Our Spanish Curriculum
Article 29: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full
The Modern Foreign Language that we teach at Bangabandhu is Spanish.
Our goal is for our children to become Spanish speakers. Spanish speakers must have:
- The confidence to speak with good intonation and pronunciation.
- Fluency in reading.
- Fluency and imagination in writing.
- A strong awareness of the culture of the countries where the language is spoken.
- A passion for languages and a commitment to the subject.
- The ability to use language creatively and spontaneously.
- An independence in their studies and the ability to draw upon a wide range of resources.
Fundamental Foundations
We believe that for children to secure greater depth, it is important that they first have solid fundamental foundations. Fundamental foundations should not be rushed and so the notion of ‘rapid progress’ must be dismissed. Instead the goal of repetition should be seen as both useful and necessary. This is why you will see us returning regularly to Spanish knowledge and concepts.
- Cognitive Domains – Degrees of Understanding
- We refer to three degrees of understanding and thinking ‘Basic’, ‘Advancing’ and ‘Deep’.
- BASIC – Low level cognitive demand. Involves acquisition of fundamental foundations.
- ADVANCING – Higher level cognitive demands beyond recall. Requires application involving some degree of decision making in how to apply fundamental foundations.
- DEEP – Cognitive demand involves non-standard, non-routine, inter-connected, multi-step thinking in problems with more than one possible solution. Requires reasoning and justification for the inventive application of fundamental foundations.
Time Scales for Progression Through the Cognitive Domains
- Milestone 2 – Y3 & Y4
- Milestone 3 – Y5 & Y6
- Each milestone should be seen as containing two phases. In the first phase, pupils should repeat the content a sufficient number of times to secure fundamental foundations; in the second phase, they should apply the foundations in order to reach the ‘expected’ standard. If they reach this before the end of the second phase, they should move on to tasks that will secure greater depth. Thus, progress through the cognitive domains take two years.
- It is expected that by the end of Year 1, pupils should be able to complete the BASIC tasks to secure fundamental foundations and by the end of Year 2, the ADVANCING tasks. It is also reasonable that a number of children may move on to the DEEP activities if they secure an early understanding of advancing.
|
Milestone 1 Y1 & Y2 |
Milestone 2 Y3 & Y4 |
Milestone 3 Y5 & Y6 |
||||||
|
Beginning Y1 |
Advancing Y2 |
Deep Y2 |
Beginning Y3 |
Advancing Y4 |
Deep Y4 |
Beginning Y5 |
Advancing Y6 |
Deep Y6 |
- Page 144 of the Primary National Curriculum 2014 states:
- ‘While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progress: pupils may struggle at key points of transition (such as between primary and secondary school), build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.’
- We believe that it is therefore extremely important to secure the fundamental foundations before trying to secure greater depth.
Curriculum Content
Breadth of study
National Curriculum Content in Milestone 2 and 3¯
These areas of Spanish are taught in Key Stage 2 in order that there is full coverage of the National Curriculum.
|
KS2 |
|
• In the chosen modern language: • Speak • Read • Write • Look at the culture of the countries where the language is spoken. |
Building a Spanish Schema at Bangabandhu
Our pupils will form a Spanish schema* by:
- using concepts as the basis for schema. We call these threshold concepts; these are the ideas which form the basis for the subject schema. In Spanish there are four threshold concepts: read fluently, write imaginatively, speak confidently and understand the culture of countries where Spanish is spoken .
- strengthening the schema with knowledge. The knowledge comes from our topics.
- Further deepening connections through tasks. This is what is developed though our planning.
Threshold Concepts
At Bangabandhu we will teach four threshold concepts throughout KS2. These are the big ideas that underpin the
subject. Threshold concepts tie together the subject micro-topics into meaningful schema. The same concepts are explored throughout the micro-topics.
The threshold concepts are:
Read fluently
This concept involves recognising key vocabulary and phrases.
Write imaginatively
This concept involves using key vocabulary and phrases to write ideas.
Speak confidently
This concept involves using key vocabulary and phrases to verbally communicate ideas.
Understand the culture of the countries in which the language is spoken
This concept involves the background knowledge and cultural capital needed to infer meaning from interaction
*Schema – A subject schema is a way of organising knowledge in a meaningful way; it is an appreciation of how facts are connected and they ways in which they are connected. A schema is distinct from information, which is just isolated facts that have no organisational basis or links.
Curriculum Breadth, Depth & Progression Principles
We have carefully planned our curriculum to ensure progression as well as breadth and depth. These are the principles we have adhered to:
- Working scientifically pervades all mini-topics and milestones, returning to these concepts repeatedly
- We revisit the same micro-topics in both years of a milestone so that pupils have a chance to connect topics together (intra-curriculum links)
- Planning ensures that we move from basic to advancing, with some children achieving deeper learning over the two years within a milestone
Curriculum Breadth Maps
Milestone 2 Curriculum Breadth Map
Milestone 3 Curriculum Breadth Map
How we Implement our Curriculum
Spanish is taught weekly for 30 minutes by a specialist Spanish teacher in Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6. We do not block our subjects as we want children to return regularly to the subject knowledge and concepts in order that they are regularly retrieving the tuaght knowledge and concepts, embedding these in their long term memory. This enables them to make progress - know more and remember more.
An example of a milestone 2 lesson
An example of a milestone 3 lesson
Speaking Spanish
Here are some of our children practicing their Spanish.
/Learning/Our-Spanish-Curriculum/Spoken_Spanish/Yr3_Spanish_A1A.mp4
Year 3 Group A
/Learning/Our-Spanish-Curriculum/Spoken_Spanish/Yr3_Spanish_A1B.mp4
Year 3 Group A
/Learning/Our-Spanish-Curriculum/Spoken_Spanish/Yr5_Spanish_A1.mp4
Year 5
/Learning/Our-Spanish-Curriculum/Spoken_Spanish/Yr6_Spanish_A1.mp4
Year 6
Subject Specific Vocabulary
We teach children a rich and broad vocabulary in order that they develop a deep understanding of the subjects they study. We carefully select this vocabulary, teaching it in context. Here is some of the most common vocabulary taught.
Beyond the National Curriculum - Cultural Capital Experiences
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. We want to ensure that children at Bangabandhu have a wide and varied range of experiences as they progress through our school. We want them to know about their world; to build a schema of knowledge and to do this through first hand experiences. We intend to provide our children with opportunities to develop not just their knowledge but their interests and talents. Our aim is to prepare them for a successful future.
Our school is in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. We are focused on addressing this disadvantage. Our curriculum is the main provider of cultural capital however there are other aspects of school life which provide essential cultural capital and should not be overlooked. We have planned the cultural provision that goes beyond the curriculum and this plan can be found below. This plan is to capture, illustrate and to strategically plan for the breadth and range of cultural capital experiences we will provide for our children as they move through the school. We are not leaving such an essential element of our school’s provision to chance or individual teacher interest. When a child leaves Bangabandhu in Year 6, we will be certain of what they have learnt and experienced and know that they will be prepared for the next step in their learning and personal development.
Bangabandhu's Whole School Cultural Capital, Trips and Experiences Plan
Curriculum and Expectation Booklets for Parents
These booklets give an overview of our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum. They explain what is taught in each subject area as well as outlining some of the expectations we have for children. Parents are given these booklets at the start of each year and they are sent electronically with each term's newsletter.
Year 1 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 2 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 3 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 4 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents