World Language Curriculum

Grades: 6-12 Second Language Acquisition

Four sequenced courses in one language are available to students wishing to acquire the Spanish language. Level I and II courses are also offered in Alutiiq. Other languages may be available as materials and staffing is acquired. The curriculum can be easily adapted to any language. The essential learnings are adapted from the American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages standards.

Grades: 6-12, K-12 Small School Course

The Rosetta Stone language learning program is available to individuals wishing to explore second language acquisition in schools that do not have a full class of language learners.

Spanish I

Course Overview:

This yearlong course offered at Kodiak Middle School and Kodiak High School, is designed to equip students with the ability to communicate in everyday Spanish, focusing on the present tense. It is intended to help students master the basics so they have the skills and confidence needed to take them to the next level. It starts with the alphabet and numbers and colors and small talk, and builds on up to expressing likes, dislikes, plans, hobbies, family matters, school matters, time, seasons, body parts, clothing, as well as making comparisons. Holidays are also featured as a means of conveying the cultural richness of the Hispanic/Latino culture. The course uses Total Physical Response, storytelling, readings, songs, videos, and illustrations, among other techniques, to help students acquire the language, and to help them appreciate its beauty. This course is mainly held in Spanish, with aids to help with comprehension.

Essential Learnings:

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Presentational Speaking
3. Presentational Writing
4. Interpretative Listening
5. Interpretive Reading

Spanish II

Course Overview:

This yearlong Kodiak High School course begins with a review of Spanish 1, and then sets forth on new adventures, incorporating previously acquired strategies to help propel students into new territories, including the past tenses, the future tense, and the oft-used subjunctive tense. Students, with practice, gain the tools needed to hold their own in a much greater variety of situations, and are better able to decipher unusual, or unfamiliar, expressions, as they go. Thematic topics include taking care of oneself/visiting a doctor, recognizing/preparing/ordering authentic foods, booking/making travel arrangements, getting around, and spending time outdoors. It also keys in on holidays as a means of getting across the depth of the culture. This course also uses Total Physical Response, storytelling, readings, songs, videos, and illustrations, among other techniques, to help students acquire the language, with more of an emphasis on reading, and advanced grammatical structures. This course is nearly all in Spanish, with aids to help with comprehension.

Essential Learnings:

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Presentational Speaking
3. Presentational Writing
4. Interpretative Listening
5. Interpretive Reading

Spanish III

Course Overview:

A yearlong, dual-credit course offered at Kodiak High School, completion of Spanish III grants students 4 college credits. This course takes a look at all of Spanish 1 and 2, and says, “It’s go time!” This is where the hard work in Spanish 2, in particular, pays off. Students get an opportunity to enjoy the scenery, having already learned a great number of tricks, and can now attack their studies with greater efficacy. This means that students now get a solid chance to show off, to add some polish to their language skills, and truly impress. It involves exploring culture through literature, pop culture, and current events, as a means of developing students’ interests, all while providing context for the sophisticated grammatical pieces to come. Grammar goals include mastery of the subjunctive tenses, as well as the compound tenses. Vocabulary goals include broadening understanding and usage of colloquial Spanish. Recent past readings have included novels such as Macario, by B. Traven, La casa en Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, as well as Robo en la Noche by Kristy Placido, Don Quijote de La Mancha (condensed) by Miguel de Cervantes, and selected readings by Juan Rulfo and Isabel Allende. Powerhouse movies of the past, and subsequent discussions have included Buena Vista Social Club, Casas de Cartón, Macario and El Norte. Hispanic/Latino holiday traditions give us opportunities to share out, and to compare and contrast our respective cultures, and allow for deeper appreciation of our roots and experiences.

Essential Learnings:

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Presentational Speaking
3. Presentational Writing
4. Interpretative Listening
5. Interpretive Reading

Spanish IV

Course Overview:

A yearlong, dual-credit course offered at Kodiak High School, completion of Spanish IV grants students 4 college credits. This course takes a look at all of Spanish 1, 2, and 3 and says, “It’s go time!” This is where the hard work in Spanish 2 and 3, in particular, pays off. Students get an opportunity to enjoy the scenery, having already learned a great number of tricks, and can now attack their studies with greater efficacy. This means that students now get a solid chance to show off, to add some polish to their language skills, and truly impress. It involves exploring culture through literature, pop culture, and current events, as a means of developing students’ interests, all while providing context for the sophisticated grammatical pieces to come. Grammar goals include mastery of the subjunctive tenses, as well as the compound tenses. Vocabulary goals include broadening understanding and usage of colloquial Spanish. Recent past readings have included novels such as Macario, by B. Traven, La casa en Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, as well as El Alquimista, by Paulo Coehlo, Don Quijote de La Mancha (condensed) by Miguel de Cervantes, Esperanza Rising by Pam Ryan, and selected readings by Juan Rulfo and Isabel Allende. Powerhouse movies of the past, and subsequent discussions have included Buena Vista Social Club, Casas de Cartón, Macario and El Norte. Hispanic/Latino holiday traditions give us opportunities to share out, and to compare and contrast our respective cultures, and allow for deeper appreciation of our roots and experiences.

Essential Learnings:

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Presentational Speaking
3. Presentational Writing
4. Interpretative Listening
5. Interpretive Reading

Alutiiq I & II

Course Overview:

This high school level class will explore novice Alutiiq language conversation, reading and writing skills, cultural and historical awareness, and Alutiiq language teaching and learning strategies. As a novice conversational Alutiiq course, this year-long course will use Total Physical Response (TPR) immersion language instruction through roleplaying, hand signs, photos and props, and Where Are Your Keys? Techniques. Students will explore animals, foods, people, and land as conversational themes of the class, as well as building on locally relevant vocabulary and traditional values. We will practice Alutiiq language every class, as well as explore effective language teaching and learning strategies. Each student will build a portfolio of learning products throughout the year and produce a series of digital stories or podcasts in Alutiiq to be used as teaching resources as their mid-term and final projects.

Course Goal:

Demonstrate the language skills and cultural knowledge necessary to participate successfully within the Alutiiq language community.

Course Measurement Topics:

1. Unguwallriat: Animals & Stewardship
2. Neq’rkapet: Plants & Beach Foods, Whaling
3. Suuget: People & Human Relations (Kina? -Who?)
4. Nunapet: Our Land & Resources