Chicos y grandes is designed to fill the hitherto unmet need for a basic Spanish course that can simultaneously help teachers in the classroom and parents at home. The book has been tested in several elementary schools in our area by experienced instructors. After a year of adjustment, Chicos y grandes has proven itself an extremely useful tool that saves teachers much time otherwise spent in preparatory work.

This is the first book of a series prepared for children in grades 2nd to 7th. The vocabulary and sentences are drawn from a child's everyday life, and students begin using verb conjugations early on. These are presented in exercises designed for interactive practice. Lengthy grammatical explanations are avoided.

A workbook, closely following the lesson sequence, contains more grammar and gives students the chance to reinforce knowledge at home. A CD, containing pronunciation exercises, dialogues, songs and listening exercises will help students to perfect the native accent and intonation of the language before they pass the critical threshold at which most of us lose this ability.

We hope that teachers will find this first level a useful teaching resource and an easy to follow method that will keep their students interested in the subject and willing to learn more.