Advanced Placement Spanish

Course Syllabus

2011-2012

Gateway Institute of Technology High School

Diane Pansky

(314) 776-3300 ext. 14020

Course Description

Advanced Placement Spanish is a two semester course focused on the improvement of students’ grammar, reading, writing, listening and presentation skills. It is intended for students who have successfully completed at least three years of Spanish language study in junior high or high school or who are native Spanish speakers with demonstrated mastery of the language at the level of a fourth year student.

The content and requirements of this course are comparable to those of a third-year college course. Students should enter the course prepared for rigorous work both inside and outside of the classroom. A central aim of the course is to prepare students to take the AP Spanish Exam, which is administered by the College Board. More information on AP Spanish courses and the AP exam, along with sample exam questions from previous years, can be found at

Goals:

  • 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. To this end, Spanish will be used almost exclusively by all participants in the course.
  • Students will increase and refine their written presentational skills in formal and informal contexts
  • Students will refine their oral presentational skills in formal and informal contexts.
  • Students will broaden their comprehension skills through exposure to diverse written and audio materials in formal and informal contexts.
  • Students will broaden their understanding of the cultures that comprise the Spanish-speaking world through the study of history, literature, art, music and current events.
  • Students will make connections between their learning in the Spanish classroom, their learning in other classes, and their daily lives.

Materials

The textbook for this course is Rumbos. It was created to serve a broad spectrum of students at the third-year college level. Rumbos uses multiple instructional approaches to help every student achieve higher levels of communicative competence. It incorporates extensive review of grammar and vocabulary learned in prior years of study, along with a wide variety of authentic literary readings, listening-based note-taking tasks, academic writing tasks and oral presentations. Throughout the text, students are immersed in the rich diversity of Spanish-speaking cultures.

Supplemental written materials will include authentic Spanish-language articles from online sources, including the following:

  • La Nación
  • Thepaperboy.com
  • Prensaescrita.com
  • El Mundo
  • BBC

Supplemental listening materials will also be drawn from online sources:

  • Radio Naciones Unidas
  • BBC
  • Nuevos Horizontes
  • CNN en Espanol
  • PBS Documentary Films

Materials Students Will Need to Provide:

  • One binder with pockets
  • A notebook
  • Lined paper
  • Pens or pencils

Course Plan

First Semester

Rumbos Chapter

/ Communication Goals / Grammar Focus / Literature & Articles
1 / Describe geography and climate
Describe your heritage
Discuss the influence of Hispanics in the United States
Describe Hispanic festivals in the US / Uses of the present indicative tense
Ser and estar
Definite and indefinite articles
Position and agreement of adjectives / “Es que duele” from Y no se lo tragó by Tomás Rivera
2 / Describe your family and family relationships
Describe family celebrations and traditions
Narrate past events
Tell and write an anecdote about your family / Haber plus past participle
Differences between preterite & imperfect
Verbs that change in the preterite / “Una Navidad como ninguna otra” de Gioconda Belli
“Corpus Christi: El mico y la paloma tradición del pueblo católico en Guatemala”
3 / Describe and discuss study abroad opportunities
Make a telephone call
Describe modes of transportation and tourist excursions
State and comment on prices
Write a personal letter / The prepositions por and para
Reflexive and reciprocal verbs
Negatives and indefinites
Comparatives and superlatives / “Cuando salí de la Habana, vágalme Dios” de José Emilio Pacheco
Entrevista con el alumno Enrique Acuña de Relaciones Internacionales, desde Rouen, Francia
4 / Express opinions about food and leisure activities
Make, accept and reject invitations
Talk about preparing food
Write a review / The subjunctive tense
The passive voice with ser
Impersonal expressions
Use of se to communicate accidental or unintentional actions / “De bípeda desplumada a Escritora Puertorriqueña” by Ana Lydia Vega
Review of Antes que anochezca
5 / Describe physical and personal characteristics of people
Describe clothing and styles
Express style preferences
Write a biography / Direct object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns
Verbs with gustar
Double object pronouns / “La Gloria de los feos” de Rosa Montero
“Javier Bardem, ternura tras rudos rasgos”

Second Semester

Rumbos Chapter

/ Communication Goals / Grammar Focus / Literature & Articles

6

/ Talk about a job search
Describe opportunities to work or volunteer abroad
Make a formal phone call
Write a cover letter
Converse during a job interview / Future and conditional tenses
Formal and informal commands
Pronouns with commands / “Flores de volcán” by Claribel Alegría
“Un mes inolvidable”
7 / Talk about struggles for human rights
Express yourself in disagreeable situations
Express opinions about crime and injustice
Describe and give an opinion on a court ruling
Write a news article / The subjunctive in adjective clauses
The subjunctive in adverb clauses
The subjunctive after indefinite expressions / “Entre dos luces” by César Bravo
“La ordenanza del ruido pasa el primer debate”
8 / Talk about the visual arts
Describe literature
Express your reactions to literature
Write a poem / Imperfect subjunctive
The subjunctive in conditional clauses
Relative pronouns
Uses of lo que, lo cual and cuyo / “El insome” de Eduardo Carranza
“Fernando Botero retrata la Guerra en Colombia en una nueva exposición”
9 / Comment on and explain inventions
Describe ethical questions that accompany new technologies
Discuss controversial topics
Write an expository essay / Present perfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive
Distinguishing among forms of the subjunctive mood
Future perfect and conditional perfect / “Vacío era el de antes” de Luisa Valenzuela
“Una encuesta de la Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE): realizada en Capital y GBA. El cellular estrecha los lazos familiars” por Fabiola Czubaj

10

/ Describe social and environmental issues related to globalization
Analyze the impact of globalization on the environment
Elaborate and defend your opinion on social and environmental issues
Write and argumentative essay / Progressive tenses
Present participle vs. infinitive
Review of verb tenses / “La última niebla” de María Luisa Bombal
“Mapuches, discriminacion y basura” by Alejandro Navarro Brain

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:

Teacher’s Responsibilities:

  • Provide a positive and safe environment that fosters student learning.
  • Align instruction to state and district curriculum requirements.
  • State learning goals and objectives daily.
  • Explain course information clearly and in multiple ways.
  • Differentiate instruction to meet student needs.
  • Provide diverse learning opportunities that stimulate students’ interests and develop new skills and knowledge.

Parents’ Responsibilities:

  • Stay informed about your student’s progress in the course.
  • Contact me with any questions or concerns.

Students’ Responsibilities:

  • Attend class every day – In the event of illness or other justified absences, work may be made up. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the instructor for make-up work and follow through on completing assignments.
  • Arrive on time – tardiness disrupts the class and takes learning time away from other students. It will not be tolerated. Tardiness will negatively impact your class participation grade.
  • Spend time outside of class practicing vocabulary, grammar rules, reading, writing, speaking and listening to authentic Spanish language sources.
  • Work hard on a daily basis and complete all assignments in a timely manner.
  • Work cooperatively and support one another in improving language skills

Grade Determination:

Homework – 20%

Classroom discussion, in-class assignments and participation – 20%

Quizzes and Tests – 20%

Projects & Presentations – 20%

Semester Exams – 20%