Sra. Jiménez
Tel.: (206) 230-6331
Email: evelyn_jimenez@misd.wednet.edu
http://www.mercerislandschools.org//Domain/638
Textbook: Realidades 2
Workbook: Writing and Video Activities
Español 2
This course is to continue the study of the Spanish language by stressing the four basic skills: speaking,
writing, listening and reading. The skills will be learned by practicing pronunciation, studying vocabulary,
and grammar. Active participation in dialogues, role-playing, singing, speaking, playing games, and other
hands-on activities is expected from the student. Studying the language of a country goes hand in hand
with studying the culture of that country. This class will incorporate many examples of Spanish speaking
cultures to further enhance our understanding of both the culture and language. Do you know that over
50 million people speak Spanish fluently in the USA?...
Text: Realidades 2
The book has a number of auxiliaries for us to implement that involve technology and various other
sources to further study and elaborate on the material covered in the text.
The following is a list of expectations and appropriate classroom behavior that will help you succeed
in this class.
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Attend class regularly and arrive on time
Be respectful and supportive of all efforts of everyone in the class.
Respect is a must!!! Respect the teacher, yourself, your classmates, and respect the classroom
and school property. Be honest. Think before you act or say anything.
Come prepared with all of your books and materials every day.
Plan to work on a written and/or oral assignment outside of class time at least 4 times a week.
Find out about missed work from a compañero (classmate) or from the teacher upon your return to
class and make it up as soon as possible.
Ask questions whenever anything is unclear.
Turn in assignments and/or projects on the day and at the time that they are due
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BE ORGANIZED! Maintain a notebook/binder with a tabbed section for activity sheets, homework plans,
calendar, course expectations, study guides, verb charts, flashcards, cultural activities, stories, song sheets,
etc.
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SPEAK SPANISH. Speak Spanish in class, before and after, as well as out of class.
Initiate spontaneous conversations, sing, talk, count, etc in Spanish. Be aggressive and GO AFTER
the language and avoid the use of English in class. Intentional and/or repeated use of English in
class will lower your participation grade considerably and you will be required to call the teacher
and leave a voice message (2+ minutes) in Spanish on topic of personal choice or per teacher
direction to recuperate lost credit.
Be curious about and ready to explore cultural differences in a positive and open-minded way.
Do NOT be afraid to make mistakes, as that is an unavoidable part of the language learning
process. Perseverance and effort, not perfection, are the keys.
Participate in all the in-class activities i.e.: dancing, games, role playing, singing, etc.
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Be positive. Criticizing and/or complaining will only work against you.
Grading Criteria
In this class the grades will reflect your skills in writing, speaking, reading, listening, cultural learning, and
participation and preparation to class. The evaluation in these areas will include various type of
assessment
Writing… 25 %.
Some writing activities include: short and long compositions (stories, essays, dialogs, homework,
quizzes/test and others.
Reading…25 %.
Reading comprehension through various articles and short stories during class and quizzes/tests.
Speaking… 20 %.
Daily conversation in Spanish: dialogs, presentation, role-play, test/quizzes, etc. Special project and
presentation in Spanish on various topics. These could be related to cultural themes or on topic of
personal interest.
Listening… 20 %.
Listening to Spanish audios and understanding to be able to respond to class activities, quizzes, and tests,
etc.
Participation/Preparation… 10 % This criteria takes into consideration your effort and willingness to
actively work with your partners on the Spanish-language activities presented in class, as well as how wellprepared you come to class in order to carry out the tasks successfully. Remember that your positive
classroom behavior and attendance is also important to your success and the success of your classmates.
In class work
Your participation in the daily lesson is necessary in order for you to be successful in Spanish class.
This includes individual, paired and group activities. Examples of these activities are oral/written
practices, singing, reading, listening, and watching videos, games, TPR, role-play, skids, and appropriate
classroom behavior, among others. Bring your homework done and materials to class, in other words
come prepare to class. You would not get credit if you are not in class. If you have an excused
absence or tardy, points can be recovered in different ways, ask me about how you can recover those
points if that happen. The participation points you earn during a week depend on your level and quality
of participation.
Homework
Homework will be posted in my website,
http://www.mercerislandschools.org/cms/Workspace/Section/Section.aspx?DomainID=638#
The homework is to ensure that you are interacting with the language on a daily basis and that you
understand the material. You may have time occasionally to work on your next day’s homework in class
at the end of the class. Any work not completed during class will be taken home to be finished. All
work must be done neatly and completely and be properly headed with name, date, period, and chapter
activity. Bringing the homework along with you class material is part of your participations.
Some daily assignments are graded on completion, regardless of errors. Work on these assignments
does not need to be done perfectly, as errors are a normal part of the learning process. Nevertheless,
all work should be complete and done with care, practicing the vocabulary and grammar we are
studying. Incomplete work is not accepted and partial credit is not issued for completing only a
portion of the assignment. Because these assignments are given credit, even with errors, it is
essential that students make corrections to their work when these assignments are reviewed in class.
Sometimes the homework will be randomly scored and collected, and evaluated based on the quality of
the work so be sure to do your best. Scored homework should always be turned in, even if they are
incomplete. The completed part of the assignment will be graded and will receive some credit. Credit
for these assignments will be weighted in one of the four categories, according to the skill practiced
(see above).
Have homework ready to hand in or be checked at the beginning of class. If homework is not ready
at the beginning of class on the due day, it is not considered for credit.
However, a student may use his/her “homework pass” to turn in 1 homework late per quarter.
Notes from parents/guardians are not accepted as a pass. There is no deduction in percentage; the
student may earn full credit for the homework with the pass.
Excused Absence: Work assigned before the absence is due the day you return. For work
assigned during an absence you have two days for every day absent. If you need more time please
ask me before due date.
Unexcused Absence: Homework, test, quizzes, project, etc. are not accepted for credit.
Make-up work: It is the student’s responsibility to excuse absences with the attendance office. It is
the student’s responsibility to check the events calendar on the website and get notes online or from
a classmate. These sources must be consulted before I will assist you with make-up work. Tests and
quizzes may be made up if the student has an excused absence and must be completed in a timely
manner (usually within 2 school days of the student’s return).
No Extra Credit – however, students will have an opportunity to replace a missing assignment due to
excused absences with reasons approved by the teacher. “Replacement” assignments could be an
enrichment activity also decided by the teacher according to the individual case per semester.
It is your responsibility to know what work you missed and need to make-up. Pre-excused absences will
allow you to get some of the work you will miss ahead of time so that you do not fall far behind. Please
refer to your student handbook for the attendance policy. You would NOT be able to make-up any work
missed during an unexcused absence.
Tests /Quizzes/Projects will be part of the assessment of your writing, reading, speaking, and
listening skills.
Chapter and section quizzes will be announced in advance, however vocabulary quizzes will not be
announced in advanced. You are expected to practice the vocabulary in a daily basis, using
www.quizlet.com if needed. Any vocabulary that has been presented can be included in unannounced
quizzes. These tests and quizzes are used to ensure all students have attained the vocabulary and
grammar knowledge necessary to move on the next lesson. The tests and quizzes will be based on the
text and any source utilized in class. During this type of assessment the various criteria will be evaluated.
Clue: When you are told to read, study a grammar section or learn a vocabulary set, you must do it and be
able to use it at any time. There is always a possibility of a “pop” quiz.
Grading Scale
93 – 100
A
90 – 92
A-
80 – 82
77 – 79
BC+
69 – 67
66-60
D+
D
87 – 89
83 – 86
B+
B
73 – 76
70 - 72
C
C-
Below 59
F
Materials and supplies:
Please bring your iPad and workbook/packet to class every day and:
o A pencil and an eraser
o A thin, plastic binder to keep your Spanish work and handouts.
o Books cover for the textbook.
o 2 pencils (#2) and 2 colored pens (1 blue & 1 red for corrections)
o Colored pencils or thin sharpie markers (this will be used occasionally)
Electronic Translators: The use of electronic translation programs is strictly forbidden and will
result in an automatic zero on any assignment including compositions and/or projects. Use the classroom
dictionaries during regular activities except for quizzes and exams, when forbidden by the teacher.
Cell Phones: Unfortunately, because it is impossible for me to distinguish between cell phone use for
social texting and legitimate use of Online resources, I have opted to ban the use of ANY and all personal
electronics in class except for selected activities. If you bring a cell phone to my class it needs to be
turned OFF and inside your backpack. ¡Lo siento!
Workbooks and workshops fee: Please bring a check for $20.00 payable to MIHS, to cover the cost of
the class workbook and lab fee. When: TBD
Texts- Realidades 1 & 2. Topics for Spanish 2 Curriculum 2013-14
We will continue with the Realidades 1 text this year, however we will start the year with a brief review
of Spanish 1 through a preliminary chapter from Realidades 2.
Para Empezar: Introductory section to review how to talk about you, ask and answer common
questions of others, where they are from, their likes and dislikes and what they do.
We will cover the verb SER, review how adjectives work in Spanish, and brush up on our
regular present tense verbs.
Realidades 1 Tema 5B: “¡Vamos a un restaurante!”
We will pick up where you may have left off in Spanish 1. We will talk about
family celebrations and review describing our family members. Additionally, we
will learn about restaurant etiquette in Spanish speaking countries. We will learn
how to order food/drinks and talk about our meals. We will review the
differences between SER & ESTAR. We will also learn “go-go” verbs (verbs that
are irregular in the yo form).
Realidades 1 Tema 6A: “En mi dormitorio”
For this unit we talk about our bedroom and what is in it. We will understand
cultural perspectives on homes in Spanish-speaking countries. We will also learn
how to make comparisons (more than, less than, etc.). We will review, and add to,
what we know of stem-changing verbs. We will learn what a reflexive verb is and
use them to talk about our daily routines (this vocab will come from Realidades 2
Tema 2A: Daily routines, getting ready for a special event, cultural perspectives
on clothing).
Realidades 1 Tema 6B: “¿Cómo es tu casa?”
We will continue talking about houses, but will learn other parts of the house.
We will also learn how to talk about chores in and around the house. For some,
the present progressive will be a review. Specifically with chores, we will learn
how to give commands to another person (both affirmative “do this” and negative
“don’t do this” commands).
Realidades 1 Tema 7A: “¿Cuánto cuesta?”
This unit is a chance to learn about shopping in Spanish-speaking countries. This
unit also marks a major point of Spanish 2—the past tense. We will start learning
the preterite/imperfect tenses (Spanish past tenses) in this unit. For “shopping”
purposes, we will learn how to talk about where we shop, what we buy and how
much it costs. We will cover something called direct object pronouns. I will add
clothing and numbers vocabulary from Realidades 1 Tema 7A. (Plus we will add
some vocabulary from Chapter 2B:Clothing and fashion, cultural perspectives on
parties.)
Realidades 1 Tema 8A: “De vacaciones”
Once again, the past tense will be a major focus of this unit. Since we will be
learning about travel, we will learn vacation places, activities while on vacation &
modes of transportation.
**Depending on pacing and where the class is and needs, we may do either Realidades 1 Tema 8B
(“Ayudando en la comunidad”) or Realdiades 1 Tema 9A (“El cine y la television” & Chapter 6B: Discuss
movie plots and characters. Give opinions and critiques. Understand cultural perspectives on movies).
I am looking forward for a wonderful year full of learning and fun!
Español 2
Course Expectations
Instructor: Evelyn Jiménez
Office time: Period 2
VM: 206-230-6331
email: evelyn_jimenez@misd.wednet.edu
Please sign and return this page by September 9th, 2013
I, _____________________________________, have read,
(Print name)
understand and agree with the rules and expectations for Spanish 2.
Student signature: ________________________Date: _______
My son/daughter and I have read and understood what is expected of him/her in
Spanish 2.
Parent/Legal guardian signature:
__________________________________________ Date: _________