At Brookview Montessori School, we believe exposure to a second language at an early age is paramount; children who learn a second language before the age of 10 have a native or near native pronunciation in the new language. To capitalize on this opportunity, we offer Spanish classes starting in our Toddler Program all the way through Middle School. These classes are taught by native Spanish speaking teachers.
Children receive 20-30 minutes of Spanish class, three times each week. We meet in small groups of 6 to 9 children in a designated area. The Spanish curriculum for young children is based on oral communication, speaking and vocabulary development. We accompany classes with didactic material, songs, group dynamics, games, with the aim of maintaining a fun, interesting and attractive class environment for students.
The Spanish class is linked with the Montessori Curriculum, by teaching and practicing the same vocabulary that children learn in their regular classes. This gives relevance to the Spanish vocabulary and reinforces the content being taught in English.
The skills of written language and grammar are introduced gradually in Lower Elementary and with more emphasis in Upper Elementary and Middle School. In these last two stages we study reading and writing with the support of textbooks and audible books with which we learn the language through studying the culture, the traditions, and the pastimes of the different Spanish speaking countries. The students of Middle School receive a daily hour of Spanish and also participate in what we call “Circulo de Literatura/Literature Circle,” students together with the teacher, select a book in Spanish, then analyze and discuss it in groups. By reading, interacting, and communicating our ideas in another language we greatly enrich the learning process.
At the end of the school year, we close our program with a traditional “Spanish Immersion Day,” where we dedicate the day to speaking only in Spanish and practicing everything we learned during the year. This day is full of engaging games and activities, giving the children more time to practice and celebrating our progress in having learned a second language.
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Spanish Language Resources for Parents: |
