CARDINAL HAYES HIGH SCHOOL School Year Spanish 1 Syllabus

Transcription

1 CARDINAL HAYES HIGH SCHOOL School Year Mr. Garcia Contact: ext.143 Syllabus REQUIRED SIGNATURE I have read and fully understand the class syllabus explained below. Parent/Guardian Signature Student Signature Date # 1 The purpose of this course is to learn and develop the skills necessary for acquiring a foreign language. In this case it is Spanish. With over 50 million Spanish speakers in the U.S.A., which is projected to become 132 million by 2050, and close to half a billion speakers worldwide, it is clear to see why Spanish is one of the key world languages that will greatly enhance your life culturally and financially. All the basic structures of Spanish will be covered in order to set the foundation for further Spanish language acquisition in levels 2 and 3. Textbook: Aventura! 1, EMC Español Publishing, Alejandro Vargas Bonilla This textbook will be provided by Cardinal Hayes. It must be handled with great care. Students that damage the textbook, which is school property, will be held accountable and must make the appropriate reparations. Supplies needed: - A binder (3 rings/1 inch). Include loose leaf for notebook. This will be your notebook and folder for the year for all your handouts, assignments, tests and class notes. Do not mix with other subjects. There are many important handouts given throughout the course that summarize lessons and are used as reference, including practice exams and exercises. You can t afford to lose these handouts. Each handout is numbered to be kept in your binder organized. The organization of all your school work will be part of each evaluation grade and the final grade of each marking period (see grading section). - An English/Spanish Dictionary This is a vital tool in learning a new language whether in the classroom or traveling. There are several tests and exercises where you need use a dictionary. Those that have their dictionary available will have a significant advantage.

2 Dictionaries may not be shared during a test. If a dictionary is shared during a test, both students will get a 0 grade. Therefore, it is in your best interest to have at all times your dictionary with you during class and as well as a test. If during a test you do not have your dictionary and you do not obtain a good grade, you are the only one to blame. - Pens / pencils / loose leaf (have extras of everything to make sure you are always prepared) Classroom Order & Procedure Each student must be on time for class with all the necessary books, binder (notebook/folder), pens and pencils. If unsure of which books to bring, bring them all. Not being prepared for class will result in a 0 grade for class work for that day. (-1 on the final grade for the marking period. (See grading section) 2 Students arriving late will be placed on the Late List and must serve detention. Absolutely no exceptions. Upon entering the classroom, sit at your assigned seat in an orderly manner. Take out all work and homework for the day. Look over the prayers in Spanish while the teacher takes attendance. All classes begin with the prayers in Spanish. Each student must remain quiet and respectful during all classroom activity. In order to speak and participate in the class lesson, you must raise your hand. Calling out, being disruptive or interfering in any way with the day s lesson will result in detention. Continuous disruptive behavior that in any way interferes with the lesson or is disrespectful to other classmates or the teacher will result in an automatic failure for the marking period. Such a student who insists on continuing to disrupt the class despite being warned will be placed on Academic Disciplinary Probation where every grade is reduced significantly because he is devaluing and diminishing the education time of the other students. If such student, upon being warned, stops his misbehavior and allows each day s lesson to proceed productively, then his grades will be restored. Absolutely no exceptions. Fair warning to all. Repeated improper behavior that interferes with the education of other students is an automatic failure. A parent s financial sacrifice to educate his/her son will not be wasted. Any question, comment or request, such as asking permission to go to the restroom, must be in Spanish and will only be accepted in Spanish. These common everyday requests will be taught in the first few days of class. If anything is that important, you will find a way to say it and remember it in Spanish.

3 3 GRADING 1. Evaluations: 50% of grade. Evaluations such as tests and quizzes will be given at the end of each unit of study. If an evaluation is missed, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with the teacher to make it up; otherwise the grade will be 0. In order to help you get a higher grade, during each class you can already start accumulating points toward the test by doing all the task essential for academic and professional success. These include: completing all the homework correctly and on time, participating in class, allowing the class to proceed productively and having an organized binder and notes. Each evaluation grade will be made up of two parts: 15 points - for being an exemplary student in all aspects: homework, behavior/participation and having an organized binder and notes 85 points - correct answers on test 100 POINTS TOTAL Therefore, if you do all your homework as well as behave and participate in class, you will begin each test with 15 points. You accumulate these points throughout the lesson leading up to the test. (* THERE IS NO PARTIAL CREDIT FOR THE 15 POINTS. YOU HAVE EITHER BEEN AN EXEMPLARY STUDENT OR NOT.) Why such a great emphasis on being organized? Order is the foundation of success. People that are successful are not necessarily more intelligent. They are simply very well organized. Therefore it is imperative that you be organized in everything you do. Success is a science not something that happens by chance. 2. Marking Period Assignments: 40% of grade. In every marking period there will be several assignments or projects, such as Spanish World News, Cultural Presentation, Dialogue in Practice etc. These assignments are to be completed exactly as specified and must be handed in on the due dates. The format for each assignment will be given to you or may be downloaded from the school web site. Assignments will only be accepted in the given format. The due dates will be given at the beginning of a marking period, so there is absolutely no excuse for not handing them in on time. In order to help you get a higher grade, you may ask the teacher any time before the due date for an unofficial grade whereby the teacher lets you know the grade of the current assignment and points out where you can improve it to get a higher grade when it is finally handed in on the due date. You may do as many unofficial grade checks as you wish. Therefore, in theory, during the time before the due date, you can continuously improve your assignment until you get a 100 grade. Your grade is always in your hands.

4 4 3. Daily Homework: 10% of grade. Depending on the lesson, there will be daily review exercises as homework that will be checked the next day. Homework is usually the completion of the day s classwork. To receive the full evaluation points and marking period grade, you must complete all the homework on time. Any missing or incomplete assignment will result in points not being gained. Even if only one question is not completed, it will be considered incomplete. All homework and assignments are posted online on the school website. Absent students are responsible for checking their homework in the school website, and must have all work completed upon returning to class. It is your responsibility to make sure the teacher sees it. Otherwise the grade will be 0. PLEASE NOTE! The teacher is always on your side and willing to help you in any way. Any time before a test or the due date of an assignment, you can ask the teacher for help in reviewing for a test or in preparing an assignment. The grade you get invariably depends on your willingness to make the extra effort. Therefore, do not blame anyone else for the grades you get; they are always in your hands. 4. EXTRA CREDIT Extra credit can be an integral part of your learning experience in this class as well as greatly enhance your grade. Assignment extra credit will be given to any classroom presentation in which you share with the class an interesting aspect of Hispanic culture. This may include a visit to a Hispanic restaurant, a Hispanic museum or cultural event, or any cultural activity you find of interest. You must get teacher approval before you begin the assignment to make sure it is valid for extra credit. The presentation must be dynamic with as many photos, stories, anecdotes, props, and cultural items as possible. The more you have, the more the rest of the class learns and feels like they went along with you, the more credit you get. Do take advantage of this extra credit opportunity to participate in Spanish language and culture as well as bring up your grades. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cardinal Hayes Web Site - All homework and assignments are online. All handouts can be downloaded online. Therefore, there is absolutely no excuse for missing any work. Being absent means double the effort to make up all the work. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

5 5 Course Topics: The following two pages list all the course topics according to the first and second semester of the school year. FIRST SEMESTER - Understand the basic principles on how the human brain acquires language - Apply all the strategies, techniques and skills to learn new language and use them effectively: cognates, word association, memory devices etc. - Vocabulary: put into practice basic everyday Spanish vocabulary: numbers, days of the week, months, telling time, colors, classroom and personal objects, prayers, interrogative pronouns, etc - Vocabulary: acquire new vocabulary / all homework, class work exercises and assignments must be translated and known in Spanish and English. Use of dictionary / ask teacher using Spanish phrases and interrogative pronouns. - Greetings, formal and informal - Begin writing short sentences in Spanish. Develop and gain confidence in writing in a second language. - Prepositions - Numbers: adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing - Reading Comprehension - Develop the skills to navigate through the Spanish language websites from all the Hispanic countries. - Understand and integrate world news in Spanish. - Ser / Estar : Present Tense - Present Tense Regular and Irregular Verbs - Articles: Definite and Indefinite - Knowing how to express an idea in the different tenses. Change a verb from the Present to the Preterit, Preterit to Imperfect, Imperfect to Present. - Familiar and Polite Commands - Geography: Hispanic Countries name, capital, flag, culture

6 6 SECOND SEMESTER - Vocabulary: continue with all the vocabulary building exercises and techniques. Now with special orientation towards expressing written and verbal ideas which will be used throughout the course in preparation for the standardized exams. - Verbs: continue learning and using new verbs conjugated in all the studied tenses. - Preterit Tense Regular and Irregular Verbs - Imperfect Tense Regular and Irregular Verbs - Knowing when to use the Preterit Tense and Imperfect Tense - Future Tense - Conditional Tense - The use of gustar - Reflexive Pronouns / Reflexive Verbs - Possessive Adjectives / Pronouns - Expressions with tener - Demonstrative adjectives - Comparisons/ Superlatives/ Negatives - Translation: Spanish to English / English to Spanish. Written and Oral. - Geography: Hispanic Countries name, capital, flag, culture - Reading Comprehension / Read and answer question in Spanish - Basic structure of writing an essay in Spanish - Basic structure of initiating and carrying a conversation in Spanish