Spanish

Kindergarten
Big Ideas: Students explore Spanish, Mandarin and French-speaking worlds throughout the year (equal time is allotted to each language). Hands-on activities, such as making traditional food and celebrating cultural festivals, engage students and spark their curiosity for learning about their neighbours around the globe. Basic language, such as greetings, counting and colours, are introduced through songs, stories, roleplays and games. 

Grade 1
Big Ideas: Students take Spanish for the first half of the year and Mandarin for the second half. Through fun, engaging contexts (games, songs, dialogues, stories), students learn simple vocabulary and phrases and explore the cultures and traditions of the Spanish and Mandarin-speaking worlds. Mini skits and dialogues put high-frequency vocabulary into context and bring life to the language. Highlights include introducing self, expressing wants, using a calendar and performing a short play.

Grade 2 
Big Ideas: Students focus on learning through gestures and storytelling. Curriculum highlights include introducing a friend and oneself, learning the alphabet and family terms, answering questions of "where," and continuing to explore the holiday traditions of the Spanish-speaking world. Skits and stories put language into context. In the second half of the year, students work on the stories "The Enormous Turnip" and "Chicken Little."

Grade 3 
Big Ideas: Students continue to learn through gestures and storytelling and build on previous skills such as using classroom directives, calendar dates and describing others. Students also learn and perform the stories "Cactus Soup" and "The Cat and the Moon." There is a focus on interaction and on answering basic questions (who, what, when, where) about Spanish holidays and traditions.