Lower School Spanish for Children A
Term: Yearlong 2021–22, September 7–May 27
Target Grade Levels: Grades 5–6
Schedule: 3x / week, 45–60 min.
Price: $595.00
Course Sections (choose one)
Section 1: M/W/F 10:30 a.m. ET with Annice Hoffman
Enrollment and Placement
Placement Process
- if the student falls outside of the stated age/grade range for the class.
- if the student needs to demonstrate a certain level of skill and proficiency for the course.
- if the student has completed prerequisite requirements somewhere other than Scholé Academy (e.g., at home or with another school). In this case, our instructors will need to verify that the student has adequately fulfilled the prerequisite requirements.
- if a placement assessment has been recommended by a Scholé Academy instructor.
- If a placement evaluation has not been administered, withdrawals requested before May 1 are granted a full refund, including the full $75 deposit.
- If a placement evaluation has been administered, withdrawals requested before May 1 are granted part of their $75 refund: $35 will be paid to the instructor for the placement evaluation, and the remaining $40 of the original deposit will be refunded.
Spanish for Children A is designed to introduce Lower- to Middle-school students to the Spanish language, including grammar, vocabulary, and culture. It is the first step on the path to fluency. For the Classical learner, it is also an opportunity to see how one strand of Latin has developed and changed since antiquity, and to let Latin’s most robust grandchild be your gateway to understanding the fascinating worlds of more than 450 million Spanish-speakers in 23 modern countries.
Students enrolling in Scholé Academy’s Spanish for Children A course will be expected to show the development of Executive Function Skills throughout the year. Executive Function Skills speak to a set of qualities and skillsets students can develop and hone to better approach the courses, lectures, readings, and teachers they will face in their future academic coursework.
- An Engaged Student: One who is willing to step into the arena of class discussion, asks questions, and supply answers. During class, students should be actively engaged as the teacher employs various interactive methods such as class repetition and recitation. Participation in these activities is central to class time and promotes a lively, delightful environment. Students should be active listeners during class time. They should be thoughtfully engaged with both each other and the teacher. All children should be viewing the class via Zoom on their computers and should not be browsing the internet. Students should approach class time as an opportunity to grow in fellowship as the class journeys together to obtain knowledge.
- Attention to Detail and Preparedness: One who is consistently prepared with all assignments completed at the start of every class session, has submission requirements fulfilled before each session, has confirmed technology is working prior to the start of class, is responsible to determine how to proceed after an absence, and is responsible for consulting the course syllabus and adjusting as the class proceeds, etc. This student should also come mentally prepared and ready to focus on the material being presented. He should arrive in the Zoom meeting on time and, if late, should respectfully listen to understand where the class is in relation to the text and wait patiently for the teacher and classmates to finish their current task, at which point the teacher will catch the student up. Homework should be uploaded to Schoology before class begins. Students should try to develop the virtue of constancy by remaining focused and diligent and pushing away even “good” distractions that would inhibit learning and mastery.
- Self-Monitoring: A student in the 4th-5th grade range should continually develop self-monitoring skills. One who successfully self-monitors can evaluate his own performance. This student is able to see his own strengths and weaknesses. A self-monitoring student is one who determines which problems he can work through on his own and where he needs peer, teacher, or parent support. Students should follow behavior guidelines appropriate to the age and study of this course. They should practice hand-raising, speaking when called upon, listening to others, and focusing solely on the task at hand.
- Exhibit Responsibility: One who is able to recognize when it is time to begin working and is able to do so without procrastination. This student is able to initiate tasks easily and adjust from the whole-class Zoom to a breakout room while maintaining a scholarly attitude. During class time, students shall uphold the integrity of the period by showing technological responsibility. They will refrain from playing computer games, viewing alternate screens, or otherwise engaging in distracting activities.
- Problem Solving: One who is ready and willing to press through, even when he is unable to successfully solve the problem on the first try. Mastering Spanish involves perseverance and looking at each word individually and in context to decode word use, understand sentence structure, and accurately translate word meaning.
- Employ Critiques: One who receives feedback to submissions and is sure to apply that feedback to future assignments rather than repeating mistakes. This student also gleans information from the live class critiques of fellow students and notes mistakes to avoid by learning from others. Students should have an attitude of humility when receiving critiques. They should view class as an opportunity to grow and to develop their God-given talents. Students should be happy for the successes of their peers, even if the gifts and capacities of their classmates surpass their own.
Syllabus
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Open in new tab For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.
- With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
- Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
- Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.
Schoology
- With Parent Support
- Be able to manage Schoology assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Schoology notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
- Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
- Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
Writing
- Developing
- Spelling at grade-level
- Mastered
- Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.
- Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).
Reading
- With Parent Support
- Be able to mark, underline or highlight important words, definitions or concepts within a text being read.
- Mastered
- Be able to read to learn not merely learn to read.
Typing
- With Parent Support
- Be able to type short answers in complete sentences.
- Be able to type paragraph essays (up to two pages).
In-Class
- Developing
- Follow along with teacher-led note-taking and record notes during class.
- Mastered
- Follow along with teacher-led workbook completion and record answers during class.
- Be prepared to answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
- Be prepared to volunteer comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.
Math Skills
- Developing
- After the instructor has provided instructions – the student should be able to use Wacom tablet (or other like iPad) to actively solve math problems during class, viewable to the instructor on Ziteboard.
Required Texts:*
Spanish for Children Primer A (Student Edition)
Optional Course Text:
Spanish for Children Primer A Answer Key
* Required course materials not included in course purchase.
Annice Hoffman holds a BA in Anthropology from Penn State University. As a young adult, curiosity and a desire to find her neighbor in the wider world led her to spend one summer abroad in Mexico City and another with missionary friends of the family in Paraguay. Following university, she spent a year teaching English at a Christian school in the Dominican Republic, where her Spanish blossomed. After further adventures as an au pair in England and English teacher in Prague, Annice made her way back to Pennsylvania, where she met her future husband. When their first child came, she transitioned from teacher to stay-at-home-mom and, eventually, to homeschool mom. A chance event introduced Annice to the work of Classical Academic Press–and the meaning of Home Education began to clarify; as Classical educators, we were not essentially fleeing from mainstream culture (her move to home schooling had first come as an instinct to protect), but rather racing toward Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.
Annice lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. Her hobbies are reading, walking, learning other languages, and watching her kids grow. [email protected]
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. 
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Read the Student-Parent Handbook.
Please take careful note of our teaching philosophy, our technology requirements, our school policies, the parent agreement, and the distinctions between our grade levels.
Double-check the course section dates and times.
Make sure they don't conflict with other activities in your schedule or other courses you are purchasing. Our system will not catch double-bookings!
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.