AP Spanish Language and Culture Patricia Reyes Course Overview This course is for students who have completed Spanish 3 successfully and have a strong foundation at the intermediate level in either (or both) formal language instruction or heritage language acquisition. Students are further exposed to the rich array of Spanish literature, newspapers and magazine articles, current events and culture in order to enhance their comprehension abilities. The heavy course workload, combined with the wide range of language styles and contexts is designed to challenge students to acquire the communicative resources to meet the demands of the AP level. Additionally, students will be expected to write and correct essays in Spanish so that they can sharpen their reading and writing skills. The class will place emphasis on preparing the students for the AP exam at the end of the school year. Course Objectives Students will: 1) Express and exchange ideas, information and opinions accurately and clearly in writing in different tenses. 2) Produce and create original scripts, speeches, stories. 3) Increase vocabulary and structures to broaden their understanding in reading newspaper, magazine articles, and literary pieces with increasing ease and accuracy. 4) Speak fluently, utilizing proper syntactic structure, a rich vocabulary and clear pronunciation, as well as appropriate intonation contours while using the correct register. 5) Understand content in formal and informal language, idiomatic expressions, culturally and authentic information from videos, movie, songs, television in general, and radio. 6) Expand their knowledge, curiosity, interest, and understanding of the practices, perspectives, and products of Spanish and Hispanic cultures. 7) Compare and contrast historical, geographic, social or political aspects of Spanish speaking countries and their own. Course Outline Text Used Díaz, José M., María F. Nadel, and Stephen J. Collins. Abriendo Paso: Gramatica. Glenview, IL: Prentice Hall, 2000. Print. Díaz, José M., Margarita Leicher Prieto and Gilda Nissenberg. AP Spanish Preparing for the Language Examination. Prentice Hall, 2007
Course Planner Unit Topics Covered Semester 1 Unit 1 9/3-9/6 Unit 2 9/9-9/13 Theme: Verbs Vocabulary Review: Commonly used -ar, -er and ir verbs Theme: Nouns Paso 1: Nouns and articles Vocabulary Review: Thematic units of nouns from prior Spanish courses Unit 3 9/16-9/20 Theme: Interrogatives and Adjectives in exclamatory expressions Paso 5: Interrogatives and exclamations Vocabulary Review: Thematic units of adjectives from prior Spanish courses Unit 4 9/23-10/4 Conversemos Lección 1: Las relaciones interpersonales Unidad 2: La descripción de nuestros alrededores: diferencias y semejanzas Los Desafíos mundiales: Economía, medio ambiente, religión, bienestar social y conciencia social Unit 5 10/7-10/25 Conversemos Lección 2: Nosotros los estudiantes Unidad 3: La narración y la descripción en el presente Paso 6: Numbers La ciencia y la tecnología: acceso a la tecnología y sus efectos en las masas, el cuidado de la salud y la medicina, innovaciones tecnológicas Mid-term Unit 6 10/28-11/15 Mini AP-like exam that will include reading, writing, listening and a speaking section. This test will be done over the course of two days. Conversemos Lección 3: Atletas y excursionistas Unidad 4: Cómo expresar deseos y obligaciones La vida contemporánea: estilos de vida,viajes y ocio,entretenimiento y
diversión, relaciones personales, tradiciones y valores sociales Unit 7 11/18-11/22 12/2-12/20 Unidad 6: La narración y la descripción en el pasado (I) Identidades personales y públicas: enajenación y asimilación, héroes y personajes históricos, identidad nacional y étnica, creencias personales Unit 8 1/6-1/17 Paso 5: Interrogatives and exclamations Review Semester Evaluation AP-like exam that will include reading, writing, listening and a speaking section. This test will be done over the course of three days. Unit Unit 1 1/28-2/14 Semester 2 Topics Covered Unidad 5: La narración y la descripción en el futuro: cómo expresar emoción, duda, negación, probabilidad o conjetura Familias y comunidades: tradiciones y valores, estructura familiar, ciudadanía global, redes sociales y geografía humana Unit 2 2/17-3/14 Paso 7: Indefinite and negative words Paso 8: Gustar and verbs like gustar Belleza y estética: arquitectura, definiciones de belleza y de creatividad, moda y diseño, lenguaje y literatura, artes visuales y estética Unit 3 3/17-3/21 Paso 9: Adverbs Paso 10: Por/para Unit 4 3/24-3/28 Unidad 6: La narración y la descripción en el pasado (II) Mid-term Evaluation Mini AP-like exam that will include reading, writing, listening and a speaking section. This test will be done over the course of four days. Unit 5
4/7-4/11 Paso 2: Subject pronouns and prepositional pronouns Paso 3: Object pronouns Paso 4: Relative pronouns AP Spanish practice exams Review and Evaluation 4/14-5/5 AP-like exam that will include reading, writing, listening and a speaking section. AP Exam AP Exam-May 5 th. 2014 5/7-6/16 Final Project Work and Presentation Period Classroom Activities Students will use a variety of authentic sources to complete the classroom activities. At the beginning of the year students are allowed to use notes, prompts, scripts, etc. to work through and complete the activities. As the year progresses, they are asked to taper off of the supplemental materials so that in the last two units before the AP exam they are working independently from all supplemental materials. Throughout the course of each unit, students will have done each of these activities a minimum of two times. Listening Students will listen to authentic short and long form passages provided by commercial ads, news headlines, youtube and short dialogues, and movies etc. They will take notes and answer multiple choice questions on what they are hearing. They will also practice creating questions about what they are hearing. Students will listen to fellow classmates while they are giving short oral presentations and performing role-playing situations in small groups and in front of the class. Students will listen and watch themselves on videos so that they can assess themselves on their abilities. Authentic Sources for Listening Activities Websites BBC en español www.bbcmundo.com
CNN en español www.cnn.com/espanol Radio Naciones Unidas www.un.org/radio/es Podcasts Various podcasts from itunes Mexico and notes in Spanish. Tapes/CDs Accompanying Audio CD for: Diaz, Jose M., Margarita Leicher-Prieto, and Gilda Nissenberg. Ap Spanish Preparing for the Language Examination. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Accompanying Audio CD for: Jarvis, Lebredo, and Mena-Ayllon. Conversemos. 3rd ed. Boston: Mcdougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print. Student-recorded samples of various articles, poems, essays, etc. Reading Students will read a variety of short and long articles and narratives, news stories, short essays, and dialogues to be able to answer multiple choice questions, short-form essay questions and long-form essay questions. Students will be reading their classmates essays on the different topics that will be covered in this course so that they become familiarized with the AP test rubrics. Authentic Sources for Reading Activities Websites Univision Network Azteca America BBC en español CNN en español El País La Nación El Mundo www.univision.com www.aztecaamerica.com www.bbcmundo.com www.cnn.com/espanol www.elpais.com www.nacion.com www.elmundo.es Magazines Various editions of National Geographic en español Various editions of Sports Illustrated Presents: SI Latino Various editions of People en Español
Speaking Students will practice their speaking and pronunciation skills by recording themselves reading selections, having conversations, and answering a variety of questions in the target language. Students will do oral presentations in small group and classroom settings on the different researched topics before mentioned. Students will read-aloud in small group settings. Students will interact in role-playing situations in both small group and classroom settings. Students will engage in conversations and debates on a variety ot topics presented in class. Authentic Sources for Speaking Activities Websites Univision Network Azteca America BBC en español CNN en español El País La Nación El Mundo www.univision.com www.aztecaamerica.com www.bbcmundo.com www.cnn.com/espanol www.elpais.com www.nacion.com www.elmundo.es Magazines Various editions of National Geographic en español Various editions of Sports Illustrated Presents: SI Latino Various editions of People en Español Writing Students will practice interpersonal writing skills through emails with their classmates and social media. They will also practice impromptu interpersonal writing and responses in class. Students will use sources provided to write short answer essays on a variety of topics that will be covered in class.
Students will keep reading logs in which they will be required to write a synopsis for each article or chapter they read. Students will use articles, short stories, news, ads, etc. to practice and fine tune their question writing and analysis of different sources. Authentic Sources for Writing Activities Websites BBC en español www.bbcmundo.com CNN en español www.cnn.com/espanol El País www.elpais.com La Nación www.nacion.com El Mundo www.elmundo.es Univision www.univision.com Mundo Latino www.mundolatino.com Azteca America www.aztecaamerica.com Economia www.americaeconomia.com Magazines Various editions of National Geographic en español Various editions of Sports Illustrated Presents: SI Latino Various editions of People en español Evaluation Students will be evaluated on their participation in the classroom activities as well as their Spanish skills on the mid-term and semester evaluations. These evaluations will come from the following text: Diaz, Jose M., Margarita Leicher-Prieto, and Gilda Nissenberg. Ap Spanish Preparing for the Language Examination. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Other sources that have been listed in the Classroom Activities section of this syllabus may also be used in the creation of the mid-term and semester evaluations. These APlike evaluations are designed to test the students' knowledge, skill level and familiarize them with the format of the AP exam. After finishing preparation for the AP exam, students will be evaluated on their final essays and oral presentations. Department Grading Guidelines It is important that you know that your grade will be based on how well you perform in the language. You will be assessed on your ability to use the vocabulary and
grammar to read, write, speak, listen and think in Spanish. Your grade will be broken into the following categories and percentages: Assessments 60% Homework 10% Participation 20% Final 10% Assessments: You will be asked to take traditional fill in the blank style exams, present topics and conversations to your classmates and write and create a variety of skits that will demonstrate your knowledge of the Spanish language. Final Assessments: At the end of each semester you will be asked to perform in Spanish on traditional tests in order to assess your abilities in the Spanish language that you acquired throughout the semester and the year. The final assessments will be worth approximately 10% of your overall assessments grade. Homework : You are expected to do your homework and to be able to write your answers on the board the next day. It will be collected at the end of each unit and you will receive credit for it. Participation: This means that you will need to be prepared and willing to participate in classroom activities and discussions. A great portion of the AP exam is based on your speaking abilities; therefore it is imperative that you speak Spanish in class at all times. Class Grade Scale A+ 98-100% C+ 78-79% A 94-97% C 74-77% A- 90-93% C- 70-73% B+ 88-89% D+ 68-69% B 84-87% D 64-67% B 80-83% D- 60-63% F 0-59% You will need to demonstrate that you have a basic proficient knowledge of the language in order to be promoted to AP Spanish. Department Expectations In all Spanish classes you will be expected to take responsibility for your own success. That means that you will be responsible for the following things: -Follow all school rules including: *Dress code You will be sent to the office if you are in violation of the dress code No caps in the classroom *No non-academic use of cell phones/earphones in the classroom
First time you get a warning Second time I take your phone for the period Third time, I send the phone to the office Fourth time, your parents need to pick up your phone from the office *No food or drinks other than water in the classroom *No cheating/plagiarism *Respectful behavior and language * Unexcused tardies First time, you get a warning Second time, you get a detention and pick up papers in class during lunch Third time, you go to Saturday school -Follow your teacher s classroom procedures and rules -Check your own grade and go to your teacher with any problems that you have -Raise your hand to ask for extra help when you are not understanding -Ask for and make up any work missed during an absence* -Late work may or may not be accepted for partial credit only. After reading through this syllabus, please sign this page and return it to me no later than Monday, September 16th. (10 Test Points) My parent(s)/guardian(s) and I have read the following syllabus and understand what is expected of me in this class. We also understand that it takes a great deal of effort for the school and the teacher to be able to offer this class; therefore, I promise to take the AP Spanish language and culture exam on May 6 th. (Student name) (Student signature) (Parent name) (Parent signature) (Parent Phone #) (Parent E-mail) (Date)