The people perish without a vision.
Canton Public High School: Spanish I & II
2014 - 2015 Academic Year
Mission-Vision-Goals
Class Vision Statement
Do justice, love mercy, & walk humbly.
As global citizens, students will cultivate critical consciousness, critical thinking & communication skills, leadership capacity within
the classroom & local community, and a genuine appreciation for their identity & community.
Essentially, the Spanish I & II classroom envisions a learning community marked by academic excellence, creative process,
professional competence, offering healing and hope in our diverse world. To this end, we commit to:
Seek justice
Speak compassionately, and
Take multiple perspectives.
Adopted from the Eastern Mennonite University Mission Statement without permission available at: http://www.emu.edu/about/mission
Personal Mission Statement
To this end, our learning community will challenge students to think critically & communicate in creative ways about social systems,
historical roots, and inequality. We will take on various leadership positions & encourage fellow students to do the same.
Importantly, we will appreciate our roots, identity, and community so that we can give back meaningfully.
Essentially, the Spanish I & II classroom of room 216 educates students to serve & lead in a global context. Our learning community
challenges students to pursue rigorous academics through scholarly inquiry, accountability, creative communication, guided
practice, and life-changing cross-cultural encounter. We invite each person to:
lead with compassion, and
walk boldly in the way of nonviolence and peace.
Adopted from the Eastern Mennonite University Mission Statement without permission available at: http://www.emu.edu/about/mission
Vision Snapshot
Our classroom of global citizens will eagerly embrace the classroom culture so that we make the most of learning
opportunities, open up future opportunities and motivate fellow students to maintain perspective during frustration.
The global citizens will embody culture via knowledge, skills, and mindsets. Specifically, scholars will encourage other hard-working
students by sharing during circle processes “I definitely respect how much you work toward your academic goals” or celebrate
accomplishments of lower-achieving students by sharing out miniature successes during the weekly circle process “Tveyon really
achieved at high levels this week when he earned one hundred percent on all his exit tickets.”
Engaged global citizens will readily prepare for academics and recognize how Spanish class affects their lives outside the
classroom. Daily, global citizens recognize struggle & effort. Global citizens will behave like professional college graduates. To
accomplish rigorous Spanish content, global citizens must cultivate a deep yearning for experiential learning & a desire to speak
against corrupt social systems. For example, by the end of the first term, scholars will arrive to class prepared with pencils, paper &
information to share about how they recently experienced Spanish outside the academic classroom. Scholars will listen to each
other respectfully, not talking over each other, and taking notes when appropriate. Specifically, hard-working scholars will own their
success & failure by acknowledging how the kind of work they create directly correlates to their class grade with phrases like “I
earned an A because I studied!”
Not only focused on academic grades, global citizens will recognize that broadening pathways to opportunity moves beyond
the traditional classroom. Within a culturally responsive classroom, global citizens will connect Spanish curriculum to today’s world
by communicating, “I thought that all Central Americans are Mexicans, but I met someone from what is the country name?
Guatemala! Where is Guatemala?” Similarly, a student may connect Spanish class to work by mentioning casually, “I tried to speak
to a Spanish-speaker at Wendy’s, and man smiled and laughed.” Even though we may receive laughs or chuckles, we remember that
we all learn, and want to improve.
To facilitate a classroom learning community that encourages taking risks, we will hold weekly circle processes. The circle
processes will enable us to affirm each other, listen respectfully, speak from the heart, participate in the learning community, and
celebrate our successes. The weekly circle will equip us with a genuine voice to communicate our thoughts & emotions
constructively, and alter the vision of the Spanish I & II classroom. Because I, the Spanish I & II teacher, do not know my students –
their likes, dislikes, interests, and desires for Spanish class, I will create space for students to genuinely alter the Spanish curriculum,
and will emphasize that students must keep me accountable to the vision.
Background Information
To create a culturally relevant Spanish classroom, I must definitely consider the background information, prior
relationships, and demographics of Canton, Mississippi. Below, I included several pertinent facts & pieces of information that I hope
will equip me with the necessary tools to facilitate critical consciousness within the classroom.
Population:
……………………………………………………………………….
13, 263 (2013 Estimate)
White, alone:
……………………………………………………………………….
19.5%
Black or African American, alone: ………………………………………….
74.7%
American Indian and Alaska native, alone: ………………………………..
0.2%
Asian, alone:
……………………………………………………………………….
0.6%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, alone:
…………………………………
0.1%
Hispanic or Latino, alone: ………………………………………………… 5.5%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2008-2012 ……….
7.9%
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2008-2012
……
70.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2008-2012 …………
20.0%
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2012 dollars), 2008-2012 ………. $16,710
Median household income, 2008-2012
…………………………………………
$35,064
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2008-2012 ………………………………. 30.2%
US Census, 2010.
Envisioned Future
By the end of the year, students who take Spanish I or II will …
 Readily participate in critical & appreciative dialogue about social systems
o Students will work with primary texts daily.
o Students will voluntarily speak, write, and text in Spanish outside of class. (For example, students will show me
texts or Instagram posts they send in Spanish for a reward.)
o Students will produce excellent work, ask probing and targeted questions
Time Frame
Objective
Tool for Gathering Evidence
End of 1st Quarter
With prompting, SWBAT describe how they might
Exit Ticket during class—prompt: Of the Spanish we
use their Spanish language skills
learned thus far, how will you use your knowledge &
skills to welcome native Spanish-speakers into the
Canton community?
SWBAT advocate for more resources for the
foreign language department.
Students will research two of the following: a.) budgets
of, b.) number of languages offered by, or c.) other
foreign language departments within other school
districts
Students will write a professional letter to the principal,
board, or whomever they want to explain why Canton
High School must receive more funds for the foreign
language department
End of 2nd Quarter
SWBAT explain why or why not they like school
with at least three different reasons
When prompted, SWBAT verbally articulate why
learning Spanish to their education currently & in
the future.
ET during class -
Without prompting, SWBAT describe how they use
Spanish daily to communicate with local Hispanic
speakers.
Students will articulate “How did they change as a
result of the course?” and “What does the classroom
vision mean to them?” during exit interviews with all
students.
Prompting question—Why does learning Spanish
matter to you?—will occur within the What’s your
vision? student interview video series.
End of 3rd Quarter
End of 4th Quarter

Act professionally
o Students will arrive promptly, active take notes, and monitor their behavior
o Students will welcome guests and local community members when they visit the classroom & extend kindness
outside the classroom
o Students will complete college admissions packets, and speak humbly about their envisioned future.
o Students will understand their finances, and communicate the necessity of sound financial management.
Time Frame
End of 1st Quarter
Objective
SWBAT communicate the importance of acting like
global citizens to achieve goals.
SWBAT understand financial literacy lessons by
participating in an in-person finance courses with
bank representatives.
End of 2nd Quarter
Seek resources from contacts at MB Bank/Regions
Bank—enroll all students in EverFi financial literacy
course to allow them to learn personal finance best
practices.
SWBAT complete an application form to lead a
weekly circle
One hundred percent of students will complete an
application providing concrete & solid reasons why they
should lead a circle.
SWBAT self-monitor appropriate language in the
classroom when interacting with fellow colleagues
& the teacher.
Student facilitator will hold classmates accountable to
kind & respectful behavior -- marking off “being
respectful” (rude language, cursing, general disrespect)
or “arriving on time” (tardiness) strands of Global
citizenship Behavior Rubric—or withholding the
bellringer for off-task behavior.
SWBAT use kind language in the classroom and
with each other and with me during 100% of the
interactions.
Global citizenship behavior rubric—by the end of the
3rd quarter, no students should lose credit for “being
respectful” anytime—share goal explicitly/incentivize
heavily.
SWBAT communicate effectively about individual
progress toward goals, and class progress toward
big goals.
Prompt students with the following question—“How
are you performing relative towards your big goals?”
which will be included in the What’s your vision student
video series.
All students will complete student interviews by
answering the following prompt—“How did you change
as a result of taking Spanish?” and “What does the
classroom vision mean to you?”
During the exit interviews, all students will answer:
“What summer plans will you engage to further your
vision as a global citizen?”
End of 3rd Quarter
Without prompting, SWBAT articulate why acting
like with kindness matters relative to achieving
personal goals.
End of 4th Quarter
100% of SWBAT explain a shadowing opportunity,
enrichment activity, summer camp, or mentoring
relationship in which they will participate during
summer 2014 that advances them toward their
visions as global citizens.

Tool for Gathering Evidence
Students will answer an exit ticket prompt during class:
“Why is listening important in and outside of school?”
Advocate for themselves & their future
o Students will create proposals for changing policies that they disagree with in the school, community, and city.
o
o
o
o
o
Students will feel encouraged to start a club & take leadership positions that attracts students to cultivate
healthier expectations for personal decision making with each other and families.
Students will articulate their current interests about life path that they will pursue to escape generational poverty.
Students will discuss with each other about what global citizenship means & how they will embrace global
citizenship daily.
Students will engage with global issues—Spain’s financial crisis and Mexico’s drug cartels among others—and
cultivate relationships with people around the world.
Students will advocate for college Spanish credits.
Time Frame
End of 1st Quarter
Objective
SWBAT communicate the importance of
advocating for themselves and their futures to
achieve personal goals.
End of 2nd Quarter
SWBAT complete an application form, listing the
qualities and traits that equip them for success in a
leadership role.
End of 3rd Quarter
End of 4th Quarter
SWBAT participate as active citizens in their
community.
100 percent of students engaged in some form of
service learning or advocacy—MLK Day of Service in
January, public hearings about city school system, or
city council meetings.
SWBAT articulate the importance of a leader in a
Spanish-speaking country to the global economy,
environment, and society.
Global Citizen Activity—After continuing to learn about
Spanish-speaking countries, students will write a 300500 word essay describing the significance of a leader
to a Spanish-speaking country.
SWBAT articulate a problem in their communities
they believe deserves greater attention from their
elected officials.
Without prompting, SWBAT articulate the
importance of advocating for themselves to
achieve goals
100 percent of SWBAT explain a shadowing
opportunity, enrichment activity, summer camp, or
mentoring 2013 that advances them towards their
envisioned future.

Tool for Gathering Evidence
During class, students will answer an exit ticket
prompt—“What does advocacy mean?” and “Why is
advocating for yourself important for yourself and your
future?”
One hundred percent of students will complete an
application for a classroom officer position—“What
qualities or traits prepare you for success in the your
top-choice position?”
All students will complete student interviews by
answering the following prompt—“How did you change
as a result of taking Spanish?” and “What does the
classroom vision mean to you?”
All students will complete an exit interview to answer
“What plans do you have for summer to place your
trajectory appropriately for your vision?”
Act as peacemakers, appreciators, and humble leaders
o Students will voluntarily mediate conflict between friends & between family.
o Students will write thank you cards to partners with our Spanish classroom.
o Students will express appreciation for the mundane & amazing opportunities.
o Students will readily serve the community & work with Spanish-speakers.
Time Frame
End of 1st quarter
Objective
SWBAT express appreciation to partners of the
Spanish classroom.
Tool for Gathering Evidence
Students will write a simple thank-you note for partners
of the Spanish classroom.
When prompted, SWBAT appreciate the
During regular circle processes, students will express
experiences they receive.
SWBAT articulate what Spanish learning objectives
they want to accomplish through service learning
during the spring semester
End of 2nd Quarter
appreciation for past, current, and future experiences.
Global Citizenship Activity—Students will explain what
learning objectives they hope to accomplish & why
through college-level writing
SWBAT express appreciation to partners of the
Spanish classroom and to the Canton High School
administration for the opportunity to take Spanish.
Students will write a simple thank-you note for partners
of the Spanish classroom and for Canton High School
administration.
SWBAT describe where & how they will complete
the service learning component of Spanish class.
Students will submit a short description of proposed
locations for service learning with the attached explicit
learning objectives
End of 3rd Quarter
SWBAT complete at least five hours of service
learning at businesses, local nonprofits, and
organizations.
End of 4th Quarter
SWBAT readily articulate how they might serve &
lead as a peacemaker within their local community.
Seek out an extensive resource list where students
might complete community service hours. (Ask local
connections, school administration, and business
owners.)
Students will respond to an exit ticket prompt: “How
might I cultivate peace & joy within the classroom &
local community?”
[Insert student vision]
Academic Achievement
We will strive to “Be bilingual!” In Spanish I & II, scholars will earn an average of 85% mastery on the New York Regents Exam, and in
Spanish II, we will similarly achieve a rigorous average of 85% on the New York Regents Exam. By the end of the year, students will
read at least two novels in Spanish, write at least one hundred-thirty comprehensible words in Spanish, speak continuously for at
least two minutes, comprehend Spanish passages through listening, and critically think about social systems & their historical roots.
To accomplish these goals, I will center literacy, critical thinking and interdisciplinary study at the heart of our Spanish courses
through ¡Vamonos! (bellringer) exercises, extension activities, and standards-aligned assessments. We will excel at reading primary
sources by drawing on our prior knowledge and by connecting Spanish to other subjects. The increased literature focus will
challenge & equip students to explore new, exciting opportunities that will allow them to collaborate more easily with peers.
Because Spanish I & II class will connect history through Spanish-speaking countries, art through cultural lessons, writing through
writing workshops, and speaking to communicate, students will think critically & across various disciplines to enhance the Spanish
classroom. Essentially, the literature focus will enable students to achieve & excel in other future academic situations.
I will cultivate a culture of achievement—high behavioral & rigorous academic expectations—within Spanish I & II among other ways
by creating an exemplary response for assessments that I would expect from an undergraduate students in the honors program at
Eastern Mennonite University, my alma mater. To better quantify data & students’ progress towards closing the achievement gap, I
will ensure my students achieve at rigorous standards, comparable to St. Andrews’ Episcopal School, the eighteenth day school in
the nation, located in Ridgeland, Mississippi by aligning my assessments to the New York Regents Exam, an internationally
benchmarked test. The high behavioral expectations, rigorous academic standards, & centered vision will not only give students the
capacity to learn rigorous material, but also will provide students with an attitude of humble leadership & desire for justice.
Students’ Aspirations and Interests
Spanish I & II will focus & emphasize students’ aspirations & interests. More specifically, Spanish I & II will expose students through
contact with native speakers, information about travel, popular Spanish-speaking culture, service learning opportunities in Canton,
and performances. The various methods of Spanish language immersion will create extraordinary opportunities for students to
practice communicating in Spanish, and will inspire students to gain new perspectives outside Canton, Mississippi. I will contact
Spanish speakers to skype the classroom or at least create Skype video messages for my courses.
Pathways to Opportunity
To change students’ life trajectories, my students need access to resources & knowledge of pathways to opportunity. In the
foreseeable future, my students hold the potential to obtain a university degree, one of the most altering life events. To better
position my students for college and career readiness, students must: 1.) pass their Mississippi SATP subject exams, 2.) earn a 21 or
higher on the ACT college entrance examination, and 3.) work for a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher.
I will work intelligently & hard to equip my students with the necessary tools for later academic success. I will introduce students to
reading more primary & authentic Spanish texts within the Spanish I & II classroom so that students learn how to better read during
the ACT, and commit to offering morning and after-school tutoring so that students make significant gains in subject areas outside
Spanish. Equally important, I plan to network with fellow Canton High School and foreign language teachers to ensure I reinforce
critical thinking skills in mathematics, science, and literature courses. The interdisciplinary focus will equip students with more
critical thinking and reading skills, and will enable students to take responsibility for their academic success.
To gain global awareness & seek justice for the Canton community, students will need access to more pathways than just academic
assessments. My students will need opportunities in Upward Bound, 21 st century scholars, and Governor’s School Leadership
seminars among others. I will seek out resources from the Canton High School guidance counselors and fill potential voids with
personal research and advocacy.
Lastly, I will continue cultivating a vibrant, vivacious, vibrant Spanish club in the spring 2014 semester. The Spanish club will
emphasize service learning, community engagement, & most importantly, students’ interests. I will encourage students to purchase
a passport for international travel so that students can travel to a Spanish-speaking country. To better understand what
administrators, students, parents & community members hope for from opportunities & to create a lasting impact, I will send out a
survey to students & parents, inquiring about hopes & dreams from Spanish club & other Canton High School clubs. Essentially,
working together—not alone—with community members will foster a longer term and significant impact.
Achieving Academic, Aspirational, & Opportunities Vision
Time Frame
End of 1st Quarter
Objective
Parents & SWBAT articulate & share what they want
Spanish club to look like. [Listen to what community
members share for a long-term impact].
Parents, community members & SWBAT share their
hopes & dreams for Canton, Mississippi.
End of 2nd Quarter
SWBAT participate in a college tour, during which
each learns about summer opportunities.
Parents & SWBAT meet Canton community leaders
and engage them in conversations about community
engagement, enrichment opportunities; follow up
with requests for mentoring relationships and
summer enrichment programs.
100% of SWBAT explain a pathway—summer
opportunities, ACT test dates, FAFSA application
dates, application deadlines, and financial aid
opportunities—that will lead them to college
graduation.
End of 3rd Quarter
Tool For Gathering Evidence
Poll students’ parents & students about dreams they
have for Spanish club—prompt a travel abroad
experience.
Engage informal and formal conversations with and
give an optional survey to various community
members of Canton, Mississippi to learn what the
community wants for Canton High School.
Reach out to Upward Bound, Mississippi Valley State
University, Jackson State University, and the
University of Mississippi for potential university
visits. Collaborate with Corps Members Education
Foundation for transportation needs, if necessary.
Track Canton community group events—Chamber of
Commerce—and invite students to attend at least
three events before spring break. Arrange
transportation if necessary through students or
Corps Member Education Foundation.
Introduce students to the expectation after Spring
Break & scaffold appropriately. Create a rolling
“Pathways of Opportunity” corner in the
classroom—draw from Jackson State University,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley
University, Tougaloo University, University of
Misssissippi, and Teach For America for summer
jobs/internships/shadowing opportunities.
Students complete “My Future Plans” folder about
relevant deadlines, and application windows for
summer 2014—expected college graduation. Budget
fifteen minutes of class time/day for ten days
through April to complete.
100% of SWBAT participate in a shadowing
opportunity, enrichment activity, summer camp, or
mentoring relationship that advances them towards
their vision for the future.
Track summer plans through an April survey,
intervene where necessary, and survey again in May.
During the last two weeks of May, students will
complete video exit interviews with a general
question: “What plans do you have for the summer
to advance closer to professional goals?”
Long Term Traits and Mindsets
We will take time to define where we stand relative to other students from other schools, and we work to improve the education we
receive. We will appreciate our region, our community and our families while we will explore the world with openness and curiosity,
and will ground conversations in personal experience.
We will act like informed global citizens, and within our safe learning community, we will conduct ourselves as respectful
professionals. We will approach new and strange ideas by asking questions, engaging in thoughtful debate, asking for others’
perspectives and sharing our own.
As learners, we will approach hard work and new challenges, reflecting on how we surmounted past obstacles. We will discipline
ourselves to use data about our strengths and gaps in Spanish to improve our daily practice and performance on assessments.
Reflection on Big Goal
1. What are your grade level expectations? What do these expectations look like for the specific grade level I’m teaching? What are
the characteristics of grade-level texts and writing? What does this imply for the knowledge and skills my students will need?
For both Spanish I & II, students should write in complete, well-constructed sentences in both Spanish and English. When analyzing
stories, students should apply their ELA skills to Spanish texts by intentionally employing Question-Answer Relationships (QARs),
comparison & contrast, and personal responses to correctly complete the questions. In culture segments, students should access
and creatively employ the same critical thinking skills used previously and & practiced in other courses. Students will value their
unique perspective & creativity to reflect through writing.
To encourage enhanced reading skills, the teacher will plan and deliver various instructional lessons to facilitate critical thinking skills
during reading. Scholars must differentiate fact from opinion, an event from information, something that happens in the text from
something that already happened, events that occurs from events that are planned, and character traits (physical & personality)
versus character actions. The teacher will specifically emphasize that:
*scholars understand these differences through the reading activity “This or that”
(http://martinabex.com/2013/02/26/this-or-that/),
*that scholars highlight important details through “The Top Ten List” (http://martinabex.com/2013/04/17/top-ten/),
*additional reading after class by acting sentences during class (http://palmyraspanish1.blogspot.com/2013/04/acting-toencourage-additional-reading.html),
*that scholars think critically & organize thoughts (http://martinabex.com/2013/02/26/word-sort/),
*scholars practice drawing on previous knowledge, summarization skills, new word recognition, & translation through
context clues (http://martinabex.com/2012/11/13/reading-reps/), and
*scholars excel on the Pobre Ana assessments by employing the already mentioned skills & processes
(http://martinabex.com/2011/11/03/pobre-ana-chapter-3-reading-assessment/)
2. [Focusing] To improve your clarity about where you’re headed, describe what it will look like for your students to achieve the
goal. What will this mean they know, believe, and can do?
Students will feel safe, comfortable & secure in their identity as appreciative residents of Mississippi. From the grounded
perspective, they will learn how to listen & will learn how other cultures listen. Students will read, write, speak and understand
Spanish with confidence, and will demonstrate this mastery on the New York Regents Exam. In Spanish I & II, students will achieve at
least an average of 90% mastery, which will mean that they will be able to listen to native-speed Spanish and extract meaning, as
well as interpret Spanish. They will speak fearlessly about their family and their lives and write interesting, creative writing prompts.
3. [Motivating] How will achieving the Big Goal impact your students? In your answer, consider how achieving the Big Goal impacts
students’ pathways of opportunity. After school begins and you cultivate relationships with students, add further explanation about
how your Big Goal matches or enables your students’ short and long term aspirations.
Students will leave Spanish class with demonstrable, tangible skills. They actively communicate in a foreign language. Success in
Spanish I or Spanish II will mean increased literacy for my students. More specifically, students will learn how to read more closely to
primary texts & analyze work to produce unique conclusions. The newly-learning or honed skills will equip scholars with mindsets,
skills, and knowledge about how to research, apply for, and matriculate into enriching opportunities--competitive colleges and
universities or career-oriented centers, and will access more merit scholarships. Students must receive at least a 21 on their ACT
scores so that they can apply to competitive colleges. I will partner with students in the process to ensure they receive information
about enriching opportunities.
Essentially, all students will think critically about social systems, engage critical dialogue about historical roots of social systems, and
develop a critical consciousness. They will gather, examine, analyze & synthesize data to prove that they worked hard and
succeeded within rigorous academic material, and hopefully, the newly found confidence will nurture a humble ambition to select
more challenging courses later. After learning within the Spanish courses at Canton Public High School, global citizens will hold the
capacity, and regularly draw upon unique cultural experiences from foreign language classes to articulate more nuanced
perspectives on global issues.
References
EMU Mission Statement. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.emu.edu/about/mission/
Spanish language. (2013, July 19). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
Firsts & Facts: St. Andrew’s Firsts. (2014, January). Retrieved from http://www.gosaints.org/page.cfm?p=516.
10 facts about the spanish language. (2013, July 19). Retrieved from
http://spanish.about.com/od/historyofspanish/a/10_facts_about_spanish.htm