¡Bienvenidos! The Spanish program at Chestnut Hill Academy uses the multisensory language program of Sube and the Realidades Spanish program to meet national foreign language standards. The goals of the different programs are to inspire students to learn Spanish, give confidence to move toward fluency, and create awareness of cultural diversity and respect, while providing a solid basic knowledge of the Spanish language.
Our goal here at CHA is to awaken an interest for Spanish through a fun, interactive, and engaging environment. Students will learn to communicate in Spanish through the spoken and written language. They will gain knowledge and understanding of Spanish culture, as well as develop insight into the nature of language by comparing Spanish and English. Most importantly, students will be able to use Spanish at home, throughout their community, and around the world.
Students begin visiting the Spanish classroom in kindergarten through third grade, for two 30-minute classes a week. In fourth grade the study of Spanish increases to three 30-minute classes a week, and in fifth grade students have Spanish four-30-minutes classes a week. By offering a continuous exposure and ever more complex Spanish, that mirrors the children’s language development in English, students gradually move from novice Spanish speakers in the lower grades, to intermediate Spanish speakers in the upper grades.
Kindergarten students through third grade focus on thematic units such as: colors, numbers, weather, shapes, animals, classroom objects, family, body parts, clothes, food, house, bedroom, etc. Fourth and fifth graders work with the Realidades Spanish Program and complete oral, written, and conversational activities. All grade levels learn new vocabulary through TPR (Total Physical Response), songs, chants, books, games, projects, and/or worksheets.
Ruth Villasenor - Specialist, Spanish