Advanced Placement Spanish
Course Syllabus
2011-2012
Gateway Institute of Technology High School
Diane Pansky
diane.pansky@slps.org
(314) 776-3300 ext. 14020
Course Description
Advanced Placement Spanish is a two semester course focused on the improvement of
students’ grammar, reading, writing, listening and presentation skills. It is intended for students
who have successfully completed at least three years of Spanish language study in junior high
or high school or who are native Spanish speakers with demonstrated mastery of the language
at the level of a fourth year student.
The content and requirements of this course are comparable to those of a third-year college
course. Students should enter the course prepared for rigorous work both inside and outside of
the classroom. A central aim of the course is to prepare students to take the AP Spanish Exam,
which is administered by the College Board. More information on AP Spanish courses and the
AP exam, along with sample exam questions from previous years, can be found at
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents.
Goals:

Students will expand their interpersonal communication skills in Spanish through daily
classroom interactions in the language. This includes casual conversations with the
teacher and classmates as well as formal discussions. To this end, Spanish will be used
almost exclusively by all participants in the course.

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 through exposure to diverse written and
audio materials in formal and informal contexts.

Students will broaden their understanding of the cultures that comprise the Spanishspeaking 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.
Materials
The textbook for this course is Rumbos. It was created to serve a broad spectrum of students
at the third-year college level. Rumbos uses multiple instructional approaches to help every
student achieve higher levels of communicative competence. It incorporates extensive review
of grammar and vocabulary learned in prior years of study, along with a wide variety of authentic
literary readings, listening-based note-taking tasks, academic writing tasks and oral
presentations. Throughout the text, students are immersed in the rich diversity of Spanishspeaking cultures.
Supplemental written materials will include authentic Spanish-language articles from online
sources, including the following:

La Nación
www.nacion.com

Thepaperboy.com
www.thepaperboy.com

Prensaescrita.com
www.prensaescrita.com

El Mundo
www.elmundo.es

BBC
www.bbcmundo.com
Supplemental listening materials will also be drawn from online sources:

Radio Naciones Unidas
www.un.org/radio/es

BBC
www.bbcmundo.com

Nuevos Horizontes
www.nuevoshorizontes.org

CNN en Espanol
www.cnn.com/espanol

PBS Documentary Films
Materials Students Will Need to Provide:
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One binder with pockets
A notebook
Lined paper
Pens or pencils
Course Plan
First Semester
Rumbos Chapter
1
Communication
Goals
Grammar Focus
Describe geography
and climate
Uses of the present
indicative tense
Describe your
heritage
Ser and estar
Discuss the influence
of Hispanics in the
United States
Describe Hispanic
festivals in the US
2
Describe your family
and family
relationships
Describe family
celebrations and
traditions
Definite and indefinite
articles
Haber plus past
participle
Differences between
preterite & imperfect
Make a telephone call
Describe modes of
transportation and
tourist excursions
State and comment
on prices
“Una Navidad como
ninguna otra” de
Gioconda Belli
Verbs that change in
the preterite
“Corpus Christi: El
mico y la paloma
tradición del pueblo
católico en
Guatemala”
The prepositions por
and para
“Cuando salí de la
Habana, vágalme
Dios” de José Emilio
Pacheco
Tell and write an
anecdote about your
family
3
“Es que duele” from Y
no se lo tragó by
Tomás Rivera
Position and
agreement of
adjectives
Narrate past events
Describe and discuss
study abroad
opportunities
Literature & Articles
Reflexive and
reciprocal verbs
Negatives and
indefinites
Comparatives and
superlatives
Entrevista con el
alumno Enrique
Acuña de Relaciones
Internacionales,
desde Rouen, Francia
Write a personal letter
4
5
Express opinions
The subjunctive tense
about food and leisure
The passive voice
activities
with ser
Make, accept and
Impersonal
reject invitations
expressions
Talk about preparing
Use of se to
food
communicate
Write a review
accidental or
unintentional actions
“De bípeda
desplumada a
Escritora
Puertorriqueña” by
Ana Lydia Vega
Describe physical and
personal
characteristics of
people
“La Gloria de los feos”
de Rosa Montero
Direct object
pronouns
Indirect object
pronouns
Describe clothing and
styles
Verbs with gustar
Express style
preferences
Double object
pronouns
Write a biography
Review of Antes que
anochezca
“Javier Bardem,
ternura tras rudos
rasgos”
Second Semester
Rumbos Chapter
6
Communication
Goals
Grammar Focus
Talk about a job
search
Future and conditional “Flores de volcán” by
tenses
Claribel Alegría
Describe
opportunities to work
or volunteer abroad
Formal and informal
commands
Make a formal phone
call
Literature & Articles
“Un mes inolvidable”
Pronouns with
commands
Write a cover letter
Converse during a job
interview
Talk about struggles
for human rights
The subjunctive in
adjective clauses
“Entre dos luces” by
César Bravo
Express yourself in
disagreeable
situations
The subjunctive in
adverb clauses
“La ordenanza del
ruido pasa el primer
debate”
7
Express opinions
about crime and
injustice
The subjunctive after
indefinite expressions
Describe and give an
opinion on a court
ruling
Write a news article
8
Talk about the visual
arts
Describe literature
Express your
reactions to literature
Write a poem
Comment on and
Imperfect subjunctive
The subjunctive in
conditional clauses
Relative pronouns
Uses of lo que, lo cual
and cuyo
Present perfect
subjunctive and
“El insome” de
Eduardo Carranza
“Fernando Botero
retrata la Guerra en
Colombia en una
nueva exposición”
“Vacío era el de
antes” de Luisa
9
explain inventions
pluperfect subjunctive
Valenzuela
Describe ethical
questions that
accompany new
technologies
Distinguishing among
forms of the
subjunctive mood
“Una encuesta de la
Universidad Argentina
de la Empresa
(UADE): realizada en
Capital y GBA. El
cellular estrecha los
lazos familiars” por
Fabiola Czubaj
Discuss controversial
topics
Future perfect and
conditional perfect
Write an expository
essay
10
Describe social and
environmental issues
related to
globalization
Progressive tenses
Analyze the impact of
globalization on the
environment
Review of verb tenses
Present participle vs.
infinitive
“La última niebla” de
María Luisa Bombal
“Mapuches,
discriminacion y
basura” by Alejandro
Navarro Brain
Elaborate and defend
your opinion on social
and environmental
issues
Write and
argumentative essay
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:
Teacher’s Responsibilities:

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Provide a positive and safe environment that fosters student learning.
Align instruction to state and district curriculum requirements.
State learning goals and objectives daily.
Explain course information clearly and in multiple ways.
Differentiate instruction to meet student needs.
Provide diverse learning opportunities that stimulate students’ interests and develop new
skills and knowledge.
Parents’ Responsibilities:


Stay informed about your student’s progress in the course.
Contact me with any questions or concerns.
Students’ Responsibilities:



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Attend class every day – In the event of illness or other justified absences, work may be
made up. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the instructor for make-up work
and follow through on completing assignments.
Arrive on time – tardiness disrupts the class and takes learning time away from other
students. It will not be tolerated. Tardiness will negatively impact your class participation
grade.
Spend time outside of class practicing vocabulary, grammar rules, reading, writing,
speaking and listening to authentic Spanish language sources.
Work hard on a daily basis and complete all assignments in a timely manner.
Work cooperatively and support one another in improving language skills
Grade Determination:
Homework – 20%
Classroom discussion, in-class assignments and participation – 20%
Quizzes and Tests – 20%
Projects & Presentations – 20%
Semester Exams – 20%