Fair Lawn Public Schools

Fair Lawn Public Schools

Fair Lawn, NJ

SPANISH CURRICULUM

GRADE 8

Created: 2008

Eileen Friedman

Claudia León

Valerie Pachter

Nicole Selby

I. Statement of purpose

The purpose of the world language program at this level involves placing the students in meaningful, realistic situations where they must use their language skills for authentic communication purposes. All aspects of language acquisition are stressed including written, oral, reading and auditory skills. Students are given the opportunity to take risks in the target language in simulated, yet practical situations. Cultural practices and products from people of different parts of the Spanish-speaking world are incorporated routinely so that students may develop a sense of cultural plurality and thereby prepare themselves to become citizens of a global society.

II.Introduction

This course is composed of four thematic units. Each unit is anchored by an essential question. Instructional procedures, techniques and methods will be differentiated, interactive and characterized by authenticity. The students will be exposed to and will explore a variety of informational written and electronic sources. They will apply technology in some of the following ways: conducting research, composing thoughts, sorting and organizing information, developing presentations and following web quests. Assessment will be on-going and substantially performance-based.

III. Philosophy and Rationale

The ability to communicate is at the heart of knowing another language. Communication can be characterized in many different ways. The approach used within the New Jersey and National Standards is to recognize three communicative modes that place primary emphasis on the context and purpose of the communication. The three modes are:

The interpretive mode: Students understand and interpret within the appropriate cultural context spoken and written communication. Examples of one way reading or listening include but are not limited to the cultural interpretation of texts, movies, radio and television broadcasts and speeches. Interpretation differs from comprehension because it implies the ability to read or listen “between the lines.”

The interpersonal mode. Students engage in direct oral and/or written communication. Examples involving two way interactive communication are conversing face-to-face or exchanging personal letters or email messages.

The presentational mode. Students present through oral and/or written communications information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers with whom there is no immediate personal contact. Examples of this one to many modes of communication are making a presentation to a group or writing an article for the school newspaper.

IV. Procedures, Techniques and Methods:

A. Student-related:

Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions and exchange opinions.

Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics

Students present information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics

Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and the perspectives of the culture studied.

Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language

B. Teacher-related:

Preparing students to engage in spontaneous conversation requires a number of instructional strategies to help with the development of communication tactics. Some strategies that the teacher might use include:

Beginning with warm-up activities that lower the affective filter and provide students with thinking time.

Providing students with pre-thinking exercises or graphic organizers to activate the thought process.

Weaning students gradually from using a written script or notes in their oral communications.

Providing multiple opportunities for students to practice thinking on their feet without the pressure of being evaluated constantly.

Materials

Pathways to Proficiency: Communicative Activities for Level One Spanish. Vicki Galloway, 1990, Addison-Wesley

Realidades Level One, 2004, Pearson Prentice Hall and ancillaries

Spanish-English dictionaries

Computers / Internet / Audiovisual equipment

Flashcards / manipulatives

Realia and videos from authentic sources

Ven Conmigo Dos (Level II), 2003, Holt Reinhart and Winston and ancillary materials

¡Lee conmigo! 2001, Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Spanish Grade 8

THEMES:

I: Gone Shopping

II: Lights, Camera, Action!

III: Vacation: Time to get away!

IV. Once Upon a Time

I. Gone Shopping

A.Essential Questions:

What makes a good consumer?

2. How does fashion vary in different cultures?

B. Objectives: Students will be able to…..

1. Identify articles of clothing

2. Describe articles of clothing

3. Utilize the correct word order in descriptive sentences

4. Express agreement between articles of clothing and their

descriptors

5. State color and size preferences

6. Apply vocabulary to role play

7. Ask for help in a store

8. Express comparatives and superlatives

9. Categorize clothing based on seasons

10. Describe the price and size of clothing

11. Recommend an appropriate outfit for a given activity

12. Express opinions and make observations about how clothing looks

and fits

13. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural perspectives on

shopping and clothing

14. Signal an item verbally by using this, that, that far away, etc.

15. Compare and contrast the sizes and prices of clothing and fashion

styles in the US with the target culture

16. Calculate the price and the amount of change left over from a

transaction

17. Convert dollars to the currency of the target culture

18. Create a new line of fashion

C. Vocabulary:

1. Articles of clothing and accessories

2. Specialty stores

3. Words that describe clothing (colors, fit, size, etc.)

4. Vocabulary needed for shopping (how much does it cost, may I

try it on, etc.)

5. Numbers (quantities, prices, etc.)

6. Related professions (tailor, designer, sales person, etc.)

7. Weather Terms/ Seasons

8. Verbs (to sell, to put on, to try on, to choose, to spend, to purchase, to save, to see)

9. Terms expressing opinion (too big, too small, etc.)

10. Comparative and superlative expressions

11. Shopping on line terminology

12. Categories of clothing

D. Grammar:

1.Present Tense (Review)

2.Comparatives

3.Adjectives to describe clothing

4.Demonstrative Adjectives and pronouns

5.Preterit Tense Formation

E. Suggested Activities and Assessments:

1. Create a clothing catalog in groups. Each group is assigned a season that must include clothing for casual and formal events, including colors available, sizes, and a description of the clothing with pricing related to the target culture.

2. Each student receives a slip of paper with another student’s name on it. He/she describes the named individual’s clothing in depth. Hearing their outfit described, classmates stand as a pertinent description is read and sit if the description does not apply.

3. Play “Five-up.” Students will describe the clothing of the person who they think picked them

4. Reading authentic print activity

5. Picture prompt

6. Students will receive a situation that they need to buy clothes for, and they will look through the catalogs (made by their classmates) to find an outfit appropriate for the situation.

7. Students will pack a suitcase for a specific, seasonal destination or

culture

8. Research and write an interview of a famous designer

9. Describe a trip to the mall

10. Conduct a fashion show.

11. Utilize a designated website to shop within a prescribed budget

12. Perform a skit between a salesperson and customer related to

purchasing various clothing items

F. Cultural Connections:

1. Prices in euros and other foreign currency

2. Department stores vs. flea markets vs. boutiques

3. Fashion of the United States as compared to that of the target

culture

4. Traditional regional or national costumes

5. Measurement of sizes as they pertain to the target culture

G. Standards:

1. World Language CCCS 7.1.A.1-6, 7.1.B.1-5, 7.1.C.1-4, 7.2 A.1,

B.1

2. Technological Literacy CCCS 8.1.A.1-5, 8.1.B.2-9, 8.2.

3. Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills CCCS

(By the end of Grade 8) 9.1.A.1,2,4, 9.2.A.1,2,5, 9.2.B.3,9.2.C.1,2

4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4

5. Social Studies CCCC 6.6

6. Visual and Performing Arts CCCC 1.1.A.1, 1.2 C.2

7. Mathematics CCCS 4.4

II: Lights, Camera, Action!

A. Essential Questions:

1. How does the media influence our behavior?

2. How does technology influence our society?

B.Objectives. Students will be able to….

Talk about television shows/movies

2. List different types of television shows / movies (action,western, etc.)

3. Name vocabulary associated with the computer

4. Discuss how television / movies affect our lives

5. Create a promotional poster for a movie

6. Provide facts about Hispanic actors / actresses vis a vis their professions

7. Debate positive and negative aspects of television

8. Survey classmates to determine TV viewing habits

9. Compare survey outcomes to statistics on national teen

viewing habits

10. Compare and contrast modes of communication (texting,

email, phone calling, letter writing)

11. Express preferences for modes of communication

12. Analyze the influence of technology on the way we

communicate

13. Research an invention and describe its impact on society

14. Invent an item and market it to the class

15. Prepare a persuasive presentation to market his/her invention

16. Survey the most popular invention in the class

17. Interpret a TV timetable and extrapolate details

18. Convert military time to standard time

19. Interpret the rating system

20. Compare and contrast TV programs / movies from the past

with the present

C.Vocabulary:

1. Types of television shows (comedy, cartoons, news, etc.)

2. Types of movies (action, horror, mystery, etc.)

3. Review of vocabulary used to make comparisons

4. Award criteria (best actress, best comedy, etc.)

5. Review of descriptive adjectives

6. Computer terminology (screen, mouse, Internet, etc.)

7. Words indicating frequency (every day, often, from time to

time, etc.)

8. Methods of communication (write a letter, email, text, etc.)

9. Time expressions

10. Movie rating terms (PG, PG-13, R, etc.)

11. Terms related to inventions

D. Grammar:

1. Review of regular preterit

2. Irregular preterit

3. Review of comparatives and superlatives

4. Review of possessive adjectives

E. Suggested activities and assessments:

1. Create a movie poster including the names of actors, a description of each actor, a summary of the movie, the year it was released, the category that the movie is in, the rating it received and a review of the movie

2. Summarize a current event

3. Selecting a television show from the past or present, each group writes a verbal description of the show’s location, character description, day and time that the program was aired and setting, allowing classmates to guess the name of the program

4. Design and present original news clips using the preterit

5. Write a movie Review

6. Debate positive and negative aspects of TV viewing

Design an invention
Read or view authentic materials
Imagine an event that took place based on a picture cue of the setting
Design a time line of inventions
Create an original game show
Play a “Guess Who?” movie game
Matching game activity
Complete an envelope task matching movies and translations
View commercials in the target language
Extrapolate details from a radio ad

F. Cultural Connections:

1. Discuss the differences and similarities between the Spanish “telenovelas” and American soap operas; programs; game shows; commercials in the target culture

2. Discuss the influence of a Spanish or Latino actor/ actress

3. Research the accomplishments of a Spanish inventor

G. Standards:

1. World Languages CCCS 7.1A 1-7, 7.1 B 1-6

2. Technological literacy CCCS 8.1 A 1-5, 8.1B 2-9, 8.2

3. Career Education and Consumer Family and Life Skills CCCS (by the end of grade 8) 9.1 A 4, 9.1 A 7, 9.1 B 3, 9.2 A 1

4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5

5. Mathematics CCCS 4.4

6. Science 5.2

7. Social Studies 6.1

III. Vacation: Time to Get Away

A. Essential Questions:

1. How is the future shaped by our memory of the past?

2. How does travel shape who we are?

B. Objectives: Students will be able to …

Talk about their past vacation activities
Describe what was involved in planning a trip
Describe the legal aspects of travel (passport, customs)
Describe places they visited while on vacation
Talk about how to get to different places while on vacation (modes of transportation)
Read a map to help them get around a city
Describe the places visited
State preferences for places visited
Become familiar with the various regions and countries of

the target language

Compare and contrast a past vacation with an ideal vacation
Name different currencies
Demonstrate an understanding of cultural differences
Compare and contrast American daily activities to those in

the target culture

Express future events
Purchase a train ticket and request information about arrivals and departures
Use words and expressions related to the airport and train station
Ask for and provide directions

C.Vocabulary:

Terms related to travel (airport, customs, etc)
Terms related to modes of transportation
Countries and capitals
Currency
Weather expressions
Interrogative words
Vacation activities
Directional terms (to the left, staystraight, to the right, etc.)
Prepositions of location

10. Sightseeing venues (museum, beach, amusement park,

etc.)

D. Grammar:

Preterite tense (regular and irregular forms)

2. Future tense

3. Review of all present tense verbs

4. Conditional tense

E. Suggested Activities and Assessments:

1. Write journal entries about your trip in which you include a

variety of activities in which you participated.

2. Plan a trip in your group giving each group member

responsibility for one aspects of trip (hotel, airline tickets,

preparations for trip and packing, information on places to be

visited). Include pitfalls (cancelledreservations, missed flight,

etc.)

3. Send an e-post card to a friend telling about your trip, who

you traveled with and some basic activities that you did there.

4. Create a photo album and give a past tense narration of each

picture and your experiences

5. Create a mobile describing a vacation

6. Think out loud (bubble) activity

7. Fill out travel paperwork(passport, customs form, etc.)

8. Perform a skit in an airport, train station, hotel scene or travel

agency

9. Compare and contrast cultural differences between US and

target culture

10. Create children’s book

11. Create a travel itinerary for your family

12. Follow directions given by a partner using a city map

13. Write an essay in order to win an all-expenses-paid trip.

Students will indicate where they would like to visit, how

they will get there, what they will do there and what they

will learn

F. Cultural Connections:

Express similarities and differences between the regions and

countries of the target language with that of the USA

Describe different foods, customs, sports and celebrations of theregion / country
Compare and contrast differences between other countries

(besides Spanish-speaking countries) and our own.

4. Interpret international traffic signs

5. Differences in time

G. Standards:

1. World Languages CCCS 7.1A 1-7, 7.1 B 1-6

2. Technological literacy CCCS 8.1 A 1-5, 8.1B 2-9, 8.2

3. Career Education and Consumer Family and Life Skills CCCS 9.1 A 4, 9.1 A 7, 9.1 B 3, 9.2 A 1

4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4

5. Mathematics CCCS 4.4

6. Visual and Performing Arts 1.2.C

7. Social Studies 6.6

IV. Once Upon a Time

A. Essential Questions:

1. What are the elements of a good story?

2. What do all fairy tales have in common?

3. How do fairy tales reflect culture?

B. Objectives: Students will be able to…

1. Identify the parts of a story

2. Describe the story setting

3. Name and describe the characters

4. Provide an alternative ending / beginning for the story

5. Tell the story from a different perspective

6. Create his/her own original story

7. Narrate a story in the past tense

8. Generate questions about a story

9. Respond correctly to questions about the story

10. Sequence the events of a story

11. Incorporate sequencing terms into the telling of the story

12. Compare him/herself to the protagonist / antagonist of the

story

13. Critique a story in writing

14. Compare and contrast fiction and non fiction

15. Summarize the main elements of a story

16. Evaluate the portrayals of each character and vote for your

favorite

C. Vocabulary:

1. Terms relating to fairy tales (castle, prince, princess, etc.)

2. Terms that indicate sequence (first, next, last, etc.)

3. Transitional words (finally, as a result, then, etc.)

4. Literacy expressions (once upon a time, happily ever after, etc.)

5. Generic names for characters (hero,villain, fairy godmother, etc.)

6. Descriptions of people and places

7. Story-related terms

D.Grammar:

Imperfect tense formation
Preterit review
Distinguish between the preterit and imperfect
Use of the preterit and imperfect in the context of a story

E.Appropriate Activities and Assessments:

Create a shadow box depicting the scene of the story
Story writing rotation activity. Groups add subsequent events to a story prompt
Creation of original student stories
Envelope task sequencing story events
Brainstorming questions in groups
Write a modern version of a fairy tale or legend or give an alternative beginning or ending to the story.
Generate a comic strip version of the story
Create a concrete poem
Revise the story by substituting contemporary characters
TPR vocabulary presentation
Kinesthetic sequencing activity with scene illustrations
Digital storytelling
Narration of pictures in pairs
Cloze activity
View You tube segments to enforce vocabulary

F.Cultural Connections:

Comparison of international versions of a generic fairy

tales

Fables, legends and folktales across cultures
Comic trips

G. Standards:

1. World Language CCCS 7.1.A, 7.1B, 7.1C, 7.2A, 7.2B, 7.2C

2. Technological Literacy CCCS 8.1.A.1-5, 8.1.B.2-9, 8.2.

3. Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills CCCS 9.1.B, 9.2A, 9.2B, 9.2C, 9.2D

4.Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1A, 3.1E, 3.1G, 3.1H, 3.2A, 3.2B, 3.2D, 3.3A, 3.3B, 3.3C, 3.3D, 3.4A, 3.4B

5. Visual and performing arts CCCS 1.2 C, D

6. Social Studies 6.1