In this post: A review of Breaking the Barrier, a middle school Spanish curriculum. Post contains affiliate links.
Has your student graduated from Llamitas Spanish® and you’re wondering, “What’s next?”
Our customer support team receives dozens of emails every week from families asking for best recommendations for a middle school Spanish curriculum.
At Llamitas Spanish® we provide academically robust curricula for preschool and elementary grade levels. Students age out after 5th grade.
We are therefore delighted to partner with a company that we can trust to provide our students with the perfect next step, as they graduate from Llamitas, and pursue their Spanish education further in the middle school years and beyond.
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Breaking the Barrier: A Middle School Spanish Curriculum
Breaking the Barrier is a distinguished Spanish curriculum that offers comprehensive materials in both print and online formats.
They provide a far more traditional approach by combining vocabulary and grammatical instruction with opportunities for students to practice the four core skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Students’ experience with Llamitas Spanish provides them with a strong foundation and sets them up for success for Breaking the Barrier’s middle school Spanish series.
Related post: Homeschool Spanish Curriculum Round-Up
What’s Included in a Breaking the Barrier Course?
Breaking the Barrier provides a beginner, intermediate and advanced series. Depending on how many levels your child completed with Llamitas will determine which series to begin with in Breaking the Barrier.
Each course is organized into ‘chapters’ and includes:
1. A visually appealing cultural map of Spanish-speaking countries and areas
2. Interactive vocabulary flashcards for fun and easy practice with pictures and audio recorded by native speakers
3. Clear presentation and explanation of grammar topics with plenty of practice
4. Online practice activities with corrective feedback and the ability to repeat as needed.
Breaking the Barrier offers a complete Homeschool Package for families (print book, online access, tests, answer key, travel phrasebook, suggested calendar and pacing guide), or a print book + online access combination alone.
Which Course Level Should You Choose?
Our recommendation is to complete the levels sequentially to allow for plenty of review and to avoid gaps in knowledge.
However, I urge you to please refer to the sample chapters available on the website for a thorough overview of content included.
Every child is unique and, as I previously mentioned, it will depend on how many levels your child completed with Llamitas, as to which series to begin with in Breaking the Barrier.
¡Vamos! and ¡En camino!
There are two titles in the ‘beginner’ series: ¡Vamos! Beginner “A” and ¡En camino! Beginner “B”. These courses will provide plenty of review from the grammar taught in the Llamitas Spanish elementary levels, but in a more traditional grammar heavy format.
I want to stress here that this is a very different approach to Llamitas Spanish, where we teach our younger aged students grammar concepts through stories, songs, and thematic units.
However, at the middle school grade levels, your child is now ready for this traditional format that Breaking the Barrier offers: think verb conjugation charts, and ‘fill in the gap’ style grammar activities.
Key grammar topics covered in ¡Vamos! Beginner “A”:
- Present and preterite (past) tense
- Subject pronouns
- Object pronouns
- Adjectives
- The verbs “Ser” and “Estar”
- Prepositions and conjunctions
Key grammar topics covered in ¡En camino! Beginner “B”
- Imperfect tense
- Progressive tense
- Immediate future
- Adverbs
- Por and Para
- The verbs “Saber” and “Conocer”
- Comparisons
- Formal commands
The program is self-directed and aligns with both state curriculum guidelines and ACTFL standards for learning. Although the curriculum does not require active parent participation, encouragement is always a great idea!
Enroll in Breaking the Barrier Middle School Spanish Curriculum
Is your child ready to continue their bilingual education with a middle school Spanish curriculum?
Head over to their course suite now and continue your child’s homeschool Spanish education for middle school!
Founder of the Llamitas Spanish® Curriculum and former Spanish teacher. Corrie holds two Master Degrees in Spanish and Education. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband and two bilingual children.