AP Spanish Language and Culture Syllabus
Course Summary
This class concludes the four-year sequence of Spanish Language and Culture courses offered at the high school.
Completion of levels 1 through 3 is required prior to this course. The course is a semester-long course, completed in 18
weeks of ninety-minute classes on a block schedule. All students are expected to take the AP Spanish Language and
Culture exam. Students will develop appreciation of culture through the study of literature, the arts, and current events
in the Hispanic world. Use of technology and authentic resources will enhance the learning process. The course is taught
in Spanish and I expect students to also communicate in Spanish in order to meet the three modes of communication:
Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational. All students broaden their knowledge of the various cultures that
encompass the Spanish-speaking world through the thematic approach of the AP Spanish Language and Culture course.
Real-life Target Language Use
Throughout the course students have various opportunities to use Spanish outside of class that should be documented
for their portfolios. Some options include but are not limited to: face-to-face interview with a native Spanish speaker;
attending an art exhibit, musical show or play; visits to a local universities’ campuses for cultural events; a Spanish pen
pal; tutoring native Spanish speakers; teaching mini-lessons to students at local elementary schools and more. This also
provides an opportunity for making cultural comparisons within themes of the AP Spanish Language and Culture
Curriculum Framework.
Teaching Strategies
Participation: Activities may begin as teacher-led discussions but mostly end as student-led discussions. Students are
given the opportunity to offer opinions and support them, ask questions, ask for clarification, and discuss the material
with each other in pairs, small groups, and as an entire class.
Integrated skills: Most class activities are integrated. Example: A lesson may begin with a reading activity in the
Interpretive mode, continue with discussion in the Interpersonal mode, add in a listening task in the Interpretive mode,
and then culminate with a Written Presentational activity that integrates the reading, listening, and discussion materials.
Other times the writing is a pre-reading activity that prepares students for the reading and discussion. A variety of
strategies and integrated skills are present throughout the course.
Materials
In addition to using a wide variety of authentic resources (articles, videos, audio, songs, literature, etc.), students will use
the textbook Triángulo Aprobado, Wayside Publishing.
Student Expectations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Students will obey all school rules. (This includes dress code, cell phones, etc.)
Students will treat everyone with respect and dignity.
Students will come prepared for class. (This includes materials, homework and a positive attitude.)
Students will listen to instructions the first time they are given.
Spanish will be used between the students and the teacher and between students.
Technology will be used responsibly.
What to Expect From the Teacher
You can expect that I will teach you to the best of my ability every day. You can expect me to push you to learn and to
keep Spanish class interesting and pertinent to your lives. You can expect me to be fair to all students and respect
differences of learning styles, opinions and ways of life. You can expect that I will be kind to you and treat you well. You
can expect me to listen to your thoughts and concerns. You can expect to get out of this class what you put in.
Required Materials
1. 3 Ring Binder (at least 1.5 inches)
2. Dividers
3. Paper/notebook
4. Writing utensils
5. Spanish to English dictionary or Word
Reference App
Evaluations
Grades will be earned as students complete daily work, participate in class, and compile their portfolios.
Portfolios will include written and oral components.
Diario - Students will keep a journal with at least three entries per week of at least one half page
in length which will be submitted every two weeks. The purpose of these journals is to perfect
informal writing skills.
Charlas - Speaking activities to develop oral communication skills in formal and informal
registries. These activities range from spontaneous, short-answer to roundtable discussions,
debates, “soapbox” speeches, etc.
Cinema en español - Students will watch movies directed by a Hispanic director and produced in
a Spanish-speaking country in class with Spanish audio. They will then write a plot synopsis in
Spanish, answer questions about the movie in Spanish, or discuss the movie in Spanish.
En noticias - Students will find current event articles and bring them to class, from either printed
(newspaper, magazine or journal) or Internet sources (from approved sites), along with a
Spanish summary of the article. Students will then present their article to the class in Spanish
and be prepared to discuss their opinions.
Ensayos -Students will compose formal essays (ensayos) on assigned topics which will be proofread by their peers and submitted for a grade. The purpose of such essays is to perfect formal
writing skills.
Escuchemos - Students will listen to an authentic audio sample in class at least bi-weekly and
required to answer questions about the audio sample.
Reacción - Students will participate in analysis activities at least once a week. These consist of
listening to, watching, or reading an authentic piece and writing or discussing the content for a
grade. The purpose of these activities is to practice extracting evidence and information from a
given source and using the information to support ideas.
Grades will be assigned based on a points system. For every grading period the students’ grades will be
determined by the following weighted scale:
Digital Portfolio
Tests and quizzes
Projects
Homework and Participation
25%
25%
25%
25%
100%
School district policy mandates that the student’s final grade will be calculated as follows:
1st nine weeks
2nd nine weeks
Final exam
40%
40%
20%
School district’s grading scale is as follows:
A= 93-100%
B= 85-92%
C= 75-84%
D= 70-74%
F= 69% or below
Course Planner
Through the study of the following AP topics, students build the necessary skills to reach the assessment
objectives through the expansion of their receptive, productive, and interactive skills. Every two-three
weeks a new theme will be introduced, but the themes are all interconnected and information from
previous themes will continue to be used throughout the semester.
AP themes to be covered include:
Las identidades personales y públicas
Las familias y las comunidades
La belleza y la estética
La vida contemporánea / La ciencia y la tecnología
Los desafíos mundiales
Unit 1: Las identidades personales y públicas
Contexts: Personal beliefs, personal interests, self-image, community identities, national and ethnic
identities
Essential Questions:
¿Cómo influye la sociedad en la identidad de una persona?
¿Han causado un gran impacto las leyes de inmigración en la vida de los hispanohablantes?
¿Cuáles son las perspectivas de los hispanohablantes sobre la palabra hispana y latina?
Sample Activities and Resources
Activity #1:
Students view the following video clip at home: “Los hispanos explican por qué no se identifican con las
etiquetas sociales” http://mexico.cnn.com/mundo/2012/04/04/los-hispanos-explican-por-que-no-seidentifican-con-las-etiquetas-sociales. Students summarize the information, taking note of the statistical
information presented in the presentation. Students discuss the content of the video-clip with a partner,
provide their own opinions on the topic, ask for clarification and additional information, and consider
how this reflects their own community. Students create a video that reflects their personal identity and
record a two-minute presentation of the information using VoiceThread, Google Voice, or Voice Memo.
Students express important qualities/aspects of themselves that differentiate them from others using
images and words in a multi-media rich presentation using Prezi or EdCanvas.
Introduce the picture “La tamalada” by Carmen Lomas Garza. The teacher brainstorms the importance
of the “tamalada” as a celebration with the class: when it is celebrated and who is participating.
Students begin by completing a graphic organizer with answers to the questions: ¿Cuáles son algunos
productos culturales asociados con este cuadro? and ¿Cuáles son algunas prácticas culturales asociadas
con este cuadro? They then discuss their answers, first with a partner, and then in a small group (thinkpair-share format). The teacher asks students to consider an American celebration. Students post to the
online discussion forum at home, focusing on the following in their post: when it is celebrated, who
participates, differences in linguistic expressions, and why it is important to Americans.
Activity #2:
Students will look at various pictures that represent Hispanic cultures. Each picture will be displayed for
one minute as students discuss the pictures in groups of two or three. At the end, all of the pictures will
be displayed on one slide together. Students will discuss what they believe to be the central theme of
all of the pictures.
Next, the students will listen to the song, “Yo soy un hombre sincero” (versos de José Martí).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMG25yQa--o. Students will answer these questions in a thinkpair-share format.
¿Cuál es el mensaje aquí en la canción?
¿Qué significa la linea 5 que dice “Yo vengo de todas partes”?
¿Cómo puedes comparar estas líneas con algo que te pasó en tu vida?
Dos veces vi el alma, dos:
Cuando murió el pobre viejo,
Cuando ella me dijo adiós.
Ideas for Summative Assessment
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Spoken Interpersonal Communication: After reading the articles “¿Quiénes somos?”
http://hispanos.about.com/od/Hispanos/a/Qui-Enes-Somos.htm and “Hispano/Latino”
http://translate.google.es/translate?hl=es&sl=en&u=http://www.diffen.com/difference/Hispani
c_vs_Latino&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhispanic%2Bvs%2Blatino%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D561
students will interview three native Spanish-speakers and ask them about how they identify
themselves. Questions to consider in the interview: ¿Por qué identifcan Uds. con la palabra que
escogiste? Hay una razón para la escogida (región del mundo, años que han vivido aquí, etc.).
Spoken Presentational Communication: Students will participate in a debate. One side will
represent a senator in favor of the strict laws against immigration and in favor of deportation.
The other side will represent a protesting citizen hoping to persuade the senate to pass
Immigration Reform laws. Students can use in class discussion and previous resources used to
support their side in this debate.
Written Presentational Communication: Students will have 6 minutes to read the essay’s topic
and to read/look at the three sources. Students will have 40 minutes to write the essay. They
should include their own point of view as well as use evidence from all three sources as support.
Question: ¿Han afectado las leyes la vida de los inmigrantes negativamente o positivamente?
Fuente 1: Arizona podrá aplicar polémica medida antinmigrante muéstrame tus papeles
http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20120919/arizona-podra-aplicar-polemica-medidaantiinmigrante-muestrame-tus-papeles/563971.shtml
Fuente 2: El porcentaje de inmigrantes de la población (gráfica)
Fuente 3: El punto de vista de George Lopez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh8m4lnK3rU
Unit 2: Las familias y las comunidades
Contexts: Personal and public relationships, customs and values, family units
Essential Questions:
¿Cuál es la influencia de los miembros de la familia en la formación del individuo?
¿Cuáles son los roles y responsabilidades de cada miembro de la familia?
¿Cómo influye el estilo de vida moderna en las relaciones familiares?
Sample Activities and Resources
Activity #1:
To prepare students, show pictures of traditional rural and urban families in Latin America and the
United States. Discuss similarities and differences with a partner creating a T-chart with their
observations. Have students share one or two of each with the class.
Have students read the article “La familia hispana” (from Enfoque Cultural) and answer the questions at
the end of the article. After reading, students will take part in a debate over the question: ¿Los
tradiciones de la vida rural son relevante hoy en día?
Activity #2:
In class, students use the interactive tool “Todays Meet” to discuss the following article after students
have read it at home. “Padres Radicales: Americanos v. Hispanos”
http://padresradicales.blogspot.com/2009/04/americanos-v-hispanos.html. Students should discuss
differences and similarities in discipline, family structure, etc.
Half the class reads “No oyes ladrar los perros” by Juan Rulfo, and the other half of the class reads “La
siesta del martes” by García Márquez. Students are then divided into groups using the “jigsaw” method,
so that some students from each half are grouped together. They compare the relationships of these
two families creating a presentation.
Ideas for Summative Assessment
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Written Presentational Communication: After the class activity of presenting/comparing the
two families’ relationships the students write a comparative essay.
Spoken Presentational Communication: Students will call into a GoogleVoice number to
respond for two minutes to one of the following questions: ¿Por qué se dice que el
distanciamiento entre padres e hijos es mayor en la familia urbano que en la rural? En su
opinión, ¿Qué impacto tiene la migración de la población rural a hacia las grandes ciudades?
Explique.
Written Interpersonal Communication: Students will write an e-mail to a penpal from Mexico
who asked the question: “¿Cómo es tu familia? ¿Cuáles son las responabilidades de cada
persona en tu familia?”. Students should not only answer the questions asked, but they should
inquire information from their penpal as well.
Unit 3: La belleza y la estética
Contexts: Personal relationships, customs and values, family units
Essential Questions:
¿Cómo se definen las percepciones de belleza?
¿Qué es la prioridad de la belleza external versus la belleza interna según la sociedad?
¿Cuáles son las expectativas poco realistas fijados por la sociedad sobre lo que significa ser
bella?
Sample Activities and Resources
Activity #1:
Students will read the following articles and write a T-Graph chart. The chart should
include important facts from the article vs. Personal opinions regarding the article.
Female students should read the article that discusses males and aesthetics:
http://suite101.net/article/el-mundo-cada-vez-gasta-ms-en-belleza-a27743
Male students should read the article that discusses females and aesthetics:
http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Costos-belleza-mujer-gastar-verse_0_870513053.html
After reading and completing the T-Chart, students will be grouped with someone of the opposite sex to
discuss their findings. Afterwards, there should be a whole class discussion about how much money
each sex spends on their beauty and what this says about society’s priority on external beauty.
Activity #2:
In class, students will watch two episodes from a popular Mexican soap opera “La fea más bella”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhFOfm8Ne4&noredirect=1 &
http://videos.univision.com/novelas/la-fea-mas-bella/video/2012-06-28/la-fea-mas-bella-capitulo-12.
Students will debate in groups of two whether or not making changes to physical appearance is
necessary to be successful and whether or not Leticia made the right decision. Students may record
their debates using the “I-Talk” app.
Ideas for Summative Assessment
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Written Interpersonal Communication Assessment: Listen to the song: “Corazón sin cara” de
Prince Royce. Envíale un Tweet a un amigo. ¿Qué consejo le darías a un amigo que está triste de
cómo se percibe su apariencia? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFCZtcf9-BM
Spoken Presentational Communication Assessment: Look at the how to style your hair video
clip Video que da
instrucciones como hacer peinados diferentes. Students should create
their own “how to” video that demonstrates how to improve something related to internal
beauty.
Written Presentational Communication Assessment: Students will wrie a persuasive essay
using the following resources as supporting evidence: 1) artículo-El aumento de pecho ofrece
múltiples beneficios a las mujeres españolashttp://www.imestetico.es/art_Aumento_de_pecho_mamoplastia_mejora_sexo.htmlCirugía
plástica 2) el audio – Video Cinco razones para evitar la cirugía:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Lpw3ccD5rAw 3) la tabla
Unit 4: La vida contemporánea / Las ciencias y la tecnología
Contexts: Effects of technology on individuals and society, social networking, personal relationships,
traditions and social values
Essential Questions:
¿Cuál impacto tienen las redes sociales en la vida cotidiana de los jóvenes? Explica los impactos
negativos y positivos de la tecnología en las relaciones entre la gente joven.
¿Ha creado una sociedad mejor o peor el crecimiento de la tecnología?
¿Cómo sería diferente la comunicación sin el internet y las redes sociales?
Sample Activities and Resources
Activity #1:
Students read the short story “Rosa” by Angel Balzarino. Students answer and discuss the following
questions. ¿Con quién está hablando Rosa? ¿Cómo han cambiado los roles del empleado en nuestro
mundo? ¿Cómo ha afectado el desarollo de la tecnología la vida contemporánea de las personas en tu
comunidad? ¿Piensas que las personas mayores están perdiendo su valor en el mundo del trabajo a
causa de tecnología? Students will interview 5 people of different ages in their community. They will ask
them 5 different questions relating to technology and its affect on their
community/relationships/job/the work force. The student should then summarize these answers in a
Spanish presentation using Prezi or PowerPoint to present their findings to the class.
Activity #2:
Students watch the authentic public service announcement “Redes sociales y privacidad: Cuida lo que
publicas sobre los demás” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASJM7K9EEo. Students discuss if they’ve
ever been in a similar situation. Students will discuss what the term “digital legacy” means and how
they can protect themselves and their image online. After discussion, students will create their own
public service announcement (poster, video, comic strip, etc.) to encourage others to be aware of their
digital legacy.
Students watch the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S-yeaQ4ziw – entrevistas jóvenes
mexicanos – and read the article La Vanguardia- Redes sociales y relaciones: nuevos medios para los
deseos de siempre http://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20130215/54365425108/redes-socialesy-relaciones-nuevos-medios-para-los-deseos-de-siempre.html.
Students will use the video and the article to answer the question in an essay format ¿Nos adaptamos a
la era digital o es ella la que se adapta a nosotros?
Ideas for Summative Assessment
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Written Interpersonal Communication Assessment: Write a response to an email from your
Peace Corps director. You have been selected to serve in Puno, Peru for one year. The place is
an isolated floating island in Lake Titicaca. The island is inhabited by the Uros, a very old pre-Inca
civilization culture. Explain how you are going to survive without a telephone, internet or any
social network. Describe the things you will take and ask a question about things people do
there for socializing.
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Audio, Visual and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication Assessment: Students will listen to
the video (at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSBKMTAdsg - Jóvenes prefieren las redes
sociales y evitar las relaciones interpersonales ) and answer four multiple choice questions on a
wikispaces blog.
1) ¿Qué es el propuesto de este anuncio? 2)¿Cómo se afecta a los jóvenes el aumento de uso de
redes sociales? 3)¿Por qué piensan los jóvenes que Facebook es la mejor manera de conocer a
amigos? 4)¿Qué quiere decir el reportero cuando dice “no todo es miel”?
Spoken Presentational Communication Assessment: Students will have 5 minutes to prepare
and 2 minutes to act out a “Let’s Fight About It” skit. Students will draw their skit content. They
will either doing a skit about two people arguing over “why are you texting me when you can
talk to me in person?”; two sisters arguing over a status update; Droid vs. IPhone;
communicating with teachers on social networks, etc.
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Unit 5: Los desafíos mundiales
Contexts: Population, the environment and demographics
Essential Questions:
¿Cuál es el problema del aumento de la población en un país o en una ciudad?
¿Te gustaría vivir en una gran ciudad?
¿Cuáles son los desafíos que se enfrentan las sociedades del mundo?
Sample Activities and Resources
Activity #1:
In groups of 3 or 4, students will choose a Spanish-speaking country with an increase in its population.
They will identify the years the population has grown and answer the following questions in a
presentation format in front of the class. ¿A qué se debe el aumento de población? ¿Cómo ha sido
afectada la economía de ese país? ¿Ha tenido un impacto positivo, negativo o los dos? Watch these two
presentational videos for ideas of how to present this information. 1) Santiago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr_uQShbuiY 2) México D.F.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svTh712MWKg
Activity #2:
In groups of 2 or 3, students will go around the room to visit different stations. Each station will have a
QR code that students can scan with their smart phone. The QR code will take the students to different
authentic news articles from different Spanish-speaking countries. Each article pertains to an
environmental problem that particular country is facing. Students will leave their comments/responses
to the articles/comments from other students on a post-it note at the station. The class will then
partake in a whole class discussion based on some of the comments left.
Students will then have time to research a famous Hispanic person who is currently fighting a “desafío
mundial”. Students will create a Tumbler Page as if they were that person. Their Tumbler should
explain why that person is famous, what their cause is, and why they are supporting it. Students should
look at each other’s Tumbler’s in order to discuss the various causes supported in class the following
day.
Ideas for Summative Assessment
 Written Interpersonal Communication Assessment: Option 1) Students send an e-mail to the
CEO of a company or to a principal offering ideas of how that particular company or school
could be more environmentally friendly. Option 2) Students must respond to an e-mail from the
study abroad office. They have asked the student if they would rather live in an urban setting or
in a rural setting during their time abroad. Students should use information they’ve learned
related to population in this e-mail and have support for their response.

Interpretaive/Written Presentational Communication Assessment: Students will watch the
movie “Diarios de motocicleta” in class and read the authentic article from El Heraldo, “Héroe o
villano” http://www.elheraldo.hn/Publicaciones/Revistas/Siempre/Crimenes46/Che-Guevaraheroe-o-villano. Students will write a response to the movie/article about the global challenges
“Che Guevara” was fighting for. Students should answer the questions, ¿Es Ernesto Guervara un
héroe o no? ¿Por qué es un icono para muchos hispanos?
OR Students will watch the movie “Voces inocentes” in class. The movie takes place during El
Salvadoran civil war. Students should look for the following information while watching the
film…¿Cuáles desigualidades socioeconómicos ocurrieron en El Salvador durante ese tiempo?
¿Hay desigualidades socioeconómicos hoy en día? ¿Cómo es similar la Guerra civil en El Salvador
con la Guerra civil en Los Estados Unidos? ¿Cómo es diferente? ¿Cuáles efectos tiene una guerra
en un país/en una sociedad? Students will write an essay following the film and in class
discussion to answer one or more of these major questions.