2014-2015 Academic Year
Spanish II
Veronica Del Valle
veronica.delvalle@jp2hs.org
Course Description and Objectives
Spanish II is an intensive course where students will strive to master the fundamentals of
grammar, vocabulary, and communication. Students will apply and build upon their knowledge of
present-tense Spanish structures and vocabulary. Through the course, they will learn two past
tenses, the future tense, and several perfect tenses. We will complete approximately six units in
the text curriculum as well as review the initial units from Spanish I.
This course strives to meet the foreign language standards specified by the American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Language and JPII’s Department of Foreign Languages. Students will
learn to communicate effectively in Spanish and think critically as they apply learned skills to new
situations and interpret language structures. In addition, students will gain a wider knowledge of
human culture as they learn about myriad cultures imbedded within Spanish-speaking countries.
Course Materials (Same textbook and workbook as Spanish 1)
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Blanco/Dellinger/Donley/Garcia, Vistas: Introducción a la lengua española (Ed. 3)
Student Activities Manual (SAM)
Pocket Dictionary – Larousse or Oxford preferred
Binder & notebook or loose leaf paper
Access to Vistas Website
1 pack of notecards
Material Covered
Quarter 1:
a. Review of Spanish 3 – 4 Weeks
b. Chapter 6 and 7: Clothing, regular preterite verbs, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns,
indefinite and negative words, preterite of ser and ir – 3-4 weeks
Quarter 2:
a. Chapter 7 continued – 1-2 weeks.
b. Chapter8: Vocabulary, preterite of stem-changing verbs, comparisons and superlatives.
Discussing daily routines in the present and past – 3 weeks
Quarter 3:
a. Chapter 9: Vocabulary, irregular preterite, meaning changes in the preterite tense, ¿qué ?
vs ¿cuál? pronouns after prepositions – 2-3 weeks.
b. Chapter 10: Imperfect tense, preterite vs. imperfect, adverbs and adverbial phrases. 3 – 5
weeks.
Quarter 4:
a. Chapter 14.3: Past participles – 1 week
b. Chapter 15: Vocabulary, present perfect. 3 weeks.
c. Chapter 11: Por and para – 1 week
Grading
Course grades will be determined by the following:
Participation: 10%
Projects/Performance Assessments: 15%
Homework/Classwork/Lab: 25%
Quizzes: 20%
Tests: 30%
Participation
Since listening and speaking are skills that require regular practice, attendance and
active participation in class are essential. It is crucial that students read and study the
assignments and learn the vocabulary before coming to class. Points will be deducted if:
-Student is late without note.
-Student is not prepared for class.
-Student is distracted or distracting others.
Lab work
Every student should have access to the Vistas website and should provide Ms. Del Valle with
their sign-in name and password. Assignments on the Vistas website will be completed regularly in
class or as a project, lab or homework assignment; these may be assigned individually or in groups.
When exercises are assigned as homework, students will have at least 2 class periods to complete them.
30% will be deducted each day the assignment is late.
Portfolio/Notebook
Organization in this class is a key factor for success in the subject matter. Material covered is always
linked to previous chapters, which forces students to look back in their notes to find certain
information. The student has the obligation of taking notes in class and dating them, along with any
handout.
Home-work and homework
Students are expected to keep up with the class material, to do all assignments (on time), to attend
every class (alert) and to participate actively. Students should expect homework assignments regularly
as well as individual computer work. In addition, material covered in class should be reviewed at home
since pop-quizzes will be given regularly. Home-work is a very important factor in this course.
All homework must be shown or turned in on time; student will receive a maximum 50% credit if
assignment is completed by the next class period. In most cases the student can receive a maximum of
70% if that assignment is completed during a tutorial. Assignments completed after the next
class period will NOT receive credit
Assignments that show no effort will be considered as not turned in and student must redo it in order
to receive half credit.
STUDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SHOWING LATE WORK!
*Students who are absent (including school related) are expected to turn in the
homework on the same day they come back along with the homework due the class they
missed. Assignments and homework are available on Veracross.
Quizzes
Students will have quizzes on a regular basis; these will be over the material covered the class before.
Pop-quizzes will be given at any point but these will be over what the student was assigned for
homework.
Assessment Types for Spanish II
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Homework/Classwork/Lab/Journal
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Projects/Performance Assessments
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Quizzes
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Tests
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Participation
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Exams
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Students will receive homework on a daily
basis; homework should be completed
individually unless otherwise specified.
Assignments can be writing down
vocabulary, completing exercises from book,
completing handouts, conjugating verbs and
taking notes. Students may also be assigned
to bring news articles, maps, pictures or
other things for a homework grade.
Homework assignments will be often graded
for accuracy and sometimes by completion.
Certain Classwork assignments will receive a
grade.
Students will write on a weekly journal. This
receives either a 10, 7, 5 or 0 depending on
effort.
Vistas Supersite exercises. Students will
complete and submit website exercises on a
regular basis. They will have at least 3days
to complete it from the day it was assigned.
Weight-25%
Students will be assigned various projects
throughout the year related to the lesson
covered as well as reporting current events
in the Latin American World.
Students will perform tasks in which they
will apply the concepts covered in the unit.
Weight- 15%
Quizzes will be given on a regular basis.
They will be asked to apply the material that
was learned on the previous class meeting.
Quizzes will focus on grammar, spelling,
vocabulary and culture.
Weight- 20%
Tests will be over each Unit; approximately
seven throughout the year. Students will
apply what they learned in a series of
multiple-choice questions, fill in the blanks,
translation, short answer and on most tests
they will have to write a paragraph or
answer personal questions. Spanish Tests
are cumulative and comprehensive; material
from past chapters will be used.
Students will be encouraged to actively
participate. They are expected to be on task
therefor when called upon they should be
ready to engage in the material being
covered.
Students must have their own materials
every single class period.
Points will be taken of participation for
discipline issues as well as being tardy
unexcused to class.
Exams are comprehensive throughout the
year.
Generally there are 200 multiple-choice
questions, a creative writing section and a
listening section.
Weight- 30 %
Weight- 10%
In its own category, the exams
count 20% of the semester grade
each term.
VERITAS Agreement
All acceptable aids have been provided on the following page. Any student who does not comply
with the Veritas guidelines for the school and for Mrs. Del Valle’s individual class will earn a grade
of zero, and disciplinary action will take place. Any student who produces an assignment that
demonstrates behavior not in compliance with Pope John Paul II High School will earn a grade of
zero, and will be reported for disciplinary action.
VERITAS Agreement
Students shall not use any aids for assignments except those listed below. Any student found or
suspected with a high burden of evidence of using unacceptable aids on a classroom or homework
assignment will be given a zero by teacher; for assignments, such as projects, presentations,
essays, or quizzes/tests, the student will be referred to the Veritas Council. Note that at any point
within a given assignment the list of acceptable and unacceptable aids may be altered.
Note: An online translator or a native Spanish speaker’s help is not permitted on
any assignment.
Spanish II Class
Homework: Students shall work on homework alone. No student shall copy any assignment from
another student. Any student who has a question about homework should seek help from the
teacher before the assignment is due. Students may email teacher directly or come to school prior
to the beginning of classes in order to ask questions about the assignment. To complete homework
assignments, students may use their Spanish-English dictionary, their book, and notes. If writing
is required in Spanish, an online translator or a native Spanish speaker’s help is not permitted on
any assignment. Students should use vocabulary that is at their current Spanish level in order to
avoid the temptation to use an online or personal translator.
Workbooks: Students may not under any circumstance turn in answers on loose-leaf paper in
place of the workbook page(s). The paper will not be accepted for a grade even if the student states
that he/she "used another student's workbook that had not yet been filled out." There is no way to
check the student's story, and in any case, it represents a lack of organization and responsibility on
the part of the student to have his/her workbook ready for class. If a student loses a workbook or
workbook page, he/she should discuss this with the teacher prior to using someone else's
workbook. The student will be responsible for obtaining another personal workbook.
Class Work: Class work should be completed individually with a student’s own resources (i.e.,
dictionary, notes, book). An online translator is not acceptable and should not be accessible in the
classroom. However, if the class in within the computer lab or library, the internet should not be
used to help with writing assignments. Unless permitted by the teacher (i.e., group or partnered
exercises), no student shall seek help from other students. When group work is permitted, all
group members should actively participate; he or she should not copy from other group members’
work.
Lab (Fotonovelas and Supersite): Fotonovelas and Supersite exercises are assigned to all Spanish
classes. An online translator is prohibited. Native speakers should not be permitted to translate
the exercises either. While students may discuss the context of the Fotonovela dialogues, all
comprehension questions and other lab work should be completed individually unless you are
assigned a partner. No part of the lab work shall be plagiarized.
Supersites: Students are to complete all work on their own. You are given two chances to complete
each activity. Do not cheat or allow another student to do the work. There is no way to sign Veritas
on these supersites, but it is based on an honor code that you are completing the tasks on your
own with no help from friends, peers, translators, etc.
Papers and Projects: Papers that require research shall be documented and cited. If a source is
unknown, or if a student does not know how to cite said source, he/she should ask the teacher.
The type of citations and bibliography required may depend on the actual assignment. Copying
any source text without using quotation marks and proper citing constitutes plagiarism. No online
translator or personal translator shall be used. Students are given ample opportunities to provide
rough drafts for feedback. If those opportunities are taken seriously with the best personal
attempts at completing the task, students will feel less pressure to translate via an unauthorized
source when the due date arrives. NOTE: No student shall take personal credit for parts of a
project that he/she did not complete. This represents another form of cheating.
Quizzes and Tests: Students shall not cheat off of any other student taking the test or quiz.
Students in similar level classes but in different sections of the class shall not discuss any part of
the quiz or test with other students. This is a form of cheating and is a violation of Veritas. If
students knowingly leave papers or other commonly unacceptable aids around their desks from
which to cheat, they will also be referred to Veritas. In few circumstances, open-note quizzes are
given. During these times, the same rules apply for class work. Work is to be completed
individually with a student’s own personal permissible resources. A student shall not take
someone else’s book, notes, or dictionary without that student’s permission or the permission of
the teacher. Another student is not required to provide an unprepared student with his or her
classroom materials. Note: If your phone goes off in the middle of a quiz or test, and it’s on your
person, you may be asked to share what information is on your phone with Student Life.
Conduct: Any student who presents an assignment demonstrating behavior not in compliance
with the rules and guidelines of JP2 as listed in the handbook will receive a zero, and disciplinary
action will be recommended.
I have read the Spanish Syllabus and understand the homework policy as well as theS Veritas
agreement.
Student Signature_______________________________
Parent/Guardian ________________________________