Reading and Listening Stories for GCSE Spanish

A creative original story split into 15 mini chapters per pack!

Give students a sense of achievement

D Rafferty, Teacher & Peer Reviewer
Flexible format:
  • Individual chapters in A4
  • The entire story in an A5 booklet
  • Recordings for every chapter in two formats

Diverse characters and intriguing storylines tie in with topics across the GCSE specifications for fun and useful learning.

Audiobook: Listening tracks

☆ Tailored support or challenge!

Two speeds provided per pack:

  • Foundation – regular and slow
  • Higher – regular and fast
  • G+T –– regular and challenging
Regular based on the examined speed.

Written and recorded by native speakers – students will learn new vocabulary, grammar and expressions while developing their reading and listening comprehension, translation and pronunciation skills.

Students’ pack

Per chapter:
  • A text of 100–150 words (F), 150–200 words (H) or 200–250 words (G+T)
  • A glossary of key difficult words to support reading and listening
  • A notes box to write additional vocab, queries and opinions, and to keep track of expressions to reuse

Plus! G+T pack: additional ‘Did you know?’ boxes in the target language to boost knowledge

Teacher’s pack

  • Three comprehension questions and a translation task per chapter to consolidate learning
  • A versatile bank of ideas for additional differentiation, extension, debate and homework tasks

Ideal for classwork, extensions, homework or independent study!



Reading and Listening Stories for GCSE Spanish:


Foundation
El pasado de Sofía Rojas

Susana discovers the truth about her Guatemalan birth mother with help from family and friends.

Higher
Compartiendo raíces

Twins Marta and Elena must confront their differences and separate lives before finding harmony.

Gifted and Talented
Vidas cruzadas en un tren

Miguel becomes deaf after a terrorist attack on a train but thrives through support and love.


What do teachers say about this resource? (9996)

Overall I think that this is a very good resource because it deals with some of the GCSE topics included in the GCSE syllabus.

There is a number of things that I like about this resource: 1. The way is written as a history in which each individual chapter is connected by the same protagonist (the twins Elena and Marta). 2. I like the fact that the resource is versatile because it can be used as: reading and listening material and also there is a slow and regular speech in which you can listen to the chapters. 3. I like the idiomatic uses of the language.

In terms of the grammar, there are quite a few idiomatic uses and very good expressions which are introduced in context. In terms of the topics, they offer good opportunities for opinions because the behaviour of one of the twins is not exactly exemplary so that gives the opportunity for reflection and gives opinions and justification which is and important part of the GCSE criteria. Chapter 3 for example, introduces an issue about relationships which I think is very important to make teen-agers aware of which is: jealous boyfriends. I think this text introduces a subtle warning to teenagers who may be in a similar situation and the text clearly describe this behaviour as: peligroso = dangerous.

I like the presentation, the layout and the photos which I think they are very well chosen because they illustrate the main topic of each chapter.

C Ortega Del Blanco, Teacher of Spanish & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (9995)

Being able to understand an entire story of 15 chapters would give students a sense of achievement and this resource could be a useful means of improving comprehension skills by identifying topic-specific vocabulary used in different contexts. There is a good variety of grammar and structures, which could be exploited further to improve students’ speaking and writing skills - in particular the range of past tenses used which could serve as useful models for students to remember when they should use preterite/imperfect/perfect tenses.

D Rafferty, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

This is a good, well-thought-out resource which can be used in a variety of ways depending on the ability level of the class. I liked the fact that it uses storytelling as a form of learning new vocabulary and that it is divided into the GCSE topics so clearly. It familiarises students with authentic texts and translation activities, as well as [providing] obvious reading and listening opportunities.

M Cosgrove, Teacher & Peer Reviewer