At Sonrisas Spanish Schoolwe talk a lot about creating rich, fun, and engaging contexts for children learning language. It is one of the reasons we are advocates for using authentic children’s Spanish literature which so naturally does the job of giving students a rich and engaging language-learning experience. It is also why we have always […]
The Importance of Early Language Education This is an excellent article by Kathleen M. Marcos from The ERIC Review, 6(1), 2-5. It reaffirms the importance of the work we are doing teaching preschool and elementary Spanish to young children. Second Language Learning: Everyone Can Benefit Kathleen M. Marcos* The 1990s have been a decade of […]
We continue with our series on engaging the imagination through the senses. In this post: SEE, SMELL AND TASTE. To engage the visual imaginations of your preschool and elementary Spanish students, you can use books, photographs, puppets, maps, globes, and artwork. When teaching the seasons, for example, you can bring in pieces of colorful construction paper, […]
In this series we will discuss the importance of engaging the imagination for preschool and elementary Spanish, and we will look at different ways to do this. Engaging the imagination through the senses is a methodology that can make teaching and learning preschool and elementary Spanish almost effortless. At Sonrisas Spanish School, we value the depth […]
We continue with our discussion of the benefits of reading children’s Spanish literature in the elementary Spanish class: Many children’s Spanish books provide opportunities for students to gain an understanding of the relationship between the practices, products, and perspectives of Spanish-speaking cultures. Not only can a book draw students into the target language experience, it […]
We continue with our discussion of the benefits of reading children’s Spanish literature in the elementary Spanish class: Reading books provides the opportunity for review of previously taught material. An authentic children’s book (as opposed to a “reader” that has been written to teach a specific topic) usually has multilayered themes within it. For example, […]
We are getting very excited about our new curricula that is almost ready for release. I wanted to post a blog to let everyone know about the new curricula—what is new and improved. Both of our new curricula are part of Sonrisas Spanish School: A Preschool and Elementary Curriculum. The new curricula are Sonrisas Level […]
What is shared reading? At Sonrisas Spanish School, when we read stories during our preschool and elementary Spanish classes, we use a form of storytelling that is commonly called “shared reading” in the educational world. In her book Invitations, Regie Routman defines shared reading as “any rewarding reading situation in which a learner—or group of […]
This is an excerpt from our recent newsletter. I wanted to post this on our blog as well. Did you know that ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) recommends that teachers stay in the target language a minimum of 90% of the time in foreign language classrooms? To learn more about this, you […]
The National Standards for Foreign Language Learning represent an important guide for the preschool and elementary Spanish teacher. These standards were first published in 1996 in the document, “Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century.” The standards were developed out of a collaboration among the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and […]
