Email: scarpenter@monfortonschool.org
My name is Shelby Carpenter and I am so excited for another year at Monforton! With Spanish being a required class 6-8, I always look forward to seeing the growth our students make by the time they graduate in 8th grade. I feel so lucky to have three great years with these kids!
In my free time I love being in the mountains, by the water, and traveling
6th Grade
Spanish in 6th grade focuses on dipping our toes into learning a new language, building a common vocabulary, and learning about the different Spanish-speaking countries.
Most of our work is activity-based, but projects, notes, quizzes, and paper assignments are all used.
Each student will research a country at the beginning of the year and they will take turns throughout the year presenting on their chosen country.
7th Grade
Spanish in 7th grade focuses on using common vocabulary in order to have authentic conversations about topics relevant to traveling, shopping, and describing the world around them. We use Señor Wooly songs an an anchor for many of our units.
Most of our work is activity-based, but projects, notes, quizzes, and paper assignments are all used to hold students accountable for their learning.
8th Grade
Spanish in 8th grade zooms in on Spain. We discuss restaurant culture, history, geography, and travel. During the year, we also read two novels written completely in Spanish for English speakers. These novels use many cognates (words that sound similar across languages) and high frequency vocabulary to help students better understand the material.
If students decide to take Spanish in high school, proficiency in Monforton’s 8th grade Spanish program will allow students to skip Spanish 1 and enter straight into Spanish 2 as freshmen.
This class is designed to be fun! Yes, we work hard, but we also play a lot of games, sing songs, and support each other as we learn.
Sometimes new students feel that they are “behind” their peers if they join mid-year or in 7th/8th grade when other students have taken Spanish classes already.
Monforton’s Spanish curriculum is designed with this in mind.
Each year, all students are learning new thematic vocabulary units and we always review our “building blocks” and high frequency words.
The expectation is not that new students will have the same knowledge as their peers. Instead, the expectation is that they will participate in class and put forth effort to learn the new units after their arrival.