Excelerate Spanish Complete Curriculum

Attention audio and kinesthetic learners! Here is a Spanish curriculum made just for you! Using a method called Total Physical Response (TPR) students are taught using videos and reactive body movement as they repeat & respond to the instructor. Each lesson has three parts: vocabulary, actions, and a comprehension check. The Lesson Book includes a thorough explanation of the pedagogy (methodology) and a script from the video lessons. As a parent/teacher you really need to understand the why here as it is not a traditional course. You are told step by step how to present the twenty-four lessons (87pp.) If you are comfortable with the language, you could use this book to present the lessons yourself, if not, you can use this book to answer student questions about the lessons in the videos. The Lesson Book is a necessary component of the program. Excelerate Spanish uses a non-reproducible Workbook for each student (105pp). This holds extension activities from the lessons and is not meant to be used without them. Activities include a variety of puzzles, games, mini-books, scrambled stories, cloze passages, grammar practice, picture definitions, & more. Depending on your goals with your student(s) you may or may not use this item. The Answer Key (77pp.) includes answers to both the Workbook and Lesson Book. Very young learners may use just the videos and become familiar with the vocabulary & sounds of the language. Mid/upper elementary students can do some writing, so I like the Workbooks at this age for reinforcing the audio/physical lessons. The Lesson DVDs are not flashy. They show a teacher and her students modeling the lesson. As the teacher asks questions, students respond to her in Spanish or move/motion as your own student(s) will do. This would work well in a homeschool setting as well as in a co-op or traditional classroom. A good, user-friendly option to introduce elementary to middle school students to Spanish, especially great for those "wiggly" learners or those who struggle with reading, since they are not learning directly from a book. All books are soft cover.

While level 2 continues where level 1 stops, it is possible to jump into level 2 having done another program for first year Spanish. Excelerate uses the TPR method (total physical response) which requires the learner to use their body and act out what they are learning. More than just the command/response that is much of level 1, level 2 comes up with more creative situations, thus extending your students Spanish repertoire. Because it is so untraditional, it can be tricky to spell out what exactly is covered, but here are some of the scenarios: zoo animals; going to the movies with a friend; a piano lesson; a new recipe; Don Quixote and El Cid. There are 24 week-long lessons each with vocabulary, gestures to practice, questions with replying actions, a skit to act out, comprehension questions, and a reading followed by yes/no questions. Again, videos are required. There is no formal testing included. ~ Sara