If any of you try these out, let me know what you think. I am going to download it first, but it may be too advanced for my children.
Update: Thanks so much to Blaine who shared the following in our comments section (scroll down for the English):
Estimadas Rosamaría y Mónica:
Yo también enseño en una escuela de inmersión (2do grado) en la cual utilizamos la serie de Tesoros, y quería agregar algo de nuestra experiencia. Hemos visto que el nivel de los cuentos brinca bastante de primero al segundo, y de allí para arriba, y en segundo para arriba de hace muy difícil para los estudiantes que están a nivel o bajo nivel de leerlos y/o trabajar con los recursos independientemente. Yo creo que se debe a que, por lo visto, Tesoros está diseñado para niños cuyo idioma principal o nativo es el castellano, y que ellos lo escuchan a diario en la casa, la calle, etc, así que la serie espera que ellos conocen y comprenden muchísimas palabras y frases más de lo que se puede esperar a un niño de inmersión. No digo que no sea un buen recurso de currículum, sino que esto que le digo es algo para considerar cuando los niños no tienen el respaldo de aprender y escuchar el idioma en casa y en la vida diaria fuera de la escuela. Se requiere AMPLIO vocabulario para usar la serie y leer independientemente en 2do para arriba. Hasta el punto que estamos considerando dividir el curiculum de primero en dos partes y enseñar uno en primero y la otra en segundo para los niños poder agarrar más al fondo los temas de vocabulario y gramática, y seguir así, por lo menos para los que están a nivel y bajo nivel, o que entran el programa después de 1er grado.
Espero que este consejo les sea útil, y que estén muy bien!
English:
Dear Rosamaría and Monica,
I'm also a 2nd-grade teacher at an immersion school that uses the Tesoros series and wanted to share our experience. We've seen that the level of the stories jumps dramatically between first and second grade (and from there on up), and for second grade and higher, it's very difficult for the lower-level students to read the stories and/or work with the resources (worksheets) independently. I think it is because - from what I can see - Tesoros is designed for children who are native (Castilian) Spanish speakers, and who hear it on a daily basis at home, on the street, etc. So the series expects them to know and understand many of the words and phrases better than an immersion student can. I'm not saying that it is not a good curriculum, so much as I'm saying that this is something to consider when the children don't have the background or opportunity to hear and learn the language at home and in daily life outside of school. It requires a COMPREHENSIVE vocabulary to use the series and read independently in second grade and above. To the point that we are considering dividing the first grade curriculum into two parts and teach one to our first graders and the other to our second graders so that the kids can better understand the vocabulary and grammar themes later, and continue this, at least for the ones how are speaking/reading at or below grade level, or for those who enter the program after 1st grade.
I'm also a 2nd-grade teacher at an immersion school that uses the Tesoros series and wanted to share our experience. We've seen that the level of the stories jumps dramatically between first and second grade (and from there on up), and for second grade and higher, it's very difficult for the lower-level students to read the stories and/or work with the resources (worksheets) independently. I think it is because - from what I can see - Tesoros is designed for children who are native (Castilian) Spanish speakers, and who hear it on a daily basis at home, on the street, etc. So the series expects them to know and understand many of the words and phrases better than an immersion student can. I'm not saying that it is not a good curriculum, so much as I'm saying that this is something to consider when the children don't have the background or opportunity to hear and learn the language at home and in daily life outside of school. It requires a COMPREHENSIVE vocabulary to use the series and read independently in second grade and above. To the point that we are considering dividing the first grade curriculum into two parts and teach one to our first graders and the other to our second graders so that the kids can better understand the vocabulary and grammar themes later, and continue this, at least for the ones how are speaking/reading at or below grade level, or for those who enter the program after 1st grade.
I hope that this advice is helpful and that you are well!
