The first thematic unit and a natural place to start. Explore what makes up a family across the Spanish-speaking world, how family values and community life are lived, and how families experience today's world — while you build the interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills the whole course depends on.
The College Board's recommended instructional contexts for this theme — the everyday topics you'll explore through authentic Spanish sources.
Core Context
Family Relationships · Relaciones familiares
Family structures, roles, values, and how family life is lived across Spanish-speaking societies.
Core Context
Community Activities · Actividades comunitarias
How people participate in and contribute to their communities — traditions, service, and shared events.
Core Context
Social Interactions & Relationships · Interacciones y relaciones sociales
Friendship, courtesy, social norms, and how people relate to one another in different settings.
Core Context
Urban & Rural Communities · Comunidades urbanas y rurales
How the experience of family and community differs between cities and the countryside.
Also Explored
Customs & Celebrations · Costumbres y celebraciones
Holidays, rituals, and traditions that bind families and communities together.
Also Explored
Spanish in the World · El español en el mundo
The diversity of Spanish-speaking communities and how language connects them.
About Unit 1
Unit 1 introduces the theme Families and Communities (Las familias y las comunidades) and, just as importantly, the way the whole course works: you learn language and culture together, through authentic sources — articles, audio reports, charts, and promotional materials — rather than isolated vocabulary lists. The essential questions guide everything: What constitutes a family in Spanish-speaking societies? What are the important aspects of family values and life? How do families and communities experience today's world?
Because the College Board does not weight the exam by unit, no single theme is "worth" a set percentage. Instead, all six themes appear across a 50% free-response / 50% multiple-choice exam. Unit 1 is a strong starting point because it builds the two interpretive skills you'll use in every reading and listening set — identifying supporting details and determining the main idea — and starts your speaking practice toward the Project Presentation and Project Q&A.
Everything in this unit develops the three modes of communication:
Mode 1
Interpretive — read, listen to, and interpret authentic sources
Mode 2
Interpersonal — two-way conversation and spontaneous exchange
Mode 3
Presentational — formal speaking and writing for an audience