Preface
Chapters at a glance
MAPAS is a program aimed at North American students of Spanish at the introductory level.
Páginas de Entrada
Its innovative design follows a project-based, content-focused approach. Its main goal is to stimulate students to build knowledge through explorative and expansive learning. The Spanish classroom becomes a space where students develop 21st‑century skills, such as collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.
The introductory pages present the content of the chapter organized by the seven areas that are developed throughout the chapter (learning outcomes, video, vocabulary, language structures, oral and written texts, sounds, culture and projects). The chapter opener photos focus on the chapter's theme. They were chosen as a springboard for conversation and a link to the Preguntas esenciales (essential questions).
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MAPAS OFFERS MANY EXCITING FEATURES: • a contemporary view of Hispanic cultures to the Spanish classroom through engaging texts, themes, and topics. Students are motivated to act and create in Spanish. • a pedagogical sequence in which grammar, vocabulary, and discourse work towards communication. Students are truly capable of speaking and creating in Spanish. • groundbreaking content and language integration. Students use the language in interdisciplinary scenarios related to their own academic experiences, which helps them develop professional skills and prepare for future careers. • intercultural competence, enabling critical thinking about essential questions from a multidimensional, contemporary, and inclusive perspective that is free of stereotypes. IV
• an approach that is open to all learners and all types of intelligences (visual, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.). In addition, its diverse and stimulating vision of cultural realities embraces all the identities and communities in the Hispanic world —and in the students' world as well. • options for online, hybrid, and flipped classroom modes, which optimizes class time. Students can prepare independently before the class session thus maximizing classroom communication and collaboration. • authentic student‑centered design. Students make decisions and create projects which are not only personally relevant but also academically, and they take a leading active role in their own learning.
PREGUNTAS ESENCIALES are broad and open-ended questions that promote engagement with the topic. They allow students to reflect on their own understanding of the topic and connect this core knowledge to 21st century skills.
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