Course Syllabus

Spanish IV

Señora Thompson                               

Yorktown High School

Room 102

Email:  gthompson@yorktown.k12.in.us       

Voice mail:  759-2543           

                     

Course description:

Spanish IV will focus on improving students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in Spanish.  In this course, we will use Conversación y repaso for grammar and Triángulo for vocabulary.  Conversación y repaso offers a thorough explanation of grammar in English and practice exercises to master each concept.  Triángulo provides extensive vocabulary lists, language building activities, and a wide selection of authentic resources.

Course expectations:

Spanish IV will be conducted in Spanish and students will be encouraged to speak the language as much as possible.  The majority of our class time will be devoted to speaking, listening, and interacting with authentic resources.  Students will be asked to do the majority of the grammar review outside of class, with weekly grammar and vocabulary quizzes to ensure the proper preparation of each student outside of the classroom.  Additionally, students will do a great deal of writing in this class.  We will use Google docs to blog/journal about various topics in Spanish.  Students should also expect to regularly read newspaper articles, literary texts, and magazine articles in Spanish.  Lastly, students will be expected to regularly use and check Canvas for class information, lesson plans, and other activities.    

 

Course goals:    

1.  Writing

Goal:  Students will build their writing skills throughout the year through frequent practice of informal and formal writing.

Example Activities:

1. Informal writing.  Students will blog/journal weekly on Google docs.  Blogs/journals must be submitted by Thursday/Friday of every week for correction and feedback. (Please see our Class Calendar for more information.)  

2.  Reading

Goal:  Students will be able to read and comprehend authentic material on a variety of topics.

Example activities:

1. Articles in Triángulo.  Students will read various summaries, news articles, and short stories in their Triángulo book on a regular basis.     

2.  La casa en Mango Street.  Students will read this popular novel about a young girl’s struggle in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago.  The majority of the reading will be done outside of class so that we can use class time for discussion.  Upon conclusion of the book, each student will select a theme from the book to discuss with the teacher in a one-on-one interview.     

3. Speaking

Goal:  Students will improve their speaking skills so that they feel comfortable and confident using Spanish in a variety of contexts.

Example Activities:

1. Participation.  Students should speak Spanish at all times.  This will allow students to become comfortable expressing themselves in everyday situations.

Students will receive 3 points a day for speaking entirely in Spanish.  Students will receive 2 points a day if they use mostly Spanish and some English.  Students will receive 1 point for using Spanish and English equally.  Students will receive zero points for speaking almost entirely English during the class period.

2.  Presentations.  We will do a variety of presentations, skits, and projects throughout the year in order to help improve students’ formal speaking skills.    
3.  Recordings.  Students will participate in simulated conversations on the computer.  These conversations will be recorded and submitted for feedback.

4.  Listening

Goal:  Students will be able to understand spoken Spanish formally and informally in conversations or narrations.

Example activities:

1. Listening practice.  We will use the listening activities in Triángulo and Conversación y repaso to improve the students’ listening comprehension.

2.  Newscasts.  Students will listen to newscasts dealing with current events.  Sometimes the students will have to write summaries over what they heard and other times we will just discuss the newscast.    

 

Course Grading:

Participation                           10%

• Skits & 2 minute conversations
• Class participation in Spanish

Homework                               20%

• Grammar homework
• Vocabulary sheets
• Projects

Writing                                   20%

• Blogs/Journals
• Informal writings

Quizzes                                    20%

• Vocabulary/Grammar

Tests                                       30%

• Two tests per nine weeks

 

Classroom Rules:

1.  Sé honesto.

In this class, we will do a variety of activities and assignments to enhance learning Spanish.  Each student will be expected to do their own work.  Cheating will NOT be tolerated and will result in a phone call home and an automatic zero for that assignment, quiz, test, project, etc.

Note:  Do NOT copy homework!  It will not benefit you in any way and it will become obvious on tests and quizzes.  If you are struggling with an assignment, ask for help and check the study tips and suggestions on My Big Campus.   

2.  Sé respetuoso.

All students are expected to respect their teacher, visitors, and peers at all times.  Additionally, students are required to be respectful of all materials in the classroom; this includes all bulletin boards, desks, decorations, supplies, etc.  Please ask for permission before using materials.          

3.  Prepárate.

It is each student’s responsibility to be prepared for class EVERY DAY.  There will be regular homework assignments, quizzes, tests, projects and students will be expected to actively participate during every class period.

          How to make sure you are prepared everyday…  

1.  Bring your textbooks, paper, pen, and pencil
2.  Have all homework assignments and projects completed and study for quizzes and tests
3.  Bring your charged netbook and plan to use it on a daily basis.
4.  Sé responsable.

          It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of homework assignments, upcoming quizzes/tests, and projects. Use our class calendar and Canvas to stay up-to-date on what we are doing in class and to find out dates for upcoming quizzes and tests.  Being absent should not cause you to fall behind in this class; you are expected to check Canvas and stay caught up.

5.  ¡Habla español!

Students will be expected to use Spanish as much as possible, especially during classroom activities and discussions.  Students will be constantly learning new vocabulary and grammar concepts, and frequent practice and repetition is necessary for success.

6.  Make-up policy.

Each time a student is absent, they should check our group page on Canvas for what they missed.

**Homework.  Students will be allotted the same amount of days absent to complete all missed assignments.  (Example:  if absent 2 days, a student will have 2 days to turn the assignment in)

**Projects, papers & presentations.  If a student is absent on a day when one of these assignments is due, they must turn it in on the first day they return.  If one of these assignments is turned in late, the student will lose 1 letter grade for each class period that it is late.    

**Tests and quizzes.  Tests and quizzes can be made up during an ELC period or before/after school.  Students will be allotted the same amount of days absent to complete the test/quiz.