AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus at Cactus Shadows HS, Cave AZ- Jocelyn Danielson Raught
Course Overview
This course follows the AP Spanish Language and Culture course guidelines as prescribed by the College Board. The course is conducted almost exclusively in Spanish with the focus on understanding the culture, incorporating the prescribed interdisciplinary topics, comparing the native language and culture to that of the Spanish speaking cultures, and using Spanish in real life settings. As students meet the updated standard as outlined in the World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, they are required to use the three modes of communication for demonstrating their knowledge at the Intermediate to the Pre-Advanced range of performance for proficiency. The students in the course have been through an aligned curriculum which incorporates the AP Spanish Language and Culture themes throughout the syllabus. The pre-requisite course covers the themes of Global Challenges (environment), Science and Technology, and Beauty and Aesthetics in great detail and so they are easily brought into the units studied here.
Weekly/Monthly/Semester Activities to address Learning objectives
- Vocabulary- every day during class discussion/interpretive reading or listening, students are to bring up new vocabulary as needed. These words are analyzed for base words, context and cultural meaning in comparison with the native language.
- Boletos de semana- students must find and interpret a news article/video of personal interest from an authentic source based on one of the required themes to present the information and compare it to his/her own culture. This is done to the class or to the teacher.
- Once a semester we have a guest speaker who presents on topics of interests to the target language. These may range from experience using the language in the work setting, the immigration experience, to cultural presentation of art, dance or food. The students are exposed to real life usage of the language and experiences of other individuals.
- Every quarter, students write a formal analytical or persuasive essay in reaction to a texts and or audio sources, along with class discussion all based on one of the themes. These are evaluated using the AP rubric guidelines for organization, cultural relevancy, content, and appropriateness of vocabulary and grammar.
- The students also do practice activities in the exact format of the AP Spanish Language and Culture test using a prep book throughout the year. These activities may be used as practice or graded using the AP rubrics.
Course Planner
The following are samples of activities as part of units of study and these may be modified based on students’ interests, current events and resources available. These are not linear progression of all activities done for each unit. The activities and units encompass many different themes and essential questions.
Unit #1 ¿Por qué se viaja?
Unit #1 / ¿Por qué se viaja o no se viaja?Themes & contexts / Contemporary life- education, travel & leisure, lifestyles, entertainment, relationships, social customs and values
Personal and Public Identities-alienation and assimilation, heroes and historical figures, national and ethnic identities, personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Global Challenges-economic issues, population and demographics, , social conscience
Family and Communities-global citizenship, customs and traditions
Essential Questions / How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How do language and culture influence identity? How does one’s identity develop over time? What environmental, political and social issues pose challenges to societies throughout the world? What are the origins of these? What are solutions? What constitutes a family in different societies? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities?
Unit #2 ¿Quiénes somos?
Unit #2 / ¿Quiénes somos?Themes & contexts / Contemporary life- education, lifestyles, education and careers, relationships, social customs and values
Personal and Public Identities-alienation and assimilation, heroes and historical figures, national and ethnic identities, personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Global Challenges-economic issues, population and demographics, , social conscience
Family and Communities-global citizenship, customs and values, family structure, human geography
Essential Questions / How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How do language and culture influence identity? How does one’s identity develop over time? What environmental, political and social issues pose challenges to societies throughout the world? What are the origins of these? What are solutions? What constitutes a family in different societies? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities? How do the roles that families and communities assume differ in societies around the world?
Unit #3
Unit #3 / ¿Héroe o no?Themes & contexts / Contemporary life- education, lifestyles, relationships, social customs and values, volunteerism
Personal and Public Identities-alienation and assimilation, heroes and historical figures, personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Global Challenges-economic issues, population and demographics, social conscience, social welfare, environmental issues
Family and Communities-global citizenship, customs and values
Beauty and Aesthetics- defining beauty, language and literature
Essential Questions / How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does one’s identity develop over time? What environmental, political and social issues pose challenges to societies throughout the world? What are the origins of these? What are solutions? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities? How do the arts both challenge and reflect cultural perspectives?
Unit #4
Unit #4 / La vida de los jóvenesThemes & contexts / Global Challenges-economic issues , social conscience, social welfare, environmental issues
Science and Technology-access to technology, effects of technology on self and society, innovations, science and ethics
Contemporary life- education and careers, lifestyles, relationships, social customs and values, volunteerism, entertainment
Personal and Public Identities-alienation and assimilation,personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Family and Communities-global citizenship, family structure, customs and values, social networking
Beauty and Aesthetics- defining beauty, fashion and design
Essential Questions / What environmental, political and social issues pose challenges to societies throughout the world? What are the origins of these? What are solutions? Hos do developments in science and technology affect our lives? What factors have driven innovation and discovery in the fields of science and technology? How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does one’s identity develop over time? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities? What constitutes a family in different societies? How do the roles that families and communities assume differ in societies around the world? How are perceptions of beauty and creativity established? How do ideals of beauty and aesthetics influence daily life?
Unit #5
Unit #5 / Buen provechoThemes & contexts / Global Challenges-economic issues , social conscience, social welfare, environmental issues
Science and Technology- effects of technology on self and society, innovations, science and ethics
Contemporary life- education and careers, lifestyles, relationships, social customs and values,
Personal and Public Identities- national and ethnic identities, personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Family and Communities- customs and values,
Beauty and Aesthetics- defining beauty, visual and performing arts
Essential Questions / What environmental, political and social issues pose challenges to societies throughout the world? What are the origins of these? What are solutions? How do developments in science and technology affect our lives? What factors have driven innovation and discovery in the fields of science and technology? How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What role does ethics play in scientific advancement? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does one’s identity develop over time? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities? What constitutes a family in different societies? How do the roles that families and communities assume differ in societies around the world? How are perceptions of beauty and creativity established? How do ideals of beauty and aesthetics influence daily life?
Unit #6
Unit #6 / Lo belloThemes & contexts / Science and Technology- effects of technology on self and society, innovations, science and ethics
Contemporary life- education and careers, lifestyles, relationships, social customs and values
Personal and Public Identities- national and ethnic identities, personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image
Family and Communities- customs and values,
Beauty and Aesthetics- defining beauty, visual and performing arts, fashion and design, architecture
Essential Questions / How do developments in science and technology affect our lives? What factors have driven innovation and discovery in the fields of science and technology? How do societies define quality of life? How is contemporary life influenced by cultural products, practices and perspectives? What role do ethics play in scientific advancement? What are the challenges of contemporary life? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does one’s identity develop over time? How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations? How does the individual contribute to the well-being of communities? What constitutes a family in different societies? How do the roles that families and communities assume differ in societies around the world? How are perceptions of beauty and creativity established? How do ideals of beauty and aesthetics influence daily life? How do the arts both challenge and reflect cultural perspectives?
Course Materials [CR2a] [CR2b][CR2c]
General resources taken from among the following:
BBC Radio:Estudio 834:http//new.bbc.co.uk/hi/Spanish/progrannes/studio_834/
BBC Mundo:
Radio Naciones Unidas:
Radio televisión Española:
Univisión:
UNICEF:
CNN en español:
El País:
El Mundo:
People en español :
Zambombazo: http//zachary-jones.com/zambombazo
Ver-taal: ww.ver-taal.com
Veintemundos:
Muy Interesante:
Revista Fusión:
Naciones Unidas:
Spanish B, editedbySuso Rodríguez-Blanco and Ana Valbuena. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011
¡A toda vela!Advanced Spanish, edited by Carmen Herrera and Paul Lamontagne. St. Paul, MN: EMC Publishing, 2008.