Regis Jesuit High School – Boys Division
Spanish AP Language and Culture
Summer, 2014 Reading Assignment
Mrs. Shirl Sweeney
¡Felicidades por llegar a la clase de AP Spanish Language and Culture! Ojalá que estén animados Uds. por todo
lo que tenemos planeado para mejorar las habilidades de comunicarse en el lindo idioma hispano. Abajo verán
algunos pasos que necesitan completar ANTES de empezar las clases en agosto. Están en inglés, así no tendrán
dudas. No obstante, si tienen preguntas, que me comuniquen por email: ssweeney@regisjesuit.com.
Course Objectives
The main objective of this class is to prepare students for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam which is
a brand, new curriculum and exam format for the upcoming school year! More importantly, students will
communicate effectively using the four pillars of the Spanish language (read, write, listen and speak.)
According to College Board, “The course is roughly equivalent to an advanced college-level-Spanish-language
course…The exam presupposes the equivalent of six semesters of college level instruction or four to five years
of language instruction.” (This timeframe may include middle or high school classes.)
Students will engage in diverse activities with the purpose of obtaining a higher level of critical thinking skills
as they develop the Five C’s of Language Learning which include: Communication, Culture, Comparisons,
Connections, and Communities. Additionally, The AP Spanish Language and Culture class addresses the
interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes in Spanish and incorporates the six thematic approaches to
learning language; global challenges, science and technology, contemporary life, personal and public identities,
families and communities, beauty and aesthetics. Cultural, geographical and historical aspects of Spanishspeaking countries are also incorporated. (Which were covered in previous years, including Spanish 3 Honors.)
In order to succeed in this class, students must fully understand that course work is both class and home study
driven meaning that students are expected to practice previous skills acquired through previous classes and
incorporate these skills in to current context. For example, students will be expected to dedicate time to read,
listen, write, and speak as home study and practice in order to show progress and proficiency. Students will
become familiar with the expected level of performance on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam by
reviewing the rubrics or scoring guidelines as they learn how to use them to evaluate their own work as well as
sample products provided by College Board/AP Central.
In short, students are found to succeed in this class and on the AP Exam by doing their best in class and
practicing at home during their own time! Students who wait until the last minute to complete these assignments
or who choose not to do them spend several weeks catching up and consequently become very frustrated. I hope
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you will take the time to complete each section thoroughly and completely. You will be all the more prepared to
succeed! So, with that, let’s get started!!!
Summer Assignments
Why don’t we start with AP Central and College Board?
You have heard much talk about AP Central and College Board. Please, take some time to research the MANY
resources the website offers including:
1. Visit the AP Central/College Board web site www.collegeboard.org and the Spanish Language and
Culture Home Page.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/3499.html?ep_ch=PR&ep_mid=1
0753027&ep_rid=92607787.
2. Discover the sample exams/practices as well as other resources available to help you better understand
and prepare for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam. (Be careful! Much of the information still
refers to the old exam, “Spanish Language”.)
3. Find and read the information pertaining to, “What’s new with AP Exams” (Spanish Language and
Culture is featured!)
4. Review the 2014 AP Spanish Language and Culture Free-Response prompts.
5. **Come prepared the first day of class to share with others something new that you did not know about
the benefits of taking AP Spanish Language and Culture.
You will need to have two assigned text books every day in class. The Barron’s practice book will be for home
study/practice.
6. AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam (Barron’s, 2013)
(Again, make sure this is the Barron’s practice book that is for the Spanish Language and Culture Exam.
This book will be for home study/practice. You will be providing responses for home work grades
throughout the year.)
 Read the “Preface” and become familiar with all sections of the book including the answer key to
check your work and the CD for listening practice samples.
 Complete at least one practice exercise for each of the reading, listening, writing and speaking
sections. (These include the multiple choice and free response sections.)
7. Temas (Vista Higher Learning, 2013)
 Get to know how the book is formatted and the six themes we will cover.
8. AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation (Vista Higher Learning, 2013)
 Get to know this book and how is it similar and different from the other practice books.
***The two, Vista Higher Learning books are also brand, new for this year and much research and
thought, from many sources around the country, have helped us in choosing these resources. I
believe they are GREAT and (student) friendly for our learning purposes!
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Ideas to help you maintain and better your Spanish communication skills.
9.
Escuchar…Escuchar…Escuchar.
 Much research shows one of the greatest methods of learning a new language is by listening to
authentic resources and repeating as much as possible. Spend at least 10 minutes a week listening to
authentic sources (you may choose from the following list or find you own.)
10. Leer…Leer…Leer
 Another method of language learning is reading out loud authentic reading materials. Again, spend
at least 10 minutes a week reading (out loud) authentic reading materials. (You may choose from the
following news outlets or find your own.)
Resources:
News outlets are always changing and being updated. If you find one of these sites is outdated or no longer in
use, just move on to the next.
www.Nuevos Horizontes.com
www.yabla.com
www.conjuguemos.com;
http://parles.upf.edu/cr/casacd/index.html
www.unmultimedia.org/radio/spanish/
www.bbcmundo.com. My favorite!
www.cnn.com/espanol/
www.elmundo.es
www.prensaescrita.com
www.jorgeramos.com
www.audacity.com
www.phschool.com
www.cibercentro.com
www.mexonline.com/precolum.htm
www.guisando.org/podcast/index.php
www.lingolex.com/swom/index.htm Lingolex.com. Vocabulary about hotels.
www.nuevoshorizontes.org Nuevos Horizontes. Internet radio program. (Titles of the programs are in English,
but the recordings are in Spanish.) University of Illinois Extension.
www.puerta-del-sol.com/products/spanish/default.aspx
http://readspanish.com
www.terra.es/personal/maropabe/refranes.htm
www.Espanole.org
www.univision.com/portal.jhtml
www.cervantesvirtual.com Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/index.html
www.pbs.org/itvs/laciudad/index.html
www.euronews.net/create_html.php?page=home&lng=5
www.cervantes.es/portada_b.htm
www.clta.net/lessons/ Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classrooms.
www.ciudadseva.com/textos/cuentos/esp/monte/am.htm Ciudad Seva: cuentos de Augusto Monterroso.
www.sgci.mec.es/usa/materiales/ Materiales. Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España.
www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/cinergia/cinergia.htm
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www.portalmix.com
www.quixote.tv
www.creighton.edu/langlab/classes/spn311fs00/arnold/arnold.htm
www.escuelai.com/spanish_culture/fiestas_espanolas/latomatina.html
www.lapalmainteractivo.com/vida/content/vida/090205_la_tomatina.html
www.lukor.com/viajes/noticias/04082442.htm
***A word of caution! As I have mentioned in the past, some content produced in Spanish speaking
countries do not have the same moral values we have in the USA or in our homes. Please be aware that if
“something pops up” that is questionable…click off of it!
Muchísima suerte con todo esto. Yo creo que Uds. sí, pueden tener éxito en nuestra clase y
les mando muchos saludos para un verano buenísimo. ¡Nos vemos pronto!
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