Syllabus Spanish III
Instructor Carrie Toth
Carlyle High School
Course Description:
This course is the third level of Spanish study and is designed to deepen students
understanding of both the Spanish language and culture. Using the Illinois Foreign
Language Standards of Communication (written or spoken), Culture (the how, what
and why of the new culture and your own), Connections (between other subjects and
Spanish), Comparisons (of the Spanish language and culture and your own) and
Community (extending use of Spanish beyond the classroom) the aim of this class is to
introduce students to the four elements of language study: listening, speaking,
reading, and writing studying relevant, real-world theme based units. There is a high
expectation outside of the classroom in this level of the language.
Instructional Philosophy:
Many instructional approaches will be used to help all types of learners: Teaching
Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), questioning strategies (yes/no,
either/on, multiple choice, short answer), Total Physical Response (TPR), reading
authentic documents, listening to authentic music, visiting authentic websites and
studying authentic films to name a few. Students will be actively engaged and will be
expected to participate voluntarily and/or when called upon. Participation does not
mean always giving the correct answer but a willingness to try to use Spanish and a
genuine attempt at learning the material or asking questions when the material is
unclear. The class will be conducted in Spanish and students are expected to
communicate in Spanish as well.
Quarter 1:
Grammar study:
1. Students will review structures acquired in Spanish II. (State Goal 28)
2. Students will focus on the differences between preterite and
imperfect tenses. (State Goal 28)
3. Students will use the conditional tense to communicate. (State Goal
28)
Culture study:
1. Students will study the Chicano People. (State Goal 29E, Common
Core H/SS Reading 1))
2. Students will be introduced to the music of several chicano artists
and listen to podcasts to develop listening skills. (State Goal 29B)
3. Students will study music and watch videos to develop listening skills
and to learn more about the home countries of the various artists.
(State Goals 28C, 29, 30)
4. Students will read articles and study art from Spanish speaking
countries. (State Goals 28C, 29C) (Common Core literacy- CCR 3-5,
H/SS Reading 8,9,10)
5. Students will read classic literature in embedded readings including
the short stories “Chac Mool” and “La Casa Tomada.” (State Goal 28C,
Common Core H/SS reading 5))
Literacy:
1. Students will study the novel “La Calaca Alegre” and the area of
Pilsen, Chicago, IL. (Common Core Standards- CCR 1-3, H/SS Reading 1)
Goals:
1. Students will write independently every week to demonstrate their
ability to discuss a given topic. (Common Core H/SS writing 1, 3, 4, 10)
2. Students will be expected to actively participate in class discussions
in the TL and will be expected to give and defend opinions on a variety
of topics.
Quarter 2:
Grammar Study:
1. Students will continue grammar review and acquisition of new
structures. (28)
2. Students will begin to use future tense verbs. (28)
3. Students will use acquired structures to perform written tasks. (28D)
Culture Study:
1. Students will study the music of several hispanic artists. (29B)
2. Students will use podcasts to develop listening skills. (29B)
3. Students will study the films “Romero” and “Voces Inocentes.” (29B
and C)
4. Students will study classic literature including the short story “Cajas
de cartón” and the poetry of Sor Juana. (28C, 29C) (Common Core
H/SS Reading 2, 9)
Literacy:
1. Students will read articles and online postings in order to develop
decoding skills and build vocabulary. (Common Core H/SS Reading 4)
2. Students will study the novel “Vida y Muerte en la Mara Salvatrucha”
and will evaluate the content presented in the book and the films
studied in order to find relationships. (Common Core- CCR 7, H/SS
Reading 3,5,7)
Goals:
1. Students will be able to discuss in detail events that occurred during
the civil war in El Salvador.
2. Students will learn vocabulary and grammar structures related to war
that will be recycled over the two advanced levels of study. (Common
Core H/SS writing 4,5,10)
Quarter 3:
Grammar Study:
1. Students will reinforce grammar previously acquired. (28)
2. Students will use future tense verbs to communicate. (28)
3. Students will be expected to do independent reading for homework.
(28C)
4. Students will be expected to write regularly to demonstrate
proficiency in the language. (28D)
5. Students will be expected to communicate orally on a daily basis.
(28B)
Culture Study:
1. Students will study the country of Spain. (29E)
2. Students will study the origin of and the performance of the
Flamenco. (29B)
3. Students will be introduced to the poetry of Gustavo Bécquer. (29B,
30A)
4. Students will study classic literature including the short story “Una
carta a dios.” (29B, C)
5. Students will use the music and videos of various artists to develop
listening skills. (29B)
6. Students will study the films “Butterfly” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” and
through them will study the Spanish Civil War.
Literacy:
1. Students will study the novel “La Hija del sastre” based on the
Spanish Civil War. They will analyze how the theme develops over the
course of the text. (Common Core Standards- CCR 3, H/SS Reading 2,
3,4,8,9,10)
Goals:
1. Students will be able to discuss in detail events that occurred during
the civil war in Spain.
2. Students will use vocabulary and grammar structures related to war to
compare and contrast the civil wars of El Salvador and Spain. (Common
Core Standards H/SS Writing 7,8,9,10)
Quarter 4:
Grammar Study:
1. Students will use previously acquired grammar and new vocabulary
structures to communicate on a deeper level in the classroom. (28)
2. Students will use both the subjunctive and past tense reflexive verbs
to communicate. (28)
Culture Study:
1. Students will study the prose of Amado Nervo. (29B, 30A)
2. Students will study the film “El espinazo del diablo” (29C)
3. Students will study the short story “Papá propone, Mamá dispone.”
(29B,C)
4. Students will listen to the music of various artists in order to develop
listening skills. (29B)
Literacy:
1. Students will continue to read both print and web articles in order to
develop the skill of reading in the TL. (Common Core- CCR 4, H/SS
Reading 7,8,9)
2. Students will study the novel “La Invasión” and the American invasion
of Panama. (Common Core H/SS Reading 3,8,9,10)
Goals:
1. Students will be able to understand spoken Spanish on a variety of
topics including cultural topics.
2. Students will be able to express and defend opinions(in Spanish on a
variety of topics studied during the school year) in which they express
themselves clearly enough to be understood by a sympathetic native
speaker as expected in the ACTFL standards for this level.
3. Students will be able to write essays in which they express themselves
clearly enough to be understood by a sympathetic native speaker as
expected in the ACTFL standards for this level. (Common Core H/SS
Writing 10)