Salsa
For a fun and light-hearted introduction to Spanish, Georgia Public Broadcasting's Salsa videos are excellent for young children. Salsa is a series of Sesame Street-esque videos entirely in Spanish designed for young learners. It was developed by Georgia Public Broadcasting, with team members consisting of experts in foreign language and early childhood education, aimed at providing accessible exposure to Spanish language and culture to all children. Salsa primarily consists of two units of videos, featuring puppets, music, and live-action all in Spanish. Each video is preceded by a segment for parents and instructors, giving a brief overview of the video's lesson objectives and Spanish phrases taught. There are also some supplementary games for students to play. Salsa is perfect for parents who want to complement their children's curriculum with some Spanish. The storylines in the videos are based off popular fairy tales, so all students can follow along and learn at their own pace. It should be noted that the videos were made several years ago, so may feel a bit old. The supplementary games are also fairly old, and may cease to function on newer browsers. Besides the videos, there aren't many other resources, and Salsa is not meant for intensive Spanish study. There is a useful instructor guide made by the Wyoming Department of Education, which is linked from Salsa's main page.
Grades: PreK (ages 0-5), Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Cost: Salsa is entirely free.
OTHER DETAILS
Key features
Type of Tool: Website, Youtube channel
Time required: Each video is between 15 and 30 minutes in length.
Special Needs:
Literacy Requirement (does a child need to know how to read): No
Screens
Screens: Screens required
Online requirement: No, you have to be connected to the internet
Time
Parent/Caregiver Involvement: Parent/Teacher/Caregiver Help is NOT Necessary. Kids can use this independently.
Prep Time: Minimal prep time
Other characteristics
Modality: Audio, Visual, Audiovisual
Adaptive: No, it is the same for every student
Educational Philosophy: Not really, doesn't seem to be influenced by a particular educational philosophy
Other characteristics: Fun and entertaining
Accountability
Assessment: No, there is no assessment component
State Standards: unsure
Teacher Accounts: No
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