From kindergarten to sixth-grade, our goal is 90% Spanish during class time. Since that’s only possible within a shared context, all the class content is based in stories. At the primary levels, we capitalize on their shared knowledge of classics like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “The Three Little Pigs.” By third grade, we progress into Biblically themed stories like David and Goliath, the Nativity of the Lord, and la Resurección.
How can third-graders talk about the Bible in a language they don’t speak?? Elementary Spanish at IC is an adaption of a methodology called “Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling.” The teacher tells one detail of a story and then asks a series of questions of the whole class. In turn, they answer in unison entirely in Spanish:
¿Es Jesús un bebé? ¿Sí o no? → ¡Sí, Jesús es un bebé!
¿Es Jesús un adulto o un bebé? → ¡Jesús es un bebé!
¿Quién es el bebé? ¿Jesús o José? → ¡Jesús es el bebé!