Middle School Foreign Language (FCPS)
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Anonymous
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Our child wants to start taking Spanish next year in 7th grade, and I see that there is a "Spanish 1, Part A" semester-long option. Looking ahead to 8th grade, there is a year-long "Spanish 1, Part B" but also just "Spanish 1", both of which count for HS credit. I can't tell what the difference is between these from the course catalog descriptions, and I'm wondering if there is any value to taking the 7th grade Part A or just waiting until 8th to take Spanish 1.
Can anyone offer any insight into/experience with the FCPS middle school foreign language classes? |
Anonymous
| There might be a mistake in the 7th grade course description. The Part A is a year long course at my kids' MS. The two parts give 1 HS credit, and the Spanish 1 in 8th also gives 1 HS credit. The A and B option spreads the same material over two years instead of one year. |
Anonymous
| If you think your kid might struggle with a foreign language or the workload of a high school-level class, do the two-part version. I wish my son had done that. He's taking Spanish 1 in eighth grade and it's a struggle. |
Anonymous
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Thank you, this is helpful! No idea on struggling with the actual language, but kid has ADHD and executive function/organizational issues, so splitting it sounds like a good idea. They're excited to learn to speak a language, so hopefully, that's motivating, too.
And, yes, there does appear to be a typo in the course description handout I received - the online catalog and course signup sheet shows a year-long class. |
Anonymous
| Part A was a semester class at my kid's MS. He's in AAP - maybe centers are a semester and base schools are a year? |
Anonymous
| It's an option to spread a one-year curriculum over two years. If you don't choose the A/B 1/2 option, the curriculum is faster/more condensed. |
Anonymous
I wouldn't call it "Intense" at all. Both my kids did the Spanish 1 option in 8th grade and ended up with As. Let your kid do what they want as elective in 7th grade and have some fun. |
Anonymous
| DS took Spanish 1 in 8th. He contends that the classmates who struggled were primarily 7th graders. |
Anonymous
The child is asking to take Spanish as one of their electives in 7th grade, that's why I'm asking. The school won't allow 7th graders to take Spanish 1, so Part A is the only choice they have. |
Anonymous
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Former WL teacher here.
Middle schools can run 3 options: 1. Level 1 Part A as a semester course (Grade 7), Level 1 Part B as a year-long course (Grade 8). 2. Level 1 Part A as a yr-long (7th), Level 1 B as a yr-long (8th). 3. Level 1 as a single year course in 8th (note: I've heard that some schools offer Level 1 in Grade 7 so that they can offer Level 2 in 8th, but can't confirm). I've taught all 3 sequences. My favorite is the yr-long each Part A and Part B--we got to do so much enrichment, lots of fun projects, etc. The semester-long Part A/year-long Part B is just the right amount of time to cover all of the requirements of the course. The single-year Level 1 is tough--it's bare-bones, teach-to-the-test, at breakneck speed. If you have a choice, and language learning is a priority, I would recommend the two-part program, regardless of how it's divided up. Making sure your student has the foundation and fundamentals of whatever language s/he has chosen is paramount to success in the subsequent levels--everything spirals upon itself (similar to math). It is a skills-based course. If your student prefers to sample other offerings in Grade 7, and s/he wants to just "try out" language learning, then maybe the single year Level 1 class is enough. OP, if you have other questions, you can quote me and I'll check back. |
Anonymous
| My 8th grader is in HS Spanish II in 8th. He is easily getting all As with languages not even being a strength of his. |
Anonymous
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My older son took Intro to Spanish semester in 6th, HS Spanish 1 in 7th and HS Spanish II in 8th. Easy for him.
My younger son will take Intensified HS Spanish I in 7th, and most likely, HS Spanish II in 8th. His teachers insist he should be in 'Intensified'. I am not so sure about this. I did not have my older one take the recommended 'intensified' and I think he was better off for it. |
Anonymous
Our FCPS middle school absolutely offers Spanish 1 in seventh grade and Spanish 2 in eighth grade. Students can also opt to take Spanish 1 in eighth grade or split Spanish 1 into the two parts, which are both full-year courses. I don't think this school offers the same for French. I think the only options for French are French 1 in eighth grade OR full-year Part A/Part B over the two years of middle school. |
Anonymous
| Our middle school (Robinson Secondary) got rid of the part A and part B. Now it is just French 1, 2, 3, etc (same for other languages.) It seems more common for 8th graders to start their foreign language than 7th graders but I do know some 7th graders taking the courses too. They are all full year, HS courses. |
Anonymous
Is it Longfellow or some other large % of AAP students? I thought I had heard years ago that Longfellow offered the Level 1 for 7th and Level 2 for 8th, but again, that information is OLD and I can't confirm. |