Elementary Spanish Program
Barnhart’s Spanish Program begins in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and continues through Middle School. In the lower Elementary grades, TK-2nd, students receive exposure to essential language components twice a week through songs, stories (using the TPRS method—Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), games, and pretend play. Upper Elementary grades 3rd-5th, expand on this foundation through exploring more short stories, comics, and Spanish-language media; learning to translate sentences, conjugating regular verbs, and engaging in basic conversation. Additionally, all students learn about the rich diversity of Spanish-speaking countries and cultures around the world.
The Spanish Program is designed to expose students to the Spanish language via a foundational understanding of how the language works. Students gain access to the following foundations:
- Accents (importance of use and pronunciation)
- Question words
- Prepositional words
- Pronouns
- Days of the year
- Months
- Seasons
- Time telling: words and phrases
- Numbers
- Quantity and gender agreement
The Barnhart Spanish Program prepares our students to be competitive at the 9th-grade level, and some register for an advanced Spanish program in high school.
Middle School Spanish Program
In the Middle School Program, the above fundamentals are further fostered and deepened as students have Spanish daily. The program is grounded in having a supportive and encouraging classroom environment. Using a combination of teaching strategies, including direct instruction. However, its major instructional pedagogy is rooted in comprehensible input theory, where the focus is on the ability to communicate even if full understanding is pending, and acquisition-driven instruction, where the focus is on acquiring language through exposure and real-world context. Conversational Spanish vocabulary is increased through discussions and writing activities. Through real-world applications, students learn to apply high-frequency verbs and phrases, grammar, and sentence structures to reading, comprehension, and writing. These skills prepare our students to build fluency and conversation.
Preparing and eating food together allows students not just to learn about the culture, but to experience it. Cooking a simple dish generates self-confidence, pride, and satisfaction.
