Let's explore the Calico Spanish curriculum

 

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When you log in to your subscription for the Calico Spanish curriculum, you have access to more than 360 step-by-step, open-and-go lesson plans to help you lead learners on their journey to speak real Spanish to real people.

 

 

Try it out now! Take a look at the introductory materials for Level A.

 

Welcome to Level A!

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You and your learners have eight units of exciting Spanish learning ahead of you, but before you begin, take a few minutes to explore these introductory materials. You'll guide children more effectively when you know:

  • how we approach language learning.
  • what you can expect learners to accomplish.
  • how the program elements (video stories, storybooks, culture capsules etc.) work.

Below are some resources you might find helpful before you're ready to begin!

Introduction to Level A

Lesson Checklist

Student Progress Checklist

Don’t forget! You can find and print any of your lesson plans, activity sheets, flash cards and posters whenever you need them, just click on the “Resources” button to access them any time.

Access resources at any time

 

Now, here's the first lesson from Level A, exactly as you'll see it in your own subscription.  Look through it on your own, or try it with learners today!

 

Day

1

Daily Overview: Day 1

Today, we will...

  • Begin class by introducing today’s Can-Do Statement. 
  • Participate in a community builder activity to get to know each other. 
  • Watch the music video “Hola a todos.” 
  • Review flashcards for the words hola and adiós
  • Watch the vocabulary video and video story. 
  • Practice introducing ourselves. 

Supplemental activities

  • Rewatch the video story.
  • Play a memory matching game.

Introduction

Introduce today’s Can-Do Statement.

Can-Do Statement

I can use hola and adiós to greet and say goodbye in Spanish.

Flashcards

Show the flashcards for hola and adiós. Ask learners if anyone already knows what these words mean. Wave to each other and say “hola” to establish meaning for this greeting. Wave again and say “adiós” as you pretend to walk away.

Program note
The vocabulary video in the next activity can help model the correct pronunciation of these new words.

Music Video: Hola a todos

Watch the music video “Hola a todos.” These first several lines repeat the title phrase hola a todos twice. Help learners sing along with just that phrase.

Program note
Note that you may find audio files for the songs and storybooks in the Resource Library

You may find options below the video player to view and print the resource for each learner, then follow along using the audio only.

For the lyrics to our songs along with their English translations, see the Appendix of this level's Teacher's Guide. You can find PDFs of our full Teacher's Guides by clicking on the purple Resource Library button at top right. Then, click Teacher's Materials.

Video Story: Pedro el pez

Watch together your learners’ first video story “Pedro el pez.” They will meet Pedro the blue fish for the first time, and he will be a part of their learning throughout this level (and beyond!) Ask learners to wave every time they hear the words hola or adiós.

Flashcards

Use the flashcards to review the vocabulary for this lesson. As you move through the flashcards, ask for volunteers to tell you what the words mean.

Stop and focus on the phrase mucho gusto. Ask learners what they think this means, based on the video story and the song “¿Cómo te llamas?

Language note
The phrase mucho gusto literally means “much pleasure” and is the natural response when meeting someone for the first time. Its equivalent in English is “Nice to meet you.”

Supplemental Activity | Video Story: Pedro el pez

Show the video story again. This time, pause on Pedro and ask learners to tell him “¡Hola!” in their best whisper, opera voice, or growl. Do the same with the character Carlos.

Rationale
Research shows that learners need to hear language in context many, many times in order to make it part of their long term memory. As a result, in this program, you’ll find instructions to watch the video story at least once in every lesson. If learners can engage with the video story more than once, even better! Giving them a specific task to complete will help them interact with the same language in different ways. For example, consider asking them to wave every time they hear hola or adiós used in the video story.

Speaking Practice: Greeting others

Ask learners to rotate around the classroom saying hola and adiós to each other.

You've seen what learners can accomplish in the first lesson.
Where do they go from there?

 

 

 

With your free trial, you'll have 7 days of access to two units across all four levels. The accessible free trial units are our first and last units of each level, so you'll get an overview of where this journey will take young Spanish learners.

 

 

Here's a taste of what you'll see...

Here's a video story that will teach learners how to talk about pets. You can find this content in Level B, Unit 7 of your free trial.

 

 

Sign up for a free trial to access this video and all of the additional content and lesson plans in Level B, Unit 7!

How much Spanish will your young learners be able to use?

 

Check out this conversation-based activity in the final level of our curriculum, Level D. You can access this content in Level D, Unit 7 of your free trial.

Level D Unit 7 Video Dialogue

Ask for two volunteers to act out the dialogue used to ask and answer questions about what is wrong. Then, have children circulate in a conversation activity using this dialogue but changing the body part each time.
A: No me siento bien.
B: ¿Qué te pasa? ¿Te duele la cabeza?
A: No, me duele el estómago.
B: Lo siento / Qué pena.

Use the dialogue video and the posters “El cuerpo” and “¡Súper!” as needed to support this activity.

Here's another sample of the material you'll
see as learners progress through the curriculum

They'll complete this activity sheet in Unit 7 of Level D:

Activity Sheet: Mi cena

Guide learners in completing the activity sheet “Mi cena.”

Want to see more and explore our pricing options?

Download the Curriculum Guide below.

 

 

VIEW THE COMPLETE CURRICULUM GUIDE

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