Me llamo______Hoy es el ____ de ______
AP Spanish Language and Culture Course Outline
Señora McKay
Contact:
Course website: https://ny01813707.schoolwires.net/Domain/1398
Course DescriptionAP Spanish Language and Culture is comparable to a high intermediate to low advanced college course. The course will give students the opportunity to review, refine, apply, and advance the language skills that they have acquired in their previous 4 years of study. Students will have studied most of the grammatical structures presented in this course and have a considerable breadth of vocabulary. The AP year is their chance to refine this knowledge through the study of intricacies of the language and detailed exploration of the history, art, literature, politics, and social structures of the Spanish-speaking world.
Learning activities will mirror the requirements of the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam. Students will be guided to develop competency in listening and reading comprehension using authentic sources from journals, news, literature, interviews, and more. They will also be required to produce Spanish orally and in writing, both in formal and informal communications.
The AP Spanish Language and Culture course is conducted entirely in Spanish. Students must actively participate and speak Spanish during class.
Learning a foreign language is a task requiring dedication and effort. This class is designed to provide students with the tools they will need to embark on this process, but in order to attain fluency, it will be necessary to practice extensively both in and out of the classroom.
Student Expectations
Students will receive a participation & professionalism grade each week (worth 15 points) based on the criteria below.
BE PROMPT.
Arrive to class and take your seat quietly before the bell rings.
Immediately begin the warm-up activity.
BE PREPARED.
Come to class prepared the necessary materials.
Complete classwork and homework carefully.
BE PRODUCTIVE.
Manage your time in class effectively.
Take notes that are useful and meaningful.
Make positive contributions to class discussions.
BE POLITE.
Treat others and their property with respect.
Work collaboratively with others in groups.
Help keep the classroom neat and clean.
BE PROACTIVE.
Self-advocate! Know where to find and how to use the resources that will make you more successful.
Grading Policy
Grades will be calculated by using an assignment-based point system. Students will be able to earn points in the following ways:
● quizzes (10-50 pts.)
● homework (typically 0-3 pts.)
● compositions (25-100 pts.)
● presentations (25-100 pts.)
● classwork (typically 0-15 pts.)
● participation (15 pts. weekly)
“All points are created equal.”
(i.e. 5 10 point assignments= 1 50 point quiz)
Grades will be calculated by dividing the total number of points earned by the total number of points assigned.
Daily homework assignments will not be accepted late. Projects and other assignments with high point values may be accepted late at the instructor’s discretion, but 10% of the total points awarded will deducted for each day late.
Quizzes may be announced or unannounced.
Any work completed dishonestly (see “Academic Honesty”) will earn a grade of ZERO. Students will also face disciplinary action for ANY instance of academic dishonesty.
Other Class Policies
Lateness: When the bell rings, students should already be seated with their materials out and working on the warm-up activity. Lateness adversely affects a student’s weekly participation grade and frequent lateness will result in further disciplinary action.
Phones/devices: Any unauthorized use of phones or other devices is strictly prohibited and will affect participation grades.
Language Use: Using Spanish is part of a student’s weekly participation grade and is fundamental for success on the AP exam.
Attendance and Make-up work: Student attendance will be dealt with according to the district attendance policy. Students are responsible for obtaining and completing missed work immediately upon their return to class.
Extra help: Extra help sessions will be posted in the classroom. Individual appointments can be made as needed.
Infinite Campus: Students can expect to see grades posted weekly via Infinite Campus.
Academic Honesty
Some examples of Academic Dishonesty include: copying someone else’s work, submitting work that someone else has completed, and using translators (human or electronic).
The use of translators is strictly prohibited, because they are NOT an effective way to help students retain knowledge. As a general rule, if you look up more than ONE word at a time or ask a person/device to conjugate a verb for you, you are committing an act of academic dishonesty.
I recommend www.wordreference.com as an online dictionary. Keep in mind that dictionaries are useful tools to help supplement what you already know.
Action Plan
If you find yourself struggling with the material, what can you do? Those steps are your action plan.
My action plan includes:
o Speak to my teacher
o Speak to my counselor
o Create a study group with other students
o Study from classroom resources (textbooks, Baron’s review book, 501 Spanish Verbs book, etc.)
o Create review sheets and/or flashcards
o Study from online resources (websites, youtube videos, etc.)
o Visit the library and check out Spanish guidebooks such as Spanish Grammar for Dummies.
o Write down specific questions that I still have
o Request a peer tutor
o Other ______
Materials & Resources
Texts:
● Abriendo Paso, Temas y lecturas by José Diaz and Maria F. Nadal
● Abriendo Paso, Gramática by José Diaz, Maria F. Nadal, and Stephen L. Collins
● Triángulo Aprobado by Barbara Gatski & John McMullan
● AP Spanish, Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination by José Diaz, Margarita Leicher-Prieto, & Gilda Nissenburg
● Temas by Parthena Draggett, Vista Higher Learning
● AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation, by Jorge Frisancho, Vista Higher Learning
Students should come to class each day prepared with textbooks, workbook, a binder with looseleaf paper, a folder, a pen/pencil, a Spanish-English dictionary, and the necessary materials from the current unit.
______
✓ I have read and understood the course outline.
Student’s signature: ______
Parent’s signature: ______
AP Spanish Language and Culture
Course of Study
Unit 1: Héroes y nuestra influencias (approximately 4 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Public and Personal Identities
❖ Beauty and Aesthetics
❖ Contemporary Life
Essential Questions:
❖ How do we and how should we define role models and heroes?
❖ How do the role models and heroes influence our daily lives?
❖ What are the roles and responsibilities of celebrities?
❖ How have Hispanic heroes and role models affected people’s lives in their communities?
Unit 2: Familias y roles de género (approximately 4 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Families and Communities
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Global Challenges
Essential Questions:
❖ How is family structure different throughout the world?
❖ How do men’s and women’s roles differ in other societies?
❖ How do our families make us who we are?
❖ How have women overcome gender obstacles?
Unit 3: Cultura, costumbres, y la vida contemporánea (approximately 4 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Beauty and Aesthetics
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Families and Communities
Essential Questions:
❖ How do we define culture, and how does culture define us?
❖ How does culture affect our daily lives?
❖ Should all culture be preserved? If so, how?
❖ How does the culture of the United States differ from the culture of Spanish-speaking countries?
Unit 4: Expresiones e impresiones artísticas (approximately 3 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Beauty and Aesthetics
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Personal and Public Identities
Essential Questions:
❖ How do we express our personal identities through the arts?
❖ How do the arts both challenge and reflect cultural perspectives?
❖ What are the positive and negative impacts of the arts on teenagers?
Unit 5: Tecnología y el porvenir (approximately 3 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Science and Technology
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Global Challenges
Essential Questions:
❖ How does technology affect our daily lives?
❖ What are the positive and negative influences of science and technology?
❖ How are language and communication changing due to science and technology?
❖ How is our social behavior changing due to technology?
Unit 6: La salud y el ocio (approximately 3 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Beauty and Aesthetics
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Science and Technology
Essential Questions:
❖ Are humans getting healthier or less healthy?
❖ Is technology helping or harming our health?
❖ What impact does our leisure time have on our health?
❖ How do teenagers in the United States spend their free time differently than teenagers in Spanish-speaking countries?
Unit 7: El hombre contra la naturaleza (approximately 4 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Global Challenges
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Beauty and Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
❖ What is happening and what is going to happen to our environment?
❖ How are my personal habit affecting the environment?
❖ What is my role in limiting harm to the environment?
❖ What is the relation between the environment of a country and its economy?
❖ What is tourism’s role in regards to preserving the environment?
Unit 8: La vida social y política (approximately 4 weeks)
Applicable textbook chapters:
AP Themes addressed:
❖ Global Challenges
❖ Contemporary Life
❖ Personal and Public Identities
Essential Questions:
❖ What challenges do indigenous communities have to endure and can they be changed?
❖ What impacts have social challenges and their resolutions made on their communities?
❖ How can beliefs and ideologies both cause social and political challenges and resolve them?
Spanish Language and Culture Examination
The AP examination will be administered on Tuesday, May 8th at 8AM. Students must prepare extensively inside and outside of class in order to be successful on this exam.