Spanish Mrs. Olsen
Grades 4-8
Fall 2012
Bienvenidos! Welcome to Spanish class! We are going to continue to learn many
exciting things this year. Most of you will be building on the vocabulary and grammar
structures that you learned last year. 4th graders, I am happy to be teaching your class,
and we will be building your Spanish skills and knowledge that you will need for the
future. We will be using the Adelante! textbook that will take you through a structured
sequence of Spanish vocabulary and grammar. We will also be spending time focusing on
specific topics such as Personal Identification, Classroom Objects, Numbers, and
Adjectives. For 5th graders, you will be starting in Level 1A of our ¡Exprésate! textbook
series. 6th graders, you will be starting in Level 1B of the ¡Exprésate! series. We will
work this year to build your skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish.
Seventh graders, you will begin in Level 2 of ¡Exprésate! We will work to strengthen
your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Spanish. The amount of Spanish
that is spoken in class daily will also increase. 8th graders, you will begin in the second
half of the Level 2 ¡Exprésate! book. We will spend time this year in preparation for your
final exam that ALL 8th graders will take, which will be the Second Language
Proficiency Exam in Spanish. We will concentrate on your listening, speaking, writing
and reading skills in Spanish. We will also be working to prepare you for your Foreign
Language Placement Exams that you will take for High School. As always, for all classes
we will also spend some time learning about the geography and culture of Spain and
other Spanish-speaking countries.
Some of you may be curious as to what topics we will be covering this year.
Below you will find a basic outline of the Spanish curriculum for grades 4 through 8.
While the topics don’t really change from year to year, the order and pacing of the
lessons may vary slightly.
A Basic Outline of the Spanish Curriculum for grades 4-8
Grade 4:
Students continue to build upon the basic foundations of Spanish
vocabulary and phrases that they have learned in Grades 1-3. They
are introduced to basic Spanish grammar concepts such as the gender
of nouns, noun and adjective agreement, telling time, and simple
Spanish sentence structure. Vocabulary includes numbers, colors,
school supplies, school subjects, and favorite pastimes and activities.
Students also learn about the culture, history, and people of various
Spanish-speaking countries around the world.
Grade 5:
Grade Five Spanish begins with a reinforcement and review of the
basic concepts previously learned, including the Spanish alphabet,
numbers, colors, greetings and introductions, and basic Spanish
grammar. Students’ proficiency in Spanish is increased through
listening, speaking, reading and writing activities to include present
tense verb conjugation, expressing likes and dislikes, saying what is
going to happen, describing where they live, and household chores.
Students’ knowledge of other Spanish-speaking countries is increased
as we continue to study the Hispanic Culture.
Grade 6:
Sixth Grade Spanish begins with a review of the concepts previously
learned in Fifth Grade Spanish. Students’ proficiency in Spanish is
increased through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities
to include stem-change verbs and irregular verb conjugation,
commenting on food, giving polite commands, direct object pronouns,
asking and expressing how someone feels, and talking about plans and
holidays. Our study of Spanish-speaking countries continues as we
begin to read selections from Spanish literature.
Grade 7:
Our study of Spanish in Seventh Grade begins with a review of the
major concepts previously learned in Fifth and Sixth Grade, including
personal identification, nouns and adjective agreement, the present
tense of regular and irregular verbs, talking about household chores,
and discussing plans and places. Students’ proficiency in Spanish is
increased further through listening, speaking, reading, and writing
activities to include formal and informal commands, indirect object
pronouns, the preterite tense of regular and irregular verbs, asking
for and giving directions, and talking about how long something has
been going on. We continue to learn about Hispanic Culture through
short excerpts from Spanish literature.
Grade 8:
Our main focus in Eighth Grade Spanish is preparing for the Second
Language Proficiency Exam in Spanish that the students will begin in
May. This focus also prepares students for the Foreign Language
Placement Exams that they will take at the high school of their choice.
We begin the year with a review and reinforcement of all the major
concepts previously learned in Grades Five through Seven. Students’
proficiency in Spanish is increased further through listening,
speaking, reading, and writing activities to include the imperfect
tense, the preterite tense of irregular verbs, ordering food in a
restaurant and talking about how food tastes, using commands and
double object pronouns, correctly using the preterite and imperfect to
tell a story, por and para, the subjunctive mood, and the future tense.
We continue to learn about the culture of Spanish-speaking countries
through authentic documents and literature.
If at any point during the year you find that you are struggling with Spanish, or if
you would like to review a particular concept before a test, please come see me. I am
available for Spanish Enrichment from 2:25 to 2:45 every day. Spanish Enrichment is for
those students who need a little extra help in Spanish, or for those who would like to
review recently learned concepts. I have assigned a day for each grade to attend.Spanish
Enrichment. This will allow me to better focus on the needs of the students. The schedule
is as follows:
Monday 4th grade
Tuesday 5th grade
Wednesday 6th grade
Thursday 7th grade
Friday 8th grade
Please sign up with Mrs. Olsen if you would like to attend Spanish Enrichment.
I look forward to teaching all of you this year and I know we will learn many
great things about the Spanish language and culture. Please be sure to take this
information home and share it with your parents.
Mrs. Olsen