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Each of the eight units is organized around a particular theme.
The eight themes addressed in all levels are:
Unit 1
Nos conocemos
(
greetings and goodbyes, friends, family)
Unit 2
¿
Cómo vivimos?
(
homes, clothing, people and places in the community)
Unit 3
Vamos a aprender
(
school life and after-school activities)
Unit 4
Los animales
(
pets, farm animals, zoo animals)
Unit 5
Nos cuidamos
(
food, senses, body parts, healthy habits)
Unit 6
Nuestro ambiente
(
seasons, weather, calendar)
Unit 7
¿
Cómo funciona?
and
Las profesiones
(
tools and electronic devices, professions)
Unit 8
Nuestras celebraciones
(
family, community, country celebrations)
Descubre el español con Santillana
has as its overall goal
the communicative competence of students in the Spanish
language by means of cultural-awareness activities that focus
on the gradual development of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing skills in each level. Taking this goal into consideration,
the program’s specific objectives are to introduce students to
Hispanic and Hispanic American culture, to foster a positive
attitude toward language learning, and to provide a solid
foundation for basic communication skills.
Our newest K–5 Spanish as
a World Language program
•
makes language learning a cultural adventure.
•
explores language and culture through explicit
presentation and integration of the
five Cs:
Communication
,
Cultures
,
Connections
,
Comparisons
,
and
Communities
.
•
supports all students—from beginners to heritage
speakers, from struggling to gifted.
Each of the six levels introduces two characters from the
United States who travel through eight Spanish-speaking
countries, including Spain and Mexico. In all, twenty
Spanish-speaking countries are covered in the entire series:
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
With culture as the backdrop of the series, cultural activities
are presented with the goal of integrating all students and
identifying common features in different cultural traditions,
and not just making “us” and “they” comparisons, such as
“
We do this…” and “They do that…” This helps students
derive an extended value out of the activities as they get
to learn about the language, the culture, and the traditions,
and as they role-play situations similar to those encountered
by the characters.
Welcome to
Descubre el español
con Santillana
!
Introduction