Lake Travis High School
Spanish 3 preAP Course Syllabus
2014 – 2015
Department: Languages Other Than English
Course Title: Spanish 3 Pre-AP
Grade Level: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites: Spanish 1, Spanish 2 (with an A)
Website: http://www.ltisdschools.org//Domain/150
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/senoraday
Tutorials: B day mornings before school or by appointment
Instructor: Beth Day
Room: B200
E-mail: dayb@ltisdschools.org
elizabethchandlerday@gmail.com
Phone: 533-5811
Sign up to use Schoology to find assignments and participate in class. You can use
www.schoology.com from your home computer, your smart phone and the free app! You should
link your e-mail account in case you lose your password and to receive updates. You can also
link your cell phone number to get text updates as well.
Access Codes:
A1
6ZNRR-9SXVH
A4
MH5TD-9HH3R
A2
M9NGN-8CKXH
B5
KR77S-2FRRB
A3
HD2TP-FCB8X
Schedule:
A
1. Spanish 3 preAP
2. Spanish 3 preAP
3. Spanish 3 preAP
4. Spanish 3 preAP
B
5. Spanish 3 preAP
6. Spanish 4 AP
7. Conference
8. Spanish 4 AP
Spanish 3 preAP is a “flipped classroom.”
In a flipped classroom, students will receive instruction via instructor-made videos on my website as
‘homework.’ During class, students will spent the entire period practicing with the language: vocabulary,
grammar, reading, writing and SPEAKING! This allows students to repeat instruction when necessary
and to receive my guidance through their practice (what was traditionally called ‘homework’).
“By making lecture materials available for students to review before class, class time is freed up to
engage students in conversations around course content and assess student learning. Along with creating
shifts in teaching methods, flipping the classroom challenges beliefs often held by both students and
instructors about their roles in the classroom.” (cited: Education Technology Services of Penn State
University)
Course Pacing
At the beginning of each chapter, students will receive a calendar with a suggested pace for learning and a
schedule of assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, etc). Additionally, students will be given a list of
objectives for each chapter. During class, I will spend 45-60 minutes working with the students as a
group: speaking, reviewing questions from the video, practicing reading/writing, etc. The other 30-45
minutes of class the students will work through independent practice of their given objectives. There will
be multiple ways to show mastery of each objective. Some of these may include: worksheets of varying
difficulty, presentations, written summary, etc. In order to get credit for mastery of an objective and move
on, a student must earn at least 85 points. Some students may stay exactly on-pace with the calendar while
others may choose to work faster through their objectives. Students that complete objectives more quickly
than the assigned class pace will spend the remaining time in class working with Spanish. This time can
be used in various ways: working ahead on chapter objectives, working on their independent study,
reviewing vocabulary using quizlet.com, re-watching instructional videos, watching up-coming
instructional videos, etc. All students will complete assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, etc.) at the same
time.
At the beginning of each 9 week grading period, students will decide on an independent study project.
Some previous independent studies have been: organizing and reviewing the 5 most common verb
conjugations, 100 most common verbs in Spanish, 100 new vocabulary words associated with the medical
field, 50 common expressions for lawyers, reading and analyzing a short work of literature in Spanish.
The students will create their own notes, practices (homework), informal assessment (quiz), formal
assessment (to prove mastery) and keys to check all work. This decreases wasted time in class, allows
freedom and encourages a love for the language!
Course Description
This course is designed for students who have previously had two years of formal Spanish language
instruction and are now able to initiate and participate in short conversations/discussions on a variety of
subjects. In order to develop their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and creative writing composition
in Spanish, students in this class need to be willing to work on these areas in and out of the classroom.
Students will speak ONLY Spanish in the classroom.
Expected Graduated Outcomes
Students will be able to:
 Greatly expand their Spanish vocabulary, increasing their capacity to develop more creative oral
and written dialogues, stories, reports, and some correspondence.
 Improve their Spanish skills to a level at which they can engage in more complex spontaneous
conversation and discussions
 Develop their higher order thinking skills as they move from guided practice to open-ended
expression on a wide range of topics with an enriched vocabulary and enhanced speaking skills.
 Extend their skills from simple observing, sorting, identifying, restating, describing, etc., to
higher levels of justifying, persuading, predicting, and hypothesizing.
 Students will improve their Spanish speaking proficiency, reading, writing and listening
comprehension skills by extensive practice in the classroom.
 Students will gain a deeper understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures and recognize the
importance of these cultures and communication in a world that is becoming increasingly
globalized.
 Regular attendance and daily participation in class activities are extremely important for
satisfactory progress in this course. This class will provide continuity for students and the best
opportunity for rapid advancement in learning to communicate in Spanish.
Resources
¡Exprésate! 3 Humbach and Velasco – Holt, Rinehart & Winston (go.hrw.com)
Evaluation
60% Major (minimum of 3 grades) including tests, projects and quizzes. Tests/projects will be entered in
the grade book twice, quizzes will be entered once. Therefore, tests/projects are worth twice as much as
quizzes.
40% Minor (minimum of 10 grades) including video notes, in-class assignments and informal
assessments.
Make-up Work
When absent, students are responsible for missed work and assignments. Students must make up missed
tests and quizzes before school by scheduling an appointment with me. The quiz/test should be made up
before the next scheduled assessment.