World Language

"Raconte-moi une histoire! (Tell me a story!)". This unit introduces students to the French language for the very first time. Students begin learning "survival French" skills in order to show them that they can communicate in French even with very basic skills. Students will be introduced to new technology resources and how they can utilize them to enhance their language skills. Throughout the unit, students will be exposed to high frequency words through storytelling. They will ultimately work together to create their own story books demonstrating mastery of our high frequency words. In little time, students will discover that they can be a French storyteller!

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“It’s ‘Vous’ to you!”

During this unit, we will be focusing on the concept of "la politesse" which means politeness. We will be learning about the cultural differences that exist between America and various francophone countries when it comes to greetings and getting to know each other. This unit will also allow students to expand upon their conversational skills by introducing the concept of asking for and stating likes and dislikes. We will be developing our speaking and writing skills as we learn to explain our preferences and agree and disagree with others. By the end of the unit, students will share their new expertise by demonstrating how to navigate various social situations during a trip to France!

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Ça coûte combien? [How much does that cost?]

In this unit, students will prepare for the real-world application of buying things in a store. They will master the use of numbers to discuss quantities and prices of commonly used school supplies and other items necessary for their everyday lives. This unit will culminate in a live store scenario during which students will role-play the salesperson and the client.

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On y va! Bon appétit!

In this unit students will learn how to make plans to go to different places around town to do a variety of activities. This will also include stopping in a café and being able to order typical café fare. This will allow students to reuse their store and money knowledge in a new setting.

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French Grade 8

Qui suis-je? Who am I?

Let's discover more about you and what makes you who you really are! Our personalities and identities depend a lot on the people and places around us! In this unit, we will share how we are similar and different from our family members and friends. We'll make connections between our actions, belongings, hobbies, and so much more. All of this is in preparation for a trip abroad! In our PBA, students will be preparing for an imaginary summer abroad in a francophone city! The trip includes 4 weeks living with a French-speaking host family. The program requires participants to prepare an introduction of some sort so that they can place students with a family who matches their personality, likes/dislikes, interests, etc. This introduction will also be shared with host families so they can get to know students before their arrival.

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Allons au marche! (Let's go to the market!)

Allons au marche!pushes students to step out of their comfort zone and into the complicated, fascinating, ever-changing world of marketplaces and meals! So much can be learned about a different culture by examining their food-related habits and customs. It is also a chance for students to learn about the similarities and differences that exist even in our town! Students will build up their knowledge of food and drinks as they tackle sophisticated concepts such as the partitif and the pronoun en. All our class discussions and activities will culminate in two hands-on experiences; first, the marketplace, where students will test their skills at understanding requests, finding the right market, and negotiating their purchases, and secondly, the in-class meal, where students show off their ability to offer and accept food, all while engaging in conversation with their tablemates.

21^st Century Capacities: Synthesizing, Perseverance

Très à la mode!

How you dress tells a lot about who you are, what you like to do, and where you live. Students will discuss what clothing they wear and why, and what that reflects about them (e.g. Are they athletic? artistic? crafty? etc!). They will compare that to what teens are wearing around the francophone world. As they dig deeper into the purpose/meaning of different articles of clothing, they will explore the cultural differences in how to give and accept compliments. Throughout the unit students will expand their knowledge of verb conjugations both in the past and present and grammatical concepts such as direct object pronouns.

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"Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?!" (What happened?!)

Unit 1 Qui suis-je au lycée?

"Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?!" (What happened?!) Throughout the span of this unit, students will delve into the world of the past tense [le passé composé]. As they advance their French skills, students will reflect on how they can improve their French through exposure to texts like song, film, and poetry. Students will examine and discuss stories, poems, videos, and films, as well as their own lives, which serve as meaningful context for the passé composé. The PBA will bring students into their 21st century world, giving them another opportunity to improve their French through something they do everyday, text messaging. Students will engage in a French texting task with a classmate as they chat about plans before and after they occur.

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French 2

What has high school done to me? What is my life like after 2 pm? Students will delve deeper into their daily lives not only at school, but their schedules and activities after classes and on weekends. In addition to review, this unit goes into emotions, descriptions, and needs when it comes to a week in the life of a new high school student. Clubs, sports, movies, groups of friends, professors, and where events take place will be discussed. Students will be able to describe their likes and dislikes in more specific detail. They will ultimately create their own digital calendar for the next month in French and then analyze and speak about other students' calendars and schedules in the World Language Lab.

Following the PBA, students will read their first short novel in the target language, Nuits mystérieuses à Lyon, about a boy who studies abroad in Lyon.

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Unit 2 Allons cuisiner! (Let’s cook!)

Hungry? Watching the clock for your lunch to start? Anyone ever binge watch Chopped or Cupcake Wars on Netflix? Want to scream like Gordon Ramsay? Now it's time to cook....the French way! Students will be introduced to authentic French cuisine, exploring how even French snack foods can incorporate all aspects of a healthy diet. Students will review food vocabulary with the new grammar topics of imperative (commands) and direct object pronouns within the context of cooking. The unit will culminate in a PBA where students will work collaboratively as a team and use video editing skills to create their own instructional cooking videos in French to compete to host their own cooking show on the Food Network. After viewing the videos in class, students will vote on the dish they would most like to taste one day.

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Unit 3 L’amitié- Friendship

What does it mean to be a friend? We know lots of people, but who are our friends? Using adjectives, pronominal verbs, a wide variety of tenses, direct and indirect objects, and vocabulary regarding friendship, we will describe a friend and tell stories of what a friend means to us. Students will pull from a wide variety of media: movies, songs, poems, and short stories regarding the meaning of friendship. This unit will include a "Tribute to a Friend" poetry night where students will recite a personal poem of friendship. Students will also view a series about French friends in Rouen, France.

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French 3

Health and Wellness

Welcome to the Amazing Race: Daniel Hand French Edition! In this first unit of French 3 students will become a part of the Amazing race France. Students will be divided into pairs and explore and present who they really are as a team. In previous years of French, students have explored their own identity, their identity as a student, and their family, but now they will explore who they are as a member of a team. The teams will participate in challenges/activities related to France and the Ivory Coast of Africa, ultimately culminating in creating their own Amazing Race: Daniel Hand French episode. Similar to the Amazing Race program, teams will also create a videobio of their Amazing Race team, showcasing who they are as a team. Throughout the course of the challenges, students will also be exposed to grammar topics relating to expressing themselves in the present that they can apply to their work. Let the games begin!

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Francophone Influencers

How do heroes and villains shape our world? Students will drive the work in this unit, jigsawing a variety of texts about King Henry XIV and exploring him as a multifaceted figure with both heroic and villainous traits. Students will also reflect on their own personal heroes, and what makes someone heroic or villainous. This unit will culminate in a PBA in which students investigate several "ambiguous" historical figures from the francophone world, and present them virtually using infographics. The use of the past tenses is emphasized throughout the work, as well as emerging use of pronouns in context as students strive to communicate with more sophisticated syntax. The presentations will portray both the heroic and villainous characteristics/actions of these figures, and the student audience will individually have to choose and defend a position, dubbing each figure either hero or villain.

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Les contes, les histoires courtes

French 3 students will explore francophone fables, particularly those written be Jean de la Fontaine. The class will explore the morals that are communicated by the different fables and examine how fables reflect the values of a people. Students will see how the past tenses are used together for different reasons in the authentic context of fables. Students will ultimately use their imaginations as they create an original fable, including a moral that relates to life at Daniel Hand High School, which will be shared with 8th grade students in Madison.

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Refugees

In this final unit of French 3, students will explore the difficulties of the lives of refugees, as well as gain some understanding of the situations that cause people to flee their native countries. Students will read Les Migrants, about refugees in France, current events, and authentic songs with an immigration theme from francophone Africa in order to develop insight into themes relating to refugees/immigration. After examining these texts, students will open up their investigation to the entire francophone community. Students will find an actual charitable organization anywhere in the francophone world to which they will apply for an internship, showcasing their new knowledge of the future and conditional tenses (will and would) as they explain how the experience will help them to realize their own hopes for the future, how their efforts will help to improve the situation in the community in which they will work, and to explain in which area of the internship program they would like to participate. If we work together, there is hope for the future!

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French 4 Honors

La Quete du soi

In this first unit of French IV Honors, students will reflect upon their own identities and the importance of public, ethnic, and national identity. Students will consider their ideal mate, as well as driving laws and personal responsibility both at home and abroad. During this reflection, students will recall previous study of the past tenses and extend their grammatical knowledge to include the subjunctive, relative pronouns, and to make comparisons. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Having acquired a greater understanding of the power of identity, the unit will culminate with the design of a postage stamp and a travel brochure that celebrate the national identity of a francophone country.

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Beauty and Aesthetics

In this second unit of French IV Honors, students will delve into their thoughts about beauty and aesthetics as they relate to self-concept, other people, fashion, arts, film, literature, and wonders around the globe. Students will watch the film Coco Before Chanel as they consider how to define beauty, and who has the power to define what is beautiful and fashionable. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Students will use their creativity as they work in small groups to present a new line of clothing to their classmates that will shake up the fashion industry.

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Le Petit Prince

In the brief 3rd unit of French 4 Honors, students will engage in reading the famous story Le Petit Prince, analyzing it for theme as well as use of literary devices. The teacher will model reading strategies and accompanying class activities for two chapters and the reading of the remaining chapters will be student-led. The class will view the film Le Petit Prince and compare the presentation of the story visually versus in writing. Students will also write a composition elaborating a thematic message as presented in the story.

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Science and Technology

In this penultimate unit of French 4 Honors, students will probe the constantly-evolving world of science and technology. While investigating and discussing themes related to science and technology, students will be tasked with learning and putting to use the conditional tense to discuss hypothetical situations, as well as the passive voice. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. In a culminating activity, students will analyze the limitations of an existing product, imagine an innovation to it, and present their idea to the class.

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Global Challenges

Unit 5

In this final unit of French IV Honors, students will look into the challenges we face in our global society, specifically those of global warming, global conflict, and terrorism. Students will be challenged to expand their repertoire of grammatical structures when offering ideas to address global issues, employing commands. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Ultimately, students will examine a global challenge not studied during the unit to promote action and further awareness related to the issue.

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Latin Grades 9-12

Latin 1

Tantae Molis erat, linguam Anglicam prodere 1 (How great the effort, to create the English Language)

The foundations Unit 1 is designed to acclimate the beginning Latin student to the new language before entering a thematic unit of study. Highlights of this unit include a pronunciation guide, a guide into English Grammar, Vocabulary and Derivatives, teaching the students how to interact with the Suburani textbook and digital platform, and teaching the students how to interact with teacher-generated packets.

Students will be taught to use roots, prefixes, and suffixes to identify meaning, as well as how to understand the meaning of Latin without translating by using context and the knowledge of the vocabulary already present.

The primary focus of this unit is showing how Latin can be taught to improve English and Latin skills concurrently. Primary vocabulary comes from Suburani Chapter 1 and a teacher-generated packet.

In the culminating activity, students will be asked to break down English vocabulary using their knowledge of Latin. While their answers will often not be technically correct, students will demonstrate the logical analysis of the language, which is an essential building block of the study of Latin.

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Ars Longa, Vita Brevis! (Art lasts, life is but brief)

This unit is about the art and artifacts that remain at Pompeii. Students will use inquiry-based learning to determine the traits and characteristics that were important to the Pompeiian people, and by extension the Romans. During this unit, students will read stories about the foundations of Rome, as well as stories centered around art found in Pompeii. Students will also read through chapters 2 and 3 of Suburani to support their increasing knowledge of Latin grammatical structures begun in Unit 1 and follow the characters who were introduced in chapter 1.

Grammatically, students will be focusing on Sentence Structure, cases in Latin, and the first declension.

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Aut cum Scuto, aut in Scuto

Unit 3 of Latin I is titled "Aut cum scuto, aut in scuto", a phrase originating in Spartan warfare said from a mother to her son going off to war, "[Return] either with your shield or on it". This unit covers some of the contests and entertainment of Ancient Rome, whether they be some of the first battles of Rome, baths, or religious observances. We will focus heavily on Roman theater, especially the comedy of Plautus.

The PBA for this unit will have students designing their perfect day of entertainment, from the perspective of a Roman Aedilis (ancient project manager/selectman and Senator).

Building on grammar learned in Units 1-2, the students will focus on the Present conjugation for verbs, all persons and numbers, including the irregular verb SUM, ESSE, FUI, FUTURUS (to be).

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Morituri te salutant - We who are about to die salute you

Unit 4 of Latin I comes after the midpoint for the year. In this unit, students will be advancing in their grammatical knowledge of Latin while focusing on the stories of entertainment in Rome.When people think about entertainment in Rome, they often think exclusively of the gladiators and the arena. While that will be a focal point for the unit, we will also explore other modes of entertainment, like the bathhouses of Rome, the racetracks (circuses), and even story-telling (fables).

The primary skills students will focus on are the reading strategies that go into translation of Latin. This is the time for the students to have to look at stories in the two perspectives, of seeing the forest from the trees, and seeing the tree from the forest. The unit will culminate in a sight reading passage of a real, ancient Roman Fable, where students will be tasked with looking at specific details within the story, but also in trying to get the general gist of the fable.

Grammar topics include 2nd declension nouns, both masculine and neuter, and the imperfect tense.

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Ab Urbe Condita - From the founding of the City

Unit 5

Unit 5, Ab Urbe Condita, transitions the Latin student from studying Roman entertainment to studying Roman politics, especially through the rhetoricians of the Republic. Students will be given an overview of the city under the rule of the monarchy, the beginning stages of the Republic, and study the tools and speeches of politicians who shaped the Republic.

Students will continue their study of nouns and verbs by studying 3rd declension nouns and perfect tense verbs.

The unit will culminate in students writing a speech thinking about the tools of rhetoric studied in class in English, and writing 5 mini-slogans in Latin to support their speech.

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Latin 2

Dī immortālēs! – Oh Immortal Gods!

The first unit of Latin II will reacquaint the students with the grammar and vocabulary covered in Latin I, while also introducing the newest region of Roman occupation: Britannia. In this unit, students will reacquaint themselves with Latin, while doing their own investigative research into the Roman gods, culminating in a reinterpretation of a myth produced by the student about their god or goddess. Grammatically, students will also be able to use the verb possum, posse, potuī, (to be able) volō, velle, voluī (to want, wish), and nōlō, nōlle, nōluī (to not want, wish), complementary infinitives, and review conjugations. These will be used in the project to describe the realm of influence a Roman god has and what the god or goddess wants to achieve in their myth (e.g. Apollo ea futura praedicere poterat - Apollo was able to predict future things...).

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Imperator non potest peccare - The emperor can do no harm

The original phrase, "Rex non potest peccare" literally means "The king can do no wrong" and was used in the courts to express the idea that kings had "sovereign immunity". Changed to reflect the subject of the unit, the emperors, the phrase will guide the class as we view what the emperors themselves did during their reigns, starting from the first imperator, Augustus, through Constantine the Great. The unit will cover the themes of imperialism, expansionism, sovereign immunity, and the lives of the emperors. Students will have studied the emperors through their busts so as to see how the opinions of the Romans evolved over time. Were emperors given divine right to do as they willed, or must they also be held accountable for the actions committed in the name of Rome?

When an emperor died, it was thought that their anima (spirit) became a god through apotheosis. Students will provide evidence of an emperor's life in order to prove if they were deserving to be a god through deificatio OR if his name should be committed to damnatio memoriae (damnation of memory).

Grammar for the unit will include the remaining tense to be taught (pluperfect), demonstrative pronouns, and relative pronouns.

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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum -- If you want peace, prepare for war

In this unit, students will study the major wars of Rome, keeping in mind the positive and negative aspects of war. What changes does war bring? Why does war begin? What are the short-term and long-term outcomes of war? Which war was most influential to the development of Rome?

Students will explore these themes through an in-depth study of Roman wars, with a more careful examination of the Punic Wars, as well as seeing how historians use these wars and other historical facts to inform their own study into the past or present though op-eds that use Roman History.

Students will create their own Op-Ed using what they know from Greco-Roman history to inform their argument.

Grammar: Present active participle, perfect passive participle, passive verbs

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Dum spīrō, spērō - While I breathe, I hope

Unit 4 (Optional)

The final unit of Latin 2 is an optional unit, to be completed if the class has the time to complete the unit. As such, activities within this unit are designed to aid in the transition from Latin 2 to Latin 3, where students will be reading from exclusively ancient Roman authors, diagramming passages, as well as supplement students getting ready for the final exam in Latin II. Any grammatical constructions or reading done within this unit become usable for the creation of the final exam.

Students may read a small portion of Caesar's commentarii de Bello Gallico, Pliny's Letters, portions of Cicero's speeches (in Catalinam specifically was read in English in Latin 1). This is entirely up to the discretion of the teacher.

Grammatical Construction: The primary grammatical construction to be taught this unit would be the Indirect Statement and basic diagramming.

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Latin 3 Honors

Dulce et Utile - A Sweet and Useful thing

The Roman poet Horace once said in his work, Ars Poētica, that poetry needs to be a sweet and useful thing--that the poetry needs to be both pleasant to listen to and needs to instruct. The Latin III student's first foray into poetry will be through the poet Catullus. His poems are rather short, easy to comprehend primā faciē, but have so much more beneath the surface.

The focus of this unit will be to read Catullus' poetry and attempt to find deeper meaning within his words. Catullus is considered a master of style for his many rhetorical devices and word choice in his poetry. The Latin in Catullus' poetry is authentic and moving, but at the same time easy enough for the common citizens of Rome to understand superficially.

The first poem the new Latin III student will encounter is probably Catullus' most famous of his love poetry, 85 (Ōdī et amō - I hate and I love). From there, we will analyze how Catullus agonizes with love and loss and end with dedications written by Catullus.

The unit will culminate in the Latin III student reciting and reimagining one of the poems read in class for a modern audience while utilizing some of the rhetorical devices Catullus uses.

Questions for Investigation:

How does a poet's style enhance meaning?
How can I find deeper meaning in poetry?

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Vēnī, Vīdī, Scrīpsī (I came, I saw, I wrote)

Vēnī, Vīdī, Scrīpsī - I Came, I saw, I wrote, An adaptation of the famous phrase by Julius Caesar, "Vēnī, Vīdī, Vīcī" (I Came, I Saw, I Conquered) - Following the students introduction to Roman authors with Catullus, students will be launched into a a preview of Julius Caesar's de Bellō Gallicō (Commentaries about the Gallic War). Students will focus on book 1 of the Gallic Wars, an introduction to Caesar's work written by him to inform and persuade the Senators back in Rome to give them their support for Caesar's leadership.

Students will be introduced to one of the most important grammatical constructions in Latin, the indirect statement, which is exceedingly common in Julius Caesar and in poetry.

Since Julius Caesar is on the AP Curriculum, students will begin looking at him as an author through a more refined lens: through the themes of the AP curriculum. Unit I, on Catullus, focused on the theme Literary Genre and Style. While Unit 2--and every subsequent unit--will also focus on Literary Genre and Style, students will also be asked to consider more deeply the themes of Leadership and Views of Non-Romans. To that end, students will begin writing their own epics. In this unit, students will be asked to consider possible reasons for writing anything and to begin writing their own epic. Students will begin their epic in the middle of their story, where they will be asked to write about an enemy, the general nature of the people against whom they are fighting, and what qualities they bring to leading the army behind them, if they have an army. As the epic style will not be considered until Unit 3, the focus of this introduction to writing the epic will focus on purpose and message. The epic they create in this unit will be continued through units 3 and 4.

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Tālis, Quālis - Just as, such

Unit 3 of Latin III will plunge students into one of the most famous examples of the Epic tradition: Ovid's Daedalus et Icārus. In the story, Ovid employs several metaphors to help describe the action or deeds within the story, such as the building of the Labyrinth and the comparison of the windiness between it and the living Meander river. Ancient authors use these similes to give the common reader a clearer image of what the author intends, typically by giving something that would be widely understood by the audience. The similes we will study in this unit compare either the gods to nature, or the deeds of human to nature. We will study similes used in Latin, but also English translations of similes used in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

As students will be beginning reading epics, no new "grammar" will be taught, but students will need to learn how to read the meter of epic poetry, hendecasyllabic meter. Students will also be given a review on diagramming sentences and will be asked to recompose sentences into better English word order using that diagramming.

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Ex nihilō nihil fit - Nothing comes from nothing

The final unit of Latin 3 Honors will take the students through book 1 of Vergil's most influential work, the Aeneid. Vergil's Aeneid, being one of the most complete and well-crafted epics, will serve as a model to the students as they finish up their mock epics. Students will study how introductions to epics are structured using the Aeneid, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Catullus 1, Homer's Iliad, and Homer's Odyssey. Students will also study about how authors utilize the gods in their writing. Are the gods benevolent beings or can they direct their ire against those who are supposed to worship them? What implications could there be to the mythos in choosing one god over another? Students will make educated decisions about these questions before finishing their epic. Students will also revise their work from units 2 and 3 and incorporate transitions in order to make their episodic writing cohesive.

To prepare students for the summer reading of Aeneid Books 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12, students will also be reading Book 1 of the Aeneid in English, taking notes as they go along. Reading the Aeneid in English will help students to understand the Latin and vice versa.

Students will be asked to consider the following:

What is the prevailing structure of an epic?
What is the purpose of the gods for an author?
What can we learn about the values of a people based on their beliefs and utilization of the gods in literature?

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Mandarin Grades 9-12

Mandarin 1

Ni Hao, China

"Ni Hao, China" is the Daniel Hand's students' welcome into Mandarin. This unit introduces students to China, its history, geography, and language. Students will discover the important geographical points of China to build their awareness of the Chinese country, people, and its culture. This unit includes the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China.

Students will also learn the initial sounds of Chinese including the Romanized pronunciation guide known as pin-yin and the radicals or components of Chinese character. Students will see how radicals were formed from pictures to express their meanings as characters.
Students will learn the importance of writing with proper stroke order to build muscle memory and promote accuracy.

The Unit will culminate in a PBA where students will collaboratively, as a class, produce a radical catalog, including their own interpretation of the basic meaning.

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My family and I

My Family and I - The purpose of the second unit of Mandarin I is to teach students how to count using Chinese numbers, talk about their family members, and combine the two concepts into discussions concerning family members, birthdays, and ages. The unit is broken down into three major components which each are geared toward the repetition and mastery of the aforementioned concepts. Students will learn that in Chinese culture, there are separate names for all family members, even between a paternal uncle and a maternal uncle.

Students will also begin writing and answering questions themselves in order to begin having conversations with each other in Chinese concerning their family members, birthdays, and ages.

Students will also begin working in the Language Lab in order to get used to the functions necessary for assessments and the PBA.

The unit will culminate in the students creating a family photo album which they could bring on a trip to China, which they will present to their fellow classmates both in class and in the Language Lab.

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I can speak (and type) Mandarin

I can speak (and type) Chinese! - The purpose of the third unit of Mandarin I is to teach students how to describe themselves in terms of their nationality and what language they speak. Students will also use basic map skills to find and name certain countries on the map.

Students will take their language skills and get their first experience writing on a laptop with a Chinese keyboard. Students will find that there are many common mistakes that will happen as they type, including, but not limited to: incorrect pinyin, incorrect tones. Students will compile a list of common typographical errors, and will work through their mistakes to create pieces of writing with minimal errors.

The unit will culminate in the students pretending they are getting off of a plane with a companion. Their companion does not speak any Chinese and needs to speak to the Customs Agent. The students will create a skit and a passport for themselves, which shows how they will interact with the Customs Agent, and how they will interpret the situation for their companion.

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The Body

The fourth unit of Mandarin 1 focuses on the human body. Students will learn how to describe living things based on colors, body parts, description of stature, and other notable features. Over the course of the unit, students will have the opportunity to describe a celebrity of the teacher and their choice.

The unit will be split into two distinct halves. First, there is a special focus on colors in Chinese. Students will learn the importance of colors on cultural beliefs, including the idea that red is good luck or for a celebration of life. Second, there will be a focus on body parts themselves. Students will be able to describe their body parts and others, as well, as create an image based on descriptions.

The students will transfer their describing skills by creating hypothetical Pokemon for the new hypothetical region based on China. The student will create a new monster, describe it, and present it to the class.

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Mandarin 2

Everyday Is a Special Day!

The first unit of the year, Everyday is a Special Day, reacquaints the Mandarin II student with the vocabulary and structures from the previous year. Adding to their base of knowledge, students will be learning about dates and holidays in the Chinese culture. Students will begin with the celebration of birthdays. Students will engage in activities concerning their own birthdays, their families, and each other. Students then will become acquainted with major festivals like the Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat festival, and the Moon Festival. Students will end with looking at the daily routine of a typical Chinese student.

Students will leave this unit with the ability to communicate about time, their daily routine, and their opinions about time and what they like to do.

During this unit, students will be asked to compare these cultural values from their own culture to the Chinese culture. Students at Daniel Hand will become more aware of the cultural differences between the two cultures.

With the students beginning Chinese anew, the skill that will be primarily taught is design. This will be apparent in the revising necessary to type Chinese characters. Student's will be tasked to design a proposal to a School Board in order to enact a Field Day for Madison Public Schools. The design must include some cultural components learned in class.

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My Dream House

The second unit of Mandarin 2 will take the Daniel Hand student through their home and the home of a Chinese teenager. In this unit, students will learn the prepositions used to show relativity of location, by using prepositions. Students will also learn the vocabulary for furniture and the names of the rooms of the house. In doing so, the Daniel Hand student will be able to speak about their own house and others' houses in Mandarin.

The unit will focus largely on relativity of two objects, and will require students to envision their environment.

Students will take their newfound knowledge of vocabulary and re-design their own House according to the principles of feng shui. Students will need to describe how the house was before, will transform it to how they want it to be in the end, and place a value on this house.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Idea Generation

Fashion Week

In the third unit of Mandarin 2, the Daniel Hand student will move from the rooms of their house into their closets. Students will learn the vocabulary for the articles of clothing, as well as the adjectives to describe how clothing fits. Students will use this to build fluency with colors and other adjectives. Students will be able to describe celebrities and each other based on their clothing. Culturally, students will encounter traditional Chinese garb.

The end goal of the unit, is for the Mandarin student to create a fashion catalog for submission to a Fashion Show. The product line needs to include pricing, colors, and descriptions of how the clothing fits.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Let's Go Shopping

In Unit 4 of Mandarin 2, the students will continue with their study into shopping by exploring the markets, malls, and stores of both China and America. Students will examine the basic types of stores, but will focus on shopping for clothing (review), food (fruit = new), and school supplies (review). Students will experience how to haggle in markets. Students will practice writing dialogues, while practicing their typing and writing skills. The unit will culminate in students creating a dialogue involving haggling and must adhere to a shopping list.

Many of the events listed in stage 3 will happen continuously and repeatedly to help students with Chinese characters and pronunciation.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective intelligence

Mandarin 3

I am the Number 1 Student!

The first unit of Mandarin 3 will give the students a look at their school and the schools of China and Taiwan. Students will learn the names of their classes as well as those of their extracurricular activities. The difference in speaking about talent between academics vs. extracurriculars will be explored by the students. One of the main objectives of the unit is to get students to look at, create, and read class schedules for themselves and for students in China and Taiwan.

Within this unit, students will also begin reading the TPRS book, Susan You Mafan, a book about a 13 year old girl named Susan who by fortune becomes rich. In the first two chapters of the book, we learn about Susan, her likes and dislikes, as well as her academic and extracurricular interests, which makes the book a useful tool for practicing the vocabulary and grammar of this unit.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence

Let's Get an Uber!

Unit 2 of Mandarin 3 will bring the students for a tour of the streets of the world. Students will learn how to give and receive directions for someone traveling. Students will learn the Cardinal directions, how to use landmarks, distances and times (with travel), and how to communicate about taking or using a form of transportation.

Students will continue reading Susan You Mafan and will use the book to help them to discuss how Susan goes from place to place.

Students will be exposed to maps of cities in China and Taiwan and will use them to create a plan for travel. The unit will culminate in students creating a plan to travel in New York City using Uber (Uber has a website that allows you to plan a trip and even gives you the estimated cost of travel). Students need to take Liqiu, the newest character added to NiHao's story-line through a driving tour of New York City, seeing Landmarks in which Liqiu would be interested.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing, Decision Making

Let's Go to a Movie!

Unit 3 of Mandarin 3 will introduce the students to some more leisure activities. These leisure activities include t.v., movies, music, and other activities you might expect for a date. Students will be immersed in the world of Chinese Opera, Dragon and Lion Dancing, and even instruments unique to China. Students will learn how to speak in the past tense by placing the character 过 after a verb.

Within this unit there will be a mini-conversational unit, allowing students to practice speaking to another student about hobbies, dating, and general interests.

Students will then start adding the past tense into their conversations, reviewing all that they have done up to this point in Mandarin, and make sentences about their childhood or other past experiences.

The unit will culminate in the students writing an email to their date after going out with them. They will write about their experiences while on the date and will decide whether or not to continue dating or to outright reject them.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Idea Generation

Travel Around the World

Unit 4 of Mandarin 3 will give the students exposure to the world. Students will learn what kind of items they will need to travel around the world and especially to China or Taiwan. On top of more landmarks, modes of travel will be reexamined. Students will expand their knowledge of the geography of China.

Grammatically, students will be introduced to two new tense ideas: The future tense and completed past action.

The unit will culminate in students acting as a travel agent, creating an itinerary from Madison, CT through some famous sites in China, and back to Madison.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Decision Making

Spanish Grades K-6

Spanish Kindergarten

¡Bienvenidos!

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to Spanish class! Kindergarten students will begin their Spanish exploration with this unique welcome unit featuring Tomás el Tucán, a toucan from Costa Rica who only speaks Spanish. Students will be exposed to a variety of high frequency words used in greetings, introductions and farewells, asking someone how they are with basic responses.

Students will apply their learning through a variety of strategies and techniques such as CI (Comprehensible Input), TPR (Total Physical Response), TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), and ASL (American Sign Language).

At the culmination of this unit, students will create a flipbook that highlights their new vocabulary, showcasing their understanding and proper usage of it when they meet Tomás el Tucán’s younger sister, Sara.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

¿Cómo estás?

In this second unit of kindergarten, students will continue to explore their new Spanish skills as they begin to ask each other, cómo estás - how are you?
Students will apply their learning through a variety of strategies and techniques such as CI (Comprehensible Input), TPR (Total Physical Response), TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), and ASL (American Sign Language).

At the culmination of this unit, students will create a book on how to be a good Spanish classroom citizen when a new friend joins the class.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Citizenship

Mi Nuevo Amigo

In this third unit of kindergarten, students will meet a new friend, Manny el mono, who will continue teaching the students Spanish using a new set of high frequency words.

At the culmination of this unit, students will create their own mochila to include specific items and one that they will eat.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Spanish Grade 1

A Trip to Peru

In this first unit of first grade, students will be taking an adventure to Machu Picchu, Peru, with a new friend named Larry the Llama! Students will explore Peru and its culture through various artifacts. Each student will create a poncho featuring all the high frequency words learned.

At the culmination of this unit, students will be asked to create a poncho for their amigo, Larry, by illustrating what is spoken by the teacher.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

The Reunion

In this second unit of first grade, students will be learning about two characters who are in fact friends! Manny the mono returns from our kindergarten adventures with the opening of his new restaurant in Peru. Larry the Llama decides to visit Manny’s restaurant with his family, and enjoys it so much that he goes back with more relatives.

Students will learn a new set of vocabulary skills and apply their learning through a variety of strategies and techniques such as CI (Comprehensible Input), TPR (Total Physical Response), TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), and ASL (American Sign Language).

At the culmination of this unit, students will be using the ministory to aid in fixing the problem that occurs at Manny’s restaurant.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing

Naymlap - Dan dan dannnnn!

In this third unit of first grade, students will learn about the significance of the Naymlap via a movie talk. Here, students will experience a postal nightmare that leads them on a journey of cultural exploration where the main character’s connection to the historical Naymlap and its mystical powers unite.

At the culmination of this unit, students will assist Naymlap in returning a special letter to a family in the capital of Peru, Lima, by creating a map for him to use to get to his final destination.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Spanish Grade 2

¡Yo soy único! (I'm unique!)

In this first unit of second grade, students will create personal artifacts that highlight their likes, dislikes, personality traits, and family members. Students will use a variety of high frequency words throughout the unit to support their new learning and understanding of the content.

At the culmination of this unit, students will help a friend recreate their destroyed lata as they apply their acquired skills learned in this unit.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing

Roca, Papel, Tijeras

In this second unit of second grade, students will explore a movie talk of three main characters: roca, papel, and tijeras. Although different, each provides a relationship to the other that is unexpected.

At the culmination of this unit, students will create a poster to support Roca, Papel, and Tijeras’s “Somos Amigos” (We are Friends) tour!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Same, Same, but Different

In this third unit of second grade, students will continue to explore their own similarities and differences with two new characters: Kailash and Elliot - children living in different parts of the world who become the best of friends. The two previous units have prepared the students to know that being the same or different continues to make us unique and special in this vast world.

At the culmination of this unit, students will “send” a postcard to one of the main characters, sharing interesting facts about themselves, and how they are the same and/or different to them.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Spanish Grade 3

El Tiempo

In this first unit of third grade, students will learn a variety of weather expressions. Students will use their new vocabulary to support and show their understanding in the target language.

At the culmination of this unit, students will create their own loco trip in downtown Madison where several weather expressions occur in a variety of places.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Peep, Chirp, y Quack

In this second unit of third grade, students will meet some adventurous characters named Peep, Chirp, and Quack. Through a movie talk, students will continue to support their weather knowledge .

At the culmination, students will be asked to assist with putting back together the script to an upcoming movie before it is too late.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing

Frankenpiedra

In this third unit of third grade, students will learn specific body parts while they venture to the infamous lab of Frankenpiedra and Igor.

At the culmination of this unit, students will help Little Duck get back home after the Space Mountain ride he was on went into outer space!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing

Spanish Grade 4

Cultura y Celebraciones (Culture and Celebrations)

Cultural Heritage is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values. Throughout MPS' WL elementary school curriculum our students have been exposed to Spanish cultural heritage components. In 1st grade our students learned about Peruvian traditions and artifacts. In 2nd grade students learned about games played by children in Spanish speaking countries. In 3rd grade students were exposed to different Spanish speaking countries through music and weather trends.

As a culmination of their journey as elementary school student WL learners, the 4th graders will experience an entire unit focused on Spanish Culture as its main theme. Throughout the unit, the students will discuss the importance and value of passing on these cultural components from one generation to another. Fourth graders will be introduced to a brief history of the Spanish language and its propagation through the world. Students will also learn about Spanish culture through the life and work of renowned Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso. As a 4th grade group, students will share their knowledge about cultural celebrations in Spain and in Spanish speaking countries in Latin America with the purpose of spreading knowledge of Spanish/Hispanic cultural heritage to our schools' staff and student body.

Concurrently, students will gain a more in depth insight of cognates, and their value in improving their listening and reading Spanish comprehension.

21st Century Capacities: Synthesizing

FANTASÍA Y FICCIÓN (Fantasy and Fiction)

In unit 2 of fourth grade, students will continue to build on their knowledge and understanding of cognates as they bring their Elementary Spanish experience full circle. Students will become familiar with a version of Little Red Riding Hood in Spanish and the unit will come to a close with a presentation of the story for first graders. Students will continue to persevere as they take their knowledge of the Spanish language and finish off their elementary experience with the reading of a short novel Brandon Brown dice la verdad.

21st Century Capacities: Perseverance

Spanish Grade 5

Not all classrooms are created equal

"Not all classrooms are equal." This unit introduces grade 5 Spanish students to the classroom, specifically their Spanish classroom at Brown School. Students will be able to identify classroom objects and materials, and use basic questions to communicate what they need in their classroom. Students will learn how weekly independent reading will be a part of their classroom at Brown, as compared to the Biblioburro in Colombia that delivers books to children in need. Students will be able to compare and contrast classrooms around the world with their own and address a need in an underprivileged classroom, in order to understand that not all classrooms are created equal.

21st Century Capacities: Product Creation

¿Qué pasa en tu casa? (What's going on at your house?)

“¿Qué pasa en tu casa?" This unit introduces grade 5 Spanish students to many high frequency words and structures associated with the house. Students will be able to identify content specific nouns and verbs (third person, present tense) in the context of the home and various related activities within it. At the end of the unit, students will be able to apply their new language skills as they guide their peers on a narrated tour of where they live to show what happens in their house.

21st Century Capacities: Presentation

Where will your hunger take you?

This unit introduces grade 5 Spanish students to many high frequency words and structures associated with regional foods and meals. During this unit students will collaborate to compare and contrast foods from Spanish speaking countries with foods they are familiar with. Students will be able to express their likes and dislikes as they relate to food as well as identifying content specific nouns and verbs (third person, present tense). Students will read and dramatize a series of mini stories, and reinforce high frequency vocabulary with many TPRS related games and strategies, such as: PQA and MovieTalk. Students will also work collaboratively on a jigsaw activity to build their cultural knowledge of regional foods in six different Spanish speaking countries and share their findings. Students will develop their spontaneous speaking skills through a paired food related bargaining activity and later on their PBA. Through dialogue practice without scripts, students will practice the skill of perseverance. At the end of the unit, pairs of students will participate in a bargaining exchange in a market place in the capital of a Spanish speaking country. Let's make a deal!

21st Century Capacities: Perseverance

A pet is FURever

In this unit, grade 5 students will be exposed to many high frequency words and structures within the context of a novel. Students will communicate information about their family dynamic, pets, friendship, and responsibility. Students will be able to express which pets they like, have, and want, communicate the members of their family, and describe using first person present tense. Students will read and dramatize a series of texts and reinforce high frequency vocabulary with many TPRS related games and strategies.

21st Century Capacities: Decision Making

Spanish Grade 6

¡Yo tengo Talento!

In this first unit of sixth grade, students will describe their own personal talents and interests, as well as the hobbies and talents of others. Students' knowledge of the structure of the language will be expanded upon, as they will use first, second, and third person verb forms to communicate. Vocabulary throughout the unit will be personalized each year based on students and their own interests.

At the culmination of this unit, students will create an audio recording to be a contestant on Polson tiene Talento by demonstrating their comprehension of the learned content and the use of the 1st person singular in the target language. This unit will push students to persevere, find ways to communicate their talents, using circumlocution as needed, all while remaining engaged in the task.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Las Aventuras

In this second unit of sixth grade, students will use the High Frequency Words (HFW) in a variety of contexts as we explore the adventures of different characters.
Students will receive comprehensible input through a movie talk, and reading a variety of ministories.

At the culmination of this unit, students will analyze a new story as they focus on the listening modality in their PBA.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing

La Aventura de Brandon Brown

In this third unit of sixth grade, students will continue expanding their knowledge of the language by reading a novel based on a character traveling to the Yucatan with his family. Students will explore and learn about historical sites and specific features that are quite popular in this region.

At the culmination of this unit, students will create their own adventurous ministory with a partner.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Self-Awareness

Spanish Grades 7-12

Spanish Grade 7

¿Quién soy yo?

In unit one of seventh grade, students will explain their likes and dislikes about activities, compare and contrast these things with their classmates, connect their personality traits with the activities they like to do, as they share who they are with their peers.

At the culmination, students will share their likes and dislikes using personality adjectives in an audio recording. In the end, students will continue to explore likes, dislikes, and personalities through the cultural content of El Ekeko book.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Cuerpo sano, mente sana (Healthy body, healthy mind)

In this second unit of seventh grade, students will be introduced to a variety of foods presented in different courses. Using this information, students will be able to express their likes and dislikes about a variety of foods, drinks, and activities in the target language. Students will be able to give advice about activities and eating habits that reflect a healthy lifestyle. They will later reflect on what it means to be a healthy adolescent by designing their own infographic offering tips to their Polson classmates.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Places in Town

In this third unit of seventh grade, students will learn about specific places in town where they can visit, and explore the activities they can do there.

At the culmination of the unit, students will make connections with their vocabulary (new learning and past knowledge) to talk about what specific family members and themselves do in those different places around town. Students will create a four-day schedule of events to support their understanding of these new concepts.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Noches Misteriosas en Granada

In this last unit of seventh grade, students will read a novel titled, Noches Misteriosas en Granada, about a boy who studies abroad in Granada, Spain. Students will first learn about the various cultural impacts of this region, and how they continue to support its lifestyle.

The book highlights a legend where students will use this information to gain alternate perspectives from their peers in their performance based assessment.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Alternate Perspectives

Spanish Grade 8

La Isla más Peligrosa

In unit one of eighth grade, students will review pretense tense verbs using a variety of strategies and approaches. Students will continue this practice as they explore a family’s adventure on an island through a novel in the target language. Students will demonstrate their reading comprehension and describe important events in the novel using the present tense. Finally, students will create their own promotional brochure showcasing what the island has to offer!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Mi Viaje

In this second unit of eighth grade, students will describe their vacation experiences. Students will reflect on past vacations by describing where they went and what they did using the preterite tense. This unit will culminate by students researching hispanic speaking countries and creating Instagram posts about their travels explaining where they visited and what activities they did.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence

Imperfect/Childhood Memories

What were you like when you were a kid? What did you used to play with? Where did you go? What were you like?

In this third unit of eighth grade, students will reflect on their own childhoods. The imperfect is the tense used to reflect on these past events, and this new grammatical concept will be supported through the lenses of childhood.

At the culmination, students will be sharing an audio recording of their childhood memories while including those of their classmates to compare and/or contrast to their own.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Alternate Perspectives

Bianca Nieves

In this fourth unit of eighth grade, students will explore the culture of bullfighting through the novel Bianca Nieves y los 7 Toritos. This unit goes into detail about the differences between the preterite and imperfect tense and how they are applied when describing the past.

The unit will conclude with students creating a presentation of a selected script from the novel. Students are supporting the spoken modality by remaining in the target language, and showing their understanding of the text with clear, emotion, and intonation in their speech.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation, Self-Awareness

Spanish 1

Quien soy yo en Hand? (Who am I at Hand?)

"Who am I at Hand?" Madison students will take another look at "themselves" in Spanish, this time paying special attention to who they are at their new high school - Daniel Hand. Students will be engaged in learning more about their new identity at Hand, which includes many new online language learning tools and how they will enhance their middle school experience. This unit goes into detail about what it is like to be a middle school student, including specific courses, classroom objects, activities, expressing preferences, and describing yourself. Students will be able to compare and contrast their high school schedules and experience with those of students in Spanish speaking countries. They will ultimately select a school that interests them for a study abroad program and will need to correspond with their host family beforehand.

Following the PBA, students will read their first short novel in the target language, Noches misteriosas en Granada, about a boy who studies abroad in Granada, Spain.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Cuerpo sano, mente sana (Healthy body, healthy mind)

"Cuerpo sano, mente sana". Hand students will be able to express their likes and dislikes about a variety of foods, drinks, and activities in the target language. Through a collaborative jigsaw process using the website choosemyplate.gov (in Spanish) students will explore a series of health articles (infographics). They will later reflect on what it means to be a healthy adolescent by designing their own infographic offering tips to their Hand classmates using the Tiger Fitness Center. Through collaborative work students will reflect on their individual contribution to the group process and understand what it means to be "collectively intelligent."

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

A celebrar! (Let's celebrate!)

During this unit, students will highlight their favorite places to go in and around Madison, and the different activities they do with family and friends at these locations. Students will be able to compare their lifestyle to the main character, as we read a novel throughout the unit. They will also learn about family and adolescent life in Mexico and be able to compare it with their lives (and the main character's) in the United States. The concept of "ir + a + infinitive" will be a focus point as students make predictions for the novel and talk about where they are going to go and what they are going to do at these places. Students will work collaboratively to plan a weekend event in Madison for out of town guests and will share this information on a website they will create using google sites.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

Mi casa es su casa (My house is your house)

"Mi casa es su casa." Hand students will develop skills to describe their own bedrooms and houses, including making comparisons and using stem changing verbs like poder and dormir in context. Students will participate in an activity to jigsaw information about various houses, as their classmates develop listening comprehension skills to correctly represent the house that they are describing. Students will ultimately play the role of a Real Estate Agent, gathering information about different homes in the Spanish speaking world, and making various decisions between homes based on the criteria provided by their "client."

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Decision Making

Spanish 2

Las tradiciones familiares - Family Traditions

Students will learn about the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration and other aspects of Mexican culture while reading Tumba. Students will then explore their own family traditions learning/ reviewing the vocabulary of family relationships and those words needed to discuss and write about their family traditions, such as gustar. Students will review the present tense, present progressive, ser & estar, and basic irregular present tense verbs both orally and in writing short letters and/or texts to family members. They will also review adjective agreement, creating plural forms and asking and answering questions.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Decision Making

Festivales

In this unit students will explore the many different and unusual festivals celebrated in Spain. Using Google Earth and other online resources, they will locate where in Spain a festival takes place and the history of how each festival began. They will further investigate the festival and its effect on the area's local economy. After taking a "tour" around Spain and visiting each festival during group presentations, students will individually choose which festival about which they would like to create a children's book. They will compare what happens at the festivals in Spain to celebrations and traditions in the United States and locally in Madison. Students will learn about foods and festival related vocabulary and will practice stem changing verbs and simple past preterite to describe what they want and can do at each festival and what happened at the festival the day before.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Product Creation

Deportes Tradicionales

This unit is focused on the traditional sports of Spanish speaking countries and the fans that love them. The impact sports have on family relationships will also be explored. A great deal of time will be spent on the preterite tense and all its irregular forms, with the emphasis on narrating what happened at an event. Students will also be introduced to direct and indirect object pronouns in relation to sports vocabulary. Students will watch the movie "Goal" to incorporate themes of hard work to achieve dreams. After practice and repetition in the past tense, students will ultimately perform a newscast about a game that has already taken place.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing, Product Creation

Fiesta Fatal

In this final unit of Spanish 2, students will explore the tradition of the Quinceañera and what goes wrong when a drug cartel gets involved in one girl's celebration. In addition, students will look at traditional rites of passage at different ages and in different cultures to compare and contrast how children experience growing up. Students will the Imperfect verb tense and use it to complete a nostalgic written piece about their childhood. Students will be able to recognize when to use the imperfect and when to use the preterite.
Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Decision Making, Citizenship

Spanish 3

Esperanza para el futuro (Hope for the future)

In this first unit of Spanish 3, students will explore the difficulties of life in Guatemala and, more importantly, what is being done to improve the situation there. Students will read Esperanza, a true story about a family forced to emigrate from Guatemala to escape violence and create a more hopeful future. Students will view a variety of video clips as well as a documentary, such as "Living on One Dollar a Day," to better understand daily life in Guatemala. Students will independently explore the efforts of two charitable groups who are working to improve the socioeconomic situation and political climate. After examining Guatemala as a model, students will open up their investigation to the entire global community. Ultimately, students will find an actual charitable organization anywhere in the world to which they will apply for an internship, showcasing their new knowledge of the future and conditional tenses (will and would) to explain in the application how the experience will help them to realize their own hopes for the future, how their efforts will help to improve the situation in the community in which they will work, and explain in which area of the internship program they would like to participate. If we work together, there is hope for the future!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Decision Making, Citizenship

Protegiendo nuestra salud (Protecting our health)

In this second unit of Spanish 3 students will consider various aspects of health and wellness in the United States and abroad. They will learn about healthcare practices in other countries and compare them with our own. Unit activities will include discussions about taking care of our minds and bodies, mental health practices, meditation and exercising in Spanish, and investigation of healthy eating. Ultimately, students will work in teams to create a wellness video that is shared with the class.
Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

Hispanos heróicos (Heroic Hispanic)

This third unit of Spanish 3, students will focus on Heroic Hispanics, identifying how each person's influence impacts their respective communities. Grammatical study will pivot to focus on the past tenses, while building on their knowledge of the present. Students will employ unit vocabulary to describe the actions and talk about the prestige of historically significant latinos. Other skills in this unit include presentational and interpersonal speaking, reading of authentic articles, as well as listening comprehension of peers' ideas. Students will work on the skills of citizenship and product creation by considering their knowledge of influential Latinos in a video presentation.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation, Citizenship

Misterios del mundo (Mysteries of the world)

Spanish 3 students will take a journey into the mysteries of the Spanish-speaking world, interpreting several legends, including the famous chupacabras: the Mysterious Monster of Latin America and comparing them to legends of their own culture. Students will see how the past tenses are used together for different reasons in the authentic context of legends. Students will embark on a task of creating their own Mysterious Monster of Madison, using the past tenses together, and their imaginations.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Product Creation

Spanish 4

La entrada a Sudamérica

"The Hidden Gems of Latin America" is the theme for all four units of the Spanish 4 course.
In the first unit of Spanish 4, students will travel to Colombia, the gateway to South America! Students will explore their identity as travelers as they learn about different locations and regions of Colombia. They will discover the beauty of the country that is embedded in the rich culture, learning about famous Colombian artists, musicians, and of course, the coffee. Building off of their prior knowledge of the present, future, and conditional tenses, students will use the future and conditional tenses to research the country, design a future vacation and make recommendations to avoid travel problems. Ultimately, each student will act as a travel agent, and use all of the information he/she has learned about Colombia, supplemented with internet research, to customize a vacation to Colombia for the family of a classmate. ¡Viajemos a Colombia!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Decision Making

Vivir como un porteño (Living like a person from Buenos Aires)

In the second unit of Spanish 4, students will immerse themselves in the concept of living abroad as a porteno in Argentina and continue investigating "What lies beneath the turmoil?" in another hidden gem of Latin America. Students will learn about daily life in Buenos Aires, including researching how to access the metro and bus systems, viewing traditional dance, and being exposed to customary food. They will read the novel La guerra sucia and view the film Cautiva as a gateway to explore the historical impact and modern-day ramifications of the Dirty War. Throughout the unit, students will utilize the preterite and imperfect tenses as they blog about their hypothetical experiences in Buenos Aires and other regions of Argentina. Salud, amor, dinero, y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Product Creation

A la frontera y adelante (To the border and beyond)

Spanish 4 students will journey across the border to Mexico as they explore historical and current events and other aspects of mainstream culture. Students will acknowledge and possibly debunk stereotypes relating to Mexico, and also devise travel safety tips. They will read authentic newspaper articles and use the information to offer advice to travellers, as well as to people with an array of problems. Ultimately, students will research Mexican products and connect them to cultural practices, creating their own how-to videos.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation, Decision Making

Financiando por los Pinoleros (Financing for Nicaraguans)

In this final unit of Spanish 4, students will learn to make recommendations and express subjective thoughts utilizing the subjunctive mood in Spanish. They will learn about the socioeconomic situation in Nicaragua, a country suffering from widespread poverty. They will also explore some current programs that exist to try to alleviate poverty in Nicaragua. Ultimately, students will recommend their own solution to a group of investment bankers, seeking charitable funding for their proposed solutions.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation, Citizenship

Spanish 4 Honors

Las familias contemporáneas

In the first unit of Spanish IV Honors, students will examine more closely their family norms, travel, and education pursuits. Is their family modern or traditional? What do they do in their free time? Are they interested in travel? What are their career aspirations? These are just a few of the questions that students will be asked to consider as they develop and hone their understanding and application of the subjunctive mood, which was begun in Spanish 3. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. To bring closure to this unit, students will investigate and analyze the tourist attractions in one of the Spanish-speaking countries of the world and create a tourist brochure to promote travel to that country.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing, Product Creation

La belleza y la estética

In this second unit of Spanish IV Honors, students will delve into their thoughts about beauty and aesthetics as they relate to self-concept, other people, fashion, arts and literature, architecture, and wonders around the globe. While doing so, students will be asked to dive into their past to further examine these thoughts, as they recall their study and use of the preterit and imperfect tenses as a means of learning about the past subjunctive. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Students will use their creativity as they work in small groups to present a new line of clothing to their classmates that will shake up the fashion industry.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

Los desafíos mundiales

Unit 3

In this third unit of Spanish IV Honors, students will have a look into the challenges we face in our global society, specifically those of global warming and global conflict and terrorism. Students will be challenged to use effectively the many types of commands from the target language, and say and write correctly in Spanish cardinal and ordinal numbers. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Students will examine in depth a global challenge not studied during the unit to promote action and further awareness related to the issue.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation, Citizenship

La ciencia y la tecnología

In this fourth and final unit of Spanish IV Honors, students will probe the constantly-evolving world of science and technology. While investigating and discussing these unit themes, students will be tasked with learning and putting to use the Perfect/Haber tenses, past participles used as adjectives, and the passive voice. Throughout this unit, students will be exposed to a variety of unit-related, authentic written and spoken texts, recordings, and prompts to further their growth in the language. Students will be forced to analyze the improvement of a product over time, the limitations of an existing product and imagine and present an innovation to it.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Idea Generation, Product Creation

Spanish 5

Una guía a España

There are many different types of travelers; art lovers, hipsters, history buffs, etc. In the first unit of Spanish 5, students will act as travelers while taking an adventure through the major cities of Spain. Students will learn how to navigate public transportation systems throughout the country as well as how to read and interpret menus. Later, in the PBA, students will present autonomous regions of Spain to their classmates, in which they will show their expertise of the culture by using the unit grammar and vocabulary, which builds off of the present tense, present subjunctive, and high frequency words learned in prior units. Students will work on the skill of perseverance by initiating communication in the target language and circumlocuting to successfully overcome challenges in speaking.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Product Creation

Navegando Sudamérica

In the second unit of our exploration, students will focus on their own personal travel interests in an investigation of South America, mirroring the travel explorations of Spain from Unit 1. Students will also further advance their grammatical study with the application of the imperative mood in the context of travel as well as giving and receiving directions, which builds on the knowledge of the subjunctive mood from Unit 1. Students will conduct research on their assigned country and present their findings based on their individual travel preferences. Throughout the unit, students will express recommendations and possible travel situations, in which they employ the highest level of grammatical structures. Other skills in this unit include presentational and interpersonal speaking, reading of authentic articles, as well as listening comprehension of peers' ideas. Students will work on the skills of analyzing and self-awareness by incorporating their knowledge of South America, their personal interests, and teacher and peer feedback into informative writing as they blog about traveling through South America as their preferred type of traveler.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Analyzing, Self-Awareness

El mundo real (The real world)

All students will learn to apply their Spanish skills in the real world as they take on the roles of patient and medical personnel. The exploration of medical Spanish will help prepare students in the event that they need medical treatment during any future travel abroad, and also will benefit any students who plan to enter the medical field professionally. In the second portion of this unit, students will explore their intended career, learning Spanish vocabulary that will be applicable in the real world. In addition to medical and career vocabulary, students will learn about cultural practices that are professionally relevant. Along the way, students will write a resume and prepare for a job interview in Spanish. Ultimately, students will write a cover letter and participate in a mock interview for their dream job. Welcome to the real world!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Decision Making

Las tertulias (Social gatherings)

In the final unit of Spanish 5, students will engage in Daniel Hand's version of tertulias, social gatherings to converse about topics of interest, particularly with artistic, political, or literary overtones, which originated in Spain and Latin America. Students will apply all that they have learned in Spanish in this conversational unit, as they engage in different discussions. For each week of the unit, conversations will center around a different theme, such as causes of stress, controversial topics, global challenges, book review, film critique, or simply friendly conversation. Students will persevere to stay in the target language, stretching their vocabulary and structural repertoires and employing circumlocution as they make meaningful contributions to paired, group, and class discussion. Charlemos!

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Inquiry, Collective Intelligence

American Sign Language 1

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know Deaf Culture

In the first unit of American Sign Language (ASL) I, students will be introduced to the history of Deaf culture in America, including an overview of how ASL was created, the American School for the Deaf, and who uses ASL. Students will learn how to do basic fingerspelling in order to spell words and their names. Students will be able to give basic descriptions of themselves and others.

The unit will function as an introduction to the routines and procedures of the classroom. Assignments will utilize online receptive assessments provided by the teacher and ASL Deafined, an online ASL resource for students.

The unit will culminate in a simulated conversation where students will act out meeting a roommate for the first time while at the American School for the Deaf.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence

My Autobiography

In the second unit of American Sign Language (ASL) I, students will be introduced to the process of creating a script for interpretation, called a Gloss. A gloss simplifies written English into signable language, an important skill since signing does not necessarily use all the grammar or vocabulary that written English would use. Fingerspelling and numbers will be highlighted again, as students will give personal information about themselves and others.

Leisure activities will be discussed.

The unit will culminate in the students creating a script where they will introduce themselves. Since the unit is focusing on design, the creative process is more important than the result. The skill of glossing will remain a process and skill throughout all ASL units and classes.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design

Where You Call Home

In the third unit of ASL I, students will use their newfound skills of writing a gloss (Unit 2) and fingerspelling in order to talk about places, homes, and vacation locations. Students will interview each other and practice their receptive skills. The emphasis of in-class time will focus on improving the fluency and recognition of signs done by others.

In terms of topics, students will be working on locations and directions, animals and house-pets, and the numbers 30-66.
The unit will culminate in students creating a script about a dream home or vacation with another student by creating a gloss and submitting a practiced video of their final skit.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Product Creation

My Family Tree

In the fourth unit of ASL I, students will learn to describe themselves more in relationship to their own family members. Students will be asked to sign more in a live setting, including many class activities that will allow students to practice in front of each other and the class. The unit will culminate in the students talking about their own family and a favorite childhood memory in a live setting. In preparation for the end of the year, students will also engage in goal-setting and self-reflection, looking forward to next steps in their experience with ASL.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Self-Awareness

What Do I Do Everyday?

Unit 5

In Unit 5, students of ASL 1 will be exploring how to discuss their preferences for hobbies, plans for activities, and even look at events they've done in the past. This unit will cover not only hobbies, but also how to discuss time and dates. Students will be working on their collaborative and presentational skills in this unit, with activities and the PBA focusing on the ability to present information and to work as a team. The unit will culminate in students presenting their summer plans to the rest of the class in whichever live format students feel most comfortable with.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

American Sign Language 2

The Story of My Life

In ASL 2, Unit 1, students will learn how to tell personal narratives in ASL, including how to introduce characters, how to shift between the roles of different characters, how to reference space, and how to use transitions and pauses to engage the audience. Students will view several well-known stories from the Deaf community as storytelling models. Ultimately, students will be working on iterations of a personal summer story that will be presented to the class in a PBA, learning how to add detail and storytelling elements into expressed narratives.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Design, Product Creation

Who Wore it Best?

In the second unit of ASL 2, students will learn to describe the physical appearance of people and personal objects, with a focus on clothing and accessories. Throughout the unit, they will engage in a variety of practice activities including describing a bandit who committed a crime, creating the perfect outfit for a celebrity, and participating in a hidden "show and tell". As a culminating activity, students will create a fashion line to showcase outfits from different decades, for different situations.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

What's your Problem?

In the third unit of ASL II, students will learn to explain problems and offer advice/suggestions for what to do and what not to do in a given situation. Additionally, throughout the second half of the course, students will begin a book study, in which they read a novel relating to Deaf culture and reflect on their understanding of what it means to be deaf. Ultimately, students will create a dramatization in the style of a telenovela, to demonstrate their understanding of explaining and resolving difficult situations.

Profile of a Graduate Capacities: Collective Intelligence, Product Creation

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