Rod & Staff Spanish

[beachpotato]

Has anyone used this? What were your experiences? Is it a foreign language curriculum or comprehensive language arts?

 

Thanks!

[Spock]

Has anyone used this? What were your experiences? Is it a foreign language curriculum or comprehensive language arts?

 

Thanks!

 

It is a phonics/reading curriculum designed for native Spanish speakers. In grades 1-2 (levels A-D) the workbooks focus equally on phonics and reading comprehension. There are also a few language concepts, like beginning sentences with capital letters and using punctuation correctly (question marks, periods, and exclamation points.) After that, the workbooks focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary, dictionary skills, etc.

 

The "Reader" for level A is purely phonetic word lists. The readers for levels B-G are Bible stories in Spanish. Level H is mostly Bible stories, but there are other stories in the last unit, illustrating various Proverbs. I haven't seen/used the 6th-8th grade readers yet, but they appear to be similar to the Rod and Staff English readers for 5th-9th grade--a mixture of short stories, essays, poems, writing assignments, and Bible passages.

 

My older boys used the first edition of these books. They worked very well to teach them to read in Spanish, though we stopped using the workbooks partway through the 2nd grade books. The early editions of the 3rd grade books were somewhat boring, and more difficult than the grade level.

 

My two younger children are using the revised editions, which are MUCH better--more interesting, and more on the level the books are labeled as. We still drop the workbooks after the first grade level, though. (We replace them with oral narration in Spanish and with copywork/dictation.)

[cmarango]

We are using Nivel A and are enjoying it...it is certainly worth its (low) pricetag.

[Guest carolyny476]

It is a phonics/reading curriculum designed for native Spanish speakers. In grades 1-2 (levels A-D) the workbooks focus equally on phonics and reading comprehension. There are also a few language concepts, like beginning sentences with capital letters and using punctuation correctly (question marks, periods, and exclamation points.) After that, the workbooks focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary, dictionary skills, etc.

 

The "Reader" for level A is purely phonetic word lists. The readers for levels B-G are Bible stories in Spanish. Level H is mostly Bible stories, but there are other stories in the last unit, illustrating various Proverbs. I haven't seen/used the 6th-8th grade readers yet, but they appear to be similar to the Rod and Staff English readers for 5th-9th grade--a mixture of short stories, essays, poems, writing assignments, and Bible passages.

 

My older boys used the first edition of these books. They worked very well to teach them to read in Spanish, though we stopped using the workbooks partway through the 2nd grade books. The early editions of the 3rd grade books were somewhat boring, and more difficult than the grade level.

 

My two younger children are using the revised editions, which are MUCH better--more interesting, and more on the level the books are labeled as. We still drop the workbooks after the first grade level, though. (We replace them with oral narration in Spanish and with copywork/dictation.)

 

Thanks you for the reply. :001_smile:

[linguistmama]

Can you tell me which books you used from Rod and Staff? My dds are native Spanish speakers and we already have HWOT so I'm thinking we would skip the writing books. Is the teacher's manual needed or are just the workbooks enough? Here is the list form the R&S website:

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Espanol_Primer_grado/

Thanks!

 

ETA: Nevermind, I called Rod & Staff and they said that the 2 cuadernos de ejercicio and the TM are the basics for 1st grade :)

Edited November 9, 2010 by linguistmama

[suzf242]

Can I ask what age you start the Rod and Staff Spanish readers? DD is 8 and has done R&S Reading (in English) grades 1-3. I am wondering if it would be a good idea to get her the readers in Spanish, or if she is too old.

 

Thanks,

Suzanne