Curriculum & Course Levels
Would you like to know how and why Señor Wooly became the only curriculum I would ever want to use to teach Spanish? Well, after a painful year of trying to force-feed a terribly old, boring set of textbooks & workbooks on the students of our local high school, I went rogue and began building a far more exciting curriculum for them from online resources that I found during endless hours of hunting. I also received training in TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) and in using CI (Comprehensible Input).
Thankfully, during that year of transition, I had the amazing fortune of stumbling upon the guru of all Spanish teachers: Señor Wooly. Armed with the genius of his creations, I spent the next 8 years specializing in immersive, story-based language acquisition. My classroom was full of energy, laughter, and a healthy dose of zany fun. Many of my students have been almost fanatical in their passion for singing the songs and untangling the cryptic stories behind the Señor Wooly music videos and digital graphic novels (also available to my students under the Señor Wooly license).
Then, I pivoted to online education and spent two unpleasant years chained to a digital version of the same type of grammar-based curriculum that I had broken free from years before. No matter how much I tried to jazz up all those grammar lessons with my own energy, games, and supplemental resources, the level of student engagement never even came close to what I had witnessed while using the Señor Wooly curriculum.
Well, in a moment of desperation, it suddenly dawned on me: I could bring Señor Wooly to the online community of learners! In that moment, Spanish The Story Way was born!
A story-driven approach that works
My extensive experience with teaching Spanish using the Señor Wooly curriculum has proven to me that students learn languages best through compelling stories, not rote memorization. My classes use narrative immersion, graphic‑novel style readings, and music‑supported repetition to make Spanish feel intuitive and enjoyable. Plus, this method enables students to start taking baby steps early on with speaking the phrases they’re learning.
Stories create investment
Emotional connection to a story accelerates retention far more than a vocabulary list ever could.
Characters anchor vocabulary
Recurring characters give learners a place to hang new words, so the words come back easily.
Music amplifies memory
Songs and rhythm turn structures into something students hum on the way to school — without studying.
Repetition that hides itself
When repetition is embedded in a plot, students meet the same language again and again and never feel drilled.
How students receive Spanish in class: Live teacher storytelling, visual slides and illustrations, music and rhythm, digital readings, short video segments, and interactive comprehension checks — all in a low‑stress environment that invites participation without pressure.
See how listening, reading, speaking and writing fit together →
What is inside the curriculum
Every unit is built from the same six pieces. Together they let students understand Spanish before they are ever asked to produce it.
1. Story-based lessons
Every unit centers on an illustrated story featuring characters students come to know and care about. Stories are written for maximum comprehension and emotional engagement.
2. Music-supported memory
Songs and rhythm-based repetition help students internalize key vocabulary and structures. Music is used strategically as a memory anchor, not just as entertainment.
3. Graphic-novel readings
Each story includes a visual reading component that supports comprehension and reduces cognitive load. Students read Spanish confidently because the visuals guide meaning.
4. Comprehension-first activities
Activities focus on understanding, not performance:
- Story retells
- Visual sequencing
- Character-based Q&A
- Prediction and inference
- Personalized questions
- Light output when students are ready
5. Recurring characters
A connected universe of characters and settings keeps engagement high and helps students retain vocabulary, because it reappears repeatedly in meaningful contexts.
6. Multi-modal input
Live storytelling, visual slides, music, digital readings, short video segments, and interactive comprehension checks keep every learning style supported.
STSW course levels
Each level deepens comprehension before it asks for output. Students move up when they understand comfortably — not when they have memorized a chapter.
Foundations Through Story
Confidence from day one.
High‑comprehension stories introduce essential verbs and everyday vocabulary in meaningful, engaging contexts. Students build comprehension naturally through predictable routines and strong visual support.
- Understand short stories and conversations
- Recognize core verbs and high-frequency vocabulary
- Read graphic-novel style texts with strong visual scaffolding
- Respond to simple questions with confidence
- Build comprehension through predictable routines
Best for: absolute beginners, or students who struggled with textbook-based classes.
Expanding the Narrative World
Broader stories, stronger comprehension.
Students follow familiar characters into new situations, expanding vocabulary, reading stamina, and confidence. Visual scaffolding decreases as comprehension grows.
- Understand longer, more detailed stories
- Follow multi-scene narratives
- Read with less visual scaffolding
- Use context clues to interpret new vocabulary
- Engage in light retells and personalized responses
Best for: students ready for richer stories and more independent reading.
Confident Comprehension & Emerging Output
Speaking emerges naturally.
Students begin producing Spanish because they understand so much — not because they are pushed to perform. Extended stories and richer plots deepen comprehension and confidence.
- Follow extended stories with multiple characters
- Understand more complex verb structures in context
- Read longer passages with confidence
- Retell stories in their own words
- Participate in open-ended comprehension activities
Best for: students with strong comprehension who are ready for organic speaking.
Advanced Storytelling & Expression
Sophisticated stories, confident expression.
Students engage with advanced narratives, character arcs, and expressive language. Output becomes more spontaneous, creative, and natural.
- Understand advanced narratives with deeper emotional and thematic content
- Read extended texts with minimal scaffolding
- Discuss character motivations, plot developments, and predictions
- Produce more spontaneous spoken and written Spanish
- Use a wider range of vocabulary and structures naturally
Best for: students preparing for real-world Spanish use or continued advanced study.
How students move between levels
Placement is based on comprehension — not memorization or grammar knowledge. Students advance when they can understand stories comfortably, read with confidence, follow conversations without strain, and participate in class routines smoothly.
Not sure where your student belongs? Miss Elisa will place them after a short, no-pressure conversation.
Ready to find the right level?
Tell Miss Elisa a little about your student and she will recommend a starting point and a class time.