Learning Spanish with BookLingual–Spanish Curriculum Review

by | Oct 3, 2013 | Uncategorized

Disclosure: I was contacted by BookLingual and given the complete BookLingual set for review, however all opinions are my own.  

I am really excited to introduce to you BookLingual a story-based ebook curriculum for kids and families.  What I love most about BookLingual is the passion fueling the company’s vision.  BookLingual was started by a husband and wife team who, like me, wanted to raise their child to be bilingual.  They sought out the best way to accomplish this goal and BookLingual was born.  Not only do I share their passion for raising bilingual children, I also agree that one of the best ways to learn is through books.  Discovering this awesome company could not have come at a better time, since I myself have been researching and planning how to raise my kiddos to be bilingual.  To read more about the awesome BookLingual story, go here.

Before we take a look at Level 1, let me give you a few general reasons why I love the series as a whole:

  • Kids learn so much because new vocabulary and grammar structures are used in the context of a compelling story line.
  • Having the text in English and Spanish gives Spanish students a chance to compare English grammar structures with Spanish grammar structures.
  • Grammar structures are color-coded, which helps Spanish students to more easily compare those structures.  (For example: adjectives in both sentences are in green text.)
  • Kids can hear the Spanish sentences spoken by a native speaker.
  • The Spanish sentences are read clearly and slowly, yet with a perfectly native accent.
  • The stories are fun and often times have humor, keeping kids and students engaged.
  • BookLingual offers a multitude of formats in which to read the stories–you can read them on your computer, download them to your tablet or smart phone, and access them online.
  • Each story has practice pages and games at the end of the story for extra practice.
  • The entire series is only $39.99!
The only thing I might change about the series is offering an option to have it read only in Spanish; however, the text is written out in Spanish (and English) so after a few times of having the book read to you, the parent or child could simply turn off the audio and read the Spanish sentences aloud themselves.
Currently in my Intro to Spanish II class we are learning about the seasons.  So we read the BookLingual book Reasons to Love the Seasons.  Not only does this book teach vocabulary centered around the season–things like flowers for spring, swimming for summer time, and leaves in the fall–but readers will also learn how to express what they like (how to use the verb gustar).

Get the enitre series of books, including the one about seasons, for just $39.99.  Click on the image here to buy your books and access them instantly online.  You will also be sent a CD of all the books to read off-line on your computer.  You can also download the set to a tablet or smart phone.  My favorite way to read them is online, or from the CD on my computer.

Once you have the books, jump right in and read Reasons to Love the Sesons.  Download the worksheet below and practice making sentences like you see in the story.  Here is how we did it.  First I had my students listen to the story.  Then we talked about the verb gustar.  Notice in the story that if you are talking about something singular that you like, you use the phrase “Me gusta…”  If you are speaking about something you like that is plural, use the phrase “Me gustan…”

Singular
Plural
Me gusta _________________.
Me gustan ________________.
                 el/la ___________
                   los/las __________
                  (singular noun)
                      (plural noun)

Here are some examples of the pages in the book.

Fall is singular so we use “Me gusta.”
Leaves is plural so we use “Me gustan.”
Next we looked at the worksheet below.  Fill in the blanks under each picture with the corresponding season.  The seasons are written out for you in a word bank to choose from.  Then answer what season is your favorite and why.  For example: “El verano es mi estación favorita porque me gusta el calor.”  I helped my students form this one sentence, and then their homework is to look up 5 nouns or verbs they like about each season, and make “Me gusta” or “Me gustan” sentences with them.  For more help understanding how to form these types of sentences check out these videos from Señor Jordan on YouTube:

Spanish Lesson – Me gusta (Part 1)
Spanish Lesson – Me gusta (Part 2)

What have you learned with your BookLingual series?  What do you hope to learn?  What ages are your kids or students?  Do you think they would like to learn Spanish with BookLingual?  I’d love to hear your comments or answer any questions you have below!

This post is linked up to:
Booknificent Thursdays
Kali Carollo

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