Italian 112
Language Level II
Three Credits
Class meets Monday- Friday; 40 minutes each day
II. Marisa Dispenza- Instructor
Wantagh High School- room 212
dispenzam@wantaghschools.org
Extra help Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 2:20-2:50 PM
III. Course Prerequisite:
College Language Level II is a continuation of College Level I and continues to
develop the more advanced functions of the language and culture through a
communicative approach. The course is offered in the Spring semester to students who
have successfully completed College Level I with an 85% average or above.
IV. Course Description:
Italian 112 will continue to assist students to acquire a higher degree of proficiency in the
various skills required to comprehend and communicate in Italian.
The students will continue to use the present, past, imperfect tenses and present
conditional tenses to express themselves and expand their use of the future, conditional,
trapassato prossimo and imperfect subjunctive tenses as the semester unfolds.
The students will learn about the Literary Italian masters, view films, listen to songs and
conduct research on the internet that will support the culturally thematic stands which are
emphasized and serve as catalysts for the further development of listening, speaking ,
reading and writing skills.
V. Topics to be covered will include:
Theme I- Love as expressed through poetry.
Reading; Storia D’Amore, Dante’s Ode to Beatrice and select poems of Pablo
Neruda.
Students will explore Florence during Dante’s era; explore the political strife of the
time; learn about Il Guelfi e I Ghibellini ; the separation of Church and State;
Dante’s love for Beatrice; the style of Il Dolce Stil Novo, read and memorize
Dante’s ode to Beatrice and create an original work.
Theme II- The Inferno- Life and Retribution:
Students will travel thru the nine circles of hell. Students will explore the sins, and
punishments for each circle based on Dante’s value system. Students will then create
and present their on version of hell based on their own value system and the current
world issues that impact them.
Students will ask and elicit information, respond to questions based on readings
write essays to critique, contrast and compare things.
Students will view excerpts from film to discuss modern day symbolic parallels to
Dante’s Inferno.
Theme II: Looking Back and Moving Forward:
Students will discuss their school years and discuss their hopes and dreams for the
future and use the future and conditional tenses. Students will use the Trapassato
Prossimo, the passato and the imperfetto to discuss sequences of events in the past.
Students will use the the subjunctive to express their feelings and emotions as their
high school years are coming to a close. Students will discuss those who have
influenced their lives and describe their feelings.
Students may watch the film: “Caterina va in Citta`” as a supplement to the “new
experience”
Students will create an original yearbook project.
Grammatical topics will include: double object pronouns, the relative pronouns, ci
and ne, if clauses, the future, the conditional and the imperfect subjunctive.
Proposed Course Outline:
Week I: Reading: Storia D’Amore; Medaglia; review of prepositions: a, di, ci and ne.
Week II: Complete Storia D’Amore
Week III; Vacation
Week IV: Chi fu Dante Aligiheri? (reading)
PowerPoint- Dante, Il Dolce Stil Novo; Beatrice
Students will explore cultural norms- example arranged marriages, read Dante’s
Ode to Beatrice and memorize it for a grade
Week V: Students will compare Dante to Pablo Neruda- political exile;
use of metaphors ; use of piacere and other indirect construction verbs to
discuss likes and needs.
Students explore prior student work and write an original poem
Week VI: Viewing of “Il Postino”
Pre-viewing activities; include – double object pronouns
Post film critique, and essay
Week VII: Begin exploring the structure of Dante’s Inferno
Compare value system; Discuss 7 Deadly Sins; discuss vices
Draw symbolic parallel to modern day
Read selected canti from Dante’s Inferno
Week VIII: Students meet 3 of 5 days due to FL Week Events
Students continue reading excerpts from L’Inferno
Students must create their own hell and present their work to the class.
Week IX: Students will explore Italian Literary Masters and read short excerpts which
they will discuss and critique. Masters may include: Macchiavelli, Leopardi, Manzoni,
Pascoli e D’Annunzio. Time permitting students will read the play: “Ti ho sposato per
allegria” by Ginsburg.
Week X: Spring Recess (10 school days)
Week XI: Students will use the subjunctive to express what they think about the
documentary: “La Pivellina”. The students will review the future and conditional tenses.
They will learn the imperfect subjunctive structure and use it to express what they would
do if they could punish the characters in the film
Week XII and XIII: Each student will present their own hell. This is a class of 32 students
3 to 4 students will present each day. This is a major oral grade.
Weeks XIV to the end of the semester: Students will review the future tense and
conditional tenses and discuss their future plans, hopes, dreams. Students will use the
Trapassato Prossimo, the passato and the imperfetto to discuss sequences of events
in the past. Students will use the subjunctive to express their feelings and emotions
as their high school years are coming to a close. Students will discuss those who have
influenced their lives and describe their feelings.
Students will write a yearbook in Italian which incorporates the use of the grammatical
structures studied in the class.
On Fridays and Mondays (Friday Flicks and Movie Monday) students will watch a
portion of “Caterina va in Città’ and either write journal entries or participate in a class
discussion about Caterina’s experience in a new town and a new school.
This will support the development of the yearbook project in Italian.
Books and Resources Used:
Ponti: Tognoszzi, Cavatorta; Cengage Learning; 2009
Crescendo; Italiano, Marchegiani; Thomson-Heinle; 2007
Super Ciao- Level 3; Morgana, Boselli, Manzoni; Editrice la Scuola; 2005
Insieme; Habekovic, Mazzola; Mc-Graw Hill; 1994
Storia D’Amore: Medaglia
Inferno – Dante; ( dual language version) Canti, I, III, and V.
Italian Through Film; Borra; Yale University Press; 2004
Movies used to supplement course delivery:
“ Il Postino”
“ La Pivellina”
“ Caterina Va in Citta`”
Online resources for students:
www.wordreference.com
http://www.italianresources.org/italian/culture/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7FNrOldd74
http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/
http://ezinearticles.com/?Dantes-Inferno---A-Summary-of-the-Circles-ofHell&id=1709342