Rowland Unified School District-Nogales High School
World Languages Department 2014-15
AP Spanish Language and Culture/IB Language B SL
Instructor: Ms. Zumaeta Room: T-6 Telephone: (626) 965-3437 Ext. 3559
E-mail: Web site: http://nogaleshs.enschool.org/apps/staff/
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
Welcome back to school! I am looking forward to a most successful year and to a many positive changes in our school; however, we need the involvement of all of us to make it happen. The mission of the World Languages Department is to enhance our students’ ability to be good listeners, speakers, readers, and writers, and to be able to synthesize what they are learning in order to communicate effectively in the target language. Through the acquisition of these skills, the students will understand and appreciate diverse cultures, thereby becoming engaged citizens of the international community.
Course description, objectives, framework, and requirements
I. AP Spanish Language and Culture/IB Language B SL in our school is a one-year course created for students of Spanish Language in a High Intermediate and Pre-Advanced Proficiency range in the continuum of learning a language, This course enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school The course objective is to provide a balanced program, which will enable students to develop connections between the texts and their own life experiences. The course will prepare students to demonstrate their level of Spanish proficiency across three proficiencies: interactive communication (Written and Spoken Interpersonal mode), receptive communication (Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretative mode), and productive communication (Written and Spoken Presentational mode). Further, students will demonstrate an increasing understanding of the cultural nuances of meaning in written and spoken language as expressed by speakers and writers of Spanish in formal and informal settings. Through the study of Spanish, students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures that use Spanish to communicate and, in fact, cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts, expressed as cultural products, practices, and perspectives in which the language occurs (adapted from ACTFL Executive Summary). The AP Spanish Language and Culture/IB Language B SL course takes a holistic approach to language proficiency and recognizes the complex interrelatedness of comprehension and comprehensibility, vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness (College Board 2014 AP Spanish Language and Culture.)
II. When communicating, students in the AP Spanish Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (Connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (Comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (Communities). Thereby, this course syllabus conforms to the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and its domains, and the State Framework for Foreign Language Learning Continuum and its Components: Stage I: Novice (Formulaic Language) Stage II: Intermediate (Created Language) Stage III: Advanced (Planned Language), and Stage IV: Superior (Extended Language.) Students in this class had two to three prior years of formal experience with the language and are generally consider Speakers within a range in Stage II and Stage III of the Language Learning Continuum. Finally, part of the framework for this course are the Nogales High School Expected School-wide Learning Results (ESLR’s): Critical Thinkers, Achievers, Responsible Citizens, and Effective Communicators.
III. This course is organized according to the following six themes: Los desafíos mundiales (cuestiones globales), Ciencia y Tecnología, La belleza y la estética (la salud), la vida contemporánea (el medio ambiente), Las identidades personales y públicas (la educación y el comercio), y las familias y las comunidades (deportes y el prójimo) as outlined in the course overview.
The activities of this course will enable students to comprehend and produce (functions) oral and written essays (text-types) dealing with unfamiliar, abstract, practical, social, and professional topics (content) in most formal and informal settings and problem situations by non-sympathetic natives (context/accuracy).
IV. In light of the demands of the course, students “must not only be well prepared, but they must also have a high level of motivation and interest as well sufficient time to prepare out-of-class reading and writing assignments,” (Teachers Guide AP Language Program, AP College Board, 2014) . The course is conducted in Spanish; English will be used only for clarification of complex grammatical aspects. Students are expected to use the target language consistently, at all times, with teachers and classmates, not only during class time, but also before and after the class (passing times) and during academic help time with the teacher. Adherence to this rule will be reflected in the student’s academic grade. Students can and should consult references, and paper and online dictionaries (i.e.www. rae.es). All routine Costa Levels Inquiries and work will be graded positively. In sum, motivation, time and independent work are conditions sine qua non to become successful in this course. Please, be advised that the AP Spanish Language and Culture Examination will be on Tuesday, May 6th and requires a fee payable to school during the month of March.. Also, the IB Language B SL examination will take place in May.
V. Students in this class will be invited to become members of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH) if they maintain an academic grade of A or B (above 80%) by November. Such students will be inducted in this prestigious honor society during the first week of December.
VI. The following texts will be used:
1. Gatsky, Barbara and John Mc Mullan. Triángulo A Propósito. New York,Westside Publishing, 2006.
2. Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. México D.F.: Era, 1991.
3. Many other realia, online resources and support materials will be used; such as: virtual dictionaries www.(rae.es), digital newspapers (www.bbmundo.com), digital publishers (Schmoop.com), National Geographic in Spanish, songs, zambombazo.com, quizlet.com, Etc.
VII. The following is a list of materials needed for this course:
1) A notebook for this course only 2) A three holed paper folder 3) Reading markers in four different colors 4) Red pen 5) Small notebook.
Academic and Disciplinary Policy
I. Grades are determined based on a possible total of 100% according to the following categories and scale: 20% Homework assignments; 20% In-class work; 20% Compositions and Projects; 20% Written and oral examinations; 20% Attendance and participation.
98-100 % A+ 83-86 B 70-72 C- Below 65% F
93-97 A 80-82 B- 69 D+
90-92 A- 77-79 C+ 66-68 D
87-89 B+ 73-76 C 65 D-
Make-up work will be accepted up to one week following an absence only if the student was legitimately absent. Students are responsible for ALL work assigned during an absence and should check with a classmate and/or our internet site to obtain assignments and relevant information.
II. Students, in conformity with school and district rules and regulations, I expect you to be familiar with the behaviors that will make your contribution effective and meaningful. Classroom rules, essentially, come down to one: show courtesy toward your classmates, myself, guest teachers and other persons that might be present in our classroom. Students are rewarded for compliance and adherence to classroom procedures in the following manner: 1) verbal praise 2) Sticker (valid extra credit points) 3) Applause 4) Pulling a reward from “Pandora box” (risky) 5) Positive comment sent by blackboardconnected.com.
III. The World Languages Department considers student work by definition what she/he has alone created. Therefore, any use of electronic translators is considered plagiarism. It is also considered plagiarism downloading documents or other works by others, and corrections made by others in the student‘s document. Please, refer to the Student Honesty Policy as outlined in our internet site (http://nogaleshs.enschool.org), AP Honesty Policy, and IB Diploma Academic Honesty and Malpractice Policy. If a student has any doubts or concerns she/he should consult with her/is teacher
IV. Any discipline issues will be addressed as follows: 1) Verbal and non-verbal classroom warnings 2) teacher consequences such as: lunchtime detention, and/or long letter of apology 3) school lunchtime and after-school detention,4) parent contact, 5) parent meeting, 6) referral to Vice-principal (SSC).
V. Electronic exchange of materials and communication online will be part of the course, requiring all of the students to access to a computer either at home or at our school (Diagnostic technology test) *. Conversely, unauthorized electronic devices seen or heard in our classroom will be confiscated, and turned in to SSC (Student Service Center.)
Parents, thank you in advance for your involvement in your child’s academic life as it is essential for her/is success. This section with both of your signatures and initials will count as the first homework assignment.
Sincerely,
Estrella Zumaeta
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Dear Ms. Zumaeta: Initials
1. I have read and understand what this course is and its immediate objectives. _____
2. I have read and know about the themes that are seen in this course. _____
3. I understand that this course entitles a fee payable in May, 2014. _____
4. I understand that in this course my student will participate fully (i.e.singing, etc.)_____
5. I have read and understand the academic honesty classroom policy. _____
6. I have read and understand the study course requirements. _____
7. I have read and understand the classroom rules and consequences. _____
8. I have read and understand the disciplinary consequences. _____
9. I have read and understand the electronics policy. _____
10. I have read and understand the “Only Spanish” class policy. _____
11. I have carefully read the above syllabus. _____
12. I will meet with Ms. Zumaeta at least once during this school year. _____
13. I will support my daughter/son in the AP/IB Spanish Class. _____
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