Listening and speaking skills are emphasized. Students work on pronunciation of the language, reading simple materials, and writing basic sentences. Culture is presented within the framework of communicative topics such as home and family, personal identification, travel and foods.
Language structure is taught within the same topics.
The class meets daily for the entire year and is a requirement for seventh graders. All of the skills are practiced within the context of thematic topics such as community, education, health, occupations, sports and leisure. The structure of the language and the culture of the Hispanic world are also important components of the class. The class meets daily for the entire year and is a requirement for eighth graders. Students must pass the New York State Proficiency Exam in Spanish given in June as part of the high school graduation requirements under the new State Standards.