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AP Spanish Language Syllabus Course Overview
Goals & Objectives
Students will expand their interpersonal communication skills in Spanish through daily classroom interactions in the language. This includes casual conversations with the teacher and classmates as well as formal discussions. The instructor uses Spanish almost exclusively, and encourages the students to do likewise. Students will increase and refine their written presentational skills, as well as their refine their oral presentational skills, in formal and informal contexts. Additionally, Students will broaden their comprehension skills of written and aural material in formal and informal contexts as well as broaden their understanding of the cultures that comprise the Spanish-speaking world through the study of history, literature, art, music, and current events. Finally, Students will make connections between their learning in the Spanish classroom, their learning in other classes, and their daily lives.
Resources and Course Outline
Main Texts
Díaz, José et al. Abriendo Paso: Lectura Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. ---. Abriendo Paso: Gramática Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. --- Abriendo Paso: Lectura Testing Program Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. --- Abriendo Paso: Gramática Testing Program Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. ---AP Spanish: Preparing for the Language Examination. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007
Abriendo Paso: Lectura provides a variety of literary works with integrated activities for improving all four area skills. The text encourages students to relate the readings to personal experiences and to expound upon their interpretations of the readings through oral and written activities, both formal and informal. The text also provides comprehensive listening activities, free response activities and multiple-choice activities to enhance the four skills areas and build vocabulary.
Abriendo Paso: Gramática provides students with excellent grammar review and practice which is similar to that of the AP Spanish Language Exam. Additionally, students are given portions of old AP Exams once a week to help them prepare for the AP examination in May.
Web Sites
BBC Mundo.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/ Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes The City: La ciudad. (PBS) www.pbs.org/itvs/laciudad/index.html EuroNews www.euronews.net/create_html.php?page=home&lng=5 Instituto Cervantes www.cervantes.es/portada_b.htm
Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classrooms López Nieves, Luis. Ciudad Seva: cuentos de Augusto Monterroso www.ciudadseva.com/textos/cuentos/esp/monte/am.htm Materiales (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España) www.sgci.mec.es/usa/materiales/ McClennen, Sophia A. Cinergia. www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/cinergia/cinergia.htm Portalmix Romagosa, Santiago. Don Quijote de la Mancha
CDs
Díaz, José M. AP* Spanish: Preparing for the Language Examination. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007 --- Abriendo Paso: Gramática Audio Program. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. --- Abriendo Paso: Lectura Audio Program. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.
Teaching Strategies
Students will be encouraged to speak Spanish only during class time. Class instruction will be in Spanish for the most part.
Current events and country study
At the beginning of each year, students choose a country or region to study. They research basic data about the country and read current event articles about that country throughout the year. Students share oral summaries (in Spanish) of the articles they read with classmates. This provides practice for the speaking portion of the exam and allows students to gain a greater understanding of the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world.
Authentic sources
Working with authentic sources is key to successful AP Spanish Language Exam preparation. Many of the themes for the weeks of study lend themselves to additional reading, such as author biographies or articles with the same theme as the literature. These sources will be sought from newspapers, the Internet, etc., as appropriate, throughout the year. Students will read articles to form a basis for essays and give oral summaries of the information read.
Student Evaluation
Written Work 30% Oral Proficiency / Presentations 25% Listening Comprehension 25% Tests 20%
Quizzes, exams, projects, and compositions
1. Exams generally include matching or multiple-choice sections, fill-in the-blank sections, and short answer or essay sections. 2. Projects may include group presentations, research, class discussions, and more. 3. Instruction in writing is evidenced by instruction in brainstorming, pre-writing, writing an introduction/conclusion, providing details and synthesis. Most compositions are modeled on the format used in the AP Exam. However, some creative writing compositions are assigned as well. Part of the grade for composition includes peer review, instructor review, and rewriting to improve writing proficiency.
Journal, country study, and class participation
1. Students are asked to write approximately 10 pages each semester in a journal. This includes AP-style essays and free-choice pages. In addition, they are required to include one additional page for each day they are absent from class. 2. Students will choose a country or region of the Spanish-speaking world at the start of the semester. They will do some basic research on this country/region as well as keep current on news. Students will report the news of their country/region to the class on a biweekly basis. 3. Students grade their own participation using a rubric.
Term final and individual project
1. The final includes portions of previous AP Exams, reshaped to model the exam item types as identified in the AP Spanish Course Description. 2. Each student will choose one independent experience in Spanish to complete during the semester. Options include (but are not limited to) reading a novel, teaching Spanish to elementary students, volunteering with a community group that reaches out to the local Latina/o population, researching a historical or cultural topic of interest, or watching a series of films or television programs.
Extra Help I will be available after school for Spanish tutoring on Tuesdays from 3:15pm to 4:00pm in room #130. If you cannot come during those hours, we can try to arrange a day that will work for both of us. This is a good time to make-up missing work or to come and ask questions about something you have not understood. Please come to see me, even if you just have a small question. You are also welcome to come and practice your Spanish. Parents, I would be happy to sign a letter stating that your son/daughter attended tutoring. Make-Up Work If you are absent, it is your responsibility to make-up any work that you have missed. If you know that you will be missing a day of school, you should ask me ahead of time for the work we will be doing. In the event of an unexpected absence, please check our AP Spanish website for homework and important announcements. Late work is not accepted. You will have 3 days to make-up a quizzes and tests. In the event of an extended absence, special arrangements will be made. NO retakes will be given on tests or quizzes – you must study when you know that you will be taking a test or quiz. Text Book Policy Class sets will not leave the Spanish room without prior permission from me. Contact Policy I prefer to be contacted via e-mail. Please use e-mail as the first option. I will get back to you within 24 hours. If I cannot resolve the issue within that time, I will at least let you know I received your correspondence and will get back to you as soon as I can resolve the issue. Of course, for more urgent matters, or if you do not have an e-mail account, you can call me. Again, I will get back to you within 24 hours. I will also meet with parents and students at a time that will work for both of us. *Please note – this syllabus is subject to revisions throughout the year. Any changes will be made clear to students. Most Importantly – I look forward to great year! Policies and Procedures – Signature Page _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Once you and a parent/guardian have read this syllabus, please sign below to acknowledge that you have read and understood the policies and procedures of our Spanish class. Keep this syllabus in your binder for reference and return this signed page to me by Friday, August 14th.
Student Parent/Guardian
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