With only 15 hours per semester (1 hour/week), reaching basic reading comprehension typically takes 2 to 4 semesters (1–2 years).
Semester 1: Students move through the "Silent Period" to "Early Production," recognizing individual words and simple commands.
Semester 2: Students begin "Speech Emergence," where they can decode short sentences and understand very simple storybooks with heavy visual support.
Most importantly, this is an evolving class which adapts to the pace of the students. The outline below is an ideal goal, but the practical application can vary according to the students' abilities and retention. Sometimes review is incorporated into the lesson as the need arises, postponing new concepts to the next lesson.
Below is a sample 15-week curriculum for a typical beginner semester. There is a different outline for intermediate students.
Phase 1: Foundations & Personal Identity (Weeks 1–5)
Focus: Phonological awareness and "survival" Spanish.
Week 1: The Spanish Alphabet & Greetings
Focus: Vowels (A, E, I, O, U), which are the key to reading Spanish.
Phrases: Hola, ¿Cómo te llamas?, Me llamo...
Week 2: Numbers 1–20
Focus: Counting and patterns.
Activity: Games like "Bingo" or "Matamoscas" (Flyswatter game) to build reflex speed.
Week 3: Colors & Descriptions
Focus: Essential vocabulary for early reading — rojo, azul, verde, grande, pequeño.
Week 4: Days of the Week
Focus: Routine building. Introduce the concept that the week starts on Monday (lunes) in Spanish-speaking cultures.
Week 5: Months & Seasons
Focus: Connect these to birthdays and weather phrases (Hace sol, hace frío).
Phase 2: Verbs & Daily Actions (Weeks 6–10)
Focus: Moving from nouns to full sentence structures.
Week 6: High-Frequency Verbs (Part 1)
Focus: "Sweet 16" verbs like Hay (there is/are), Tiene (has), and Es (is).
Week 7: Body Parts & Commands
Focus: Total Physical Response (TPR) to cement meaning.
Phrases: Levántate, siéntate, toca tu cabeza.
Week 8: School Objects & "En la clase"
Focus: Reading comprehension begins here by labeling the room — la puerta, el libro, el lápiz.
Week 9: Family & Pets
Focus: Simple sentence building — Mi perro es pequeño.
Week 10: Common Phrases & Questions
Focus: Everyday classroom Spanish — ¿Dónde está...?, Yo quiero..., Por favor.
Phase 3: Reading & Storytelling (Weeks 11–15)
Focus: Synthesizing everything into reading comprehension.
Week 11: Introduction to Articles & Gender
Focus: Understanding el, la, los, las. Crucial for decoding texts.
Week 12: Guided Reading (Picture Books)
Focus: "Comprehensible Input" stories — books where the pictures tell 90% of the story so students can "read" the words through context.
Week 13: Food & Preferences
Focus: Me gusta / No me gusta.
Activity: Reading simple menus or grocery lists.
Week 14: Story Boarding
Activity: Students draw a 4-panel story and write one simple sentence in Spanish under each panel.
Week 15: Semester Review & "Lectura" Challenge
Activity: Students receive a short, 5-sentence paragraph using only the vocabulary learned and draw what they read.
Get in touch to check availability for this program.