Spanish 7th Grade

Course Title: Spanish 7th Grade
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Course Description

Introduction to Spanish I introduces the Spanish language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world.  Students will develop skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing in Spanish throughout the year.  Course topics include introductory topics such as greetings and getting to know you conversation, colors, numbers, calendar, weather and other basic school communication. Other course themes are likes and dislikes, personality traits, information about school and classes, and food and healthy lifestyles.  Course topics will also include the geography of the Spanish-speaking world and building understanding of various cultural perspectives, practices and products of different Spanish-speaking countries and how they relate to our own.

Power Standards

  • Interpretive – listening and reading comprehension: Student can derive meaning of main ideas and supporting details of  simple oral and written texts in the target language using practiced vocabulary and structures.
  • Presentational – spoken and written language: Student can communicate, through speaking and writing, information on very familiar topics using a variety of words, phrases and sentences that have been practiced and memorized.
  • Interpersonal – conversation and communication: Student expresses his or her self in conversations on very familiar topics using a variety of words, phrases, simple sentences and questions that have been highly practiced and memorized.

Course Outline

Ask and answer basic informational questions and build strategies to function in the target language

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • How are the sounds in Spanish different from those in English?
  • How do I address friends and family differently from those I need to be more formal with, such as teachers?
  • What do I need to  know and be able to do to effectively communicate basic information with someone?
  • How do the weather and seasons differ from those in the US versus tropical countries and countries in the Southern hemisphere, where there are many Spanish-speaking countries?
  • What strategies do I use when I come to word I don’t understand when reading or listening to Spanish?
  • Perform a conversation introducing yourself and asking basic interpersonal questions.
  • Communicate with others using formal and informal types of address
  • Communicate using numbers and calendar information to convey age, phone number, day, date and birthday.
  • Describe the weather and seasons in our own country and compare with various Spanish-speaking countries.
  • Understand simple classroom commands and instructions.
  • Identify context and cognates as part of reading and listening strategies to aid comprehension.
 Summative Projects: Getting to know you skit, weather report


Read, listen to, present and discuss information about your likes and dislikes

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • What do I like and not like to do and how can I communicate my likes and dislikes with someone else and understand their activity preferences?
  • How can I agree or disagree with someone’s opinions about what they like and dislike?
  • What is an infinitive verb and how does it compare to English?
  • What are the similarities and differences between popular pastimes in the US and in the Spanish-speaking world?
  • State activities that you like and dislike.
  • Ask others what they like to do.
  • Agree or disagree with what others say they like or do not like to do.
  • Identify activities people like and dislike in videos, readings, and audio recordings.
  • Identify what an infinitive verb is in Spanish and the three categories they are in.
  • Use negative words correctly in discussing dislikes.
  • Compare pastimes of young people in the US and Spanish – speaking countries.
 Summative Projects: All about me presentation/Day of the Dead skeleton


Read, listen to, present and discuss descriptions of self and others

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • How can I describe my personality in Spanish and that of others?
  • How can I relate activity preferences with personality traits?
  • How does word gender affect personality adjectives when describing myself and others?
  • How is word order different from English when using descriptions in sentences in Spanish?
  • Give personality traits for self and others.
  • Understand proper word order and placement of adjectives in Spanish.
  • Uses basic adjective endings correctly to match gender of noun.
  • Listen to and understand descriptions of people.
  • Read and understand descriptions of people.
  • Makes connections between activity likes and dislikes and personality.
 Summative Projects: Diamond poem


Read, listen to, present and discuss information about your school

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • What objects are in a classroom, and how can I describe where they are?
  • How can I describe my class schedule and other information about my classes?
  • What is verb conjugation and how can I use it to accurately talk about activities I do and others do?
  • How is school different in Spanish-speaking countries from the US?
  • Identify classroom objects and their locations.
  • Read and understand a daily class schedule.
  • Lists daily schedule of classes, giving times, teachers, and materials and activities.
  • Ask/respond to various questions about class schedule and information about classes.
  • Listen to and understand someone talking about their schedule and classes.
  • Compares US schools and class schedules to those in Spanish-speaking countries.
 Summative Projects: My favorite class paragraph/Activities book: Friends, family and I


Read, listen to, present and discuss what you eat, what you do and what you should do to stay healthy

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • What foods and beverages do I like and dislike, and how many ways can I sort them into categories?
  • What are healthy and unhealthy choices for foods and activities and how can I give advice about maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
  • What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs in conjugation patterns?
  • How do typical foods in the US differ from those in Spanish-speaking countries?
  • How do perspectives on mealtimes differ between the US and various Spanish-speaking countries?
  • List foods eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and identifies healthy and unhealthy foods and activities
  • Name and describe foods and beverages you like/dislike/prefer, discuss with a partner.
  • State what you do and should do to stay healthy: foods you eat, exercise, sports, and discuss with a partner.
  • Listen to and identify items people eat and drink, as well as healthy and unhealthy choices they make.
  • Read about people’s lifestyle to determine if they make healthy or unhealthy choices.
  • Compare meals in the US to those in Spanish-speaking countries and identifies culturally authentic foods.
 Summative Projects: Complete nutrition poster


Read, listen to, present and discuss information pertaining to the cultures of Spanish speaking world

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • Where is Spanish spoken- how many Spanish-speaking countries are there and what are they?
  • Do all Spanish speaking countries share a similar culture? What differences are there?
  • What celebrations are there  in parts of the Spanish speaking world that we don’t celebrate in the US, and what is the purpose of the celebrations?
  • For celebrations that are common between the US and parts of the Spanish -speaking world, how are they celebrated differently?
  • Identify countries/capitals where Spanish is spoken on a world map.
  • Identify major celebrations in the Spanish-speaking world and discuss with a partner/group why certain celebrations take place.
  • Compare major celebrations in the Spanish speaking world to those in the US.
 Summative Projects: Spanish-speaking country presentation, Day of the Dead skeleton/all about me presentation


Manipulate the Spanish language to communicate effectively via written and spoken means and demonstrate understanding

 Guiding Questions Learning Objectives
  • If I don’t understand what I am hearing or reading in Spanish, what strategies can I use to help understand?
  • How does Spanish look and sound different from English?
  • What are cognates and false cognates?  How can I identify cognates in reading and listening to help my understanding of the content?
  • What is word gender and number, and how does it affect what I am saying and writing when describing people and things in Spanish?
  • What are subject pronouns and how are they different in Spanish and English?
  • What is verb conjugation and subject/verb agreement, and what are the patterns I use to accurately say who does actions?
  • How does word order differ in Spanish and English?
  • How do I put together words to form complete sentences?
  • Respond appropriately to classroom commands and makes simple requests in Spanish
  • Use accurate pronunciation of Spanish sounds.
  • Write with accuracy in spelling (including accents and punctuation) and word order
  • Identify cognates and false cognates.
  • Create complete sentences in Spanish in speaking and writing.
  • Identify word gender and number (masculine, feminine, singular, plural) and is able to change the endings of descriptive adjectives to agree for gender and number.
  • Identify subject pronouns in Spanish and compare to English.
  • Conjugate verbs in the present tense to match the subject (who does the action), and recognizes different conjugation patterns.


 Career and Life Skills

  • Honoring  the ideas and opinions of others and
  • Interacting effectively and appropriately with others.

  • Completing assignments on time
  • Arriving prepared and on time
  • Managing time
 Initiative and
 Self Direction
The student demonstrates independence by:

  • Self-advocating for assistance or resources
  • Persevering through rigorous/challenging tasks
  • Utilizing feedback