Unit 1 — Greetings and Farewells and Ask and State Feelings
Description
Students learn to greet others, say farewell, and express basic feelings using memorized words and phrases. The unit emphasizes the cultural importance of greetings and how body language varies across countries. Communication focuses on knowing when, how, and why to convey messages to different audiences, building foundational interpersonal skills.
Essential Questions
- Why is it important to greet someone when you meet them?
- How do we communicate about feelings with someone who speaks Spanish?
- How does body language vary from country to country?
Learning Objectives
- Use memorized greeting phrases in appropriate contexts
- Express basic feelings using target language structures
- Identify culturally authentic greetings and gestures
- Understand how greetings differ based on formality levels within families
- Recognize and produce feelings vocabulary with gestures or visuals
Supplemental Resources
- Index cards for vocabulary practice
- Markers for dialogue writing and posting
- Sticky notes for labeling culturally authentic greeting gestures
Interpersonal Mode
Interpretive Mode
Presentational Mode
Students develop language conventions, reading comprehension, and writing skills through world language instruction. Students compose dialogues, write descriptions of classroom objects and family members, and create written responses to comprehension questions about Spanish texts.
Students explore cultural differences, family structures, and communities around the world. Students learn about Spanish-speaking countries, cultural traditions, seasonal and climate differences across regions, and develop understanding of diverse family structures and practices.
Formative Assessments
- Physical responses to oral greetings and commands
- Dialogues between students using greeting and feeling vocabulary
- Identification of culturally authentic gestures associated with target culture
- Verbal responses to simple questions about feelings
Summative Assessment
Create and perform a written dialogue using at least five target phrases (greetings, feelings expressions). Read a dialogue independently and answer true/false comprehension questions.
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through physical responses, picture selection, or gestural communication in place of verbal or written production. Real objects, visual cards, or teacher modeling may be used to support comprehension and response.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may demonstrate understanding of greetings and feelings vocabulary through physical responses, pointing to pictures, or repeating modeled phrases rather than producing independent dialogue. Visual cards pairing Spanish phrases with facial expressions or gestures can support both comprehension and oral output during interpersonal exchanges. For the summative task, students may dictate their dialogue to the teacher or use picture-supported sentence frames to scaffold their response. Extended time and repeated modeling of culturally authentic gestures will help students process and retain new interpersonal language.
Section 504
Students should be seated close to the teacher during oral greeting and feelings practice to support attention and auditory access. Additional processing time should be provided when students are asked to respond verbally to questions about feelings or participate in paired dialogues. A visual anchor displaying key greeting phrases and feelings vocabulary can remain visible throughout instruction to reduce cognitive load.
ELL / MLL
Visual supports such as picture cards, gesture demonstrations, and short video clips of culturally authentic greetings will help students connect new Spanish vocabulary to meaning without relying on English. Simplified oral directions paired with physical modeling allow students to participate in greeting and feelings exchanges before full language production is expected. Where possible, drawing connections between Spanish greetings and greetings familiar from a student's home language or culture can build engagement and background knowledge.
At Risk (RTI)
Students benefit from repeated, predictable routines around greetings so that target phrases become familiar through consistent practice before new vocabulary is introduced. Pairing feelings vocabulary with clear facial expression visuals or gesture cues gives students a concrete entry point into the language. Beginning with one-word or single-phrase responses and gradually building toward short exchanges allows students to experience early success and grow confidence in oral participation.
Gifted & Talented
Students who quickly internalize greeting and feelings phrases can be encouraged to explore how greetings shift based on formality or relationship — for example, considering why a greeting used with a friend differs from one used with an adult. These students may extend their dialogue beyond the minimum required phrases, incorporating a greater range of feelings or experimenting with culturally appropriate gestures they research or observe. Inviting them to take on a peer-modeling role during cultural gesture activities deepens their own understanding while enriching the learning environment.