Course Expectations Spanish 1 2015 2016 Profesora Kelsey Cochran COURSE DESCRIPTION In this course you will build basic skills in speaking, comprehending and writing in Spanish. You will also learn about Spanish speaking cultures around the world and in our own country, including cultural and linguistic differences between Spanish speaking populations. With a curious and adventurous attitude, plus some hard work in class and at home, you will leave this course with the ability to have basic conversations in Spanish, read and write simple texts and simple spoken Spanish. In Spanish 1 you will take the first steps toward, I hope, becoming a fluent Spanish speaker and multilingual world citizen. This course, as well as our textbook, Realidades 1, is based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards and the 5 Cs. I suggest that you and your parents review these standards HERE. THE KEYS TO SUCCESS IN SPANISH 1 Participate actively, enthusiastically and respectfully. Take risks with Spanish and encourage others to do so too. Remember that learning a language is challenging and sometimes uncomfortable. Come to class every day, on time and prepared to learn. Reinforce what we learn in class by doing your homework nightly and studying at home. Seek help when you need it! I m here to help you succeed. Email me or stop by my classroom. COURSE MATERIALS Required daily in-class materials Your ipad, charged and ready to go, with the ability to log into class apps and accounts in a timely manner (in other words, you know or can easily access your login information) Pens and pencils A few colored pens, pencils and highlighters for notes and corrections A 1-inch, 3-ring binder with 5 dividers and around 20 sheets of lined paper Textbook: Realidades 1 In class you will learn how to log onto our online textbook (etext) from your ipad or home computer We have a class set of hard copy textbooks for use during class time There are limited hard copies available for personal checkout from the MIHS library if you are interested Internet access You will need internet access outside of class in order to access: Realidades 1 etext Notes Nightly homework assignments Assignments and notes you missed due to an absence Class documents and links Online games and practice activities, such as Quizlet 1
GRADES Grading scale Grades are calculated according to the published MIHS grading scale. A 93 100% B+ 87 89% B- 80 82% C 73 76% D+ 67 69% F Below 60% A- 90 92% B 83 86% C+ 77 79% C- 70 72% D 60 66% Grading categories and weights Grades reflect your proficiency in language comprehension (reading and listening) and language production (writing and speaking) as well as your cultural awareness and your daily preparation, attendance and participation. These categories are weighted as follows: Reading is evaluated using articles, short stories and reading segments. Writing is evaluated using compositions, exams, written homework, letters/emails, short stories and scripts. Listening is evaluated by audio activities and responding appropriately to spoken Spanish. Speaking, pronunciation and fluency are evaluated through presentations, role plays, daily activities and oral quizzes. Culture is evaluated through a variety of activities, including film interpretation and comprehension, cultural celebrations and knowledge of cultural practices. Participation and preparation are evaluated daily based on your adherence to class and school rules, attendance, contributions to class and having your materials ready to go every day. 2
HOMEWORK, CLASSWORK, PROJECTS AND TESTS Homework Expect nightly homework assignments. Homework is an important opportunity for you to practice and re-enforce the vocabulary, grammar and skills we learn in class. You will complete and turn in assignments both online and on paper. Homework will usually take around 10-20 minutes to complete. Credit/no credit assignments I award credit for some daily assignments based on completion, even if your work contains errors. Work on these assignments does not need to be perfect, as errors are a normal part of the learning process. Nevertheless, all your work should be complete and done with care, practicing the vocabulary and grammar we are studying. Because these assignments are given credit, even with errors, it is essential that you make corrections to your work when we review these assignments in class. I categorize credit/no credit homework in one of the five skill areas (see above) depending on the skill that the assignment practiced. For credit/no credit assignments, I do not accept incomplete work and I do not award partial credit for completing only a portion of the assignment. Evaluated assignments I evaluate other assignments I collect based on the quality of the work. I evaluate major projects using a grading rubric, which you will receive prior to turning in the project so that you can understand my expectations and be sure to do your best work. I will assign credit for these assignments in one of the four skill categories according to the skill practiced (see above). Some major projects may evaluate more than one skill and appear in several places in the gradebook. For example, the written portion of a project appears in the writing category, while the oral presentation of that project is evaluated as a speaking assignment. You should always turn in evaluated assignments, even if they are incomplete. I will evaluate the completed part of the assignment and you may receive some credit. Tests and quizzes I assess your language acquisition skills through regular quizzes and tests, both oral and written, focusing on comprehension, fluency, grammar and vocabulary. You will take a cumulative final at the end of First Semester and at the end of the school year. I categorize assessments in the gradebook according to the skill I am assessing. Assessments that evaluate multiple skills will appear in multiple categories of the gradebook. IN-CLASS BEHAVIOR, ATTENDANCE AND PREPARATION General expectations I expect you to... Adhere to all school-wide rules detailed in the MIHS Student Handbook Be a positive, respectful, helpful and caring classmate Be quiet and attentive when I and others have the floor Come to class on time and wait to pack up your things until I have given the go-ahead Turn in neat, legible work done with care Be in your seat at the beginning of class, ready to sing the song Bring all your materials to class, in working condition and ready to go Keep your notebook neat and organized; I will do regular graded notebook checks to incentivize you to keep a well-organized notebook! Refrain from inappropriate use of technology in class 3
Consequences and discipline Failure to adhere to MIHS or Spanish 1 behavior expectations could result in: Loss of participation points for the day or week A phone call or email home A behavior contract Expulsion from the classroom for the duration of the class period A disciplinary referral to MIHS Administration which could result in disciplinary actions including suspension and inclusion Attendance Daily attendance is critical to success in Spanish 1. We review and practice and learn new content every day. It s difficult to stay up-to-speed if you miss class. As per MIHS attendance policy, after 8 absences, excused or unexcused, I will contact home about your absences. As per MIHS attendance policy, after 12 absences, excused or unexcused, AND if I feel that your absences are negatively impacting your progress, I WILL contact home to arrange a formal conference to discuss the causes of your absences and develop an Attendance Agreement. See below for policies regarding work missed due to absences. IMPORTANT: Daily song and participation The moment class starts, I will play a Spanish-language song which we will all sing along to. The lyrics to the song will be either posted on the screen or on a paper handout. We sing the same song for several weeks as a fun way to improve listening comprehension, pronunciation and reading and get to know Spanish-speaking cultures. By the end of the year you will know 10-12 Spanish language songs by heart! I expect all students to SING the entire song and give this task 100% attention. I know singing can be a little bit embarrassing for some people, so I will turn the volume up high so that no one can hear you! (Or me, I have a terrible singing voice.) I will circulate through the classroom to make sure that you are on task, looking at the lyrics and singing the song. The daily song is not a time to organize your papers, work on homework or do anything other than read the lyrics and sing. Staying on task during the entire song is part of your participation grade! Weekly Participation Grades This is a performance class. You must communicate in Spanish and make an effort in order to succeed! Each week you will earn a participation grade. I determine participation grades according to the following criteria, based on my in-class observations, your performance when called on randomly using participation cards. 100% You speak only Spanish during designated Spanish-only time and only use English after asking for permission to do so. You are 100% on task during the daily song. I can observe that you are trying to learn and improve. You are on task during entry task, note taking and during individual and paired/group activities. You are creative with the language, use new vocabulary in conversation and participate frequently. You are show respect for me and your classmates. You arrive on time, are prepared for class and behave appropriately, giving 100% attention to learning. Your electronic devices are shut off and put away during class without any reminders. 90% You mostly speak Spanish during Spanish-only time, but occasionally I have to remind you to speak only Spanish during this time. I may occasionally have to remind you to sing the daily song. You participate daily and show respect for me and others. You are usually on task during entry task, note taking and during individual and paired/group activities. You behave appropriately, arrive on time, are prepared with materials and pay attention. You do not use electronic devices during class and is ontask when we are using class-related electronics. 80% You participate, but only when directly called upon. You often choose to speak in English during Spanish-only time. I have to remind you to sing the daily song. You behave appropriately, but sometimes you arrive late and/or are unprepared for learning or don t have all your materials. You may have to be reminded to be on task during entry task, note taking or during individual and paired/group 4
activities. You are occasionally off-task or working on other assignments and I may have to remind you about the use of electronic devices during class. 70% You participate, but not voluntarily, and you speak English during Spanish-only time. You are often not singing the daily song. You talk to classmates during lesson or quiet time, and I have to redirect/refocus you during entry task, note taking or during individual and paired/group activities. You sometimes come late and/or choose to be off-task, and I have to ask you to turn off and put away electronic devices during class. When we are using electronics in class, you violate the correct, on-task use of electronics. 60% You are often off-task, behave inappropriately and are somewhat inconsiderate and disrespectful to me and/or other students. You make very little effort to speak Spanish or sing the daily song and do not participate voluntarily nor when called upon to do so. You arrive late, are unprepared and inattentive. You work on other subjects or write notes during class and may appear to be uninterested in improving. You violate correct use of electronics as a learning tool in class and disregard policies on the use of electronics in class. I reserve the right to withdraw all weekly participation points in the event of a major discipline incident. EXTRA CREDIT I may offer extra credit opportunities throughout the year. Stay posted! SKYWARD/ONLINE GRADES Grades are updated as quickly as possible Unfortunately, I cannot grade instantaneously! I you turn in an assignment on Monday, your grade probably won t show up online when you check on Tuesday. I appreciate your patience and understanding that it takes time to carefully grade and input your work. I also use the gradebook program to keep records of non-graded material. Some columns (such as those indicating whether you have used a late pass) are not assignments and do not influence your grades. An absent impacts your grade as a 0 until you make up the assignment you missed. A blank (empty) field does not impact your grade. This may be a record keeping field. ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP WORK Tardies and absences I expect you to be sitting at your desks with your materials ready the moment class starts. I will mark you tardy if you are not in your seat during the first 10 minutes of class and absent after minute 11 of class, according to the MIHS tardy policy. Tardies hurt your participation grade. I will record absences as either excused or unexcused according to the MIHS policy. Please refer to the Student Handbook for information about excusing absences (within 2 days of absence) and making up work (within 2 days of return). It is your responsibility to excuse absences on time with the attendance office. If your absence is unexcused you forfeit all of your participation points for that day and will not be able to turn in any assignments, make up any work or activities for the day of the unexcused absence. This includes tests and quizzes. You cannot make up homework, participation, presentations, tests or quizzes from days you had unexcused absences. If your absence is excused, please read about how to make up missed work below. You should inform me of any planned absences (such as field trips, religious observances or family trips) in advance and make every effort to complete work prior to or during your absence. 5
Making up missed work, tests and quizzes When returning to class after an absence, you must do the following before asking me questions about what you missed. I will insist that have completed these steps before I help you with make-up work! This saves me time and helps you to take responsibility for your missed work. Check the class website to see what we did in class, access missed documents, copy notes in your notebook and check what work you have to make up. Check the Absent Bin in class for any missed handouts. Ask a classmate any remaining questions. You are responsible for immediately updating your Spanish binder, including copying missed notes from a classmate or my website, following an absence. I CANNOT DISCUSS INDIVIDUAL CONCERNS REGARDING ABSENCES DURING CLASS TIME. SEE ME BEFORE OR AFTER SCHOOL OR DURING MY PREP PERIODS. Test and quiz make-ups and re-takes I will announce the deadline for re-taking missed tests and quizzes. You must re-take the test by the posted deadline or you will receive a zero. I post the reminder on the white board, on my website, in Skyward and via multiple in-class and text reminders so there is no excuse to miss the deadline! Typically you have until the Friday of the next week after a test to re-take it. When you miss a quiz or test due to an absence, I will immediately enter the score as a zero and missing in Skyward, whether or not your absence was excused. If your absence was excused, I ll update your grade once you have completed your re-take. You may use a quiz make-up pass by the posted deadline to try to improve a quiz score you were unhappy with. Deadlines/Make-up Work Assignments must be completed before you walk into class assigned due date. I accept late assignments if you missed the work due to an excused absence and the absence has been registered with the Attendance Office. You have two days per each day missed to make up the assignment. It is your responsibility to show me your missed work within this time frame. You may use a late homework pass to turn in a daily homework assignment you missed for any reason. It is your responsibility to locate the assignment on my website and present it to me with a pass. Notes from parents/guardians are not the same as a late pass and I will not accept them. There is no deduction in percentage or point value for an assignment turned with a late pass. You may earn full credit for the assignment with a late pass. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM MIHS Academic Integrity Code You should read and understand the MIHS Academic Integrity Code described in the Student Handbook. All parts of the code apply to this class and you should pay particular attention to the following prohibited behavior: Using computers, programmable calculators or other electronic devices in violation of guidelines established by the teacher Using professional help such as an author, expert, or purchased service in violation of guidelines established by the teacher Use of dictionaries and translators For the purposes of this class, it is important to understand that anything you write or say in Spanish (or turn in, in written or spoken form) is understood to be your work in Spanish (not your work in English, which a human or electronic translator translated into Spanish). 6
Paper or electronic dictionaries are considered different than translators. The use of translators (human or electronic) constitutes a violation of the academic code. I recommend that you limit your use of dictionaries, only look up one word at a time and, on written assignments, underline specific words that you looked up so that I know which words you looked up in a dictionary. It s better to do your own work using simpler, Spanish 1 vocabulary and grammar with errors, than turn in an error-free assignment that isn t your own work and was done by a human or electronic translator. Work produced with a translator (human or electronic) will not receive credit. Copying Work that is turned in and appears to be identical to the work of another student as evidenced by error patterns or highly specific or personal content may be determined to be copied. While it is appropriate to collaborate with classmates, homework and other assignments that are turned in with identical errors or other similarities highly unlikely to have occurred by accident (MIHS Student Handbook) will be considered violations of the Academic Integrity Code. Allowing another student to copy your work is considered a violation of the Academic Integrity Code. MISCELLANEOUS Food and drinks Snacks are permitted in class at my discretion. Appropriate snacks include granola bars, crackers, carrot sticks, or other small items that don t smell, cause a mess, and can be unobtrusively eaten with one hand while completing other tasks. I reserve the right to ask you to put food away if it s a distraction or otherwise not appropriate to eat during the current task. I allow light snacking in class because I think it s important for keeping up your energy and attention. This does not mean that you can use my class as a replacement for lunch time and bring, say, a clam chowder bread bowl, teriyaki takeout or other hot lunch items into class. If I observe you leave a snack-related mess you will lose the right to eat in class. Clean up! You will lose participation points if eating gets in the way of completing class activities, such as singing the daily song (the daily song is not the time to sit down and spread cream cheese on your bagel). Cell phone use Your cellphone must be stowed out of sight, in your backpack, inaccessible to you at all times. Cellphones on desks, on laps or otherwise accessible will result in a loss of participation points. I should never lay eyes on your cellphone or observe you staring intently into your lap during class time. Cell phone use during class time will result in a loss of participation points for the first offense and parent contact for subsequent offenses. If you have a reasonable need (as determined by me!) to use your phone during class, please alert me at the start of class so that I know to expect to see your phone. After I have had to remind you twice about using your phone in class I will contact home. Bathroom use As you will find in life, we often miss out on important things when we leave to go to the bathroom. I expect you to take care of your bathroom needs during breaks. That said, I will give you several bathroom passes at the beginning of the semester which will cover a reasonable number of bathroom breaks. To use a bathroom pass, just cut it out, write your name on it, and quietly hand it to me on your way out the door. I expect you to return to class within five minutes. I want to respect any medical conditions or emergencies that may require you to go to the bathroom more than usual. Please have a parent or the nurse contact me if there s anything I need to know about. After you have used all of your bathroom passes for the semester you risk losing participation points when you miss class time for bathroom breaks. 7
STUDENT, TEACHER AND FAMILY COMMUNICATION Extra help After school is the best time to see me for extra help. Be sure to arrive within 15 minutes of the end of school to guarantee help. If you need to arrive later than that please let me know in advance so that I wait for you. I am available before school for quick questions only. Spanish tutoring is available through the official MIHS tutoring hours. As young adults, I expect you to take care of yourselves. This includes knowing when to ask for help. I m here to help you, but you need to know when to seek extra help. Please approach me if you need help or have questions. I am happy to receive emails from you (this lets me know that you have a concern and care about your learning!) or your parents. Email contact I welcome your courteously and appropriately written emails (we ll go over this in class!) regarding any questions or concerns you may have. Please be aware that if your parent or guardian emails me, I may cc you on my response to them so that you are part of the conversation. I believe that since it is your learning, you should be part of the process. I also believe that the more you get used to approaching your teachers yourself, the better prepared you will be to do this in college and in the workplace. Please also be aware that if you email me (or if I receive an email from your parent or guardian) I may choose to respond to the question in person (talking to you before/during/after class) since this is often the most efficient way for me to respond. This may mean that you will have the responsibility to communicate the content of our conversation to your family. Home-teacher communication Parents and guardians, please do not hesitate to email me to share important information about your student. I welcome any information that may help me get to know my students and better serve them! Once in a while I will send general updates or announcements via Skyward. Please be sure that your email information is updated in Skyward. Remember that Skyward is a great tool for me to keep you updated about your student s progress, work completion, participation and attendance. Please check it regularly! Email is the best way to reach me with questions, concerns or information about your student. If you d like to talk on the phone, please email me with the best number to reach you at and some good times to call and I will return your call promptly. Please refer to the For Parents document for ways to support your student in this class. HOW TO REACH ME Contact info Email: kelsey.cochran@mercerislandschools.org (best form of contact) Phone: (206) 275-5007 Room: 415 8