AP Spanish Language and Culture Course
Corcoran High School
Course Summary:
The AP Spanish Language and Culture class at CHS is completely taught in Spanish. All of the
students are expected to speak in the target language at all times. All texts and audios are in
the target language as well. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course gives students
opportunities to develop language proficiency across the three modes of communication:
Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational. Students learn about culture through the use of
authentic materials that are representative of the Spanish-speaking world. Materials include a
variety of different media, e.g., journalistic and literary works, podcasts, interviews, movies,
charts, and graphs. Prior to taking AP Spanish language and culture, students are required to
take Spanish for heritage speakers 1-3 or Spanish for beginners 1-3 where AP Spanish
language and culture is the fourth class of Spanish they take. All of the students are expected
to take the AP exam at the end of the course.
My AP Spanish students have many opportunities to practice their Spanish skills outside of the
classroom within their community. They conduct surveys in regards to topics of importance
such as the role of education in community member’s lives. Students also participate in large
events held for the community such as an exposition of Día de los muertos altars. Another big
event the students participate in are cultural dance lessons. They enjoy themselves as they
learn about a different cultural dance such as Salsa and Bachata in several workshops. The
after school program in place at Corcoran High School allows higher level students to tutor
lower level Spanish learners throughout the year.
Teaching Strategies
I begin a lesson by considering the objective first with the students. We have a discussion on
what the importance of these objectives is in their own point of view and life. Soon after we
discuss the essential questions which will drive the students’ learning. Once we have that in
place, we normally begin to slowly read a piece of literature. To ensure the students do not
have a hard time comprehending the ideas because of the vast vocabulary used in the authentic
texts, we go over many vocabulary comprehension strategies such as remembering the use of
cognates throughout their reading. Students use context clues as well to understand the
meaning of higher level prose and other literature. The initial part of the lessons are regularly
guided by the teacher, but as the students gain more knowledge on the subject, they lead the
class, group and pair discussions. Learning takes place when students are given a piece of
information whether it is a listening or a written source and then they are given driving questions
which help guide them to interpret what they are listening or reading about. Many of the
students are visual learners, so they benefit from images and videos from time to time to better
understand the sources. Students move around the classroom to talk to other groups or
individuals about the information at hand. When they have been exposed to the topics and the
questions, students prepare presentations and lessons for their fellow classmates to
demonstrate their understanding of the themes and objectives.
AP Spanish Language and Culture course for Corcoran High School
Unit 1: Theme, Essential questions
Las identidades personales y públicas
Essential questions: ¿Cómo se expresan los
distintos aspectos de la identidad en diversas
situaciones?
¿Cómo influyen la lengua y la cultura en la
identidad de una persona?
¿Cómo se desarrolla la identidad de una
persona a lo largo del tiempo? ¿Cómo te
ayuda a preservar tu primer idioma?
¿Cómo contribuye la lengua que habla una
persona a formar su identidad?
Learning Objectives/activities/ resources:
La importancia del español, La enajenación y
la asimilación, Mes de la hispanidad, La
Independencia de México
All of the students in my classes are from
México or are descendants of Mexicans, so
they explore the way their language and
culture has shaped their identities. el uso del
español en el mundo
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/futuroabierto/futuro-abierto-importancia-delespanol-mundo-19-0409/503579/#aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ydHZlLmVzL
2FsYWNhcnRhL2ludGVybm8vY29udGVudH
RhYmxlLnNodG1sP3BicT0yJm9yZGVyPTM
mb3JkZXJDcml0ZXJpYT1hc2MmbW9kbD1U
T0MmbG9jYWxlPWVzJnBhZ2VTaXplPTE1J
mN0eD0yMzczMSZhZHZTZWFyY2hPcGVuP
WZhbHNl
Students prepare presentations on the state
of México or the town they or their parents
came from. These presentations include
information about the state’s cultural dances,
food, and traditions. Students read Hidalgo
El aprendiz del zorro by Nuria Gómez Bénet
Nueva Biblioteca del Niño Mexicano D.R. ©
2009, Instituto Nacional de Estudios
Históricos de las Revoluciones de México
Francisco I. Madero, 1; 01000 San Ángel, México, D. F.
to understand from a different point of view
the story of Father Hidalgo.
Students visit the site LaIndependencia
deMéxico — www.sipuebla.com/
bicentenario.htm and create discussion
forum, focusing on the essential
question, ¿Cómo se refleja la identidad
cultural en tu comunidad? Compare
and contrast the traditions presented in the
website with those from your own culture.
Comment on classmates’ remarks about a
topic - acknowledge others’ ideas and build
upon them.
We also read Borges y Yo por Jorge Luis
Borges. Students made brief presentations
regarding several aspects of identity by using
this story and the research of the Ying and
Yang and Spinoza’s philosophy
Assessments:
Keynote presentations and a typical food
made by the students to share with their
classmates. I utilize rubrics to assess their
projects.
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/spanish/
Unit 2: Theme, Essential questions
Las familias y comunidades
Essential questions: ¿Cuáles son los
principales factores que influyen en la
formación de los valores de una persona?
¿Cómo pueden las reglas y costumbres de
una familia reflejar sus valores?
¿Cuál es el papel de la familia en la
formación de los valores de los jóvenes?
Learning Objectives/activities/ resources:
Students learn about a deeply rooted
indigenous and christian celebration that is
not very different from what they practice in
their own culture. They learn special
vocabulary such as altar, ofrendas,
cempazuchitl, and other important words to
help them understand the Day of the Dead
celebration. They watch a documentary
produced in Oaxaca in which the narrator
follows the celebration from day 1 to
understand better the beliefs of the people in
that state of México. He goes through a self
discovery and compares his British cultural
beliefs about death with that of the Oaxacan
beliefs. Procession of Día de los muertos,
Exposition of altars for Día de los muertos.
Assessments:
Documentary video for Día de los muertos
narrated by students with pictures or video
from their own celebration in their community.
In this unit we also watched short films found
on Youtube such as: CGI Student Academy
Award Gold Medal Winner Short Film HD:
"Dia De Los Muertos" from Whoo Kazoo
http://youtu.be/jCQnUuq-TEE
De un jalón hasta el panteón
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XfVzpvZD
WA&list=PLn048khO_GJqEJ8pOKwEbptQvz
SpLwTRG&feature=share
Unit 3: Theme, Essential questions
Los desafíos mundiales
La casa de Bernarda Alba
Los temas son:
1. El amor 2. Nivel de clase social
3. Represión 4. Libertad individual
5. La muerte 6. El chisme 7. La religion
http://www.vicentellop.com/TEXTOS/lorca/La
%20casa%20de%20Bernarda%20Alba.pdf
En la casa de Bernarda Alba se explora uno
de los varios temas usando evidencia para
explicar la importancia de éste en la obra. Se
explica el contexto histórico de su tema
alrededor de los 1930s en España. Explica la
parcialidad de Federico García Lorca ¿Qué
agenda está promoviendo? Refleja cómo se
puede aplicar los temas de la obra en el
mundo moderno.
Learning Objectives/activities/ resources:
Students use a play from another era to
analyze the different themes within it and to
compare it to modern times. Students are
placed into groups of 3 to manage one of the
themes. They concentrate on their own
theme to explore the essential questions by
completing weekly reviews, online
discussions, and agendas within their groups.
The students lead their own discussions and
planned the next week’s agenda with support
from the teacher as well.
Assessments:
symposium, website, or theatrical
performance
Unit 4: Theme, Essential questions
Las familias y comunidades
Los desafíos mundiales
La vida contemporánea
La educación
Essential questions: ¿Debe la educación ser
un derecho humano?
¿En qué sentido el sistema educativo de una
sociedad es el reflejo de su cultura o
comunidad?
¿Cuál es la opinión de tu comunidad acerca
del tema de la educación?
Learning Objectives/activities/ resources:
Survey the community and themselves on
education. The students watch these videos
and research the website to get a better
understanding of other countries in the world.
Videoclip: Ya ha comenzado el curso 2010-2011
http://www.vertaal.com/noticias_20100906_vueltaalcole.htm
Video clip: Las niñas que desafían al Talibán
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2013/07
/130712_video_escuela_ninas_pakistan_mr.s
html
ONG-Organización No-Gubernamental;
http://www.infanciaconfuturo.org/blog/acer
ca-de
These resources were taken from AP®Spanish
Language and Culture: Developing a Unit of
Instruction for the Redesigned Course For
TEacher Communities with Laura Zinke
Throughout this unit there is a lot of discussion
within groups, pairs, and whole class participation.
http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/swf/
ap-webcasts/ap_span_lang_duirc.html
http://www.un.org/es/aboutun/ Students use this
website to research about what the world is
doing to perserve the right for children to be
educated.
Students discuss the questions citing
evidence from the unit as they comment, ask
questions, draw conclusions, make
predictions, and the like.
Assessments:
Presentation to the class on their findings
after interviewing several groups in the
community.
The purpose of this unit is to help students
think, plan, and try to implement a program
geared toward helping their community.
(Piensa en un programa que podría
beneficiar a tu comunidad. Escribe una
propuesta en la que intentes persuadir al
Ayuntamiento de tu pueblo para que apoye el
programa.)
Unit 5: Theme, Essential questions
La Belleza y la estética
La ciencia y la tecnología
Essential questions:
¿Qué nos permite percibir la belleza?
¿Cuáles concepciones de la belleza han
perdurado y ¿por qué?
¿Cómo influyen los ideales de la belleza y la
estética en la vida cotidiana?
¿De qué manera el modo de vestir puede ser
un reflejo de la actitud, los valores, o la
personalidad de los individuos?
¿Cómo se relacionan las personas con la
tecnología en su vida cotidiana?
Learning Objectives/activities/ resources:
Definición de la belleza, la moda y el diseño,
las artes visuales y estéticas
Students will read in the textbook Encuesta:
¿Qué opinas de las marcas de moda?
Students may create a questionnaire to use in
class, outside of class, and outside of the
country to find more information about
aesthetics. Students will compare their
experiences in the communities they have
lived in to those they may have heard about
in regards to other countries. Students will
watch various videos about beauty and what
others may think it consists of. They will have
to explain what they think is beauty and try to
analyze how they ended up thinking the way
they do about it.
Students use many of the technological
advances to see what the correlation between
aesthetics and the access to technology can
do for different people around the world.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/disenosensato/ Escuchar a Oyer Corazón
Assessments:
Students will choose a fashion designer of
their liking and present orally on this person’s
accomplishments. After those presentations
students will work individually on an essay. A
comparative essay: Keeping in mind Oyer’s
point of view, write an essay in which you
compare design with any other career related
to the arts (architecture, painters,
musicians...Include these aspects in your
essay: Similarities, differences between the
form of art you chose and design. The
aptitudes it requires and the privileges they
can offer. The way in which this career
challenges and reflects cultural perspectives.
Finally, students will create a podcast for
teens in which they unveil their findings in
regards to beauty and fashion.
Resources:
Draggett, Parthena, Temas AP Spanish Language and Culture, Vista Higher Learning,
2014.
Frisancho, Jorge, AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation, Vista Higher
Learning, 2014
Gómez Bénet, Nuria, Hidalgo El aprendiz de zorro, Nueva Biblioteca del Niño Mexicano D.R. ©
2009, Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México
Written and Print Resources:
www.elmundo.es
www.ver-taal.com/
www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/latam/index.html
http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/index.html
www.veintemundos.com
www.zambombazo.com
Centro de Noticias ONU www.un.org/spanish/News/
El Mundo www.elmundo.com/
El País www.elpais.com/
AP college board www.collegeboard.com
Audio, Visual and Audiovisual Resources:
BBC Mundo www.bbcmundo.com/
CNN en español http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/
Nuevos Horizontes www.nuevoshorizontes.org/
Radiobilingüe www.radiobilingue.org
Radio de las Naciones Unidas www.unmultimedia.org/radio/spanish/
Radio Nederland www.rnw.nl/espanol
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFt8-WdstQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl25Uf9RpdA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XfVzpvZDWA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQnUuq-TEE