Russian Language - K-7th grade

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Cheburashka (Kindergarten-1st grade)

• As part of our vocabulary building and speech development, we work on using complete sentences when we speak (using verbs and proper word agreement)

• By year-end the children are expected to learn the entire Russian alphabet (based on the Zhukova Alphabet book - Букварь Н. Жуковой)

• Transition from learning to read letters, syllables and words to reading phrases and sentences. Working on reading fluency. 

• Elementary reading comprehension and working on being able to answer simple questions based on the text read

• Speech listening comprehension

• Poem memorization (short poems, 1 stanza)

• As part of our pre-grammar work, we learn to distinguish vowel and consonant sounds as well as hard and soft consonant sounds. We also draw attention to words with different gender attributes. 

• Writing block letters, simple dictations based on learned words

• Word and language songs and games

Umka (1-2 grade)

• Continue to build vocabulary and strengthen speaking skills

• Transition from reading sentences and paragraphs to reading short texts.

• Reading fluency is a central focus of this level. We read forwards and backwards, sitting up and laying down, we use funny voices and intonations and play various reading games. 

• We continue working on reading comprehension and listening comprehension based on books by Bogomazova (Н. Богомазова - Осмысленное чтение - серия книг для малышей).

• It is expected the by year-end children can start reading simple chapter books (Raschitaiki series - серия книг для детей Расчитайки)

• Practice student understanding of written language

• Speech listening comprehension

• Poem memorization - we learn short poems in class (1-2 stanzas)

• Writing words and sentences, simple dictations based on learned words

• Word and language games

Vinni Pukh (2-4 grades)

• Build more complex vocabulary

• Reading simple chapter books (Raschitaiki series - серия книг для детей Расчитайки)

• Group topic discussions based on read texts, inference development

• Telling stories based on visual stimulus (pictures), making up sentences with new words, utilizing new vocabulary and basic grammar elements

• Dictations based on learned new or somewhat tricky words

• Speech listening comprehension

• Poem memorization - we discuss, work through and learn poems in class (2-4 stanzas)

• Word and language games

Matroskin (not offered in 2021-22)

• Introduction of elementary school grammar

  • The Russian alphabet

  • Vowels and consonants, types and classifications

  • Study of individual letters, their properties and use

  • Stresses, identification of stressed syllables

  • Understanding syllables, word division into syllables and for breaking a line. 

  • What is a sentence, types of sentence, rules or capitalization and punctuation.

  • Americanisms - Reviewing common words and expressions that bilinguals typically derive from English and erroneously apply ​to Russian ("взять класс" и т.п)​

• ​Language enrichment through vocabulary, proverbs and idioms.

• Grammar individual exercises, quizzes and games

• Dictations focused on grammatical structures learned in class

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Buratino (4-5 grades)

• Introduction of elementary school grammar

  • Review spelling rules жи-ши, ча-ща, чу-щу​

  • Introduce new rules (ЧК-ЧН, НЧ-НЩ-ЩН), etc.

  •  Sentence structure, subject verb agreement, understanding of sentences, looking at word dependencies

  • Introduction of parts of speech

  • Studying word components (морфемный разбор слов/по составу)

  • Properties of consonants and rules linked to those properties (проверяемые безударные гласные, непроизносимые согласные в корне слова, глухие и звонкие согласные на конце слова, правописание разделительных Ь и Ъ, Ь после согласных на конце слова, и т.п.)

• Americanisms - Reviewing common words and expressions that bilinguals typically derive from English and erroneously apply ​to Russian ("взять класс" и т.п)

• ​Basic translation skills. 

• Language enrichment through vocabulary, proverbs and idioms.

• Grammar individual exercises, quizzes and games

• Dictations focused on grammatical structures learned in class

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Znaika (5-6 grades)

• Elementary grammar

  • Review parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, numerals)

  • Reviewing word dependencies, introduction of cases

  • Nouns - special properties of nouns, dividing nouns into declensions

  • Working on cases with singular nouns

• Americanisms - Reviewing common words and expressions that bilinguals typically derive from English and erroneously apply ​to Russian ("взять класс" и т.п)

• ​Basic translation skills. 

• Language enrichment through vocabulary, proverbs and idioms.

• Grammar individual exercises, quizzes and games

• Dictations focused on grammatical structures learned in class

Muromets (7-9 grades)

• Grammar

  • Review case declensions for singular nouns

  • Learn plural noun cases

  • Declension of adjectives and possessive pronouns

  • In-depth study of verbs and congugations

• Language enrichment through vocabulary, proverbs and idioms

• Grammar comprehension and testing via individual exercises, quizzes and games

• Dictations focused on grammatical structures learned in class as well as topical reviews

• Russian level evaluations via practicing standardized Russian tests