Overview
First-grade students in SFUSD Spanish Biliteracy and Dual Immersion Pathways Programs engage in 125 minutes of daily literacy instruction. Students immerse in a variety of instructional contexts to build solid foundational skills in reading and writing.
Foundational Skills
During the literacy instruction time, students are engaged in a 30-minute foundational skills block that includes phonological awareness, and explicit and systematic phonics instruction focusing on decoding skills. Foundational skills instruction is anchored in continuous text following the syllabic approach and the lectoescritura framework.
Reading & Writing Block
There is an 80-minute reading and writing block that includes reading, writing, and differentiated small-group instruction. Students practice reading independently and participate in shared reading, interactive read-aloud, and literacy centers. Students develop their writing skills by using a combination of drawings, dictating, and writing letters, syllables, and words to share information, ideas, and feelings.
Cross-Linguistic Transfer
Additionally, there is a 15-minute cross-linguistic transfer time, where the teacher provides explicit cross-linguistic transfer instruction and gives students the opportunity to make explicit connections between both languages.
Priority Standards
What students will know, what students will do, and what thinking skills students will develop to apply and transfer Spanish Language Arts understandings that endure within the discipline, leverage deeper understandings, and/or support readiness for success at the next grade level.
In first grade focus on these critical areas:
Conceptos de lo impreso
Demuestran comprensión de la organización y características básicas de los materiales impresos.
Conciencia fonológica
Demuestran comprensión de las palabras pronunciadas oralmente, las sílabas y los sonidos (fonemas).
Fonética y reconocimiento de palabras
Conocen y aplican la fonética y las destrezas de análisis de palabras al nivel de grado, en la decodificación de palabras.
Instruction: Signature Elements
Below are signature elements of SFUSD Spanish Language Arts instruction that students should experience regularly throughout first grade as they develop their Spanish reading, writing, speaking, & listening identities.
Foundational Skills Routines
These routines provide predictable structures for students to internalize strategies and skills that facilitate their learning.
Phonics & Word Study
Phonics instruction is delivered daily to ensure all students become independent readers and writers. The methodology includes systematic and explicit instruction that supports research-based approaches to teaching Spanish phonics.
Children progress at a much faster rate in phonics when the bulk of instructional time is spent on applying the skills to authentic reading and writing experiences, rather than on isolated skill and drill work.
Dictation
Adding dictation as a routine builds students’ writing automaticity. This culturally relevant strategy can be used as a formative assessment to collect information on student progress. It supports students' independence through the process of self-correction. Dictation helps tighten the relationship between sounds and graphemes. If you can say it, you can write it.
Decodable Text
Decodable texts give students the opportunity to practice, connect, and make sense of what they are learning in phonics in the context of reading. Decodable texts encourage students to blend and not guess unfamiliar words.
Literacy Centers
Literacy centers provide students with the opportunity to practice previously taught literacy skills.
Literacy centers motivate students to become independent learners by developing a desire to initiate, sustain, and direct one’s activity.
Small Group Reading Instruction
Strategic and targeted small group instruction based on analysis of student data (both formal and informal).
During independent reading practice and learning centers, the teacher gathers a group of students with similar strengths and needs and instructs them on a skill or strategy.
Small group instruction lessons are designed to provide scaffolds for students to apply the skill or strategy in their own independent work.
Grouping remains flexible throughout the school year to accommodate student needs
Cross-Linguistic Transfer
Explicit cross-linguistic transfer instruction is key in supporting students in making connections between languages. Students engage in contrastive analysis to observe similarities and differences between both languages.
Additionally, students are able to devote more cognitive processing time toward the more complex orthography and morphology systems of English that require more time than the more transparent systems of Spanish.
Writing & Grammar
During the writing block, students engage in creating writing pieces from the Common Core State Standards that follow the writing process. This includes lessons that provide direct, explicit instruction and guided practice in skills and strategies connected to the genre.
Grammar lessons are embedded in the writing curriculum. Grammar instruction provides students with tools to learn how to clearly and intentionally communicate through the use of shapes, sketches, print conventions, symbols, letter sequences, syllables, words, sentences, capital letters, punctuation marks, etc.
Spanish Phonics & Spelling Assessments
These assessments should be used at least three times during the school year. As a diagnostic evaluation at the beginning of the year, and as a measure of progress for mid and end of year.
Materials
Below are items you should have to support your students' Spanish Language Arts instruction. If you are missing anything from the list, please first contact your site administrator or designated support. If they are unable to resolve the issue promptly, please contact Covadonga Valera-Collazo and Griselda AmezcuaGarcia from the SFUSD Multilingual Pathways Department Elementary Spanish Team.
Benchmark Taller de fonética Digital and physical materials available Visual Materials List Taller de fonética
Benchmark Taller del lector - Digital and physical materials available. Visual Materials List Taller del lector
Benchmark Taller del escritor y estudio de gramática - Digital access only Video: How to access taller del escritor lessons
Benchmark decodable readers - Digital and physical materials available. K/1 Decodable Benchmark Books and Phonic Skills
Planning Guide
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AUGUST |
SEPTEMBER |
OCTOBER |
NOVEMBER |
DECEMBER |
JANUARY |
FEBRUARY |
MARCH |
APRIL |
MAY |
(Each phonics and reading unit is 3 weeks) |
Launch: Estrenemos Phonics and Reading |
Launch: Estrenemos Phonics and Reading Unit 1: Las plantas y los animales crecen y cambian |
Unit 1: Las plantas y los animales crecen y cambian Unit 2: Muchos personajes diferentes |
Unit 3: Un buen miembro de la comunidad |
Unit 4: Toda historia tiene un narrador |
Unit 5: La tecnología en el trabajo |
Unit 6: Las historias nos ofrecen muchas enseñanzas Unit 7: Pasado, presente y futuro |
Unit 7: Pasado, presente y futuro Unit 8: Observa el cielo |
Unit 8: Observa el cielo Unit 9: Hacemos uso de bienes y servicios |
Unit 10: Explorar el sonido, la luz y el calor |
Reflection Questions
- How are students' developmental needs, communities, and experiences being reflected and honored, or how could they be?
- What opportunities do you see for developing equitable access & demand, inquiry, collaboration, and assessment for learning?
- What are the implications for your own practice? What strengths can you build upon? What will you do first?
Want More?
First-Grade Spanish Language Arts Standards
Contact the Spanish Language Team:
This page was last updated on September 11, 2023