AP Spanish Language and Culture Sylllabus
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AP SPANISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE Ms. Schafer
Classroom #143
Office #136 Office hours: 3rd. and 7th periods or by appointment.
E-mail address: teresaschafer@claytonschools.net
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COURSE OVERVIEW
This course follows the guidelines of the College Board® AP Spanish
Language and Culture course and provides opportunities for students to demonstrate
their proficiency in the following modes of communication: Interpretive,
Interpersonal, and Presentational. The course incorporates interdisciplinary topics and
addresses all six course themes: Global Challenges, Science and Technology,
Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families and Communities, and
Beauty and Aesthetics.
Students who are enrolled in the AP Spanish Language and Culture are
expected to have extensive knowledge of the language and culture of the Spanishspeaking peoples. It is also expected that students have a solid foundation of
grammatical structures. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish. Central to the
course is the overarching principles as stated in the Curriculum Framework: When communicating, students in the AP Spanish Language and Cultures
course demonstrate an understanding of the cultures(s), incorporate
interdisciplinary topics (connections), make comparisons between the native
language and the target language and between cultures (comparisons), and
use the target language in real life settings, (communities). This course has no primary textbook. Instead, we use several textbooks and an
extensive range of genuine materials from different sources. These materials may
include a variety of different media, e.g. journalistic and literary works, interviews,
podcasts, radio and TV segments, graphs, charts, and maps among others. Some of
the textbooks used are: Temas: AP Spanish Language and Culture, Triángulo
Aprovado and Perspectivas. These texts are organized thematically, containing a wide
variety of thought-provoking communicative activities that challenge students
throughout the course. These texts also provide students with opportunities to
compare/contrast, analyze, synthesize, and critique contemporary literature, magazine
articles and online resources. Students use two grammar textbooks, Una vez Más and
Repaso, to review key grammatical structures. To prepare students for the AP Spanish
Language Exam, we use some sections of the AP Released Exams and two other
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AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus
textbooks exclusively designed to prepare students for the AP Exam (see Textbooks/
Additional Materials). Reading, listening and speaking in the AP Spanish class will be extensive and
intensive. Students should expect about forty minutes of daily homework. Once a
week, the class will meet in the language lab. Our language lab provides our students
with a wide range of interactive communicative activities. The lab activities are
designed to enhance their receptive and productive communication skills by exposing
them to a wide range of native accents and registers within different settings and
types of discourse. The language lab offers students with many opportunities to
further improve their linguistic skills in the Interpretive, Interpersonal and
Presentational modes of communication. Additionally, students will be completing
some assignments on Schoology, an on line course that is designed to help them with
all three modes of communication. Between the months of February and April, AP students are required to attend
two of my helps sessions Saturdays morning. These sessions are designed to give
additional help as we prepare for different section of the AP exam.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are dictated by the College Board® AP Spanish
Language and Culture. Please visit my website for a link to the College Board Course
and Exam Description.
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Grading Scale
Unit Tests 60%
(Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Assessments)
Quizzes /Projects/Presentation
15%
Selected Assignments
(homework)
15%
Class participation and engagement
10%
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Homework: given daily and due during class. Tests: Assessments include integration of all modes of communication. Unit
Assessments are announced several days (3-4) in advance; these scores may never be
dropped from the overall grade. Quizzes: Frequent, and not always announced in advance.
Projects and Presentations: announced several days in advance.
Class Participation and Engagement: Based on exclusive use of Spanish and ease
of use. Risk-taking is rewarded and dynamic class engagement is expected.
Course Binder: Every student MUST have a 3–ring binder. Students are responsible
for maintaining an organized binder where to keep their scoring guides, hand outs,
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AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus
homework, daily notes, formulas, quizzes, practices exams, vocabulary lists and essay
writing practice. Please use dividers to organize your binder.
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Final Exams
December Final : Counts for 20% of the semester grade.
May Final Exam: Those taking the AP Exam while maintaining a B+ average in the
class are exempt from taking the final exam in May. The May Final Exam also counts for 20% of the semester grade.
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Textbooks and Additional Classroom Resources
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Draggett ,Parthena; Conlin, Cole; Ehrsam, Max; Millán, Elizabeth. Temas AP Spanish
Language and Culture. Vista Higher Learning, 2014.
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Frisancho, Joge, AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation, Vistar Higher
Learning, 2014. !
Keddle, Mary Ellen, Wegmann, Brenda and Schreffler, Sandra. Perspectivas. Heinle
& Heinle, 2010.
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Holt Advanced Spanish: AP Language Preparation. 2007 Exam edition.
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Diaz, José M, Leicher-Prieto, Margarita and Nadelbach, Glenn J. AP Spanish:
Preparing for the Language Examination. 3rd ed. White Plains, New York: Prentice
Hall 2006. !
Barbara Gatski and John McMullan. Triángulo: A Propósito. 4 Edition. 2011.
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Repaso. National Textbook Company, a division of NTC. 1997.
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Couch, H. James, McCann D. Rebecca, Rodrigues-Walter, Carmel. Una Vez Más. 2nd
ed. White Plains, N.Y. Longman Publishing Group, 1993.
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AP –Spanish Language Released Exams
Old AP Spanish Language Exams
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Authentic Sources
Authentic sources are a key element of daily instruction to better prepare students for
the challenges of the AP Language and Culture Exam. Students use a variety of
sources to supplement and expand their knowledge of the particular topic being
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AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus
studied. The materials found in these sources help students with all three modes of
communication: Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational. These sources can be:
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• BBC
• United Nations Multimedia
• Nuevos Horizontes
• Prensa Escrita
• Ver-taal
• Notes in Spanish
• Radio Naciones Unidas
• CNN en español
• Centro Virtual Cervantes
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Yabla
Univisión
Nuevos Horizontes
La Nación
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www.bbcmundo.com
www.unmultimedia.org/
http://nuevoshorizontes.or/
http://prensaescrita.com/
http://www.ver-taal.com
http://www.notesinspanish.com/
www.un.org/radio/es/
www.cnn.com/espanol/
http://www.authentik.com/
www.yabla.com
www.univision.com
http://www.nuevoshorizontes.org/
www.nacion.com
AP students will improve their speaking abilities through voice inflection, intonation
and pronunciation using the audio recording/editing software Audacity (http://
audacity.sourceforge.net/).
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Queridos estudiantes de AP,
Antes que nada, quiero darles mis más sinceras felicitaciones a todos y a cada uno de
ustedes por haber sido seleccionados para este curso honorario. El trabajo y
dedicación que han puesto aprendiendo la lengua y la cultura de los pueblos de habla
española, ha valido la pena y les abrirán muchas puertas en el futuro. En este curso
avanzado aprenderán a refinar sus habilidades lingüísticas y podrán demostrar
proficiencia en los tres modos de comunicación.
Quiero que sepan que me siento privilegiada de ser su profesora y poder guiarles en
este retante pero emocionante año escolar. Para poder tener un buen año, la
comunicación, la confianza mutua son elementos muy esenciales. Sepan que yo soy el
primer contacto y estoy lista a escucharles y ayudarles en lo que necesiten. También
les sugiero leer las expectativas de la clase con atención para evitar cualquier mal
entendido.
¡Vamos a tener un espléndido año juntos!!
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Un abrazo,
Sra. Schafer
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AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus
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