities
through appropriate responses.
9. Compare and contrast the use of verbal and non-verbal etiquette (i.e., the use of gestures,
intonation, and cultural practices) in the target culture(s) and in one’s own culture.
10. Use the target language to describe people, places, objects, and daily activities learned
about through oral or written descriptions.
11. Demonstrate comprehension of conversations and written information on a variety of
topics.
12. Identify the main idea, theme and most supporting details in readings from age- and
level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials.
13. Infer the meaing of a few unfamiliar words in some new contexts.
14. Compare and contrast unique linguistic elements in English and the target language.
15. Use digital tools to exchange basic information by recombining memorized words, phrase
and sentences on topics related to self and targeted themes.
16. Give and follow a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests for
participating in age- and level- appropriate classroom and cultural activities.
17. Imitate appropriate gestures, intonation and common idiomatic expressions of the target
culture)s)/ language during daily interactions.
18. Ask and respond to questions, make requests, and express preferences in various social
situations.
19. Converse on a variety of familiar topics and/ or topics studied in other content areas.
20. Give and follow a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests for
participating in age- and level- appropriate classroom and cultural activities.
21. Use appropriate gestures, intonation and common idiomatic expressions of the target
culture(s)/ language in familiar situations.
22. Ask and respond to factual and interpretive questions of a personal nature or on schoolrelated topics.
23. Engage in topics studied in other content areas (i.e. metric, Celsius, graphic, basic math
problems, etc.)
24. Create and present brief messages, poems, rhymes, songs, short plays, or role-plays using
familiar vocabulary orally or in writing.
25. Describing in writing people and things from the home and school environment.
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26. Tell or retell stories from age- and level- appropriate, culturally authentic materials orally
or in writing.
27. Tell or write about cultural products associated with the target culture(s), and simulate
common cultural practices.
28. Present student-created and/or authentic short plays, skits, poems, songs, stories or
reports.
29. Use language creatively to respond in writing to a variety of oral or visual prompts.
30. Compare and contrast age- and level- appropriate culturally authentic materials orally and
in writing.
31. Compare and contrast cultural products and cultural practices associated with the target
culture(s) and one’s own culture, orally, in writing or through simulation.
IV. Essential Questions
Students will be able to answer the following questions:
Unit 1:
1. Can I describe myself, my friends and my school?
2. Can I describe what I and others do and plan to do during the day?
3. Can I create original questions?
4. Can I compare life in a small Mexican village to life in a city in the US and to life in
Chatham?
5. Can I express my feelings?
Unit 2:
1. Can I tell people what to do and not to do to help me prepare for a party?
2. Can I politely ask for help?
3. Can I explain how holidays are celebrated differently in Spanish speaking countries from
those in the U.S.?
4. Can I express what people are doing right now?
Unit 3:
1. What gifts am I buying/ giving to each of my family members/ friends?
2. Can I talk about my daily routine and how I get ready in the mornings and evenings?
3. Can I describe the differences and similarities of holidays in the U.S. and those in
Spanish speaking countries?
Can I tell the price of various items using various currencies?
Unit 4:
1. Can I order in a restaurant?
2. Do I understand the difference between the ways Spanish and American people eat
(foods, hours, etc.)?
3. Can I express my likes and dislikes for various foods?
4. Can I describe how food tastes now versus how it normally tastes?
5. Do I know what constitutes a well-balanced meal?
Unit 5:
1. Can I describe what I and others did in the past using the preterite?
2. Can I express what recently happened in the past using acabar de?
3. Can I describe what I ate for dinner and compare it to what I would eat if I lived in Spain
and when I would eat those meals?
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4. Can I express my opinions about Hispanic artists based on the presentations I’ve seen?
V. Key Performance and Benchmark Tasks
Unit 1:
 2 quizzes (verb quiz, question quiz)
 One summative project- create a collage about yourself. Include pictures about likes,
dislikes, family members, activities you do, etc. Write a paragraph in which you narrate
the collage. Present the collage extemporaneously to the class
 Complete a Venn Diagram comparing a small Mexican village to a US city
 Novel summary- write a 2 paragraph summary in the present tense of Pobre Ana
Unit 2:
 2 tests (one for section A; one for section B)
 3-4 quizzes (vocabulary, commands, present progressive)
 Reading comprehension activities
 Create a family tree and describe it
 Venn Diagram comparing Halloween with Día de los Muertos
Unit 3:
 2 tests (one for section A, one for section B)
 Quizzes (vocabulary, grammar i. e. indirect object pronouns, reflexive verbs)
 One unit project (presentational)- students will work in partners to create a dialogue
about how they are preparing for a party. They will include newly learned vocabulary
and grammatical structures
 Narrate a comic strip with picture prompts provided using reflexive verbs
 Create own comic strip and narrate with reflexive verbs
Unit 4:
 2 tests (one for section A, one for section B)
 Quizzes (foods, restaurant, ser vs. estar)
 Write a paragraph about a typical breakfast/ lunch and describe it
 Memorize and perform manzanas poem
Unit 5:
 2 section tests (one for section A, one for section B)
 Quizzes (vocabulary, grammar)
 Hispanic artist project- students will research one artist chosen at random and create an
electronic slideshow presentation in which they describe important facts about the artist
(birth, death, style, place of residence, family members, education, political involvement,
etc.) written in Spanish. They will also be required to present the information to the class
 One final exam: 4 sections over 3 days (listening, speaking, reading and writing) that will
encompass all vocabulary and grammatical structures learned throughout the year
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VI. Instructional Materials
Unit 1:
1. Smartboard
2. Teacher-generated Smartboard and PowerPoint presentations
3. Set of listening worksheets and CDs from Ven Conmigo 1 and Realidades 1
4. Various worksheets from Ven Conmigo, Realidades and other sources
5. Dice
6. Whiteboards
7. Picture prompts
8. Pobre Ana novel and CD
9. Video of “El Grito”
Unit 2:
1. Smartboard
2. Teacher-generated Smartboard and PowerPoint presentations
3. Set of listening worksheets and CDs from Ven Conmigo 1 and Realidades 1
4. Various worksheets from Ven Conmigo, Realidades and other sources
5. Dice
6. Whiteboards
7. Picture prompts
8. Tissue paper and pipe cleaners (and video to explain how to make paper flowers)
9. “Doña Conchita” reading
10. “Holidays in the Hispanic World” reading
11. “Food for the Ancestors” video with questions
12. Día de los Muertos poem and short story
Unit 3:
1. Smartboard
2. Teacher-generated Smartboard and PowerPoint presentations
3. Set of listening worksheets and CDs from Ven Conmigo 1 and Realidades 1
4. Various worksheets from Ven Conmigo, Realidades and other sources
5. Dice
6. Whiteboards
7. Picture prompts
8. Scanned pictures with prices
9. TPRS- gift pictures/ story
10. Classpak reading activities online
11. Qué Bárbaras reading activity
Unit 4:
1. Smartboard
2. Teacher-generated Smartboard and PowerPoint presentations
3. Set of listening worksheets and CDs from Ven Conmigo 1 and Realidades 1
4. Various worksheets from Ven Conmigo, Realidades and other sources
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5. Dice
6. Whiteboards
7. Picture prompts
8. TPRS- crema de maní
9. Classpak reading activities online
10. Readings- Cualquier cosa por la propina, Fresas, pizza y helado
11. Place setting supplies
12. Plastic foods
13. Mi plato handouts
Unit 5:
1. Smartboard
2. Teacher-generated Smartboard and PowerPoint presentations
3. Set of listening worksheets and CDs from Ven Conmigo 1 and Realidades 1
4. Various worksheets from Ven Conmigo, Realidades and other sources
5. Dice
6. Whiteboards
7. Picture prompts
8. TPRS- viernes y sábado pasado and scene in a restaurant
9. Netbooks
10. Library books and research databases and other materials
11. Reading- receta paella and el arroz
12. Plastic foods
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