The Spanish Teacher

Taruka is the new girl at the high school in town. The story takes the reader through a year of high school that Taruka is not likely to forget. She makes friends and meets a boy, Cooper. Like Cooper and many of the students at the school Taruka is very involved in sports, so she gets along with her new classmates well. But issues arise with her newfound friendship with Cooper when their differences are highlighted by the adults in their lives. This book is intended as a reader for students learning English. While the story has a plot similar to the classic story of Romeo and Juliet or Tony and Maria, the vocabulary and grammar are simple and comprehensible even for those just beginning with English.

An eye-opening look at the latest research findings about the success of free voluntary reading in developing high levels of literacy. Free voluntary reading looks better and more powerful than ever. Stephen D. Krashen, PhD, is an advocate for free voluntary reading in schools and has published many journal articles on the subject. Free Voluntary Reading: Power 2010 collects the last ten years of his extensive work and reconsiders all aspects of this important debate in light of the latest findings. The book provides an accessible examination of topics, such as free voluntary reading's value in language and literary acquisition domestically and worldwide, recent developments in support of free voluntary reading, whether rewards-based programs benefit the development of lifelong reading, the value of phonics in reading instruction, and trends in literacy in the United States.

Winner of the Gival Press Novel Award "...De la Cuesta's novel maintains an accumulating power which holds onto a reader's attention not only through the forceful figure of Ordóñez, but by demonstrating acutely how ordinary lives are impacted by the underlying social and political landscape. Compelling reading." -Tom Tolnay, publisher, Birch Brook Press and author of Selling America and This Is the Forest Primeval "Barbara de la Cuesta's The Spanish Teacher has everything to thrill you-pace, a great balance of description, gesture and action, charmed, perfectly-tuned dialogue, and most notably, a character we follow as closely and sympathetically as if we were living right there inside the story with him... So many books show us a character who seems to capably hang and move like marionettes from the strings of a fairly competent puppeteer, but rarely do we see a full drama like this, where every bit of the writing extends from, grows out of, is part and parcel with the author's complete realization of and connection to her character..." -Don Berger, judge for the Gival Press Novel Award

This book is written for middle and high school Spanish teachers. Its subject matter covers material normally taught in first year Spanish class. The book is divided into 10 parts. There are 31 lessons each one preceded by its objective, its method of accomplishment, and its outcome. Most of the 40 exercises have 20 or more items. Each exercise is accompanied by its solution. The modular design of each lesson enables it to stand on its own so you can easily fit it into your teaching schedule and carriculum insted of the other way around. This structure also makes it ideally suited for review. My unique 3-step approach to conjugating regular verbs, enables the student to easily grasp the mechanics of the operation, and, when necessary, enables her/him to diagnose and correct errors. You will find a verb bank of regular verbs, a verb bank of reflexive verbs, ample listings of stem-changing verbs, a listing of popular activities, a pronunciation guide to high frequency words, and two appendices.