Amy ONeill

John Page Middle School Spanish I Curriculum Analysis

For my student teaching experience, I am placed at John Page Middle School

in the Lamphere School District. I teach both Spanish I and Spanish II. For this
particular assignment, I am going to focus on the Spanish I curriculum since it is
the building block to Spanish II. I teach two Spanish I classes with a total of about
60 students in the 7th grade combined. It is a diverse group of students with
different learning needs, personal backgrounds and culture. My classes are mostly
female, with just about a handful of males; students are in the age range of 12 or
13.
For John Page Middle School, they strive for excellence in both academics
and with student and parent involvement. This is evidenced by the Principles quote
located on the webpage, At Page we strive to be the best place in Oakland County
to work and to learn and to prepare all students for a post-secondary education. As
part of this vision and mission I would invite you to read the articles below about
our award winning artists and musicians, the college field trips we took last year
and a variety of events benefiting students and our community. Additionally, I want
to encourage you to visit Parent Connect through the Get Connected Link Through
Parent Connect you have access to everything related to your child's success at
Page Middle School. At this link you will find your student's homework calendar
which is updated daily, their current grades, their lunch account information,

transcript information, immunization records, and emergency contact information

just to name some of the valuable information stored there. I strongly encourage
you to visit today. John Page Middle School MEAP results for the year 2014 are
that for 7th Grade, Math 33% scored proficient or advanced where the state average
was 39%, Reading 66% scored proficient or advanced where the state average was
only 61% and lastly, Writing 54% scored proficient or advanced where the state
average was 53%. With two test scores out of three surpassing Michigans
average, Page Middle School demonstrates the growth of the students through their
learning.

Moreover, the objectives of Spanish I at John Page Middle School are clear,
concise and are aligned with the State of Michigan Standards. The goals and
objectives of my classroom curriculum are to introduce students to the Spanish
culture along with learning the language. Students develop proficiency in the
domains of speaking, reading, writing and listening with daily participation.
Students make connections between themselves, their community and the world in
which they live to form non-judgmental views between their culture and that or
Spanish or other cultures. The goals and objectives are aligned with the state
standards in that for each key concept learned in the particular unit, there is a task
that is completed by students to help learn, understand and reinforce the concept
(example: Locate Spanish-Speaking countries on a map 2.2.N.G.a ). When learning
the key concepts there are many accommodations for the diverse group of learners.
IEPs, 504s and other medical or important educational documents are carefully
reviewed and lesson plans are presented using the differentiated instruction method

to reach all students. The major standards in Spanish I curriculum is that it follows
the 5 Cs of Foreign Language. The 5 Cs are, communication is at the heart of
second language study, whether the communication takes place face-to-face, in
writing, or across centuries through the reading of literature. Through the study of
other languages, students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures that
use that language and, in fact, cannot truly master the language until they have
also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs. Learning
languages provides connections to additional bodies of knowledge that may be
unavailable to the monolingual English speaker. Through comparisons and contrasts
with the language being studied, students develop insight into the nature of
language and the concept of culture and realize that there are multiple ways of
viewing the world. Together, these elements allow students to participate in
communities in a variety of contexts.

Additionally, the ways in which the Michigan State Standards are up held are
through the lesson planning of the teacher and the classroom activities prepared for
students. Students complete activities that help to teach and understand the
concept or standard of Spanish and later, are assessed. Typically, when teaching a
lesson a PowerPoint presentation is created and then shown to the class. Students
take notes on the concept and complete a few activities (whether it be from the
textbook, on the slide show or a separate handout) to help with understanding of
the new material. Each lesson has accommodations and adaptations enabling the
learning of diverse students. Technology is used mainly in the creation and teaching
of the curriculum such as the computer, smart board, and multimedia.

Also, after the lesson which is in correlated to the Michigan State Standards
is taught, students are assessed in a variety of ways. Just to name a few ways
assessment takes place, students create project, take written and oral
examinations, answering of questions to check for understanding (example thumbs
up or thumbs down to a question or statement I make), and play and create games
and videos. The assessments are similar in that the state of Michigan uses
standardized testing which is written and in some cases, oral which are also similar
to the written tests that are given in Spanish I.

In conclusion, it is important to make sure the material being taught to

students is aligned with the state of Michigan and with the district/school as well.
All students should be taught the same material.

This holds teachers to the same

standard and held accountable for their effectiveness in teaching students the
necessary information. Knowing this information will help me to make sure my
students are taught everything that is necessary and improve effectiveness instead
of having every child learning something different, there will be commonality.