AP/IB Course Overview
Welcome to AP/IB Spanish! I am glad you have chosen to be apart of this interesting and
challenging course. Spanish is an incredible useful tool not only in our community, but around
the world. This is a faced pace course that is designed to promote communication in Spanish
and help you learn about the culture, history, and other vitals parts of Spanish-speaking
societies and countries.
Goals
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Students are expected to interact with the teacher and each other in Spanish the majority of the
time. English will be used to explain difficult and or complex instructions and grammar concepts
when needed.
Students will expand their interpersonal communication skills in Spanish through daily
classroom interactions in the target language. This includes casual conversations with the
teacher and classmates as well as formal discussions.
Students will increase and refine their written presentational skills in formal and informal
contexts.
Students will refine their oral presentational skills in formal and informal contexts.
Students will broaden their comprehension skills of written and aural material in formal and
informal contexts.
Students will broaden their understanding of the cultures that comprise the Spanish-speaking
world through the study of history, literature, art, music, and current events.
Students will make connections between their learning in the Spanish classroom, their learning
in other classes, and their daily lives.
Students will practice with real examples and formats so that they are well prepared for their AP
or IB exams in the spring.
Current events and country study
At the beginning of each year, students choose a country or region to study. They research basic data
about the country and read current event articles about that country throughout the semester or year.
Students share oral summaries (in Spanish) of the articles they read with classmates. This provides
practice for the speaking portion of the exam and allows students to gain a greater understanding of the
diversity of the Spanish-speaking world.
Also our native speakers will help teach the class aspects of Hispanic culture that they are familiar with
and would like to share.
Authentic Sources
In order to help students become better communicators and lifelong learners of Spanish it is important
to study and use a wide variety of authentic resources from around the world. In this class we will read
and discuss and use many types of literature, film, web pages, video clips, and music to help us learn
about Spanish language and culture. These authentic sources will also lead to class discussions and
writing assignments.
LOTE Department Grading and Late Work Policy
Daily Work and Projects
Daily work and projects are expected to be complete and turned at the beginning of class on the day
they are due. If a student does not have the assignment he/she may bring it in the next SCHOOL day for
80% if complete. Each day after that there will be 10 points deducted.
Tests and Quizzes
If a student makes below a 70 on a test or a quiz that student has the opportunity to retake the test or
quiz. He/she has 48 hours or 2 school days to come in to retake the test or quiz. One day can be for
tutoring and then the next retake the test, but this is up to the student to decide. The highest grade the
student will be able to make is a 70. We do understand that there may be some extenuating
circumstances, but exceptions will only be made if a parent calls the teacher to discuss those
circumstances.
Tests and projects= 30%
Quizzes= 30%
Daily work= 40%
Week 1 Introductions, classroom rules, expectations, syllabus, diagnostic evaluation.
Reading #1 about an imaginary society.
Week 2 Begin work with ser and estar with a Repaso packet. Second reading about an imaginary
society.
First debate: Los Jóvenes no deberían recibir su licencia de manejar hasta que tengan 18 años.
Writing assignments to prepare for the debate.
Reading #2 about the ability of dogs to detect illnesses.
Week 3 Begin work with the past tenses with a Repaso packet on the preterit. Reading #3 A Cuban
legend.
Week 4 Continue working on the past tenses with a Repaso packet on the imperfect. Continue
children’s story presentations.
Begin reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende
Quiz over the readings.
Week 5 Repaso packet on the integration of the preterit and the imperfect when talking about the past.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende
Reading #4 Érase una vez el matricarcado (Matriarchal societies around the world) Class discussion
follows.
Current events presentations
Week 6 Continue talking about the integration of the preterit and the imperfect when talking about the
past with oral dialogues.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende and a quiz.
Review and six weeks exam.
Week 7 Begin working with the future and conditional tenses with a Repaso packet.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende
Current events presentations
Reading #5 El Fin por Jorge Luis Borges
Week 8 Review of reflexive verbs with oral dialogue activities.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende and a quiz.
Creative writing assignment about ecology in current events and then debate about the environment.
Week 9 Begin working with the perfect tenses with a Repaso packet.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende.
Verb quiz
Film: La violetera
Week 10 Continue working with the perfect tenses with a Repaso packet.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende and quiz.
Reading #6 a short story from Carme Riera, a Spanish writer.
Practice AP/IB test oral activities.
Begin Mundo Hispanohablante #2 presentations.
Week 11 Begin working with gerunds and the progressive tense.
Review for the six weeks exam.
Week 12 Review and then take the six weeks exam.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende.
IB students need to be deciding on what the subject of their individual oral will be.
Week 13 Film: Bajo la misma luna
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende
Practice AP/IB test listening activities.
Week 14 Discuss saying and idioms. Native speakers present examples and explanations.
Discussion on cultural perspective in saying and idioms.
Packet of dichos and idioms from various Spanish-speaking countries.
Continue reading “La Ciudad de las Bestias” por Isabel Allende and quiz.
Week 15 Finish “La Ciudad de las Bestias” and exam over the novel. Discuss alternate endings and other
places the characters could go to.
Week 16 Begin review for semester exams. Review the six in class readings.
El Mundo Hispanohablante #3 presentations
Week 17 Continue Review and presentations.
Current events presentations
Week 18 Semester exams
Week 19 Class discussion about things done and seen over winter break.
Story telling activity. Go over how the AP/IB test will be graded and remind students of what they need
to do to prepare.
Reading #7 and class discussion
Week 20 Begin working with the subjunctive tense with a Repaso packet.
Current events preparation
Guerra song and lyrics to help understand the subjunctive.
El Mundo Hispanohablante #4 presentations
Week 21 Continue working with the subjunctive.
Begin reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez.
Verb quiz
Reading #8 and class discussion. AP/IB practice writing exercise.
Week 22 Begin working with the imperfect subjunctive, past perfect subjunctive, and the conditional
tenses with a Repaso packet.
AP/IB listening practice exercise.
Continue reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez. Book quiz
Week 23 Group project: Create and present a play based on several sample subjects.
Present plays
Continue reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez.
Current events presentations
Week 25 Review and discuss the use of prepositions with a Repaso packet.
Review and take 6 weeks exam.
Continue reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez.
Week 26 Begin more in depth review and practice for the AP/IB test.
Listening activity with a news video clip.
Reading activity with articles from a newspaper and the Internet followed by class discussions.
Compare and contrast writing activity.
Week 27 Review and discuss agreement issues with a Repaso packet.
Continue reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez and quiz.
Reading #9 and class discussion.
Letter and email writing activity.
Week 28 AP practice test and grade in groups and then as a class.
**IB test week
Week 29 Current event presentations
Continue reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez
Verb quiz and film: Casi Casi
Week 30 Spring Break
Week 31 AP listening practice followed by self recordings. Peer revision followed by teacher revision
Finish reading Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez and exam.
Writing and speaking AP/IB practice.
Week 32 AP practices with packets and listening activities.
Week 33 AP practice with packets and listening activites.
Current event presentation of new clips from Spanish speaking countries
Dialect discussion
Week 34 AP test week
Week 35 Film or novela study chose by the students.
Week 36 Film or novela study chose by the students.
End of the year celebration.
Resources
Main Text
Repaso: A Complete Review Workbook for Grammar, Communication, and Culture.
Lincolnwood, IL. National Texbook Company, 1997
Novels
La Ciudad de las Bestias por Isalbel Allende
Antes de Ser Libres por Julia Alvarez
Helpful Web Sites
BBC Mundo.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
www.cervantesvirtual.com
The City: La ciudad. (PBS)
www.pbs.org/itvs/laciudad/index.html
EuroNews
www.euronews.net/create_html.php?page=home&lng=5
Instituto Cervantes
www.cervantes.es/portada_b.htm
Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classrooms
www.clta.net/lessons/
López Nieves, Luis. Ciudad Seva: cuentos de Augusto Monterroso
www.ciudadseva.com/textos/cuentos/esp/monte/am.htm
Materiales (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España)
www.sgci.mec.es/usa/materiales/
McClennen, Sophia A. Cinergia.
www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/cinergia/cinergia.htm
Portalmix
www.portalmix.com
Romagosa, Santiago. Don Quijote de la Mancha
www.quixote.tv
Tierra de Letras (online literature magazine)
www.letralia.com
www.ELPAÍS.com: El periódico global de noticias en español
Speaking and Listening Resources
The world’s largest language learning community: www.livemocha.com
Radio Naciones Unidas www.un.org/radio/es/
Nuevos Horizontes www.nuevohorizontes.org
CNN en español www.cnn.com/espanol