Italian language instruction began at Clarendon in 1988 as an afternoon club. Since that time, it has continued to expand in scope. The program is now integrated into every classroom. Grades K – 2 have Italian three times a week, and grades 3 – 5 have Italian twice a week. Italian themes are included throughout the Second Community curriculum, including the art and music programs. The goal of the program is to have students graduate with a basic knowledge and exposure to a second language.

Our Italian program is paid for, in part, by a contribution from the Italian Consulate in San Francisco and the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento.

Italian Curriculum Overview
The Italian Language Instruction curriculum was developed based on the “Foreign Language Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Twelve.” Components of the curriculum include:

Content
Language users address a wide variety of topics that are age and stage appropriate. As students develop their ability to communicate in the target language and culture, they are able to more fully address topics that expand in complexity from stage to stage on the Language Learning Continuum.

Communication
Real world communication occurs in a variety of ways. It may be interpersonal in which culturally appropriate listening, reading, viewing, speaking, signing and writing occur at a shared activity among language users. It may be interpretative in which language users listen, view, and read using knowledge of cultural products, practices, and perspectives. It may be presentational in which speaking, signing, and writing occur in culturally appropriate ways.

Cultures
Culturally appropriate language use requires the understanding of the relationships between the products a culture produces, the practices that the culture manifests and the perspectives that underline them. Students must acquire the ability to interact appropriately with target culture bearers in order to communicate successfully. This category allows students to make connections and comparisons between languages and cultures.

Structures
The standards use the term structures to capture the multiple components of grammar that learners must control in order to successfully communicate in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways. Students need to acquire orthography, the writing systems in languages that have them; phonology, the sound system of language ; morphology, the rules for word formation; syntax, the principle of sentence structures; semantics, language -based meaning system; and pragmatics, meaning systems connected to language use.

Settings
Language users need to carry out tasks in a variety of situations representative of those they will experience in the target culture. The success of learner communication will be determined by the requirements of the situation in which the language is used.

Italian Curriculum Units
Clarendon K-5 Italian Language Curriculum, 2009-2010 School Year

KINDERGARTEN
UNIT 1 Introductions (Basic Greetings)
UNIT 2 The Body (Basic 10+ Body Parts)
UNIT 3 Foods / Colors (Basic Food Items & Colors, Introduction of “Mi Piace”)
UNIT 4 The Family (Immediate Members)
UNIT 5 Numbers (0-20)
UNIT 6 Animals (Basic Farm Animals, Animal Cognates)
UNIT 7 Calendar (Days of the Week, Months of the Year, Basic Weather)
UNIT 8 The Alphabet
UNIT 9 The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Il Bruco Affamato)
UNIT 10 Italian Culture (Life of an Italian Kindergartener, Comparison & Contrast)

FIRST GRADE
UNIT 1 Introductions (K Review, Address, Name of Parents)
UNIT 2 The Body (K Review, Addition of 10+ More Detailed Body Parts)
UNIT 3 Foods / Colors (K Review, Use of Colors as Adjectives)
UNIT 4 The Family (K Review, Extended Family, Family Tree)
UNIT 5 Numbers (K Review, Visual Processing of Numbers in Italian)
UNIT 6 Animals (K Review, Addition of More Animal Names)
UNIT 7 Calendar (K Review, Advanced Weather)
UNIT 8 The Alphabet
UNIT 9 Italian Culture (Life of an Italian First Grader, Comparison & Contrast)

SECOND GRADE
UNIT 1 Introductions (K/1 Review, Identification Card, Plurals, Increased Fluency)
UNIT 2 Avere / Essere (Introduction & Conjugation of Verbs “to have”, “to be”)
UNIT 3 The Body (K/1 Review, Plurals, Sentence Formation with Learned Vocabulary, Increased Fluency)
UNIT 4 Foods / Colors (K/1 Review, Sentence Formation with Learned Vocabulary)
UNIT 5 The Family (K/1 Review, Conversation about Family with Learned Vocabulary)
UNIT 6 Numbers (K/1 Review, Auditory & Visual Processing of Numbers)
UNIT 7 Animals (K/1 Review, Habitat, Animal Babies, Sentence Formation with Integration of Prior Units – Spoken & Written)
UNIT 8 Calendar (K/1 Review, Sentence Formation with Integration of Prior Units – Spoken & Written)
UNIT 9 The House (Room & Accompanying Household Items, Sentence Formation with Integration of Prior Units – Spoken & Written
UNIT 10 Italian Culture / Pen Pals ((Life of an Italian Second Grader, Comparison & Contrast, Introduction of Pen Pal Program with Second Grade Class in Italy)

THIRD GRADE
UNIT 1 Numbers 1-100. Practice: games and worksheets. Emphasis is on vocabulary
UNIT 2 Colors, Days of the Week, Months, with preposition of time – before/after
UNIT 3 Interview. Project: Students interviews, reviewing contents of Unit 1 and 2. Emphasis is on speaking and on building conversational skills in Italian
UNIT 4 Adjectives and Prepositions. Projects: 1) Halloween – use of adjectives to describe many Halloween characters. Emphasis is on the use of masculine and feminine to describe the characters. 2) Study of Roman mythology. Emphasis is on the use of prepositional phrases
UNIT 5 The Human Body. Practice: games and songs. Emphasis is on reading, writing and speaking
UNIT 6 Word Gender, the Undefinite Article, and Foods. Emphasis is on grammar
UNIT 7 In a café in Rome. Project: Write a menu, and order from a menu. Study of the European currency. Study of the Italian euro: art and monuments represented on it. Review of numbers 1-100 to use European currency. Study of a hypothetical city, asking for directions to gelateria, and ordering gelato. Emphasis is writing, building conversational skills and Italian culture
UNIT 8 The alphabet. Practice: make/review comic strips with sentences for each letter. Emphasis is on sentence formation
UNIT 9 The School. Practice: worksheets. Emphasis is on vocabulary
UNIT 10 The Family. Project: Make a family tree or a family quilt on paper and present it to the class. Emphasis is on reading, writing and speaking
UNIT 11 From Singular to Plural. Emphasis is on grammar
UNIT 12 The Verb “to have”. Practice: games and worksheets with “to have” with clothing or foods, using singular and plural. Emphasis is on grammar
UNIT 13 The Definite Article: feminine, masculine, singular and plural. Practice: songs and worksheets. Emphasis is on grammar
UNIT 14 “La Recita” – class performance, songs. Emphasis is on grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, speaking and conversational skills

FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE
INTRO and REVIEW – Presentations. Project: decorating a t-shirt with description of self

UNIT 1 The House and Numbers higher than 100. Practice: comics, games and worksheets. Project: make your own house, and auction it to the class. Emphasis is on reading, writing and speaking. Extra challenge: the geography of Italy (names of regions and populations of each region). Emphasis is on Italian culture
UNIT 2 Idiomatic phrases with the verb “to have”, and review of the human body. Practice: comics and worksheets. Project: draw a monster and present it to class. Emphasis is on reading, writing, and speaking
UNIT 3 Time and Weather. Practice: games and worksheets. Emphasis is on vocabulary. Extra challenge: games about weather in Italy. Emphasis is on Italian culture
UNIT 4 The Verb “to be”. Practice: games and worksheets. Emphasis is on writing, speaking and reading sentences with the verb to be using the Italian language learned so far
UNIT 5 The European Community. Practice: games and worksheets about the European flags, countries and capitals, and the geography of Italy: emphasis is on reading, writing and speaking. Project: making an European passport. Research project (interdisciplinary with computer class): research one European country and report to class. Drama play : a travel agency, asking directions at the airport, a trip to Italy and writing postcards. Emphasis is on asking for directions and on Italian culture (monuments, artists/scientists/inventors, contemporary music, fashion, cars and furniture)
UNIT 6 The Italian Cities. Project “la mia citta’”: drawing of an Italian city and presentation to the class
UNIT 7 La Scuola. Vocabulary review. Practice: Students interviews about school. Project “my ideal school”: drawing of an ideal school and presentation to class.
UNIT 8 Present Tense and the three conjugations –are, -ere, -ire. Practice: worksheets and games with 1st conjugation verbs. Emphasis is on grammar
UNIT 9 Sports. Practice: games, worksheets, and comics. Emphasis is on reading, writing and conversation. Extra challenge: Sports in Italy
UNIT 10 Professions. Practice: games, worksheets, comics, and interviews. Emphasis is on reading, writing and conversation
UNIT 11 Pen pals with Italian 5th grade students (5th grade only).

The Italian Program is partly sponsored by a contribution from the Italian Consulate in San Francisco and the Italian Cultural Society.