What are the materials like?
Charo y Lee follows the story of Lee, a 16-year old from Colorado, as he travels to Mexico to be an exchange student. In Coatzacoalcos he meets his host sister, Charo. The problem is that Lee assumed Charo was a boy and Charo assumed Lee was a girl. As they meet, they form a certain attraction as they go home to meet the host family, go shopping for groceries, go to school and take a walk after school. All the while Lee sees daily Mexican culture through his American eyes and Charo learns about American culture through Lee’s reactions.
The series is divided into several pieces:
The Teacher’s Book is essential for those who want to teach using Charo y Lee. The 200+ page book has tips for gestures, anecdotes, personal questions and stories -- everything an experienced TPRS® needs to teach the first year of Spanish.
The Blackline CD has the tests, quizzes and stories as pdf. Word and Powerpoint files for teachers who want to assess student progress and display the stories as they teach. The Blackline Masters is simply the printed version of the tests, quizzes and stories for those who prefer hard copies. However, the Blackline CD is recommended above the Blackline Masters. Songs come with the Blacklines free whether you purchase the print form or CD form of Blacklines.
The Student Workbook is an optional ancillary. The Student Workbook gives students an organized place to take their notes, includes some extra readings of the stories, expanded in the form of dialogs, letters and journal entries. Also included are some assignments to practice reading skills and retelling from perspective.
The Pío Pista reader is another optional ancillary. This action-packed and humorous novel traces the adventures of Pío Pista, an international spy who has to find out whether his girlfriend, María, is a double agent. He chases María through Puerto Rico, Perú, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Argentina, finding out a bit about the culture of each country along the way. The stories are written in the Damon Runyon style of first person narrative and feature dry humor such as in Get Smart. A very fun reader that is completely separate from the Charo y Lee stories yet, follows the same vocabulary. At over 10,000 words, this novel will last an entire school year.
Level Two has Charo celebrate her quinceañera in Spain with her uncle Fernando. Topics include technology, shopping for clothes, going to a restaurant, cleaning the house, celebrating a party and future plans. Vosotros form comes naturally as the uncle addresses Charo y Lee. Stories are now written mostly in the past tense with dialog in the present tense. New characters are introduced, but watch out for the surprise ending!
Pío Pista has a new adventure: He is now married to María, but on their honeymoon, the two spies have to chase the elusive and dangerous mystery spy known as “El Cucuy.” Filled with lots of humorous dialog, the bulk of the story takes place in Tenerife. 11,600+ words takes your students on a fun, cultural-based adventure.
Level Two has the same pieces as Level One.
A natural, cultural approach
