8th Grade:

Spanish 1B Course Description

Middle School Core Proficiencies

By the end of 8th grade, students enrolled in the Spanish 1B course will use the target language in the three modes of communication (Interpretive, Interpersonal and Presentational) to do the following:

• engage in conversations about the activities that they and others do during their daily routines, and describe the frequency of these activities;

• make plans with others and discuss what they need to do to get ready;

• extend invitations and give culturally appropriate responses when accepting or declining such invitations;

• identify important cultural celebrations and events in the target culture;

• compare and contrast celebrations and events in the target culture with their own;

• identify food vocabulary for the three daily meals and compare and contrast these to the target culture;

• express personal preferences for food, comment on food, make polite requests, order food and pay the bill in a restaurant;

• recognize and imitate common gestures and practices from the target culture; and

• develop a respect and appreciation for the Spanish culture, its products and practices.

In order to accomplish these objectives, students will need to learn present tense verb conjugation rules for -ar, -er and -ir verbs, frequency words/phrases, reflexive verbs used to describe getting ready for an event, invitation vocabulary, places and events vocabulary, days of the week, time expressions, currency, holidays and celebrations in the target culture, vocabulary associated with planning, attending and participating in celebrations, basic food vocabulary for breakfast/lunch/dinner and expressions used when visiting a restaurant.  Using face to face communication or digital tools to exchange information with classmates and members of the target culture,  students will ask and respond appropriately to questions related to each unit topic.  Students will make cultural connections by exploring the similarities and differences between the target culture and their own. 

Cultural Content Statement:

Personal Identity is developed through the experiences that occur within one’s family, one’s community and the culture at large. (Topics that assist in the development of this understanding include, but are not limited to: self, friends, family, pets, physical/personality descriptions, school, likes/dislikes and pastimes.)

Many products and practices related to home and community are shared across cultures; others are culture-specific. (Topics that assist in the development of this understanding include, but are not limited to: leisure time activities; home life; places in the community, activities within the community and travel.)  

Healthy eating habits vary across cultures.  (Topics that assist in the development of this understanding should include, but are not limited to: foods, shopping, eating at home or in restaurants, and wellness practices.)