La Jolie Ronde Spanish Scheme of Work for Years 3 and 4

overview

La Jolie Ronde’s excellent Spanish Scheme of Work for Years 3 and 4 is a comprehensive resource that provides virtually everything you could possibly need to introduce Spanish to lower Key Stage 2. It was written by Rachel Redfearn of Wakefield L.A., and it is clear that it has been produced with the needs of teachers as well as of learners in mind. The planning is thorough and meticulous, and teachers will love the clarity of the overview and lesson plans. They will also appreciate the flexibility of the Scheme. The Scheme is provided as a hard copy in a robust ring binder, as well as on disk, and it also includes four CD-ROMs providing many superb resources. My pupils love using it, and so do I.

The lesson plans have been written to support those teachers with no prior experience of teaching modern foreign languages, so the lessons can be followed successfully as written, or adapted to suit the needs of the class. The Scheme combines attention to detail with flexibility, for built into the planning is the opportunity to present Spanish as an hour-a-week lesson, as two thirty minute lessons per fortnight or as two fifteen minute lessons per week. It combines a sensible pace with consolidation, so that students (and their teacher!) can become confident in speaking, understanding, reading and writing simple Spanish. The CD-ROM resources comprise a disk that provides the Scheme in PDF format, sound files for language support, resources to use on the interactive whiteboard, plus a further CD-ROM of songs and poems. The songs are simple and do not present a challenge to teachers who, like me, may not be confident in singing. They are useful in reinforcing vocabulary and pronunciation.

The resource is designed for whole class teaching, but the extra activities can be used for individual/group consolidation in addition to the main lesson. Clear links to the Framework Objectives are given and the resource is sufficient to teach Spanish with no further planning or expenditure being required.

La Jolie Ronde’s Spanish Scheme of Work is an invaluable resource for both new and experienced teachers of primary modern foreign languages. Lessons are thorough, lively and enjoyable for teacher and pupils, and the additional resources provided are a real asset in maintaining motivation. The response of my pupils was so positive, that I am considering introducing a Spanish club at the school.

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