Spanish I—Semester B
Subtitles not included.
- Credit Recovery Enabled
- Course Length: 18 weeks
- Course Type: Basic
- Category:
- High School
- Foreign Language
Schools and Districts: We offer customized programs that won't break the bank. Get a quote.
Shmoop's Spanish I course has been granted a-g certification, which means it has met the rigorous iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and will now be honored as part of the requirements for admission into the University of California system.
You can talk the talk of Spanish I, but can you walk the walk?
And by "the walk" (or, as you now know, caminar) we of course mean "apply nuanced grammar rules and analyze distinct cultural practices."
Yeah, "the walk" sounds a lot more pithy to us.
In this semester of Spanish I, we're Shmooping you more real-world context with units on fashion, tourism, art, and music. You'll learn about pop culture icons of the Spanish-speaking world, such as singer/actress Thalía and fashion designer Carolina Herrera, not to mention big-wigs like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.
Aside from being able to name-drop, Semester B will also help you
- describe clothing, fashion, and shopping in the U.S. and Latin America.
- differentiate between the prepositions por and para.
- conjugate in the present continuous, present perfect, imperfect, and subjunctive tenses.
- make travel and transportation plans in a foreign country.
- analyze the impact of ecotourism in Latin American countries.
- discuss influential painters, sculptors, and photographers from the Spanish-speaking world.
- count numbers up to a million.
- describe musical genres with Spanish origins, such as bachata, cumbia, and merengue.
- analyze song lyrics in Spanish.
Walk tall, Shmoopers. Walk tall.
P.S. This is a two-semester course. You're looking at Semester B; you can find Semester A here.
Technology Requirements
- Access to a recording device with sound and video, such as a smartphone or webcam
- Access to an audio uploading service, like Vocaroo, and a video uploading service, like YouTube
- Headphones to listen to Shmoop's audios and videos
Unit Breakdown
5 Spanish I—Semester A - ¿Hablas Español?
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? In the first unit of Spanish I, we're starting from the very beginning—which means relearning your ABCs and introducing yourself in español. You'll learn how to describe the weather, talk about sports, and conjugate verbs. All great conversation starters at a party, no?
6 Spanish I—Semester A - It Runs in the Family
Family is tricky—when we describe our family, do we include Great Aunt Marge who dresses up her 12 cats in a different outfit every day? Or can we just ignore that side of the family? Uh…yeah. That's why we've got a whole unit dedicated to la familia—no matter how embarrassing or cringe-worthy they can be.
7 Spanish I—Semester A - Paseando por la Ciudad
Cities are all about the hustle and bustle—food, music, parks, shopping, museums, and cultural landmarks galore. Cities in Spain and Latin America are no different, whether you're hopping on a tren in Buenos Aires or driving your coche through La Paz. In this unit, you'll learn all the vocab and grammar you need to make plans like a true city slicker.
8 Spanish I—Semester A - Buen Provecho
What do quesadillas, paella, and flan all have in common? Well, they're all delicious. More importantly though, they all come from the Spanish-speaking world. In Unit 4, you'll navigate the kitchen, learn about unique dishes, and pick up a few recipes on the way. Just make sure to invite us to your next dinner party…
Sample Lesson - Introduction
Lesson 8.01: Los Instrumentos
Do you like singing in the shower? Have you ever wanted to be part of a band? Do you listen to every single one of Justin Bieber's albums on repeat every morning?
Don't worry—we're not here to judge.
If you answered yes to any of those, you're in luck: You're about to become acquainted with all kinds of instruments used in la música española. Pretty soon, you'll be so well-versed in these orchestral beauties that you'll be sure to give your local banda a run for their money.
Here, you'll not only get to show off your vocab chops, but you'll also have the chance to practice a little music store shopping, a regular pastime for your friends here at Shmoop. (And we wonder where all our paychecks run off to.)
Sounds fun, no? And the best part is, you can definitely practice Guitar Hero and call it homework…but only if you're shredding en español.
Sample Lesson - Reading
Reading 8.8.01a: Vocabulary
We don't know about you, Shmoopers, but all this music talk has us ready to get our mitts on that flauta over there and bust out some Nestor Torres-inspired tunes. Sure, it'd probably end up sounding like a dying cat parade, but at least we'd be living our truth, areweright?
Take out your vocabulary notebooks and warm up your vocal cords—it's time to drill the following new terms:
Nouns
- el instrumento musical (m): musical instrument
Plural: los instrumentos musicales
Me interesan todos los instrumentos musicales. No puedo escoger solamente uno.
I'm interested in all musical instruments. I can't pick just one.
- la guitarra (f): guitar
Plural: las guitarras
A Julio le parece muy bonita la guitarra.
The guitar seems really pretty to Julio.
- la guitarra eléctrica (f): electric guitar
Plural: las guitarras eléctricas
En la banda experimental Deerhoof, usan dos guitarras eléctricas en vez de sólo una.
In the experimental band Deerhoof, they use two electric guitars instead of just one.
- el bajo (m): bass guitar
Plural: los bajos
Es uno de mis sueños aprender a tocar el bajo.
It's one of my dreams to learn to play the bass.
- el tambor (m): drum
Plural: los tambores
Claudia quiere comprar una variedad de tambores, incluyendo las congas y los bongos.
Claudia wants to buy a variety of drums, including congas and bongos.
- la batería (f): drum set, drum kit
Plural: las baterías
Se requiere mucha coordinación al tocar la batería.
Playing the drum set requires a lot of coordination.
- el violín (m): violin
Plural: los violines
El violín es un instrumento parecido al timbre de la voz humana.
The violin is an instrument similar to the timbre of the human voice.
- la flauta (f): flute
Plural: las flautas
La flauta es un instrumento muy infra-reconocido.
The flute is a very under-recognized instrument.
- la armónica (f): harmónica
Plural: las armónicas
Cuando tocas la armónica, tienes que asegurarte de escogerla de la clave correcta.
When you're playing the harmonica, you have to make sure you're choosing one in the correct key.
- el teclado (m): keyboard (piano)
Plural: los teclados
No olvides el cable si quieres tocar el teclado mañana.
Don't forget the power cord if you want to play keyboard tomorrow.
- el piano (m): piano
Plural: los pianos
Es mucho mas fácil ver todas las teclas en el piano que en la guitarra a primera vista.
It's a lot easier to see all of the notes on the piano than on the guitar at first sight.
- el saxofón (m): saxophone
Plural: los saxofones
El saxofón es un instrumento muy popular en la música de jazz.
The saxophone is a very popular instrument in jazz music.
- la trompeta (f): trumpet
Plural: las trompetas
Hay que desarrollar tu técnica si quieres tocar bien la trompeta.
You have to develop your technique if you want to play the trumpet well.
- el violonchelo (m): cello
Plural: los violonchelos
Mario no ha practicado mucho sus melismas en el violonchelo esta semana.
Mario hasn't practiced his runs on the cello much this week.
Sample Lesson - Reading
Reading 8.8.01b: From the Top (Video)
Okay, amigos. Now we'll take a deeper look at each instrument so you know what they look and sound like—so next time you're invited to a Latin jam, you can earn lots of cred by being the first to ask for la guitarra eléctrica.
Watch the following video to get a more comprehensive look at all of these instruments.
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 8.01a: Vocabulary Matching
What do you say we put our pedals to the metal on this melodious vocab?
We knew you would.
You'll notice that the table below has a list of each instrument-themed vocab word we've learned in this lesson. Your task is to match the vocab words to the picture of each instrument below.
So if, for instance, we showed a picture of a frog, we would write la rana in the text box beneath the image.
(We know what you're thinking: "Frogs aren't musical instruments." Well, not with that attitude, they aren't.)
Word Bank
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Foreign Language: Written Comprehension Rubric - 15 Points
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 8.01b: Vocabulary Descriptions
Now that you're band instrument aficionados, let's go a little further to show off our skills.
Your task is simple. Pick ten vocabulary words from today and write a short description of each word in Spanish.
Your descriptions should consist of at least one complete sentence each. You'll write up all ten of your descriptions in a Word doc and upload the whole kit 'n caboodle at the end.
For fear that we're calling in too much free jazz influence, we'll set you up with an example. Let's say one of our vocab words today was el trombón, or "trombone." Our description for this word would look like the following:
El trombón: El trombón es un instrumento de metales ("brass") y de color dorado. Este instrumento se usa mucho en la música jazz.
¿Claro?
When you're finished, upload that doc in the box below.
Foreign Language: Written Comprehension Rubric - 15 Points
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 8.01c: Music Store Mania
Drumroll, please.
Oh, sorry—we mean, redoble de tambor, please.
Now's the moment to get some practice for one of our all-time favorite pastimes: spending way too much money on musical gear because we may or may not be insatiable gearheads.
You're going to work in pairs for this activity. You and your partner will write out a dialogue between a customer and an employee in a music store. The customer will ask questions about different instruments, including questions about size, style, uses, etc. The employee will then answer those questions. You can (and should) use the descriptions you came up with in the last activity.
After you've created your dialogue script with your partner, you'll record an audio of the two of you reading the dialogue.
Let's break it down, shall we?
Step One
First, you should obviously pick your work buddy. Then, work with your partner to write a 150 – 200 word script between a music store employee and customer.
In your script, you should refer to the instrument descriptions you wrote in the last activity. If you're the customer, you might want to ask questions about the price, types of instruments available, and musical styles. If you're an employee, do your best to really sell these instruments. You might talk about instruments and styles that you recommend, or you might let the customer know about sales and discounts.
Need an example? We're so glad you asked.
EMPLOYEE: ¿Qué tipo de instrumento busca usted hoy?
CUSTOMER: Bueno, quiero un instrumento de cuerda, pero ya sé que no quiero una guitarra, porque ya tengo una en casa.
EMPLOYEE: Ok, muy bien. Creo que tenemos algo para usted. ¿Qué le parece probar un violín?
CUSTOMER: Pues, me interesa mucho, pero me preocupo por el precio. ¿Cuánto cuesta? ...
Step Two
Once you’ve firmed up your dialogue script, now it's time to practice. With your partner, rehearse what you'll say for at least five minutes.
Step Three
When you've got your speaking parts down, it's time to hit record. Create an audio of your final take, making sure both you and your partner speak clearly and slowly.
When you're finished with both your script and recording, be sure to upload your dialogue script and recording. Lastly, don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back.
Foreign Language: Written Comprehension Rubric - 15 Points
- Credit Recovery Enabled
- Course Length: 18 weeks
- Course Type: Basic
- Category:
- High School
- Foreign Language
Schools and Districts: We offer customized programs that won't break the bank. Get a quote.