SYLLABUS
Spanish IV
2014-2015
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Melissa Buchberger
B.A in the Teaching of Spanish
B.A. in Psychology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
mbuchber@asu.edu
(480)-727-7569
http://mbuchbergerasuprep.weebly.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to build upon speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in Spanish that students acquired
during Spanish 4. This course will also integrate the study of literature from Spanish-speaking countries. This course
is conducted in Spanish at a comprehensible level appropriate for the students. In this course students will use
Spanish to describe cultural norms, values, beliefs and regional variations in Spanish-speaking areas. Students will
learn to communicate their ideas and describe topics relevant to their everyday lives in Spanish.
ASSESSMENT STANDARDS & OBJECTIVES:
The student must demonstrate mastery of these objectives. These objectives will be visible in the student’s Power
School grade book.
Assessment Objective 1:
Assessment Objective 2:
Assessment Objective 3:
Assessment Objective 4:
Culture objective:
Understand and respond to spoken language.
Understand and respond to written language.
Communicate in speech, showing knowledge of a range and variety of vocabulary,
and applying the grammar and structures of the target language accurately
Communicate in writing, showing knowledge of a range and variety of vocabulary,
and applying the grammar and structures of the target language accurately.
Offer insights into the culture and civilization of countries where the language is
spoken
CLASSROOM POLICIES:
* Be prepared to work - Be in class and ready to work at the official start time for the class. Come to class with all
necessary materials for success. Take responsibility for your own learning.
* Be appropriate - Any conduct, which is harmful, obstructive, disruptive, or interferes with the educational process is
prohibited. You are expected to respect the educational environment. All Arizona State University Preparatory policies
will be strictly adhered to and enforced in this classroom, including but not limited to the use of electronic devices,
dress code, and academic dishonesty.
* Be attentive - You are responsible for attaining information given. You are also expected to be present and
engaged from the beginning of class to the end. Offer ideas, participate in discussions and group activities, and
complete your own work.
* Be positive - Enjoy the opportunity to learn and respectfully listen to ideas and opinions that may differ from your
own opinions. Put forth your best effort with every endeavor.
* Speak Spanish! – You are expected to practice speaking Spanish with the teacher and with your fellow classmates
in all daily interactions within the classroom.
ABSENCE/LATE WORK/GRADING POLICY:
* It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of his/her absences and make-up work. In the event that you are
absent, visit the teachers’ Weebly Webpage where you will find the course’s online plan book. You can link directly to
the teachers’ pages from your child’s Weebly web page.
* If you miss a test/quiz/essay, you will need to schedule a time during learning lab or after school to make-up the
work. If you need clarification about a missed assignment, please schedule time with me during learning lab or
before/after school.
Effort assignments are not accepted past the due date.
Assessments to demonstrate mastery
will be accepted after the due date without penalty for a period of 30 days.
*If a student does not complete/submit an academic assessment, a zero will be assigned. A minimum grade of 50%
will be assigned only upon submission/completion of the assessment.
*Retakes are allowed on assessments for a period of 30 days after the assessment date provided that the score is
79.4 or below.
*Effort work (practice and polish) will not be accepted after the due date except in the case of an absence.
PLAGIARISM:
It is the responsibility of the student to not deceive the instructor in any way in regard to the authorship of the work
that he/she presents as his/her own. Consequences for plagiarism will be in accordance with the Arizona State
University Preparatory student code of conduct. Plagiarism will be reported to the administration. In this course the
use of online translators is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade for the assignment.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES:
*
*
*
*
*
No food, drink, gum, or candy in class.
Closed water bottles only!
Be prepared to write every day.
Remain in assigned seat unless directed otherwise.
Pencil sharpening, throwing away papers, etc. will take place prior to the start of class.
Once you have entered the classroom, you are in “learning mode” and will begin completing
the daily seatwork.
* Socializing/horseplay will not take place within the classroom.
* With a limited number of minutes in the class and many objectives, we must work diligently at all times.
* Passes from class will be limited. Students need to be in class at all times in order to effectively
participate.
* In an effort to “go green,” students will be required to participate in online discussions and submit formal
essays and typed assignments. Assignments will be graded electronically and returned to the student
online.
* No use of student cell phone will be allowed during class.
GRADING INFORMATION:
Students enrolled at ASU Preparatory Academy will receive two letter grades in each of their courses. One of the
letter grades is an academic grade that demonstrates if the student mastered the course objectives. The second
grade is an effort grade that could reflect attendance, participation, discussions, or completion of practice
assignments. Both of the letter grades will adhere to the following grading scale, but only the academic grade will be
reflected on the student’s final transcript and included in the grade point average.
A*
Exceeds Plus
97 – 100
A
Exceeds
90 – 96
B
Meets
80 – 89
C
Approaches
70 – 79
D
Approaches
60 – 69
F
Falls Far Below
50 – 59
MATERIALS: The following items are suggested for this class:
* A writing utensil for daily note taking and assignments
* A binder to organize notes and handouts into categories that will aid study skills
* A notebook or loose-leaf paper to keep daily notes in class.
COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to Change)
Semester 1
Unit 1 – Sobre mi y las personas importantes en mi vida
Capítulo 1: Las idiosincrasias personales
Objective: Describe how your personality and habits influence those around you and vice-versa.
Grammar: present tense, ser vs. estar, prepositions, adjective agreement
Culture: Current events in Spanish-speaking countries, review of cultural knowledge from Spanish 3
Reading: Historia de cronopios y de famas por Julio Cortázar
Capítulo 2: Las relaciones personales
Objective: Discuss love and relationships
Grammar: present progressive, comparatives and superlatives, reciprocal “se”
Culture: Modern relationships in Spanish-speaking countries
Reading: Poema 20 por Pablo Neruda
Capítulo 3: Las diversiones
Objective: Discuss activities that you like to do. Talk about sports, music and cinema
Grammar: Verbs like gustar, reflexive verbs, future, conditional
Culture: Cinema in Spanish-speaking countries, bullfighting in Spanish-speaking countries
Reading:
Unit 2 – Hoy y ayer
Capítulo 4: El niñez y los sueños
Objective: Discuss your childhood experiences and how your dreams and goals have evolved.
Grammar: Preterite vs. imperfect, Negative, affirmative and indefinite expressions
Culture: Childhood experiences in Spanish-speaking cultures
Readings: El niño al que se le murió el amigo por Ana María Matute
Capítulo 5: La ciencia y la tecnología
Objective: Discuss how science and technology affect your life. Discuss advances in science and technology since
your grandparents’ and parents’ generations.
Grammar: present perfect tense, past perfect, future perfect, conditional perfect
Culture: Science and technology in Spanish-speaking countries
Readings: Realia and articles
Semester 2
Capítulo 6: La influencia de la historia
Objective: Discuss how historical events still impact our lives today.
Grammar: por vs. para, the neuter “lo”, relative pronouns
Culture: La Guerra Civil de España, La Guerra Sucia de Argentina, political conflicts in Spanish-speaking countries
Readings: Realia and articles
Capítulo 8: Los conflictos entre las generaciones
Objective: Discuss the similarities and differences between your generation and the generation of your parents and
grandparents.
Grammar: commands, present subjunctive in adjective clauses
Culture: Conflicts between generations in Spanish-speaking cultures, magical realism in Latin American literature
Reading: Como agua para chocolate por Laura Esquivel, La peste del insomnia (except from 100 años de soleded)
por Gabriel García Márquez
Unit 3 – El mundo moderno
Capítulo 9: El medioambiente
Objective: Discuss how humans have an impact on the environment.
Grammar: subjunctive in adverbial clauses; prepositions a, hacia, con
Culture: Environmental initiatives in Spanish-speaking countries
Reading: Realia and articles
Capítulo 10: La economia y el trabajo
Objective: Discuss the economy and describe different professions.
Grammar: past subjunctive, if clauses
Culture: The economies of Spanish-speaking countries
Reading: Realia and articles
SYLLABUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Please complete the syllabus signature page with the appropriate signatures acknowledging receipt of this
syllabus at: http://mbuchbergerasuprep.weebly.com
Thank you,
Melissa Buchberger
Spanish teacher
Polytechnic High School
ASU Preparatory Academy