Pasaporte Al Espanol

With all the foreign language programs out there, it can be difficult to pick the right fit for your family. If you have younger students in the elementary grades and want a Christian focus, you may want to consider this program produced by Bob Jones University Press. Students learn along with Choco the hedgehog, a furry little hand puppet that accompanies Kit A, as well as several other friendly animals. The program is divided into three steps, with each step designed to take one year to complete. In typical Bob Jones style, the full text teacher's manual is very easy to use and very comprehensive. Several pages of teacher's helps appear at the beginning to familiarize teachers and parents with the program, layout of the text, and use of the workbooks and teaching charts. Charts in front of the teacher's manual provide teachers with a scope and sequence for each unit and then break down each individual unit to show what lesson pages will be used, which workbook pages accompany them, which read-aloud book will be read, and which teaching charts should be shown. Each lesson is then broken down into step-by-step directions for the teacher. A materials list is given along with directions for any preparation to be done ahead of class (usually very minimal). Each day starts with a short Bible time which entails a prayer and a Bible verse in Spanish. In every odd numbered lesson, students learn new concepts and words through the teacher, conversation, and puppet interaction (if you wish to use them!), while in even numbered lesson, students usually review the previous day and complete a couple of workbook pages. Teaching tips for each lesson are included in shaded boxes, and all the Spanish words used in the lesson are highlighted in red while the English translations are given in blue or purple (in the teacher's manual only). Copies of each student workbook page are included on the teaching pages with all the answers filled in in red. The program utilizes colored teaching charts comprised of Bible Verse Charts showing a picture and a reference to a Bible verse, Song Charts, Country Charts showing eight Hispanic countries, and Vocabulary Charts to aid in learning the meaning of Spanish vocabulary words in context. A 4-CD set is included in each program containing the songs, Bible verses, read-aloud books, Bible Truths, Vocabulary Charts, teaching conversations and assessments all recorded to aid in learning and pronunciation. Sixteen read-aloud books included feature short stories exclusively in Spanish, although English pronunciations are given on the inside cover of the front page for easy reference. The books are colorfully illustrated and are an easy read. As an added bonus, each book contains vocabulary words to learn from the story and questions to aid in testing comprehension. Each kit also contains three colorful workbooks which contain all the activity pages for the students. Built-in flashcards, which may be cut out, are included along the bottom of each workbook page, and the back of every page features a Bible verse, truth or song or a fun recipe. The workbooks also contain a certificate of completion and a sticker page to document your student's journey through the language. In summary, Kit A is comprised of the teacher's manual, Choco the puppet, 16 read-aloud storybooks, 123 teaching charts, 4 CDs, and Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 workbooks. The teacher's manual in this kit also contains some adapted workbook pages for slightly older students (over grade 3). The workbooks and CD sets are also available for purchase separately. All in all, this is a very inclusive Spanish program for your younger students. ~ Megan