Lower School Classroom Chronicle

Third grade Spanish classes read a novel written by authors who subscribe to the acquisition-driven instruction methods. In Fifth Grade we start our novel early in the year because it is set in Mexico during the fall season and features elements of the Día de muertos celebration.

I love teaching with these novels because I see the students' confidence skyrocket as we progress. Prior to reading a chapter we look at a “word cloud” of all of the vocabulary words we will encounter in the chapter. Students have opportunities to clarify meaning and make predictions about what they think will happen. After we read a chapter students engage in a comprehension activity. Sometimes it is a class game; other times, we challenge students with a larger scale project summarizing several chapters and themes.

St. Paul’s students are readers and it is an honor to introduce them to the joy of reading in Spanish!