Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent supports our acquisition and understanding of a new language.
Stories
Stories are a narrative form of text that can be oral, written, or visual. Stories are derived from truth or fiction and may be used to seek and impart knowledge, entertain, share history, and strengthen a sense of identity.
give us unique ways to understand and reflect on meaning.
Expressing ourselves and engaging in conversation in a new language require courage, risk taking, and perseverance.
Cultural expression
represents the experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn (e.g., painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, poetry and prose, filmmaking, musical composition, architecture)
can take many different forms.
Acquiring a new language provides a unique opportunity to access and interact with diverse communities.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
increasingly complex vocabulary, sentence structures, and expressions, including:
- types of questionsincluding inversion questions (e.g., ¿Tienes papel?, ¿Te gusta ir al cine?, ¿Te gusta viajar?)
- activities, situations, and eventsusing appropriate tenses (e.g., el futuro, el imperfecto, el pretérito) in both the affirmative and the negative
- opinions
First Peoples perspectives connecting language and culture, including oral histories
e.g., conversations with an Elder about local celebrations, traditions, and protocols
, identity Identity is influenced by, for example, traditions, protocols, celebrations, and festivals.
, and place A sense of place can be influenced by, for example, territory, food, clothing, and creative works.
past, present, and future time frames
- regular and irregular verbs in context
- el pretérito and el imperfecto
elements of common texts
e.g., format (letter versus email message), language, context, audience, register (informal versus formal), purpose
common elements of stories
e.g., place, characters, setting, plot, problem and resolution
idiomatic expressions
e.g., buena onda, ¡no me digas!, ¡qué padre!; Spanish expressions derived from Arabic, such as ojalá; expressions with tener and estar, such as tener razón ; estar listo
from across the Hispanic world
contributions of Hispanic Canadians to society
Hispanic works of art
e.g., creative works in dance, drama, music, visual arts
cultural aspects
e.g., activities, clothing, dance, festivals, food, history, land, music, protocol, rituals, traditions; relating to celebrations, holidays, and events
of various Hispanic communities
ethics of cultural appropriation
The use of a cultural motif, theme, “voice,” image, knowledge, story, song, or drama, shared without permission or without appropriate context or in a way that may misrepresent the real experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn.
and plagiarism
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Thinking and communicating
Recognize how choice of words
e.g., degrees of formality, degrees of directness, choice of verb tense and modality
affects meaning
Recognize the relationships between Spanish letter patterns, pronunciation, and meaning
key information, supporting details, time, and place
Comprehend key information and supporting details in speech and a variety of other texts
“Text” is a generic term referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communications. Oral, written, and visual elements can also be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations, graphic novels, films, internet-based media, advertisements).
Comprehend meaning and viewpoints in stories
Use various strategies
For example:
to increase understanding and produce oral and written language
- use circumlocution, paraphrasing, reformulation, reiteration, repetition, or word substitution
- interpret body language, expression, and tone
- use contextual cues
- interpret familiar words
Narrate stories, both orally and in writing
- Use expressions of time and transitional words to show logical progression.
- Use past, present, and future time frames.
Interpret non-verbal cues
e.g., gestures, facial expressions, pictures, props
to increase understanding
Exchange ideas
with peers, teachers, and members of the wider community; can include virtual/online conversations
and information, both orally and in writing
Share information using the presentation format
e.g., digital, visual, verbal; aids such as charts, graphics, illustrations, music, photographs, videos, props, digital media
best suited to their own and others’ diverse abilities
Respond to questions and instructions
Seek clarification and verify
e.g., request or provide repetition, word substitution, reformulation, or reiteration
meaning
Personal and social awareness
Analyze regional, cultural, and linguistic practices of various Hispanic communities and their role in shaping cultural identity
Recognize the importance of story
e.g., First Peoples stories express their perspectives, values, beliefs, worldviews, and knowledge.
in personal, family, and community identity
Engage in experiences
e.g., blogs, school visits (including virtual/online visits), concerts, exchanges, festivals, films, letters, plays, social media, stores and restaurants where Spanish is spoken
with Hispanic people and communities
Analyze personal, shared, and others’ experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through a cultural lens
e.g., values, practices, traditions, perceptions
Recognize First Peoples perspectives and knowledge; other ways of knowing
e.g., First Nations, Métis, and Inuit; and/or gender-related, subject/discipline-specific, cultural, embodied, intuitive
, and local cultural knowledge