Spanish

5th Grade
In the first trimester, fifth grade students focus on learning -ar, -er, and -ir verbs and their meanings. Students create flashcards to help them remember the verbs, complete activities, and learn how to spell the words. The fifth graders also create a collective “Libro de Verbos”—a book of verbs—where they are each assigned three verbs to define and draw/create a picture to represent. In October, students participate in their first cultural exploration of Dia de los Muertos and create their own calaveras de azúcar!

During the second trimester, fifth graders expand their Spanish vocabulary by learning more extensively about “adjetivos personales” which include physical characteristics, descriptive adjectives, and emotions. Students also learn about changing adjectives from singular to plural and adjusting them according to gender, including learning how to make them non-binary. The fifth graders also learn the different “profesiones” and connect them to their adjetivos by describing each profession using the adjectives. In addition to learning new vocabulary words, fifth grade students also learn how to write and speak in the “yo”, first-person perspective, and learn how to conjugate the -AR, - ER, and -IR verbs they learned in the first trimester. Drawing on this new material, the fifth graders complete their very first Upper School Spanish project of “Marionetas” in which they create their own puppets made out of sustainable materials. Fifth grade students give their “marionetas” a name and occupation, and they write a small paragraph in the first-person perspective, describing themselves and saying what they like to do.

For the final trimester, fifth graders focus on word building and sentence formation, learning phrases such as “Hay” (There is) and definite and indefinite articles such as “un,” “una,” “unos,” “unas,” “el,” “la,” “los,” and “las.” In addition to learning these new grammatical concepts, students also learn thematic vocabulary words, focusing on “la casa y los muebles.” Students practice their new vocabulary words through individualized drills and classroom activities such as Kahoot and Boom Cards. After mastering their new vocabulary and grammar skills, students focus on a major project: “La Casa Comunitaria” and “Mi Casa Ideal” where students worked in pairs to build a part of the house such as “la cocina” or “el dormitorio” using a shoebox and sustainable materials to build “los muebles” or creating their houses virtually.

6th Grade
During the first trimester, sixth grade students learn the grammatical concepts and rules of verb conjugation. They build fluency with present tense conjugations, focusing primarily on verbs that end in -ar. In addition to learning new regular verbs and their conjugations, students focus on developing sentence structures in Spanish. They study thematic word lists to increase their vocabulary. Students also look at the Spanish equivalent of subject pronouns including the nonbinary pronoun, “elle/elles”.

During the second trimester, sixth graders work extensively on the “to be” verbs, “ser” and “estar.” Students learned how to conjugate the verbs in the present tense and learn when to use them in a sentence, using the acronyms “DOCTOR” for the verb ser and “PLACE” for estar. Upon mastering the grammatical concepts of ser and estar through practice drills and assessments, students create their own “emoji posters” using ser and estar to express emotions, characteristics, ongoing actions, and conditions.

In the third trimester, sixth grade students continue to build their foundational Spanish skills and develop their ability to conjugate verbs and learn new vocabulary. Students review and practice conjugating -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, and they are also introduced to the presente progresivo (present progressive) tense. This allows them to express ongoing actions and describe events happening in the present. Students also explore thematic vocabulary related to "las emociones" (emotions) and learn to express themselves using a variety of descriptive adjectives. As their end-of-year project, students dub selected videos in Spanish in collaboration with the technology department.

7th Grade
During the first trimester, seventh grade students review grammatical concepts and rules they learned in Spanish class last year; they revisit verb conjugation in the present tense, focusing primarily on the verbs ser and estar. Students also learn how to conjugate verbs that are irregular in the first person form and use the present progressive tense. They focus on developing sentence structure in Spanish and complete class activities and assignments to further their understanding. Students also study thematic word lists to increase their vocabulary fluency. Seventh graders also start their first cultural exploration project, focusing on Dia de los Muertos. For their accompanying project, they work in groups to create an authentic ofrenda to honor loved ones who have passed away; students also wrote about the elements of their ofrenda as well as the subject of their ofrenda.

During the second trimester, seventh graders wrap up reviewing the presente progresivo tense and focus on learning about the immediate future tense. Students learn how to use two or more verbs in a sentence using the verb Ir (to go) + a (to) + infinitive verbs to express actions they will do in the future. In addition, seventh grade students also learn prepositional phrases and focus on the thematic vocabulary of "lugares" and "transportaciones." Upon mastering their new grammatical concepts, the seventh graders work on their "Ciudad" project, in which they create their own city maps and write a paragraph, applying the new grammatical concepts into their work.

In the final trimester of Spanish class, seventh graders learn how to use and conjugate the Spanish verbs "ser," "estar," and "tener." Additionally, they focused on expanding their vocabulary, particularly in thematic areas such as "la familia" (the family). In their end-of-year projects, seventh graders complete two exciting assignments: the "El Álbum de Familia" project and "Poema de Identidad." These projects allow students to demonstrate their creativity and understanding of the language in a unique and engaging way.

8th Grade
During the first trimester, eighth grade students review last year's grammatical concepts and rules of verb conjugation in the present tense, focusing primarily on ser and estar, as well as the present progressive. In addition to reviewing last year's material, students learn how to conjugate regular and irregular stem-changing verbs in the present tense in Spanish. Students also focus on sentence structure in Spanish and complete in-class activities and assignments to further their understanding. They study thematic word lists in order to increase their vocabulary fluency as well. The eighth grade start their first cultural exploration project this trimester, focusing on Dia de los Muertos; students work in groups to research different subtopics about Dia de los Muertos and create a visual poster board, which they present to the class.

During the second trimester, eighth graders finish working on present tense stem-changing verbs. They work extensively on conjugating verbs in the past tense and learning the difference between "el preterito" and "el imperfecto." Through practice grammar drills and class activities, students learn how to use both forms of the past tense in a sentence and differentiate between the usage of them through a series of class discussions and note-taking. During this trimester, eighth graders complete their first essay project using the "preterito" and "imperfecto" to write about their childhood at MCS.

With continued emphasis on oral and written communication, eighth grade students acquire more regular and irregular verbs and use them to narrate in the present tense, imperfect tense, preterite tense and the imperativo/mandatos tense. They use more in-depth thematic vocabulary such as “los objetos” to increase their vocabulary skills as well. Students also focus on their end-of-year project, “Telenovelas”. For this culmination, students work in groups to write, produce, film, and direct a telenovela trailer and an episode in Spanish with the support of the MCS technology department.