GRAND CANYON PREPARATORY ACADEMY 2015 - 2016
Syllabus for Spanish 3
Instructor: Yolanda Ratliff
Office Hours: By appointment - Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Web page: http://sites.google.com/site/GCCPspanish
Mission: Through community, parent, teacher, and student partnership, it is the mission of
Grand Canyon Prep to empower students to fulfill their promise by promoting life long learning
and career potential through academic scholarship, character development, and active
citizenship.
Teacher Biography: Born and raised in Mexico, Ms. Ratliff has been teaching at Grand Canyon
Prep since 2004. She has a caring, friendly and enthusiastic personality. Ms. Ratliff also has been
teaching at the New School for the Arts and Academics since 2000. In 1998, she worked for EMG
the Educational Management Group Division of Prentice Hall in live TV-quality distance teaching
(giving lessons in Arizona and at the same time being viewed and interacting in Hawaii). She also
taught conversational Spanish for the City of Phoenix for six years and two years for BERLITZ.
Ms. Ratliff holds a B.A. in Communications with a Minor in Humanities from Grand Canyon
University in Phoenix. In 2005, she took the Spanish test from CLEP College-Level Examination
Program which gave Ms. Ratliff college credits equivalent to 6 semesters or 3 years of Spanish.
In 2006, she took and passed the required AEPA Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment for
Secondary Professional Knowledge. In 2013, she took and passed the required AEPA Arizona
Educator Proficiency Assessment for Spanish. She has written articles for the magazines Cambio,
Nuestro Milenio, and Hola Latinoamerica. Ms. Ratliff has received awards from Alma de la Gente,
the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Centro Cultural Mexicano and MUJER, Inc.
Main Textbook:
Nassy- Levy SPANISH Three Years Workbook New Edition.
Supplementary Textbook: PLAZAS Lugar de Encuentros – Second Edition! Hershberger, NaveyDavis, Borrás
Required Supplies: Spanish-English dictionary (Paperback)
First and Second Semester: Three-ring binder
College ruled loose leaf paper
Number 2 pencils
Pencil sharpener
Highlighter
Expo low-odor dry erase Marker
Black or blue ink pens
Flashcards (Index cards 3 x 5)
1 folder w/pockets
Description of the Course: This course will give the student a comprehensive review of the four
skills introduced in Spanish 1 and 2: listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is more
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emphasis on conversational skill and more challenging grammatical structures. Historical
background, attitudes and values of the Spanish-speaking world will continue to be presented.
Prerequisite: The student must have completed SPA 2.
Objectives of the Course – Common Core State Standards
Upon completion of this course the student will:
• Know and use effectively the Present Tense of regular (-ar, -er, -ir) verbs
• Know and use effectively the Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense
• Know how to use the Present Tense of Stem-Changing Verbs ending in –ar and –er
• Understand and use the Present Tense of Stem-Changing Verbs ending in –ir
• Understand and use the Present Tense of Verbs ending in –uir, -iar and –uar
• Understand and use Verbs with spelling changes in the Present Tense
• Understand and use the verbs ending in –cer or -cir
• Understand and use the verbs ending in –ger or -gir
• Understand and use the verbs ending in –guir
• Identify and use the Preterit Tense of Regular Verbs appropriately
• Identify and use effectively the Preterit Tense of Verbs that change “i to y”
• Identify and use effectively the Preterit Tense of Verbs ending in –car, -gar and -zar
• Understand and use the Preterit Tense of Stem-Changing Verbs ending in –ir
• Understand and use the Irregular Verbs in the Preterit
• Understand and use the Imperfect Tense
• Understand and use the Future Tense and Conditional
• Know ordinal numbers, fractions and multiples
• Know time expressions and dates
• Have awareness of Latin culture
Course Policies:
1.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class. Lessons are introduced step-by-step and
students need to be present and be active participants.
Students must be in class on time or 5 points will be taken from the participation-behavior
grade of the lesson of the day.
2.
Class participation/behavior
Students are required to be prepared by having all the required materials for class.
Students are expected to work on the task at hand, answering questions orally and in writing,
using learned material, translating material, etc., etc..
Appropriate behavior is expected at all times. If a student behaves inappropriately or is
disruptive, points will be subtracted from his/her grade.
3.
Homework
Homework is required after every lesson has been presented and must be turned
in before the beginning of the next lesson. In the event of an excused absence, students
are allowed one class day to complete missed work. Homework is 30% of the total grade.
If homework is not turned in, a student's homework grade decreases by 50%.
Group Projects and Take Home Tests must be turned in by the due date.
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Absences are not an excuse for not doing homework.
Class work and homework of the day may be found by the student on the web site:
Web page: http://sites.google.com/site/GCCPspanish
4.
Tests and assessments
There will be both a writing and oral test after each chapter. Students are required
to demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of the lessons presented. Attached
is the foreign language rubric that will be followed for grading.
5.
Quizzes and Group Projects
This course requires one weekly quiz and one group project presentation per quarter.
6.
Final Examination
It will be a comprehensive exam of all the chapters covered in the semester. There will
be no make-ups for the final except in case of emergency (in which the parent called the
office to report the emergency).
7.
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Classroom Conduct/Rules
Be prepared by having all books and materials ready.
No food, drinks, gum or candy.
No headphones, i-pods, CD players, walkmans, cell phones, etc.
No talking to classmates except when required by the lesson presented.
Raise your hand when you want to be acknowledged.
Bathroom breaks will not be given on the first 20 minutes of class instruction.
Bathroom breaks should only take 5 minutes.
No profanity. No graffiti. No disturbance to the class or of other student(s).
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Consequences
First time of breaking a rule:
Second time:
Third time:
Warning (name on the board)
300 - 350 Repetitions (not during class)
Send to the Administration
All electronic devices, headphones, i-pods, CD players, walkmans, cell phones, etc. need to be
turned off and in your backpack or they will be taken away and sent to the administration
for the remainder of the day. No photos, videos or recording unless you have written approval
by Mr. Gordon.
7.
Peer and other teacher's Review
When working with other classes for an interdisciplinary unit, the work of the students
will be evaluated by all the teachers involved in the project and occasionally by students .
Grading by Semester:
First Quarter grade
Second Quarter grade
Final Exam
40%
40%
20%
Grading by Quarter:
Homework
30%
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Participation/Behavior
Cultura, Quizzes, Interdisciplinary projects
Tests, Group Projects
Grading Scale
90% - 100%
80% - 89%
70% - 79%
Below 70%
=
=
=
=
40%
10%
20%
A
B
C
F
Learning Objectives for Spanish 3
Chapter One:
Chapter Two:
Chapter Three:
Chapter Four:
Chapter Five:
Chapter Six:
Chapter Seven:
Chapter Twenty three:
Part Seven:
CULTURA:
Present Tense of Regular Verbs
Present Tense of Stem-Changing Verbs
Spelling Changes in the Present Tense
Preterit Tense
Imperfect Tense
Preterit and Imperfect Tenses Compared
Future Tense and Conditional
Numbers; Times; Dates
Comprehensive Testing: Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing
Presented in almost every chapter
Disclaimer statement: The course content may vary from this outline to meet the needs of each
particular class upon the instructor's discretion.
NOTE: Attached is the "Spanish Class Contract" which needs to be filled out and signed by the
student and his/her parents and returned to me. By signing the Contract, parents and students
acknowledge that they have read the Syllabus, and also have read the GCPA Student Handbook
and Code of Conduct which was included in the student's enrollment package.
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