Woodrow Wilson High School
Spanish 2-2012-2013
Ms. Geraghty e-mail: sgeraghty@dallasisd.org
website: http://www.quia.com/profiles/sgeraghty23
Spanish 1 Syllabus
Course objective: You will be introduced to Spanish language and culture in Spanish-speaking countries and communities. You will learn the fundamentals of Spanish vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar so that you will be able to engage in simple conversation as well as read and write in Spanish. The course will conducted when appropriate in Spanish so that you will become accustomed to hearing and speaking the language. You will often work in pairs or as a group to practice conversationally what you have learned in class. By the second week of the first semester you will begin to practice writing Spanish words and simple sentences. You will also learn about the traditions and culture in other Spanishspeaking communities and countries. Project-based learning will sometimes be used when studying other cultures. Last but not least, you will be encouraged to think about the future opportunities and benefits that learning Spanish can give you!
Major Instructional Goals:
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To learn to ask and respond to questions on everyday topics such as: people, routines, likes and dislikes offering help, talking about chores, asking what people do for a living, introducing people and responding to introductions; professions, descrbing a house, talking about getting hurt, describing people and things in the past, ordering in a restaurant and clothing and shopping
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The conjugation of regular and irregular verbs in the present, preterite and imperfect tenses.
To learn to use formal commands, past participles as adjectives, hace with time expressions and double object pronouns
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To learn when to use the preterite and the imperfect tenses
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To learn about Spanish-speaking culture and communities such as food, traditions, holidays, art, history and the educational system.
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To know the location of Spanish-speaking countries and be able to name capital and major cities, historical and geographical sites
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To learn similarities and differences between Spanish-speaking cultures and our own.
What You Will Need:
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A binder with six dividers labeled: Vocabulario, Gramática, En Clase, Cultura, Diario and Pruebas
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Paper
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Pen or Pencil

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Markers on occasion for group project
Website
I will have a class website at http://www.quia.com/profiles/sgeraghty23 which will have information about me, my contact info and allow students to log in for class assignments and homework. There will also be any important messages from me and a calendar to see what we will be doing in class.
Internet links
I will be using several Spanish-learning websites in class and on days when we have computers. I will also assign homework using these websites. I also recommend that you use these websites in your spare time for practice and/or tutoring. The links to the websites are posted on my website, at: http://www.quia.com/profiles/sgeraghty23
Weekly Plan of Action
In general, the week will go like this:
Mondays and Wednesdays-We will learn and take notes on a new topic. There will be an interactive discussion about what we have learned as a class. When finished you will be able to put what you have learned into practice with a classroom assignment. Mondays will generally be “vocabulary” day when we will learn new vocabulary.
Tuesdays and Thursdays-We will work on classroom assignments individually or in pairs to consolidate what we have learned from the lecture. Some of this time will be spent practicing conversation with a partner.
Fridays will be a vocabulary or chapter test. I will also check your binders every other Friday to check that everything that has not been collected has been done and that notes have been taken. Fridays are also “game day” in which we will either play a game as a group, in teams or in pairs. Games will be in
Spanish and include bingo, jeopardy, Scrabble and bananagrams.
*You will do a bellringer Monday –Thursday at the beginning of class. If you are tardy, you will not be able to make the bellringer up!
Grading Policy
Grading Policy is as follows:
Classwork/Homework 40%
Tests/Quizzes 25%
Projects/Products 20%
Six weeks test grade 15%

Computer Lab
We will use the computer lab or COW’s as often as possible to practice language skills using various
Spanish-language websites.
Group Projects
Each six weeks we will be doing group projects that will usually be centered around cultural learning or a conversational topic.
Field Trips
I will organize the occasional field trip which will take place in the evening during the week or on a
Saturday. It will involve a cultural activity such as a play or art exhibit and students who attend will receive extra credit.
Participation
Participation is an integral part of learning Spanish and will be percentage of your overall grade. I will be looking to see if you are: listening and taking notes during a lecture, participating when appropriate, speaking only in Spanish when appropriate, coming to class on time and doing class assignments.
Exams
If you do poorly on an exam I will give you the opportunity to retake the quiz/test once more for a maximum grade of 80%. The retake must be done within two weeks of the original test or quiz. You will not be given this opportunity if it is obvious you have not been participating or paying attention in class.
Help
I will be available for any tutoring 20 minutes before school starts or 30 minutes after school is over.
Late Work
Please see classroom rules and procedures for policies on making up work after an absence. If you do not complete a classroom assignment in class because you were “goofing off”, I will not accept late work.
Earn your first grade: Please read and sign the syllabus below. Also, please have your parents read the syllabus and fill out the information. If you bring this back by Friday, August 31 st I will give you a 100% for participation.

I have read the information in the Spanish 1 syllabus. I know I can be successful in this class if I maintain good attendance, participate in class, listen without speaking during teacher lectures, do classroom assignments, get tutoring if needed and make-up any missed assignments.
A. Student signature__________________________________ Date _____________
Parents: Please read the syllabus and complete sections A-E below.
I/We have read the syllabus and understand the importance of encouraging our student to maintain good attendance, class participation, homework completion and to seek help if needed in advance of tests and quizzes. We know that we can contact the teacher by phone or email.
A. Parent/Guardian signature___________________________ Date ________________
B. Name and phone # of parent or guardian to contact if needed to discuss student’s progress
_____________________________________________________________________
C. E-mail address ___________________________________________________
D. Internet access at home? Yes _____
E. Parents, I really want to hear from you about your son or daughter. Please take a moment to share helpful information about your student and/or list your questions/comments regarding the course.