AP Spanish Language Syllabus COURSE OVERVIEW Students are expected to use Spanish exclusively and the course is conducted almost entirely in Spanish. Students sign a pledge of honor promising to speak only Spanish in the classroom and to all other Spanish teachers in the World Language Department. We encourage students to practice the target language outside of the classroom as often as possible and as situations lend themselves to that end. Students should conduct all casual conversations and formal situations with peers and teachers in Spanish. We expect that students will: increase and refine their written presentational skills in formal and informal contexts through argument, questioning, description and persuasion. refine their oral presentational skills in both formal and informal contexts by argument, questioning, description and persuasion. broaden their comprehension skills of written and aural material in formal and informal contexts. broaden their understanding of the cultures of the Spanish speaking world through the study of history, literature, art, music, and current events. transfer their learning in the Spanish classroom to their learning in other classes, and their daily lives. COURSE OUTLINE To teach the AP language course, our school will use AP Spanish, A Guide to the Language Course (Longman), Schaum s Outline of Spanish Grammar (McGraw Hill), AP Test Prep (EMC), and 5 Steps to a 5 (McGraw Hill) as the core materials. Schaum s Outline provides a very thorough grammar review and practice. Brief explanations and clarifications are given in class when needed but for the most part, students regularly work independently with the activities at home. I make up tests and quizzes based on specific chapters of the book. AP Guide, AP Test Prep, and 5 Steps to a 5 provide students with extensive practice targeting specific content areas of the AP test. We use the essay prompts and formal speaking prompts once every 3 weeks. I use the AP scoring guidelines to grade their oral and written work. We also use the multiple choice listening and reading comprehension from these resources as well as previously published AP exams to reinforce their skills. The above mentioned texts also provide opportunities for classroom interaction, language building and usage as well as specific test type items such as paragraph completion and informal speaking. 1
For our midterm exam, a performance assessment is given. One such assessment is where students are asked to research a famous Hispanic and we hold a tertulia where they must dress and speak as the person. I then speak to all of the characters and retrieve information about their research during our conversations. They must also interact with one another as that person. Another performance activity was for the students to research a comunidad of Spain and make a formal presentation (group) using Smart Board, music, food, brochure, etc. The final exam is a somewhat shorter version of the AP Spanish Language Exam using multiple choice items from past released exams and creating several written free response questions similar in type and difficulty to those found on the AP Exam. Sample Classroom Activities Listening Skills At the beginning of the year, I use auditory comprehension exercises (EAV) on a tape cassette with a multiple choice answer format. The students do not see the written texts but I will allow the students to listen a second time at first. As we progress in the first marking period, they will listen only once and continue to take notes in order to answer questions. CDs of various types of Hispanic music (Tejano, Bolero, Salsa, Merengue, Tango, Rock, Flamenco) Tapes from previously released AP Exams Teacher made listening comprehension materials Movies: La Historia Oficial, Bodas de Sangre, Tristana, Romero, Various videos on cultural and historical topics internet The goals are to listen for: different accents from around the Hispanic world delivery of various kinds of information (opinion, demonstration, lecture, conversation, etc.) prompts with the intention of both formal and informal response information with intent to deliver a presentation information in order to work both independently and as a member of a pair or group utilizing the information for class participation 2
Reading Skills Students are exposed to a variety of literary genre and are expected to discuss, critique, compare and contrast, summarize and interpret symbolism. They are expected to discuss and write on many of the major themes throughout the literary works. Through their reading of authentic materials, our students increase vocabulary usage, enhance their writing and speaking skills, gain insight into linguistic and syntactical structures, become more confident over the course of the year in their overall use and application of the language and acquire an appreciation for cultural nuances. Students are asked to write an essay about the individual literary works by way of a prompt or comparison of different works or themes. Typically, once every one to two weeks, students are given a magazine article, newspaper clip, editorial, advertisement or cartoon to read, summarize and discuss with the class. FIRST QUARTER: Theme: Immigration (readings include: Naranjas, Salamandras Infierno en el Desierto, newspaper essays by high school ESL students dealing with The American Dream and Change, miscellaneous articles from Al Día, La Comunidad and other periodicals.) SECOND QUARTER: Theme: Self determination (Galdós: Tristana, miscellaneous articles on gender issues) THIRD QUARTER: Theme: El Hombre y la Naturaleza (Quiroga: A la Deriva and El Almohadón ) Theme: Amor Perdido/Amor Prohibido (Pavón: El Carnaval) FOURTH QUARTER: AP Exam preparation using reading resources from AP Test Prep, AP Spanish: A Guide for the Language Course, previously released AP exams and miscellaneous articles, etc.) Theme: El Amor Prohibido/La Represión-Liberación Sexual de la Mujer (Lorca: Bodas de Sangre /movie: Suara s Bodas de Sangre ) Theme: Imperialismo Americano (Neruda: La United Fruit Co. movies: Romero and La Historia Oficial) 3
Writing Skills Students are asked to write a formal essay every 3 weeks. One essay is spontaneous and written in class to mirror AP test conditions; the other is written at home. Through the course of the year, students will produce writing samples that: give an opinion; critique a movie, restaurant, literary work; write a letter; write an informal note or message; summarize/analyze a poem, story, article, song lyrics, film clip; ask a favor; and speculate on a given idea or thought. Of course, writing takes place on a daily basis within the class by way of note taking, homework, group work, projects and assessments. I will take great errors that are wonderful examples of misuse and we will: 1) decide what the person is trying to say 2) give suggestions on how we can improve the structures and 3) rewrite the sentence to our satisfaction. Of course, there are sometimes multiple interpretations of the sentence which allows them to see that language is communication and that there are many ways to say the same thing. No one is exempt everyone must contribute and learn that in order to succeed in a language, one must use it. Eventually, they see just how amazing it is to be able to communicate express their own ideas and thoughts in a different language. Speaking Skills Students are expected to speak exclusively in Spanish with in the class and with any of the Spanish teachers in the World Language Department. Generally on Mondays or Fridays, we have an informal charla and the topic is sometimes announced beforehand. If so, students are expected to come prepared, having researched the topic vocabulary and ready to put it into use. The topic could range from a current event to the latest craze to a controversial issue that has affected the students themselves. If not announced prior, students are expected to participate just the same, holding the same expectations as in spontaneous writing. During the year, each student is assigned an Hispanic artist to research; they must make a formal presentation using the Smart Board (power point) and a hand-out. This year, we researched the featured artists of the Guggenheim s exhibit: 5 Centuries of Spanish Art: El Greco to Picasso. They were expected to explain in detail, the artists style, movement; and a painting of their choice. We then took a field trip to NYC to attend the exhibit. Upon our return, we discussed our impressions of the exhibit as a whole and our individual feelings about the art work and manner in which it was displayed. 4
Every 3 weeks, students must make an oral presentation that may range from an informal demonstration to a complaint to telling us an anecdote or joke, present their opinion, or recount an event. The second oral presentation of the marking period is a spontaneous one in which the student chooses from an eclectic list of topics and must speak on their feet. As with the spontaneous writing, everyone is challenged to leave their comfort zone and try something new. Through this process, students gain confidence in the language; exhibit use of more complex grammatical structures; improve pronunciation and intonation; increase vocabulary usage; and experience the act of thinking on their feet as the class and I pose questions to them after having spoken. We may challenge their position or assertion and thereby create a debate or charla. It is assumed that each student contributes to the class on a daily basis. I expect them to try and do everything possible to make themselves understood. The bottom line is that in order to improve, one has to be uncomfortable at times but with this stretch comes growth and confidence. They eventually see how amazing it is to be able to communicate with someone in a different language! Benchmark Assessments 1st quarter immigration articles test speech (1) Escalofrios test speech 2 quizzes verbs and listening comprehension 2nd quarter Hermanas coloradas novel speech (3) extemporaneous quizzes verbs and listening comprehension speech (4) scene 3rd quarter Readings/film test speech (4) scene speech (5) 4th quarter Macario novel speech (6) AP like test 5
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