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FAQs

1. What does Sube mean?

2. Do you offer bulk discounts?

3. Can I order replacement or additional components?

4. How should the Beginner & Intermediate Kits be used across multiple grade levels?

5. Can Sube be used with...

  • Preschool Students? 
  • Middle School Students? 
  • Adults Learners?

6. How do I get started?

7. Don't I need to start with basics such as colors and numbers before I begin the first Animals unit?

8. Does it matter what order the units are taught in?

9. Are there multimedia resources for the “Traditional” songs listed in the Appendix?

10. Why are there only 8 cards for each Bingo theme? I have 24 children in my class.

11. Why are there only bingo games for 4 units and not all of them?

12. Why is the Memory and Go Fish Game only in 2 units?

13. Why are the Flashcards in black and white and not color?

14. If my teachers do not speak Spanish, can we still use Sube?

15. Should the Spanish instructions for tests be read in English as well?

16. What is the Sube return policy?

 

1. What does Sube mean?

In Spanish, Sube comes from the verb “subir” which means “to go up,” as in go up to the next level in life... high enough to reach your dreams!

Sube started as a Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) program and we liked the name so we kept if for the ESL curriculum.

You can read more about the Sube story and our founder, Agnes Chavez, on the About page.

2. Do you offer bulk discounts?

We do! Bulk orders are handled on a case-by-case basis. Go to our Contact page to call or email.

3. Can I order replacement or additional components?

If you own the Sube Kit and lose or damage any components, you can order replacement components at minimal cost. Please contact us for prices.

Go to our Contact page and either call or email to initiate the replacement process.

If you'd like to order additional components, you can get them here.

4. How should the Beginner & Intermediate Kits be used across multiple grade levels (K-5)?

All the Sube activities are age-appropriate for kindergarten through 5th grade students.

Activities that are age-specific include instructions on how to adapt the game to be age appropriate for these different grade levels.

The Sube curriculum is proficiency based as opposed to grade based. The Beginner Kit is for early to intermediate levels while the Intermediate Kit is for intermediate to advanced students. For example, if you are teaching grades K-5 and all your students are first or second year students, you would use the Beginner Kit until your class is ready for the Intermediate Kit, normally third year students.

Older children will usually get through the material faster. In dual-language classrooms, it is not unusual to have 2nd grade students starting with the Intermediate Kit since they are in immersive programs and are more advanced by that grade.

5. Can Sube be used with...

Preschool Students?

Absolutely. The Sube kit can easily be used for preschool core curriculum and, more importantly, it can grow with your students.

For the 2 year olds, only use a portion of the activities and then every year you add more advanced activities so that when they get to age 5 they will have easily mastered Spanish and English basics.

The Beginner Kit is adaptable for preschool through 5th grade students so you can imagine, it has a lot of activities, or versions of activities, that you will not necessarily use for the 2-5 year olds. You will also want to supplement with manipulatives as much as possible and remember that for the little ones, 30 minutes of the structured core curriculum is usually enough. If you have an hour, free play, more singing, movement and art projects while being immersed in the language is recommended.


Middle School Students?

The Sube Beginner kit can be used exactly as is for 4th-5th grade beginning level students.

The Sube curriculum has not been adapted for 6th grade students and above. For these levels the Sube program can be used but would have to be adapted and enhanced to meet their specific developmental and academic needs.

All the Sube activities have been field tested for preschool through 5th grade students. Most of the activities can be used as is for all grade levels. For activities that are age-specific, we include instructions on how to adapt the game to be age appropriate for these different grade levels.


Adult Learners?

Sube was designed and field tested for preschool through 5th grade students, but that does not mean you can't use it for adults.

You would need to adapt it for adults because developmentally they will run through the curriculum much faster and would no longer meet the one year (minimum) school curriculum. Many of the games such as bingo would work great while others will be too childlike in approach. But in essence the strategies and basic materials are adaptable for adults.

We do not promote it as such because we only sell products that have been carefully field tested for each grade and we have not yet developed the adult version yet.

6. How do I get started?

The best way to get started is to read “Section 1: Introduction” for an overview on the Sube multisensory methodology. We then suggest you review the Activities section and become familiar with the variety of games and projects that will be introduced throughout the year.

The next step is to determine how many units you will be able to cover within your time frame and how long you will spend on each unit. The Sube curriculum can be adapted for as little as once a week classes or as much as daily one-hour sessions.

Finally, use the one-hour lesson modules as your sample lesson. Implement a few classes following the lessons exactly and then modify according to your student needs. If you are still not clear on how to customize the curriculum to your needs, please call us and we would be happy to make more personalized suggestions.

7. Don't I need to start with basics such as colors and numbers before I begin the first Animals unit?

The first unit includes many activities that introduce the colors and numbers. They are also reinforced in many of the other units throughout the curriculum.

The shapes, calendar and alphabet activities are listed in the Ongoing Activities to encourage you to introduce and review these subjects throughout your units.

We have also found that some teachers like to create an introductory unit of their own where they introduce these basics before starting with the animals unit.

8. Does it matter what order the units are taught in?

We encourage teaching the units in sequence as it makes things more organized if you work with your manual from beginning to end sequentially. Nevertheless you may find that you want to jump around with the themes to correlate with school themes or for some other reason. You can do this with the Sube curriculum. What is important is that you note the words and phrases that will be introduced in that theme through the activities and tests and make sure to review, reinforce, and use them freely in the classroom as much as possible.

9. Are there multimedia resources for the “Traditional” songs listed in the Appendix?

We hope to come out with a CD in the near future, but in the meantime we have chosen popular songs that are easily found on the internet to help you sing along with your students. These are suggested songs but we also encourage you to sing your own favorite traditional songs. In particular, those that reflect the culture of your community.

10. Why are there only 8 cards for each Bingo theme? I have 24 children in my class.

The Bingo Game, like many other games in the Sube curriculum incorporate collaborative learning strategies that have proven effective for second language learners. The game is designed to be played in groups so in your class of 24 students you could have eight teams of three.

Many studies have shown that when correctly implemented, cooperative learning improves information acquisition and retention, higher-level thinking skills, interpersonal and communication skills, and self-confidence (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1998).

11. Why are there only bingo games for 4 units and not all of them?

We know the kids love Bingo and love to play it all the time, but we wanted to make sure that we provided a variety of activities that address the diverse learning modalities of your class. Therefore, the units that do not include Bingo offer alternate activities that develop specific skills and that they enjoy as well.

In addition, the Bingo games are designed to be played repeatedly, each time in a unique way designed to develop key skills: vocabulary acquisition, comprehension, speaking and critical thinking skills. In this way the Bingo game can be played throughout the year to review and reinforce the vocabulary for those four units.

12. Why is the Memory and Go Fish Game only available for 2 units?

For the same reason mentioned above, these games were created to develop specific skills. In other units we have created different games, in order to make the curriculum diverse. If time allows, you can always play this game during other units to review the vocabulary.

13. Why are the Flashcards in black and white and not color?

Our flashcards are simple and effective. They are just one of many multi-media components that work together as a whole. The vocabulary in the flashcards are integrated in all the Sube components and activities. For example, in the music video they see the vocabulary from the flashcards as live footage. The drawing of the elephant becomes a live elephant in a zoo. In addition, it is suggested to also use plastic toys, objects, or class-created photo flashcards when playing the Show and Tell flashcard game. In this way the content is constantly being seen and experienced in a holistic way through multiple mediums. We have also found that color-coding the cards for each theme is motivational for the children. They always ask anxiously, "When are we going to get to the "Pink" cards, or the "Blue" cards?"

14. If my teachers do not speak Spanish, can we still use Sube?

It is always suggested that teachers have proficiency in the language. Research shows that instruction with native or proficient speakers is most effective.

However, we understand that some schools are wanting to have their teachers learn the language as they teach and are looking for materials that are sensitive to their needs. Sube can be helpful as it is simple to use and easy to learn.

We recommend that an assistant be available to help the teachers with pronunciation because many phrases and vocabulary words are written and teachers will need to learn correct pronunciation. Sube does not include audio tapes of vocabulary and phrases, other than the Sube music video which calls out all the vocabulary from the flashcards.

15. Should the Spanish instructions for tests be read in English as well?

All content written in Spanish is meant to be administered in Spanish, particularly in the Unit Tests. Whether they are used for pre-assessment or post-assessement, all the test are designed to help determine your student's proficiency level.

If a student is not able to understand certain sentences or words you can then design your future lessons to target these gaps. It is encouraged to read through the tests at the start of the unit and try to use the phrases and vocabulary in the classroom as much as possible to expose them to the phrases that they will then see on the tests.

16. What is the Sube return policy?

Sube has a 30-day satisfaction guaranteed return policy. If you are not 100% satisfied with the Sube materials and you return the product in original sellable condition we will give you a full refund. Customer must pay the return shipping. Please contact us for return shipping details.