For the last few years, I’ve been creating units to use with the students in my classroom. I wanted them to learn Spanish, but as they reached level 3+, I wanted them to learn in through the lens of global challenges. These units have been so rewarding for me both in my classroom, and as I have seen them in YOUR classrooms. Thank you so much for all the ways you’ve shared your students’ work with me.
The units, created one by one, had some overlap and flow, but because I was seeing them from inside my own classroom experience, I could not see the areas where they needed to be developed. This summer, I invited my former student, Kayla VonBurg, to intern at Somewhere to Share. I asked her to put her critical eye on the content and tell me where it wasn’t clear, consistent, and concise.
Kayla has done an amazing job. We have worked to develop new vocabulary lists, grammar focus points in each unit, overlap from one to the next, lesson plans for both face to face and remote learning situations, and a smooth flow of content. Using 10 independent units, we have created what we think is a very solid level 3 curriculum that covers at LEAST 14 weeks in a face to face environment and likely 21+ weeks in a remote context.
Here is the link to the FULL Huellas 1 bundle: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Huellas-1-curriculum-5796371
I’m buying the 4 Ecourse pack plus free FVR library from Fluency Matters since I am not sure students can share resources this year. Between 4 readers (Frida, Testigo, Bananas, and Vector) and the Huellas 1 curriculum, my level 3 is planned for the year!
Now that Huellas 1 is ready, Kayla is hard at work putting together the connections in our Huellas 2 resources! We have a basic map already but there’s still MUCH to be done to smooth the resources into a steady flow! We will be reading Noche de oro, 48 horas, Minerva, and Esmeralda alongside these units. The units alone are 22 weeks in an upper level classroom!
You may be asking “What if I already own some of these”? You’re in luck! The units will still work as stand alone items but if you have some already, you’ll be able to download the new package for no extra charge! A free upgrade!
If you’re not familiar with my work, I encourage you to download these free units to get a taste for my style.
This is my Scope and Sequence for Huellas 1. It includes the readers I plan to use. The 4 I picked fit perfectly into the Huellas curriculum themes!
This year, I will use it in Spanish 3 AND 4. The great thing about these units is that you can absolutely use them independently OR as a curriculum. You can use Huellas 2 (when it is ready) before Huellas 1. You can mix them together! It is very flexible although it flows really well the way we have worked to lay it out!
I KNOW that this new year is going to be unusual and I anticipate that I may not even cover half of this Scope and Sequence. If I were face to face every day, I would use all the units but… without that face to face time, I know I will have to slow way down. You’ll see in each unit plan that I have laid out the number of days the unit MAY take face to face vs remote… but it still may take more! Just go with the flow of the kids in your room!
Thank you for all of your dedication and hard work creating Huellas, Carrie. Your work was highly recommended when I moved to Spanish 3 and 4 last year and I followed your Scope and Sequence for the majority of the year. I purchased many of your units and cannot wait to incorporate Huellas into the existing curriculum for whatever the upcoming school year has in store for all of us!
THANK YOU!!!
First of all – you are amazing. Secondly – thanks for this post. Perfect to print out and get approved for a purchase order 🙂
Thank you!!!
What amazing resources! I am curious. In a normal year, which novels would you use in conjunction with Huellas, and at which points in your curriculum would you cover them? TIA!
Cindy, thanks for asking this! I edited the post to add my updated Spanish 3 Scope and Sequence. Of course the upcoming year may be a disaster but I wanted to have a plan in case we have enough normalcy to learn a little! 🙂
Carrie, thank you! It was so helpful to see how you envision tying it all together!
Carrie, primero- mil gracias! I will be teaching level 3/4- combined class 🙁 – this fall for the first time in almost 4 years- and I am anx-ty about it especailly after the way last spring ended for anyone in Spanish 2!! I have used some of your resources in the past- mostly the Song of the Week activities with level 2s, and I really admirre your creativity and passion! The Huellas bundles is looking like a good way to go. I’m interested in getting into “real-world” topics with upper levels. Did I read the description correctly- there will be ways to present the units in a hybrid learning situation? Here in TN, it’s looking like that’s where we will be starting in August. I just wanted to make certain I could use the units both ways. Thank you!!
Gracias!! YES! We did go through each unit and create an additional lesson plan that gives guidance for how you can use the lessons in a remote setting. That said, most of the things I create are not 100% worksheet based, they do require at least a couple of chances to do either a synchronous or asynchronous video lesson! So far, I think we will begin face to face but at this point everything changes so fast, who knows!!! Many of these Huellas units HAVE songs of the week so there will be some familiarity! I am down to THREE left to polish! One I’m adding an authentic video activity to, one is at the proofer, and one I still need to add a class story… then the whole package will be ready!
Thank you for replying so quickly and for the additional reassurance!
Carrie muchísimas gracias for all your hard work!!!!!! I am SO PUMPED for this! I will completely revamp my level 3&4 courses to incorporate this!!! And I also really appreciate that if we’ve bought things before, we can redownload; I purchased basically everything I was missing of yours during March quarantine hahah, because you didn’t yet have a full curriculum. Now I just have to fight for my school to get class sets of the novels and we are golden!
You’re amazing for doing this all so quickly. I love your work!!
I honestly was doing this for me as I did it to help other teachers. I began the summer SO WORRIED about what the year was going to look like. Not that I’m not worried now but at least I know that I have a fully planned set of lessons that I can use at school, from home, or a combo of the two! I can relax and just worry about all the stuff I can’t control now… 😉 THANK YOU, Deirdre for being you! Send me an email so we can update the things you won last year!
At my school Spanish 4 is our AP class. I’m trying to decide if this would work for my group of students. We are starting the school year virtually.
Hi! I included the AP Themes as part of my planning, I feel like each of the units can easily fit into an AP level curriculum. That said, I do not teach AP so the activities are not necessarily “AP” specific… if that makes sense. I designed them to drive up proficiency so my students will perform well on the STAMP test but I think so many of the things that AP requires could be practiced within these units by adding an activity modeled after what they produce on the exam?? Huellas 2 has a deeper environmental focus and Huellas 1 has a deeper community/family/personal focus.
Hola Carrie
Will Huellas work for Heritage Spanish students?
Great question! I am going to give you just a so-so answer though. 🙂
In my old school I had roughly 3-4 heritage learners per graduating class. These kids started in Spanish 3 and if they wanted to continue for 4 years, they did 3, 4, then a more independent style class for the last 2 years. They entered in level 3 which is where I created these units. They always did very well and always learned a lot that they didn’t know. I have never taught in a school with a heritage Spanish class. 😬 So I am not POSITIVE that they would work with HLs. Maybe it was being in class with their peers that made my HLs accept the studies?? Honestly, I THINK they would work because there is so much about world issues in the later units that it’s pretty engaging material just in general… not that I’m magical, just it is interesting to learn more about sustainability… So… I did and didn’t answer your question! My Orangután en mi habitación and Viviendas del mundo units are free on TPT and they are a great example of what my work is like! I think if you like those, you’ll like what I’ve done with Huellas!
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My school plans to purchase Huellas 1 & 2 Curriculum for Spanish 3. Do you have a syllabus for it?
Yes! This is my proposed scope and sequence! This is no normal year so I am not going to get nearly as far! https://somewheretoshare.com/2020/08/02/scope-and-sequence-and-questions/
Carrie, I’m so excited to use this curriculum for my Spanish 3 and 4 students this year. Is there a Huellas Collaboration Drive available for use?
There is! The link is in each of the folders in the curriculum! It is still pretty empty but we hope that this year it will begin to fill up more!!