West Linn High School

West Linn High School AP SPANISH – Fall 2015

Instructor: Marc “Marcos” Zollinger Classroom: B205 Office Hours: By appointment Phone: (541) 228-4795 E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

TEXT: Temas, AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Prep, and Álbum

Course Description This AP course is for the serious student of second language who has completed the fourth year class or its equivalent. The AP student studies language in various ways with the use of solo and group projects. The student refines grammatical structures and has many opportunities to use speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills. While continuing to develop the four language skills, emphasis is placed on developing high levels of reading and oral proficiency.

This course is comparable to a third-year (fifth/sixth semester) university Spanish language course and consequently is conducted almost exclusively in Spanish. Students have regular opportunities to develop a range of speaking and writing skills in conjunction with authentic audio, video and written sources so that the four language skills can be integrated and practiced together. These include music, films, radio and television reports, newspaper or magazine articles and literary selections all produced for a Spanish-speaking audience. This practice serves to prepare the student for the AP Spanish Language exam in May. The student who enrolls in AP Spanish should have acquired competence in using Spanish grammar and a broad range of vocabulary in both oral and written communication and have the serious aspiration to master these skills. Therefore, it is expected that students use Spanish to interact with classmates and the instructor during class time.

Course Objectives In AP Spanish we will:  Build a solid vocabulary and grammar base for success in future communication in Spanish.  Develop language-learning strategies and skill building techniques.  Use communicative / cooperative learning during activities with partners and small groups. Students will be expected to interact in the target language with the instructor as well as with classmates.  Get you prepared to receive a 3 or better on the AP exam.

Course Materials  Temas (You will need to enroll in the online course)  AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Prep (You will need to enroll in the online course)  You must purchase three composition notebooks to be used throughout the term. One each of: red, blue, and black.  A variety of other authentic, audio, visual, and text based materials.

Academic Integrity West Linn High School is a community of students and educators dedicated to the processes of learning and maturing. Guiding us toward these goals are the tenets of respect, fairness, and academic integrity. As my students and my closest “family” members I will expect each of you to conduct yourself with integrity. This means no plagiarizing, copying, cheating and/or overuse of online translators. These aforementioned offenses are not considered “study techniques” and they do not help you make progress toward acquisition of the Spanish language. Additionally, they are against West Linn HS policy and will be handled on an individual basis.

I certainly welcome you to study with your classmates or to find a tutor or other type of outside help. But if you use a tutor, he or she should not correct your work for you but rather note where mistakes are made and try to inform you on how to correct similar mistakes going forward. You will not improve your skills by having someone else do your work for you. Ultimately, most of your grade is decided in the classroom so it is not helpful when others do your work for you outside of class.

Use of Spanish in Class Two huge parts of the AP exam are listening and speaking. Your best time to practice is in class as we work through in-class activities and the projects I assign you. As you get in small groups please be sure to always try to stay in Spanish.

Classwork I use class time to explain projects, do readings, play games, speak Spanish, explain homework, hand out books, work on computers, watch movies, perform sample AP exam activities, and lecture. As a student in my class, you are expected to: participate in the lectures by repeating when asked, answer questions I pose during class, read silently or in small groups, and work in small groups while speaking Spanish. If you listen and follow directions you will know what is expected as we move from activity to activity.

Homework Generally speaking, there will be homework assigned daily. All assignments are to be completed on time. Some will be graded for accuracy; others will be graded simply for completion. Other than being important for your grade, the assigned homework will aid in your overall dominance of the language and your progression from chapter to chapter and year to year. For each class session you should plan to spend, at least, one hour of outside study and preparation.

Diarios Each month you will be required to hand in a notebook including 10-16 one-page diarios. I will give you the various themes at the start of each month. The “themes” will simply be short prompts and you are to use your opinions and creativity to complete the assigned number of diarios. Three or four of these diarios will specifically be about Spanish speaking news that you watch at home or online. The grades will be given according the following characteristics: completion of the correct number of themes, each diario is the required one page in length, you have challenged yourself with regard to grammar and vocabulary.

Expectations: Food, Gum, and Drinks Simply put...NO FOOD, NO GUM, NO DRINKS. This is a 6th period class and you are free to eat, drink and chew gum all you want once class is done, so save your eating, drinking and gum chewing for after school.

Expectations: Attendance and Participation This is an AP class. YOU ARE GOOD AT SPANISH AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THE LANGUAGE USING CIRCUMLOCUTION AND OTHER LEARNED SKILLS THAT DO NOT INCLUDE ENGLISH. Participation should always be in Spanish. This means that if you are doing group work or answering questions, you should be speaking to your group mates or to me in Spanish. Learning to communicate in Spanish requires active use of the Spanish language. Students will be expected to interact in Spanish with the instructor and classmates during class discussions and group/pair activities. The emphasis of the participation/professionalism grade will be on effort and initiative rather than on grammatical accuracy. I expect active and cooperative / collaborative participation in all class activities. The following is a list with part of your responsibilities in this class:  Arrive to class on time and staying in the classroom during the entire session.  Have all necessary class materials.  Pay attention to explanations and classroom discussions.  Do not hesitate to ask questions if something is not clear.  Do not hesitate to see me outside of class, during office hours or by appointment. I, too, am a resource for you.  Be prepared to participate in conversations, activities, and homework correction.  Take vocabulary notes in class. This vocabulary may appear on quizzes or chapter exams.  Courtesy to classmates and instructor (i.e. no talking to neighbor when inappropriate).  Complete all homework assignments.  Please LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE AT HOME or, at the very least TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE before you come to class. Your cell phone use distracts your classmates and me and usage is a serious offense and will be treated as such. I will stop class if I notice unauthorized use of cell phones. Repeat offenders will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. More than likely I will confiscate your cell phone for the day.

Attendance In my classes there is a strong emphasis on communicative proficiency. This means speaking and listening to me and to your classmates. Attendance and participation are necessary not only to stay within school rules, but also to help build your grammar and vocab knowledgebase. You are expected to be in your seat and on-time every day unless you have been officially excused. If you absolutely have to miss a class and there is an assignment due that day you must email it to me before the start of class in order to receive credit for that assignment.

In the event of a serious emergency requiring extended absence, you should contact me by e-mail so I can make sure you are able to keep up with your assignments. Should you miss for a non-excused reason, it is always good to check in with me about the absence.

Evaluation (This is subject to change throughout the term.)

Your grade will take into account: participation/professionalism, homework completion, project completion, use of Spanish in class, quizzes, tests, online assignments, daily verbs, presentations, online assignments, appropriate use of technology, and diarios. This is a project based class and there will not be many tests. I will lead you to better fluency in the Spanish language by actively using your Spanish as we plan and prepare projects together.

Grading Scale

A………….....93.0-100.0 C..……………73.0-76.9 A-…………....90.0-92.9 C-……………70.0-72.9 B+…………...87.0-89.9 D+.………….67.0-69.9 B……………..83.0-86.9 D.……………63.0-66.9 B-…………....80.0-82.9 D-.…………..60.0-62.9 C+…………...77.0-79.9 F……………..0-59.9

My Availability If you would like to meet with me outside of class, please feel free to email me or talk with me during a passing period. My desire is for you to experience success and I’ll do whatever it takes to help you out. Electronic Resources – These are some resources to help you out. Please do not overuse them. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THE IDEA OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY.

ONLINE DICTIONARY: WordReference .com: An excellent online dictionary that has both traditional dictionary definitions and extensive discussions of regional variations, idiomatic expressions, and common phrases. You can pose a vocabulary question and receive responses from around the globe.

VERB TENSE PRACTICE, READING & VOCABULARY HELP: WordChamp . com : WordChamp includes verb charts at the bottom of the webpage in 5 languages, including Spanish. They provide all conjugations of the majority of verbs, as well as verb conjugation drills for practice.

Conjuguemos .com: Excellent resource for drilling yourself on Spanish verb conjugations. You can set the parameters to practice all verbs, just irregular verbs, all pronouns or all pronouns except vosotros.

READING AND VOCABULARY HELP: Wordchamp .com: With Wordchamp’s Webreader, you can upload any text or view any webpage with mouse-over translation. This tool is also great for reading Spanish newspapers or magazines online. WordChamp’s flashcard function can help you study for tests and learn new words. Create flashcards or search WordChamp’s flashcard database. You can practice them online or download them to your personal computer.

WRITING HELP: Spanishchecker .com: An online tool that examines compositions in Spanish, identifies errors and provides feedback about understanding the errors.

GENERAL HELP: Tutoring: See Marcos for tutoring outside of class.

*These are very brief descriptions and do not take into consideration the specific attributes of each resource; please see Marcos for more in-depth help.