AP Spanish 5 - Policies, procedures, course outline and requirements
Course philosophy and goals:
This level will focus on an in-depth fine-tuning of all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) needed to communicate proficiently in Spanish. This course is comparable to a third-year university course with an emphasis on conversation and composition.
In addition to a very solid intermediate working knowledge of the language, it is important for students to be aware of the history, art, architecture, politics, and social structures of Spanish-speaking countries (both Spain and Latin America). Thus, this course will include a panoramic introduction to some major literary works as well as to the different cultural aspects of the 20 countries in the world that have Spanish as their main language.
General course format
A variety of methods and strategies will be used to practice and develop the 4 skills. The year will start with a review and practice of the various parts of the AP Spanish Language exam to make sure that the students have an idea of what they need to know and how they will be tested for their proficiency with the Spanish Language. Extensive practice time will be given in the fourth quarter to work with various AP exams from previous years to practice timing and to review the format used. The mid-year exam in January will be a 3-hour run through of a mock AP exam. The rubrics used to grade the AP exams will be frequently applied to course work and referred to in class during the year.
Listening (20% of the AP grade)
- frequent tape exercises stressing both comprehension and expression
- opportunities to practice listening to longer extracts (up to 5 minutes in length)
- probably one video per term
Speaking (20% of the AP grade)
- oral expression and participation in both pair and group exercises
- individual oral presentations as assigned – one long assignment per term (5 minutes min.)
- frequent practices to questions that require oral expression for two minutes
- frequent practice of quick responses to direct questions (short answers – 20 seconds)
- occasional ‘charlas’ to discuss the conversation topics in Hablando seriamente
Reading (15% of the AP grade)
- extensive comprehension and analysis of written Spanish in short stories, poems, a play,
cultural readings, etc.
- vocabulary and grammar practice exercises interspersed with the reading assignments
Writing (45% of the AP grade)
1. Vocabulary and sentence structure (ie: grammar…) constitute 22.5 % of the exam. There will be extensive review and practice of the grammar foundations during the course.
2. The essay portion of the exam constitutes the other 22.5%. Thus,
- 200-word essays are due every day 7 in the first term, graded ‘holistically’ following the rubrics for writing as defined by the AP requirements (some essays will have assigned
topics, otherwise students may choose from the attached list or from the list in the AP book)
- written analysis of certain literary works, as an introduction to the literature of the Spanish-speaking world will also be required
- written answers to questions on thematic vocabulary units or on topics from Hablando
seriamente, as well as cultural topics as they come up during the year
- practice will be given later in the year for essays to be written in the 45 minutes allowed in the actual AP exam and graded following the AP writing rubrics
Tests and quizzes: grammar, vocabulary, literary analysis, reading comprehension, listening and speaking exercises, AP exam-type exercises (fill-ins, multiple choice, etc.) Frequently, quizzes will be assigned in various formats: listening comprehension + oral questions (in the lab), grammar quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, reading comprehension exercises, etc. At the end of the quarter, these quizzes will be added together and weighted into the test grade for that quarter.
Homework : grammar exercises, vocabulary, reading of literary works prior to discussion, essays.
Grading: Each student is evaluated on the achievement level attained in all four of the above skills which are weighted in the course, following the percentage distribution of the AP exam.
Tests (evaluation of all 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading & writing) 70%
Written work (essays, analysis, short written answers) 20%
Effort: (oral participation, homework) 10%
Textbooks
"AP Spanish – Preparing for the Language Examination" – Díaz, Leicher-Prieto &
Nadelbach
"Hablando seriamente" – Prieto, Smith
"Nuevas Vistas- AP Literature Placement Workbook"
Spanish-English / English-Spanish Dictionary
Important note about obtaining outside help for graded projects:
- All too often, students turn to other students, tutors, native Spanish speakers or other outside
sources to have their work reviewed and polished.
- DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THIS.
- Your teacher will very soon know full well what each one of you is capable of doing, and too
many students have been caught who have handed in work claiming the work to be entirely the
result of their own original efforts.
- Consequences have resulted in being called before the Disciplinary Committee and a note has
been placed permanently in the student’s file.
- If you do utilize outside help, then it is imperative that you tell me when you hand in the
assignment: points will be deducted but at least you will not be accused of cheating or
plagiarizing.
- You will be given a higher grade if you simply put in your very best effort and make the
attempts to improve on your earlier skills to the best of your own, individual ability.
Please read the following statement carefully
:|
Foreign Language Department Policy on Academic Integrity Trust being the cornerstone of the Brunswick community, the FL Department would like to reiterate certain aspects and definitions of the school’s policy on Academic Integrity. · "Dishonesty is the willful perversion of the truth with the intent to deceive." It is assumed that all dealings between teachers and students will be direct and truthful.· "Cheating is the willful giving or receiving of any unfair advantage on any academic exercise." All work, whether done in or out of the language classroom, must be completely original. This includes all homework (graded or ungraded), projects, tests and quizzes. Seeking the aid of translation software, online translation services or any other translation assistance, will be considered cheating. Make-up tests must be taken within two days of the student’s return, and without prior knowledge of specificexamination material derived from communicating with other students in the class. · "Plagiarism is the submission of work as one’s own, any part of which is written and created by another, copied or paraphrased from any source without proper citation, and/or based upon an idea unique to another source without proper acknowledgement." This includes the assistance of native speakers, encyclopedias, online resources, etc., without previous permission from the teacher and proper citation. |
Class attendance, timely arrivals, handing in of required work, and participation and effort are all very important. A positive attitude can work wonders!
Courtesy and respect towards every member of this class is assumed at all times.
Eating food or candy, and drinking sodas,juices or water are all prohibited at all times. This is a classroom, not a student lounge.
It is my hope that each one of you will find opportunities to succeed in this class. It is extremely important that you stay on top of the material as it only becomes increasingly harder as the year progresses. There is too much material to cover before a big test, let alone before an exam.
I look forward to working with each and every one of you. I will be willing to make myself
available for extra help any time you need it. Please feel free to come and talk to me about any concerns you may have.Learning a foreign language requires time, effort and patience!
Final note:
This can and should be a very rewarding course for you. There are myriad opportunities to become involved: to express yourself in both oral and written form. There are also extensive practice sessions with material that was taught some time ago as well as useful additional vocabulary words, expressions, and hints for improved expression in Spanish.
This course will also require a fair amount of hard work: it is a college level course by definition!
It is my sincere hope that you are in this course for the right reason: you are willing to work hard, to ask questions, to become involved, and to participate. You understand the concept that a language is a reflection of its culture. You also understand that learning a foreign language means you are willing to take risks, and that you accept the fact that by your mistakes you will learn. You are in this course for the wrong reasons if you find the material to be too difficult, the grading is not perceived as ‘fair’, or the amount of work required is excessive.