World Language Unit Curriculum Map
Performance Level: Novice Low/Novice Mid
Month
Theme or
Big Idea
Greetings
September
¡Hola!
October
Time with
Friends
Un rato con
los amigos
Let’s Go to
School!
November
¡Vamos a la
escuela!
Enduring
Understandin
gs
People across
the globe have
different ways of
greeting and
introducing each
other.
Level: 1
Resource: Avancemos Level 1
Essential Questions


While sharing
many common
interests, students
from various
countries and
cultures also
differ in their
preferred choice
of activities or
hobbies.


Students across
the world have
similar schooling
experiences.



How do I introduce others and
myself?
How do I greet and take leave of
others differently than someone
from another culture?
Content
Standards
GLEs and
PLEs
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,4.1,
4.2
What do I like to do?
What do my peers in other
countries like to do?
How am I similar to and different
from my peers from other cultures
in the way I look and in my
personality?
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,3.1,
4.1,4.2
What is my school experience
like?
How are school experiences in
my culture similar to and different
from other cultures?
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,3.1,
3.2,4.1,4.2
Knowledge and Skills Targeted
Introductions, greetings, farewells, names, common
conversation pieces, alphabet, phonetics, #0-10,
geography (countries and capitals, maps), days of
the week, weather, classroom phrases. Formal vs.
informal greetings. Hispanic influence in New York
City: read about a mural.
Likes/dislikes (gustar + infinitives), pastimes, snack
foods, adjectives to describe self. Present of ser (ser
de + origin), subject pronouns, personal a +
pronoun, definite & indefinite articles, masculine vs.
feminine, singular vs. plural, adj/noun agreement
and placement. Hispanic influence in the United
States: Premios Juventud, artwork in Miami, duallanguage school in Florida. Read about Hernando de
Soto’s exploration of U.S., cultural traditions, and
after school activities. Learn the difference between
Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Read about
traditional dishes from Mexico and Cuba.
School subjects, classroom activities, class
schedules, expressions of frequency, classroom
objects, places in school, feelings, prepositions of
place. Learn to tell time, how to ask questions,
numbers 11-100, present tense of tener (tener que),
present tense of regular AR verbs, present tense of
estar, present tense of ir. Learn about Mexico:
uniforms, murals, Zempoala, National Museum of
Anthropology, self-portraits, yarn painting. Read
about an international school in Mexico. Read
excerpts from essays about favorite classes. Read
about rock drawing in la Republica Dominicana.
Eating with
the Family
December
Comer en
familia
As the family unit
is defined by
culture and
changing times,
so is the idea of
good nutrition and
cuisine.





*MRU
Let’s Eat!
Downtown
En el centro
January
Communities are
a wealth of
resources
providing people
with access to
food, shopping,
entertainment, and
business.




How is what I eat similar to or
different from target language
foods?
What are some staple foods of
target language countries?
How do I communicate what I
want to eat in different cultural
contexts?
What does good nutrition mean to
me?
How does my definition of family
compare to that of someone from
another culture?
What similarities does my
community share with those in
other countries?
What is restaurant etiquette in the
target culture?
What types of clothing do I wear?
What do teenagers in other
countries wear?
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,3.1,
3.2,4.1,4.2
Food vocabulary, meals, question words, family
members, months, #200-1,000,000. Gustar + nouns,
present tense of ER/IR verbs, introduce hacer,
possessive adjectives, make comparisons. Express
likes & dislikes, compare supermarkets, express
possession with de, talk about age, give birth dates.
Learn about Puerto Rico: traditional foods, la Plaza
de Colon, hurricanes, election process, portraits of
Rafael Tufino (and Peruvian artist Fernando Sayan
Polo), musical instruments. Learn about the
quinceanera.
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,3.1,
3.2,4.1,4.2
Clothing and shopping vocabulary, stores, colors,
seasons, restaurant & food vocabulary,
transportation, places in the city and what you find
there. Tener expressions, stem-changing verbs (e-ie,
o-ue, e-i), direct object pronouns, immediate future.
Discuss where to shop and what clothes to wear,
order a meal. Learn about Spain: surrealist art,
history of the Moors, Alhambra, local markets
(compare to one in Guatemala), Las Meninas.
Compare different climates, compare weekend
activities in Spain with those in the U.S. and in
Chile. Read a poem by Spanish poet Antonio
Colinas. Interpret paintings from Spain and Chile.
House and
Home
February
Bienvenido a
nuestra casa
Although houses
share
commonalities
throughout the
world, the notion
of home is tied to
one’s culture and
personal vision.
March
Mantener un
cuerpo sano
A Terrific
Week!
April
¡Una semana
fenomenal!


*MRU
House and
Home
Staying
Healthy


A person’s
perception of
what it means to
be physically and
emotionally
healthy depends
on his or her
cultural values.
Teenagers use

technology and
other modes of

interpersonal
communication to 
make and discuss
plans.



How is my definition of home
different or similar to other
cultures?
What are my family’s
responsibilities and routines at
home and how do they compare
to those of the family in the target
culture?
What is the difference between a
house and home?
How do our celebrations differ
from those of another culture?
How do I communicate my health
or state of being to others?
What sports are played in other
cultures and how is that similar or
different to sports I play?
How do I make plans with my
friends?
How do I communicate with my
friends using technology?
How does technology differ
according to culture and
country?
Where do my friends and I go
for fun? How does that
compare to students from other
cultures?
1.1,1.2,1.3,
2.1,2.2,3.1,
4.1,4.2
1.1,1.2,1.3,2.
1,
2.2,3.1,3.2,4.
1, 4.2,5.1
1.1,1.2,1.3,1.
4,
2.1,3.1,3.2,4.
1, 4.2
Rooms of a house, furniture, household items,
household chores, party preparations. Uses of ser
vs. estar, ordinal numbers, irregular verbs (dar,
decir, poner, salir, traer, venir), affirmative tu
commands, immediate past, planning a party. Learn
about Ecuador: landscape art as reflection of
communities, geographic location, Inca settlement,
Fiestas de Quito, textiles of Otavalo. Compare
houses and apartments for sale in Ecuador. Learn
about folk dances in Ecuador and Panama and
compare to dances in the U.S. Learn about crafts
from Ecuador and Panama.
Sports vocabulary, places where sports are played,
sports equipment, healthy activities, parts of the
body. Present tense of jugar. saber vs. conocer,
doler, preterit of regular AR verbs & yo irregular
verbs. Learn about la Republica Dominicana: artist
Juan Medina, sports club in Santo Domingo, flag,
merengue festival, gestures and proverbs. Read
about professional athletes supporting their home
countries. Compare achievements of 2 athletes from
la Republica Dominicana and Venezuela.
Technology-related activities, parts of a computer,
sequence words, amusement parks, places of interest
& special events. Preterite of regular ER and IR
verbs, affirmative & negative words, que +
adjective, irregular preterit (ir, ser, & hacer), and
prepositional pronouns. Learn how to extend &
decline invitations, talk on the phone. Learn about
Argentina: slang words, language game, el Puerto de
La Boca, food. Read an anti-virus questionnaire.
Compare museums in Argentina & Bolivia. Learn
significance of having two last names.
A Different
Routine
May
Una rutina
diferente
June
Review
While the
definition of
vacation varies
from culture to
culture, the need
to escape from the
tedium of daily
routines is
universal.




What is my daily routine and
how is that similar to or
different from someone from
another culture?
Why do people take vacations?
When do people take
vacations?
What do people from other
cultures do on vacation
throughout the year?
1.1,1.2,1.3,2.
1,
2.2,3.1,3.2,4.
1, 4.2,5.1
Daily routine vocabulary, personal care items,
vacation destinations, ways to travel, vacation
activities, handicrafts & jewelry, bargaining
expressions. Reflexive verbs & pronouns, present
progressive tense, indirect object pronouns,
demonstrative adjectives. Learn about Costa Rica:
geography, nature reserve Monteverde, natural
science museums, transportation, impact of climate.
Read about markets in Costa Rica and Uruguay and
compare to those in the U.S. Learn about traditional
desserts in Costa Rica and Uruguay.