Frenchtown High School

AP Spanish Language and Culture

Elizabeth Delaney

Course Syllabus

AP Spanish Language and Culture

The AP Spanish Language and Culture Course is designed to help students move from the intermediate level towards the advanced level of proficiency in interpersonal, presentational and interpretive communication modes in Spanish. Unit goals are stated in the form of Essential Questions relating to the AP themes. These essential questions drive instruction; students are regularly assessed and receive formative feedback to refine communication skills and develop profound understanding. This, as well as the development of spoken and written proficiency, is the goal of this course.

In order to achieve these goals the instructor will teach the class almost exclusively in Spanish. The students will be expected to use Spanish as their primary means of communication during class time as well. All tasks described in the following units and activities will be completed in Spanish.

Spoken Communication Skills

To develop Spoken Interpersonal Communication Skills, classroom interaction in Spanish includes total class discussion, pair and small group conversations, role play situations and dramatizations. Students and teacher make Spanish the primary language of communication in class.

To develop Spoken Presentational Communication Skills, students prepare presentations on unit topics on frequent small and occasional large scale.

To develop Audio, Visual and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication Skills, students regularly watch/listen to news reports, informational videos, podcasts, and radio clips. Students take notes, summarize, analyze, express opinions, comment and integrate essential questions.

Written Communication Skills

To develop Written Interpersonal Communication Skills, students participate in online discussion board and blog.

To develop Written Presentational Communication Skills, students write summaries, compositions, narratives and persuasive essays.

To develop Written and Print Interpretive Communication Skills, Students read a variety of informational and literary texts relating to the themes and essential questions.

Facilitating Skills

To support students’ communication skills, the course includes instruction and practice in areas such as reading strategies, practice of specific language functions, development of vocabulary and grammar review. In addition, the course provides opportunity for students to make interdisciplinary connections.

Organization

To ensure all themes are adequately addressed, this course is systematically organized into the six required themes. However opportunities will be provided for students to make connections between themes. Activities, formative and summative assessments will provide students to use all of the modes of communication.

Resources

Each student will be provided with a copy of Temas by Vistas Higher Learning and well as AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation also by Vistas. The Spanish classroom is equipped with a computer with internet connection and a Smart Board.

Unit one: Familias y Comunidades

·  traditions and values

·  human geography

·  effects of social networking

Essential questions:

·  ¿Cómo se define la familia en distintos sociedades?

·  ¿Cómo contribuyen los individuos al bienestar de las comunidades?

·  ¿Cuáles son las diferencias en los papeles que asumen las comunidades y las familias en las diferentes sociedades del mundo?

Activity #1

·  As homework, students answer questions about their own families, addressing views toward education, what each family member’s role and responsibility to the family are and what the most important products and practices are within the family.

·  In the following class period, students share their answers with a partner. The listener must paraphrase and ask for additional, more specific information. Finally, each student shares what he/she learned about his/her partner to the entire class.

·  Students will read “Naranjas” by Angela McEwan-Alverado in class using reading strategies for better understanding. For a formative assessment, students will participate in an online interactive discussion about their reaction to the story and how it relates to the essential questions.

Activity #2

·  Students participate in a class discussion about what social media they use, how they use it and how they imagine it makes their life different than that of their parents and grandparents.

·  Students read Facebook, el monstruo de dos cabezas found in Temas from Vistas Higher Learning, as well as the graphs about social networks in Central America and listen to the text provided audio, as well as a podcast from notesinspanish.com. For formative assessments, text provided questions will be used in addition to students writing a short essay on the most striking positive and negative aspects of social networking.

Activity #3

·  Students will find and article from Americas magazine, or another magazine or newspaper that demonstrates how a family or a community’s life style is effected by the physical geography, human geography and/or economy of the area in which they live. They will present and explain the article to the class and classmates will paraphrase and ask for details to show understanding.

Summative Assessment: Students will give a 2-3 minute oral presentation about a holiday or fiesta celebrated in the Spanish speaking world. They will address products, practices and perceptions as well as history as related to the essential questions.

Unit two: La ciencia y la tecnología

·  technology in our lives

·  sustainability

·  science and ethics

·  natural phenomena

Essential questions:

·  ¿Qué impacto tiene el desarrollo científico y tecnológico en nuestras vidas?

·  ¿Qué factores han impulsado el desarrollo y la innovación en la ciencia y la tecnología?

·  ¿Qué papel cumple la ética en los avances científicos?

Actividad #1

·  In small groups, given a list of vocabulary, students will discuss which words relate to technology. They will then compare with the entire class discussing the reasoning behind their choices

·  The students will read No sin mi móvil from the text book. As a prereading activity, students will individually list the 10 worst habits of cell phone users. After reading the students will engage in a class discussion about addictions to technology.

·  As a homework assignment, students will design a pamphlet outlining the standards of phone etiquette

Activity #2

·  In pairs, students will discuss the meaning of sustainability and make a T-list of practices that are favorable and unfavorable for the development of sustainability.

·  Students will read the Venn diagram in the text about the overlap of the economy, the environment and social issues in maintaining sustainability

·  Students listen to “Puntos Cardinales” from radio ONU and take notes

·  At home, students will participate in the on-line forum answering the question “¿Es el lugar donde vivimos sostenible?” They will comment on at least two other classmates’ posts.

Activity #3

·  Students will discuss in pairs the role ethics plays in scientific advancement and then report to class

·  Students will read “Neander Park” from text, or read or listen to a more recent publication as scientific innovations issues surface in the future.

Activity #4

·  In class, students will discuss the questions “¿De que manera la especie humana y todas las especies de la Tierra estamos definidas por los fenómenos naturales?” and “¿Qué factores ambientales han impulsado el desarrollo y la innovación en ciencia y tecnología?

·  Students will listen to a podcast such as portions of www.ivoox.com La prevención de desastres naturales or other audio/video report in response to recent events and discuss how science affects preparedness and response

Summative assessment:

Students will write a five paragraph essay, citing sources we have used in class or additional sources they have found addressing one or more of the following questions:

1.  What impact does technology and scientific development have on our lives?

2.  What factors have resulted in development and innovation of science and technology?

3.  What role do ethics play in scientific development?

Unit three: La belleza y la estética

·  definiciones de la belleza

·  la belleza del lenguaje

·  las artes visuales

Essential quesions

·  ¿Cómo se establecen las percepciones de la belleza y la creatividad?

·  ¿Cómo influyen los ideales de la belleza y la estética en la vida cotidiana?

·  ¿Cómo los artes desafían y reflejan las perspectivas culturales?

Activity #1

·  On a 3x5 notecard, students will write their definition of “beauty.” Students will then silently trade cards with other students reading their definitions. Students will then discuss the question as a class.

·  Students will then read the article El concepto de lo estético a través de la historia by M. Rodriguez and Ma.E. Rodriguez answering the multiple choice questions provided by the text.

·  Outside of class, students will participate in the online forum explaining the quality they find most attractive in other people. They must comment on at least two other students’ responses. Also, they will read the blog Encuesta sobre la belleza by Andrew Mayek

·  In class students will listen to the podcast Belleza y autoestima from “Parentepsis” using the text provided pre, during and post exercises to increase understanding

·  Students will participate in a class discussion, showing evidence they have understood the sources, addressing the question, “how are perceptions of human beauty established?”

Activity #2

·  In groups of two or three, students will be assigned a poem by Bécquer. Students will create an illustration representing that poem. Each group will then read the poem to the entire class, explaining the poem and how their illustration represents that poem. For homework, students will write a paragraph explaining how beauty can be found in the poetry of Bécquer, or another literary work by a Spanish speaking author of their choice.

Activity #3

·  In a circle discussion, each student will describe a painting, or other piece of art they find beautiful. Students must ask questions of each other and add comments

·  Students will view selected art work by Diego Rivera and watch, taking notes, biografía de Diego Rivera, from youtube (youtube.com/watch?v=gm1HlMQlmXEs)

·  After discussing Diego Rivera’s challenges, ideas and purposes, students will choose a work by Diego Rivera and write essay telling how it reflects what they have learned about the artist and his ideals.

Summative assessment:

Students will choose a work by a Spanish speaking artist, author or architect other than Rivera or Bécquer, show it to class and explain what it is and how it relates to the essential questions. This will be done in an interactive discussion forum. The evaluation rubric will reflect the quality of insight and information on their presentation as well as meaningful questions and comments on classmates’ presentations.

Unit four: La vida contemporanea

·  La educación y las carreras profesionales

·  el entrenamiento y diversión

·  estilos de vida

Essential questions:

·  ¿Cómo definen los individuos y las sociedades su propia calidad de vida?

·  ¿Cómo influyen los productos culturales, las prácticas y las perspectivas de la gente en la vida contemporánea?

·  ¿Cuáles son los desafíos de la vida contemporánea?

Activity #1

·  Each student will be assigned a profession/career. In groups of two students will discuss with their partner what they think will be the challenges of that profession in the future. They will then share with the class

·  Students will imagine themselves at twenty years old, they will write an email to their high school teachers telling us what they have chosen as a career path. They will explain why they have chosen that field, what they perceive as the opportunities and challenges will be and how it will change in their lifetime.

Activity #2

·  Students will take a poll answering the question: Who has taken an online class through our school and the Montana Digital Academy? Students will discuss advantaged and disadvantages of online learning.

·  Students will read the article Las escuelas que siguen a los chicos from the text.

·  On the online discussion board, students will comment on the article and respond to at least 2 of their classmate’s posts.

Activity #3

·  Students think/pair/share on the importance of the gender of educators, if it makes a difference and if so, how and in what cases.

·  Students listen to the radio program La equidad de gerero en la docena as found in the text.

·  Students read the graph provided in the text.

·  Students write a summary of the audio citing facts from both it and the graph

Activity #4

·  In the online forum students post their favorite holiday tradition or food

·  Students read the mole recipe provided in the text and watch the video clip from Vamos a cocinar con Jose Andrés provided by the text

·  Students give a power point or live demonstration of the preparation a food served at a celebration in a Spanish speaking country. They will include a brief background of the celebration.

Activity #5

·  In small groups, students create pie graphs guessing how the people in our town spend their free time.

·  Groups then will compare their graphs to those of other groups

·  Student will read the graph provided by the text showing how Spaniards spend their free time and compare to those they created.

Summative assessment:

Reviewing the essential questions, students will write a persuasive essay about one aspect.

Unit five: Los desafios mundiales

·  Los temas economicas

·  Los temas del medioambiente

·  El bienestar social

Essential Questions:

·  ¿Cuales son los desafíos sociales, políticos y medioambientales que enfrentan las sociedades del mundo?

·  ¿Cuáles son los orígenes de esos desafíos?

·  ¿Cuáles son algunas posibles soluciones a esos desafíos?

Activity #1

·  Students brainstorm the products, practices and perspectives of international corporations as well as what they perceive to be the benefits and problems of having a foreign owned corporation in one’s home country.

·  Students will read an excerpt from Manual del perfecto idiota Latinoamericano provided by the text.

·  Students will read Microprestamos from the website MAPU

·  In the online forum, students discuss the differences between microloans and regular bank loans, and in which situations each are beneficial.

·  Students listen to the text provided audio Clase media crece en América latina y el Caribe from Radio ONU.

·  In pairs, students will invent a product to market and form a company. They will give a business presentation as if to obtain financing, addressing marketing, inventory, sales, personnel, and profits.