Bienvenidos a Español II
Descripción del Curso / Course Description
Spanish II is an adventure. This Spanish course is designed to expand your Spanish
language skills and to look more deeply into the various cultures of those who speak the
language. Your capacity in the three areas of language – presentational, interpersonal, and
interpretive – will increase and become more fine-tuned. In this syllabus you will find the longterm goals for this course. These long-term goals correspond to the categories in the Spanish II
grade book, and will be used to calculate your grade for the course.
Material covered includes: weather, sports, stem-changing verbs, places, market
vocabulary, places in the city, giving and understanding directions, prepositions of location,
direct and indirect object pronouns, familiar positive and negative commands, reflexive verbs,
affirmative & negative words, present progressive tense, comparisons, regular preterit verbs,
more food, and body parts. At the end of the syllabus, you will find a detailed outline of all topics
studied in Spanish II.
Información de Contacto / Contact Information
Señorita Taylor Rutter
Aula 215, New Berlin West MS/HS
taylor.rutter@nbexcellence.org
(805) 622 - 7782
www.quizlet.com/srtarutter
www.schoology.com
www.twitter.com/srtarutter
Availability
Before school
Every day:
7:00-7:30 a.m.
ELO time
Every day
After school
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday:
3:00-3:30 p.m.
Expectativas de la clase: RESPETO
R
espeta a las personas y cosas de la clase
E
spañol, español, español
S
é responsable
P
repárate para la clase
E
studia/trabaja con amigos
T
en una actitud positiva
O
btén asistencia
Materiales
Necesarios
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Pen/Pencil
Highlighter
Dry erase marker
1-inch binder for Spanish
only
5 tab binder dividers
Notebook or looseleaf paper
Headphones (occasional use)
Notas y Evaluaciones / Grades and Assessments
Your grade will be based on your academic achievement as measured by summative assessments
like tests, projects, presentations/speeches, conversations, and short essays. You will be assessed in
each of the three modes of communication (Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational).
The grade book in Infinite Campus will be divided into four categories:
Interpretive (30%)
Interpersonal (30%)
Presentational (30%)
Benchmarks (10%)
Dividing the grade book by the three modes of communication lets you identify your strengths
and also areas for improvement. Homework will not count towards your achievement grade, but is a
practice tool and it is expected that all homework will be completed. Homework completion will be
tracked and posted on Infinite Campus. In order for you to be able to redo or retake an assessment, ALL
homework must be completed.
ACTFL Proficiency Levels
In class, we will use the American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Levels to
monitor our achievement in Spanish. Each assessment will be
graded on an ACTFL-based rubric that will add into the grade
system.
During first semester, in order to earn an Advanced on
assessments you must be able to perform at the Intermediate
Low level. During second semester, Intermediate Mid becomes
Advanced and Intermediate Low becomes Proficient.
Semestre 1
Needs Improvement
Novice Low
Basic
Proficient
Novice Mid
Semestre 2
Unsatisfactory Needs Improvement
Novice Low
Novice Mid
Novice High
Basic
Novice High
Advanced
Needs Improvement
= A
97-100 = A+
93-96 = A
90-93 = AProficient
= D*
67-69 = D+
63-66 = D
60-63 = DUnsatisfactory = F
= B
87-89 = B+
83-86 = B
80-83 = BBasic = C
77-79 = C+
73-76 = C
70-73 = C-
*
59 and below
* Cannot move on
to Spanish III
Advanced
Intermediate
Low
Proficient
Intermediate
Low
Intermediate
Mid
Intermediate
High
Advanced
Low
Intermediate
High
Advanced
Low
Advanced
Intermediate
Mid
Nota del Semestre / Semester Grade
With the above information in mind, the semester grade will be determined as follows:
At the end of Quarter 1, all assessment scores will be rolled into Quarter 2. Quarter 2 will then
accurately reflect the Semester 1 grade – a progress grade for both Quarter 1 and 2. At the
beginning of Quarter 3, the scores will be cleared in order that students view their progress
grades for Semester 2 in a similar fashion.
Repeticiones de Exámenes / Retakes
If you have completed all of your homework, you are allowed and encouraged to retake
any assessments on which you earned a grade of Novice Mid (Semester 1) / Novice High
(Semester 2) or lower.
You must provide evidence of additional practice that you did before retaking an
assessment. Any and all retakes must be completed within one week of receiving your score on
the assessment. After that time, the option to improve your grade is no longer available.
Make up and re-takes DO NOT APPLY TO FINAL EXAMS. All final
exams are taken ONCE.
Trabajo Atrasado / Late Work
Late work on homework is not encouraged. A “complete” homework assignment means that it is
completed and turned in. In order to retake an assessment, all of your homework must be complete. If
you have late work, you must fill out a form in the “Trabajo Atrasado” basket in the back of the
room and staple it to the completed assignment before turning it in.
Homework/practice is checked and discussed in class daily, and if you frequently choose to turn in
assignments late, you will be required to attend 9th hour to complete all work. After a one-time grace
period for late projects and/or presentations, you will be required to attend 9th hour until the project or
presentation is turned in.
Ausente / Absence Policy
Daily attendance is vital to being successful in Spanish, because listening to the language and
practicing speaking are essential to develop proficiency. If you are absent, feel free to email me while
you are out to ask for the work you are missing.
Otherwise, when you return to class check the “Ausente” basket in the back of the room for your
packet. Then discuss the packet with your “compañero” and then ask me if you have any more
questions.
Please inform me at least one day early if you will be missing class due to a field trip,
appointment, etc. I will do my best to give you any materials ahead of time. Make-up work, including
tests and quizzes, is to be promptly completed outside of class time (within 2 days). This must be done in
a timely fashion in order not to fall behind in class.
Academic Honesty
Using an online translator for more than a single word is equivalent to cheating
because it is not your own work – it is the work of a computer. I would rather see five original,
yet poorly written sentences over one hundred complex computer-translated sentences.
I encourage you to use www.wordreference.com to lookup individual words here and there.
However, if you use a site like Google Translate for entire sentences or phrases, this is
considered cheating and will be treated as such.
If use of an online translator is detected, the student will be subject to
the consequences of Academic Dishonesty as outlined by the School
District of New Berlin: http://www.nbexcellence.org/parents/academic-honesty.cfm
Spanish II Course Outline
Semester 1
Unit 3.2
Los Deportes
Unit 3.3
De Vacaciones
Unit 4.1
En la Ciudad
Unit 4.2
En el Mercado
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Talk about sports
Say what you know with the verbs SABER and CONOCER
Make comparisons
Conjugate and use the verb JUGAR
Express preferences by conjugating and using E to IE stem-changing verbs
Describe the weather
Discuss clothing and accessories
State an opinion
Describe how you feel (with special expressions using TENER)
Say what is happening with the Present Progressive verb tense
Use Direct Object Pronouns
Identify places
Choose transportation
Request and give directions
Use the verb DECIR
Use prepositional phrases to express location
Use regular and irregular affirmative TÚ commands to give instructions
Talk about shopping
Make purchases
Talk about giving gifts
Bargain
Use (o-ue) stem-changing verbs
Use indirect object pronouns
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Order food in Spanish
Comment on how food tastes in Spanish
Use affirmative and negative words in Spanish
Use (e →i) stem-changing verbs
Use GUSTAR to talk about things you like
Tell a story in Spanish about something that happened in a restaurant
Use regular past tense verbs (preterit) in Spanish
Use the verbs IR and SER in the past tense (preterit)
Describe your daily routine
Talk about grooming with Reflexive Verbs
Tell others to do something (positive and negative commands)
Use PRETERIT verbs that end in –CAR, -GAR, and –ZAR
Use PRETERIT verbs that change from I to Y
Describe a house
Discuss daily chores
Say what people are doing (pronouns with the present progressive)
Persuade others (the verb DEBER)
Negotiate responsibilities
Use ADVERBS (that end in –mente)
Use the irregular PRETERIT verbs
Semester 2
Unit 4.3
En un
Restaurante
Unit 5.1
Mi Rutina
Diaria
Unit 5.2
En la Casa
Long-term Goals for Spanish
In language learning, there are three "communicative modes" that place primary emphasis on the context and
purpose of the communication. These three modes are:
 Interpersonal
 Interpretive
 Presentational
Your grade in Spanish class will be mainly based on these three modes of communication. Each of these three
modes represents a category worth 30% of your overall grade. The additional category (Benchmarks) constitutes
the additional 10%. Each mode of communication involves a particular link that is developed gradually over time
between the language and its underlying culture. Modern languages employ a balanced use of these three modes
while in learning classical languages, the interpretive mode predominates with occasional use of the
presentational mode.
The Interpersonal Mode
Two-way communication between individuals that uses
receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills
(speaking and writing).
The interpersonal mode is characterized by active negotiation of
meaning among individuals. Participants observe one another to
see how well their meanings and intentions are being
communicated and make adjustments and clarifications
accordingly. The interpersonal mode is most obvious in
conversation, but can be realized through reading and writing,
such as the exchange of personal letters or e-mail messages.
The Interpretive Mode
One-way communication that uses the receptive skills of listening
and reading.
The interpretive mode is focused on the appropriate cultural
interpretation of meanings that occur in written and spoken form
where there is no active negotiation of meaning with the writer or the
speaker. The Interpretive mode includes “one-way" reading or
listening, the cultural interpretation of texts, movies, radio and
television broadcasts, and speeches. Interpretation differs from
comprehension in that the former implies the ability to "read (or
listen) between the lines."
The Presentational Mode
One-way communication using the productive skills of speaking
and writing.
The presentational mode refers to the creation of formal
messages to be interpreted by listeners or readers without
opportunities for the active negotiation of meaning. Examples of
the Presentational mode include the writing of reports and articles
or the presentation of speeches. These examples of "one-way"
writing and speaking require a substantial knowledge of language
and culture from the outset, since the goal is to make sure that the listening or reading audience will readily
understand the messages conveyed.
Spanish II PARENTS/GUARDIANS:
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LETTER AND THE SYLLABUS WITH YOUR STUDENT AND SIGN AND RETURN THIS
LETTER TO SEÑORITA RUTTER BY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014. ¡MUCHAS GRACIAS!
Dear Parents/Guardians,
¡Bienvenidos a mi clase de español, soy Señorita Taylor Rutter! Welcome to my Spanish class, I am Miss
Taylor Rutter! I am very excited to work with your student this year. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge
of the Spanish language and working with your student. I am also eager to learn from you and your student through
your questions, opinions and insight.
I set high expectations for my students and hope that none of them ever leave my class saying, “I spent x
years studying Spanish and still can’t speak it.” In order to succeed, your student needs to come prepared to class
and also participate and put in effort. How will they ever try to use the language abroad or with native speakers
here in the USA if they never speak it in the classroom? I understand that everyone’s learning style and pace will
vary; however, I expect your student to work to their highest potential and to push their limits. I also encourage
them to come in for help as soon as they may feel the need to! Additionally, I am available to answer questions via
email after school hours and they can also check on Schoology to obtain extra copies of class handouts. I am so
excited for this year and working with you and your student!
Just to share a little about myself, I am originally from Burlington, WI and graduated from Burlington High
School. I then studied at Wisconsin Lutheran College and earned degrees in K-12 Education and Spanish. I studied
in Barcelona, Spain during my college experience and spent the majority of last year teaching at Whitnall High
School. I am looking forward to becoming a member of the New Berlin West school community. If you have any
concerns about your student or questions about anything at all, please feel free to send me an e-mail at
taylor.rutter@nbexcellence.org or call me at (805)-622-7782.
¡Gracias por su apoyo (thank you for your support)!
Sincerely,
Taylor Rutter
Spanish Teacher
New Berlin West Middle/High School
We have read this letter and syllabus carefully with our student and fully understand what Señorita Rutter
will expect.
Student’s name:
______________________________________________
Student’s signature/date:
______________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s name:
______________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s signature/date:
______________________________________________
Additional Comments or questions:
Google voice – Spanish II
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LETTER WITH YOUR STUDENT AND SIGN AND RETURN THIS LETTER TO SEÑORITA
RUTTER BY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014. ¡MUCHAS GRACIAS!
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This school year, we will be using Google Voice in Spanish class for speaking practice and assessment.
Using my Google account through the School District of New Berlin, I signed up for a phone number through
Google Voice. Students are able to call that number and respond to a voicemail message that I previously recorded
with a prompt that relates to our current unit of study. I can either listen to the message on my cell phone by
calling my Google phone number or through my voicemail inbox in my Google account.
I am using Google Voice in class to give your student an extra opportunity to not only listen to the target
language, but also respond in Spanish with little prep time. This is a difficult task, especially as they must listen to
a foreign language over the phone and are unable to see the speaker’s lips moving. Therefore, this is a great
practice to help the students improve their comprehension of the language and it is another unique way to
incorporate the spoken language in my curriculum.
Students also are able to respond with a partner if their phone has speakerphone capabilities. This is an
easy way for me to assess their interpersonal language skills without taking up excessive class time to do this type
of assignment. I will assign one prompt every week or two for the students to complete individually as a homework
assignment. On many unit assessments Google Voice will be used, so students will become comfortable with the
process before the unit assessment.
I used Google Voice last year in the district where I worked previously and it was very successful, so I am
excited to continue to include it in my curriculum this year. I am able to see your student’s phone number in my
voicemail inbox, but that number will remain confidential. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to
contact me. My email is taylor.rutter@nbexcellence.org.
Sincerely,
Taylor Rutter
Spanish Teacher
New Berlin West Middle/High School
I have read the above letter and understand that my student will be using their
cell phone to communicate with Señorita Rutter in her class. Therefore, by signing
below I give permission for my student to use this piece of technology in his/her
Spanish class.
If my child does not have a cell phone, he/she will be able to use Ms. Rutter’s
phone.
Student Name (Print): ______________________________________________________________
Parent /Guardian Name (Print): ____________________________________________________