Spanish Language and Literacy

Spanish: Greetings, Grammar, Vocabulary, and the Americas

Grades K-12 | Aurora Curriculum Pack

Documented context: Spanish is the native language of approximately 485 million people and the official language of 20 countries. It is the second most spoken native language in the world. Spanish arrived in the Americas through colonization beginning in 1492. However, the documented history of the Spanish-speaking Americas also includes the Aztec Empire, the Inca Empire, hundreds of Indigenous nations whose languages survived alongside Spanish, and the Afro-Latino diaspora — approximately 130 million people of African descent in Latin America whose documented history is inseparable from the Spanish language. To learn Spanish is to enter a language whose history holds both conquest and profound resistance.

Section 1 — Greetings and Essential Phrases

All Grades

Formal vs. informal in Spanish: Like French, Spanish distinguishes between tu (informal "you," for friends and peers) and usted (formal "you," for adults, strangers, authority figures). In most of Latin America and Spain, using the wrong register is a noticeable social error. When in doubt, use usted.

Core Greetings — Study, Then Practice Writing Each Three Times

Buenos dias / Buenas tardes / Buenas noches

BWAY-nos DEE-as / BWAY-nas TAR-des / BWAY-nas NO-ches

Good morning (until noon) / Good afternoon (noon-sunset) / Good evening/night

Hola

OH-lah (the H is silent)

Hi (informal, used throughout the day)

Como te llamas? / Como se llama usted?

KOH-moh teh YAH-mas / KOH-moh seh YAH-mah oo-STED

What is your name? (informal / formal)

Me llamo ___________

meh YAH-moh

My name is ___________

Como estas? / Como esta usted?

KOH-moh ess-TAS / KOH-moh ess-TAH oo-STED

How are you? (informal / formal)

Responses: Muy bien, gracias (Very well, thank you) | Bien (Good) | Mas o menos (So-so) | Mal (Bad)

De donde eres? / De donde es usted?

Where are you from? (informal / formal)

Response: Soy de ___________ (I am from ___________)

Mucho gusto / Encantado(a)

Nice to meet you (encantado = masculine speaker, encantada = feminine speaker)

Gracias / De nada / Por favor

Thank you / You're welcome / Please

Disculpe / Perdon / Lo siento

Excuse me / Pardon / I'm sorry

Hasta luego / Hasta manana / Adios

See you later / See you tomorrow / Goodbye

Write a Full Self-Introduction in Spanish

Using the phrases above, write a 4-5 sentence introduction: name, origin, how you are, and one fact about yourself. Use complete sentences:

Section 2 — Numbers 0-20 and Days of the Week

Numbers 0-20

#	Spanish	Practice
0	cero
1	uno / una
2	dos
3	tres
4	cuatro
5	cinco
6	seis
7	siete
8	ocho
9	nueve
10	diez
11	once
12	doce
15	quince
20	veinte

Days of the Week

Spanish	English
lunes	Monday
martes	Tuesday
miercoles	Wednesday
jueves	Thursday
viernes	Friday
sabado	Saturday
domingo	Sunday

Today is _______________ in Spanish.

Hoy es _______ y estudio espanol.

Section 3 — Core Vocabulary: Family, School, and Description

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el padre	la madre	father / mother
el hermano	la hermana	brother / sister
el hijo	la hija	son / daughter
el libro	la biblioteca	book / library
el estudiante	la estudiante	student
grande		big / great
fuerte		strong
libre		free (freedom)
el pueblo	la comunidad	the people / community

Section 4 — Grammar Foundations: Gender, Articles, and Verbs

Grades 4-12

Key Grammar Rule 1 — Gendered Nouns and Articles

Every Spanish noun is masculine (el / un) or feminine (la / una). Adjectives agree with the noun's gender and number.
el libro (the book, m.) | la libertad (freedom, f.)
un estudiante (a student, m.) | una estudiante (a student, f.)
Adjectives add -a for feminine: fuerte stays the same, but alto (tall, m.) becomes alta (tall, f.)

Write "el" or "la" before each noun:
_____ presidente _____ revolucion _____ comunidad _____ pueblo _____ libertad

Make the adjective agree: "la madre _____ " (fuerte/fuerta?) _______ "el estudiante _____ " (alto/alta?) _______

Key Grammar Rule 2 — The Verb "Ser" (To Be — permanent)

Subject	Ser	Example
yo (I)	soy	Yo soy estudiante.
tu (you, informal)	eres	Tu eres libre.
el / ella (he / she)	es	Ella es fuerte.
nosotros (we)	somos	Nosotros somos libres.
ustedes (you all)	son	Ustedes son el pueblo.
ellos / ellas (they)	son	Ellos son valientes.

Fill in the correct form of "ser":
Yo _______ de Africa. Nosotros _______ libres. El pueblo _______ grande. Tu _______ estudiante.

Key Grammar Rule 3 — The Verb "Tener" (To Have)

Subject	Tener	Example
yo	tengo	Yo tengo un libro. (I have a book.)
tu	tienes	Tu tienes preguntas? (Do you have questions?)
el/ella	tiene	Ella tiene libertad. (She has freedom.)
nosotros	tenemos	Nosotros tenemos historia. (We have history.)
ustedes / ellos	tienen

Write three sentences using "tener" about yourself or your family:

Section 5 — Spanish in the Americas: Colonization, Resistance, and Afro-Latino Heritage

Documented historical context: The Aztec (Mexica) Empire at the time of Spanish contact (1519) had a capital city, Tenochtitlan, estimated at 200,000-300,000 people — larger than any European city at the time. The Inca Empire controlled approximately 2,500 miles of Pacific coastline. Both empires had documented systems of writing, mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, and urban planning. Spanish colonization brought the documented deaths of an estimated 56 million Indigenous people by 1600 CE. It also brought African enslaved people, whose descendants — the Afro-Latino diaspora — today number approximately 130 million across Latin America.

Documented Figures from the Spanish-Speaking Americas

Name	Country / Period	What they are documented for	Primary source available at:
Jose Marti	Cuba, 1853-1895	Poet, journalist, and leader of Cuban independence from Spain	loc.gov
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz	Mexico, 1648-1695	First documented feminist writer in the Americas — wrote in Spanish under colonial rule	loc.gov
Benkos Biohо	Colombia, c.1580-1621	African-born leader who escaped enslavement and founded Palenque de San Basilio — the first free Black town in the Americas	Smithsonian
Cesar Chavez	United States, 1927-1993	Documented leader of the United Farm Workers, organizer of Spanish-speaking farmworkers	archives.gov
Rigoberta Menchu	Guatemala, 1959-present	Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Indigenous K'iche' Maya rights activist and author	nobelprize.org

Research one of these figures using a documented primary source. Write one fact from that source that their Wikipedia page does not mention:

Afro-Latino Heritage and Language

Palenquero is a documented Spanish-based creole language spoken in Palenque de San Basilio, Colombia — founded by escaped enslaved Africans in the 17th century. It is one of the few languages in the Americas with documented African grammatical structure. Name one thing the existence of Palenquero documents about cultural and linguistic survival under enslavement:

Indigenous Languages of the Americas Today

Spanish became dominant through colonization. However, Indigenous languages survived. Use native-land.ca or ethnologue.com to find one Indigenous language still spoken in a Spanish-speaking country:

Language: _______________________ Country: _______________________ Approximate speakers today: _______________________

What does the documented survival of this language tell you about language, identity, and resistance? _______________________________________________

Aurora Pause — All Grades

Six languages appear in this curriculum: Arabic, French, Swahili, Yoruba, Spanish, and Latin. Each arrived in Africa, the Americas, or the Caribbean through a different documented path — trade, colonization, diaspora, scholarship, or resistance. Choose two of the six and write one paragraph documenting the specific historical connection between them. Your paragraph must include at least one documented fact and must make a specific claim, not just a description: