Children's short tales
Course Summary
Children’s bed time stories are a very important part of the Latin American culture and are considered, in some countries, oral traditions. In this course students will analyze one story per week, recognizing and extracting some grammatical concepts, vocabulary, as well as phrases only used in this type of literature. Through this course students will not only acquire/improve basic Spanish reading and writing skills, but will also be able to elicit and compare these stories to the ones they had heard as children themselves.
Project
By the end of the course, students will be required to create their own children’s story book and narrate it to their classmates. After which, they will answer questions from the class. Weekly reports will be presented on Fridays, in which students will show how they are working on their books and stories.
Objective
The goal of this course is to use children's stories to help build students' comprehension, knowledge of vocabulary, and ability to communicate in Spanish.
Honors
Students taking this class for honors will present a puppet show for exhibition night, based on their own book, giving weekly reports on the dialogue created and learned for the show.
Digital Portfolio
Students will be asked to choose 3 activities from the whole course to put in their portfolios.
Bathroom policy
Each student will be given five bathroom passes per semester, to be used wisely. If the student needs to use the restroom after using the five passes, he/she will be losing points on the work habits area.
Assessment strands
ü Conversation (25%)
- Using Spanish in class (i.e. asking questions / addressing teachers or classmates)
- Re-enacting dialogues presented in the stories (dramatization).
- Using vocabulary words and phrases found in the stories.
ü Interpretation (25%)
- Answering questions about stories presented in class (oral and written)
- Recognizing vocabulary words or phrases presented in class.
- Following written or oral directions leading to an activity.
ü Work habits (25%)
- Being fully present throughout class and participating in Spanish activities each day.
- Presenting work on time (homework, assignments, weekly project reports)
- Showing interest and effort in each class.
ü Presentation (25%)
- Creating a children’s short story book containing both the written material and images pertinent to the story.
- Narrating own creation to the class.
- Answering questions regarding own story.
Course overview
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Content |
Projects |
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August 27th – 30th |
Introduction to popular children’s short stories. |
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September 3rd - 6th |
“Caperucita roja” (colors and animals) |
Noun + adjective formations |
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September 9th - 13th |
“Los 3 cerditos y el lobo” (numbers, animals and house materials) |
Dramatization of story |
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September 16th-20th |
Pictonary – Review (vocabulary) |
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September 23rd-27th |
“El patito feo” (feelings, emotions) |
Expressing feelings towards different scenarios. |
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September 30th – October 4th |
“Pinocho” |
Habits and routines |
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October 7th - 11th |
La Cenicienta |
Describe activities, clothing, and events. |
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October 15th – 18th |
Present own version of “La Cenicienta” (act out) |
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October 21st – 25th |
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October 28th – November 1st |
“El perro del hortelano” |
Past tense (imperfect) used in narration. |
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November 4th – 8th |
“Ojos como platos” (mejor/peor que, más/menos que) |
Make simple comparisons between two different objects. |
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November 12th -15th |
“Risitos de oro y los 3 osos” |
Make simple questions. |
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November 18th– 22nd |
“La rebelión de los castaños” |
Create a phrase or slogan that will encourage others to save our trees. |
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November 25th– 27th |
Nursery Rhymes |
Memorize and recite a nursery rhyme. |
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December 2nd – 6th |
Puppet show or dramatization of own story. |
Pronunciation and ability to create dialogues based on own story. |
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December 9th – 13th |
Project Presentation week |
Ask and answer questions about story presented. |
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December 16th – 20th |
“El pastor mentiroso” |
Analysis of fables’ morals. |
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January 2nd – 3rd |
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January 6th – 10th |
Revision week (grammar and vocabulary assessment) |
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