¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español!

Welcome to Spanish Class! Students, this year will be challenging and will require a lot of effort from both of us, but together we can be successful. It will be your choice how much you learn. I will teach you all that I can but I cannot learn for you. This, you must do on your own. Remember: you are responsible for learning. I look forward to having fun, learning, and teaching with you this year.

Resources

Spanish 1 Students use the text:

Boyles, Peggy, and Myriam Met, Richard Sayers, and Carol Wargin. Realidades, Spanish Level 1 Student. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Course Content

Semester 1:

pronunciation, basic greetings, weather expressions, present tense of –ar, -er, -ir verbs, numbers, describing school schedules and subjects, foods and describing nouns with adjectives, days of the week, months of the year.

Semester 2:

talking about one's community, describing families, ordering in a restaurant, parts of a house, household chores, shopping and prices, present progressive tense, stem-changing verbs. Culture: Spanish-speaking countries/USA

Realidades, which is designed to balance instruction through the practice of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the context of culture. We will, however, use the textbook only sporadically; I will provide students with the materials they need. We will focus on speaking quite a bit in class, so I ask students to be open and to not be afraid to make mistakes!

Our Goal

In the World Languages Department, it is our goal to provide students with a well-rounded approach to learning a second or even a third language and ultimately becoming fluent in that language. The expectation is that all levels of World Languages are conducted exclusively in the target language with support in English given in level one throughout the year, but gradually decreasing through level two. English language support for level two and higher will be offered after class or after school.

Course Objectives:

  1. Expand vocabulary base.
  2. Improve and expand writing, listening, speaking, pronunciation, and reading comprehension skills.
  3. Gain familiarity with Hispanic culture and appreciate differences and similarities in customs.

Course Outline

1st Semester:

Greetings and polite phrases; days and months; what you want, need, prefer, and like to do; describing yourself, a friend, and others; speaking about going and being at a place.

2nd Semester:

Going shopping and describing clothes; speaking about your house, chores, extended family, rooms, and items you would find in the house; seasons and weather; sports, arts, and music; speaking about health and food.

Classroom Expectations

Students are expected to be responsible for their attendance by arriving to class on time and attending class on a regular basis. If absent, the student will clear the absence with a parent phone call or note. The VHS Tardy and Truancy Policies will be in effect throughout the year.

Homework

There will be limited paper homework in this course. However, I will make use of Duolingo, which is an online course; this will be students' homework throughout the entire year. The code for Duolingo will be given at the end of the first class. Students are encouraged to log in and practice a little each day; there will be certain due dates to adhere to.

Grading

Quarter and semester grades are based on performance in the following categories:

Note: Grades will not round up.

Grade based on:

Excused Absences

Students have the number of days absent to make up the work missed, otherwise, the grade will be an “0." It's the student's responsibility to find out what the work was by checking Google classroom or by asking peers in class. In the event that a student misses a quiz, exam or presentation, the student has a week to make this up. Please arrange a time with me to do so. I will follow High School guidelines regarding unexcused absences or suspensions.

Extra Help

I am available before or after school for extra help. I ask that students let me know the day before that they will be coming.

Google Classroom

I will use Google Classroom for posting announcements, questions and HW. Please log in everyday especially if you are absent.

Materials needed for the course

The following apps will help you in the course this year:

Duolingo Google Classroom QR Code Reader App Pic Collage App
Duolingo Owl Logo Google Classroom Logo QR Reader App Image Pic Collage App Logo