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Topic title: School in Spain and Spanish speaking countries

Year group: 9

When taught: December to February

What are we learning?

  • Learning about schools in Spain.
  • Talking about a typical day at school.
  • Talking about your studies.
  • Describing you school uniform.
  • Talking about school rules.
  • Describing a school trip in the past.

Why is this important to know? 

  • School in Spanish speaking countries is culturally very different yet has many commonalities in comparison with England. As global citizens, we want pupils to understand the differences and also identify the similarities.
  • Confident use of the tenses (here the past tense) enables pupils to express themselves authentically and with fewer barriers of communication.
  • Pupils enjoy expressing their own experiences and school is relevant and a lived experience for each student. This topic gives them pertinent vocabulary, in order to speak about their own daily life.

Where does this link into our past and future learning? 

  • Pupils first looked at the past tense in Year 8, when covering the topic of holidays. Regular repetition of tenses reinforces the grammar rules and also the exceptions (irregular verbs) in order to enhance the pupil’s ability to communicate in the target language.
  • Pupils first started learning the topic of school in Year 7, so are already familiar with school subjects and opinions. This topic builds on their prior knowledge but gives them a greater range of vocabulary and school topics.
  • The emphasis on past tense and expressing opinions both feed into future topics.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • The Year 9 exam will contain vocabulary recall, a dictation and a ‘read aloud’ task, with a particular focus on the language pillars of phonics and pronunciation.

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic?  What are teachers hoping to see?  

  • Accurate verbs in at least two tenses.
  • Integrated use of a range of connectives and time phrases.
  • A range of justified opinions – both positive and negative.
  • A willingness to explore complex moral debates and arguments.
  • Adjectives that agree with the noun they are describing.

What key words are there in this topic?

All new vocab will be added to the Year 9 Spanish Quizlet classroom:

Quizlet 

 What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

Supporting document/links:

Folder with all vocabulary, grammar notes, verb lists, exam practice etc.