¡Hola! ¡Bienvenidos a la clase de Español!
Hi! Welcome to Spanish Class!

In first grade, you will be learning about: colors, numbers, greetings, people and places in school, birthdays, calendar, maps, family, animals, plants, weather and clothes. We will meet for 15 minutes, every other day. There is no formal grade in Spanish, therefore our goal is to try our best and enjoy learning a second language!

In fourth grade, you will be learning about landforms, numbers, alphabet, maps, Spain, houses, diversity of America, family, furniture, heroes, sports and nature. We will meet for 20 minutes, every other day. There is no formal grade for Spanish, therefore our goal is to try our best and have fun learning a second language!

Numbers are always a challenge for foreign language learners. Please, don't forget to check out this website for extra number practice:
http://www.jvlnet.com/~liliana/Spanish_Numbers.html
Why FLES?
Springfield is so lucky to have a foreign language program in the elementary schools. As society becomes more and more global, it is essential to provide our students with all the skills necessary to succeed in a multi-lingual world. Studying a foreign language at an early age is correlated to better pronunciation of the target language, an understanding of other cultures, and a greater awareness of their own culture and language. It has also been proven through research to improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the student's native language.
Below are some links of research that further explain the importance and benefits of early language learning:
http://www.adfl.org/resources/knowing_other_languages.htm
http://www.cal.org/resources/brochures/whyhowwhen_brochure.pdf
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/second.language.p.k12.2.html
http://www.as.ysu.edu/~forlang/Why_ask_why.html