Part I Course Parameters

Course Title: Spanish A

Grade: 7th and 8th Grade

Prerequisite: None

Length of Course: One year

Books & Materials:

• The Ven Conmigo Textbook series
• The Ven Conmigo Grammar and Vocabulary workbooks
• The Ven Conmigo Practice and Activity Book
• The Ven Conmigo LD series of videos for all chapters
• The Ven Conmigo CDR series for listening and oral practice with computers
• The DIME textbook and series of LD materials for limited exercises and visuals

In addition we use a variety of materials for the course from the Internet that might be of cultural interest.  They include:

• http://espanol.yahoo.com/ (Spanish search engine)
• http://www.sol-plus.net/bib.htm (Spanish search engine)
• http://library.uncg.edu/news/ (Search engine for Spanish language newspapers)

Course Description: Spanish A is the entry-level course which is followed by either Spanish B during 8^th grade, or Spanish I in High school.   Units covered are Chapters one through 6 of the Ven Conmigo program.  In addition, students are given a variety of opportunities to explore Spanish beyond the textbook through the use of video to make interviews, tours and dramatizations in Spanish while in class and outside of class as well.  Students are expected to know the present form of regular and many irregular verbs.  Students learn to talk about their likes, family, thoughts and wants, make plans, and make simple but effective conversations geared at communicating with either other Spanish students or native speakers.  After the successful completion of this course, students are ready to enter Spanish B at the Middle school.

Part II ASIJ Schoolwide Student Learning Outcomes

Effective Communicators

• Students are constantly involved in listening and speaking activities that demand their attention, their careful preparation of appropriate vocabulary and grammar in order to effectively communicate in Spanish.
• Students learn to talk about real-life situations by talking about their likes, hopes, families, friends, classes and plans for the future.
• Students learn to ask for directions, order food at a restaurant, ask for help and in general feel confident in a Spanish-speaking environment.  Here, rather than focus on grammatical perfection, students are encouraged to speak up and communicate their needs or feelings.
• Students conduct interviews and engage in conversations to effectively communicate in Spanish.

Literate Individuals

• In classes students spent time reading and learning Spanish from authentic documents such as newspapers, menus, notices, etc.
• Grammar study is an important part of becoming literate.  Students spend time learning grammatical patterns and practicing them in order to gain familiarity with the new grammar.
• Students gain confidence in their ability to communicate in Spanish by being encouraged to communicate with what they know instead of being afraid to speak because of what they do not know.

Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers

• Students are involved in-group activities constantly.  They are presented with situations from which they have to create dialogues, solve difficult cultural situations, and successfully accomplish a task in Spanish.
• Students are expected to understand and appreciate differences of opinion in different cultures, and they are also expected to deal successfully with difficult situations while communicating in Spanish.

Self-Directed, Productive Learners

• By communicating in Spanish on a daily basis, students gain confidence in expressing themselves in Spanish in front of the class, therefore practicing to use Spanish in the outside world.
• Students learn to enjoy learning and practicing Spanish, to prepare them for a life-long experience in learning and communicating with others.
• All students use creativity through in the class through projects such as making posters, interviewing people, writing, practicing and acting their video project and other skits throughout the year.
• Everyone is encouraged to find out new vocabulary on their own, to go beyond the expected.  The portfolio assignment, for example, gives the students the opportunity to collect a variety of personal assignments in which they involve their own likes and interests and work to accomplish a final product of personal work and high quality.
• Students are encouraged to talk to other community members outside of the class who speak Spanish in order to practice the language, and gain new personal knowledge.
• As the teacher is responsible for the best possible teaching in the classroom, the student is expected to be responsible for his/her own learning.  A proactive, positive attitude towards learning the language is encouraged throughout the year.
• Using time wisely in class and at home to complete assignments and projects is an essential component of the class.  The students are given the freedom many times to practice skits in the common area of our school, and are given the trust, and therefore the responsibility to learn in groups or individually wisely.

Constructive Community Members

• Students are encouraged to do their work honestly and with integrity by being expected to complete their assignments in a timely manner, exhibiting high quality and most of all done with care and attention to detail.  Students understand that plagiarism in any sense is highly punished
• Students are expected to respect one another, and create an atmosphere of friendliness and care.  Our class is a family, and as such, mutual respect is critical.
• Throughout the program, students are exposed to the various cultures and customs of Spanish speaking countries.  Students are encouraged to be open minded about trying new foods by cooking and eating Spanish recipes in class parties, and are also made aware of cultural topics through our video and CD Rom programs.
• Students are encouraged to use only those resources they need, to use recycled paper when paper is needed, or to stick to a notebook for notes instead of separate paper sheets, which saves paper.  In future years, students will be encouraged to turn in their work either on a web-based program or through attachments in order to save paper resources.

Part III Critical Questions

• 1. Why is learning Spanish a useful and important resource?
  2. What study techniques will help me to become a good language learner?
  3. How can I best memorize new vocabulary and grammar?
  4. How can I become an active, positive member when practicing my Spanish with others in a group?
  5. What new aspects of the Spanish culture can I learn to enjoy throughout my own life?
  6. How can I continue learning Spanish on my own even after leaving ASIJ?
  7. What are the best ways to communicate my emotions and wants in the Spanish culture context?
  8. How can I best adjust to the different teaching styles of my Spanish teacher who might be from another culture?
  9. What are the cultural expectations of the Spanish speaking countries?  How should I behave for “success”?

Part IV Technology Use and Library Use

• The Spanish CD-Rom program in our MLRC used to practice Spanish
• The LD Program used in the classroom to introduce lessons
• The CD Listening program used for tests and student practice
• Video (HI 8, or Digital) used to video tape conversations and our video
• Microsoft Word used to write reports in Spanish
• Internet search engines in Spanish such as yahoo Mexico, etc.

Part V What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do

Chapter 1

• Greetings and introductions
• Telling one’s age
• Asking others how they are, where they are from, how old they are.
• Talking about likes and dislikes
• Understanding the use of pronouns
• Verb ser
• Forming questions with como, cuántos, de dónde
• Definite articles
• Noun gender and agreement

Chapter 2

• Talking about what you want and need
• Describing the contents of your own room
• Talking about what you need and want to do
• Indefinite articles
• Making nouns plural
• The use of three types of infinitive verbs

Chapter 3

• Talking about classes and sequencing events
• Telling time, and telling at what time something happens
• Talking about being late or in a hurry
• Describing people and things
• Explaining why you like the things you do
• Continuing the practice of the verb ser and practice with the verb tener
• Adjective agreement
• Tag questions
• Possession with de
• Numbers 1 – 199
• Forms of necesitar and querer

Chapter 4

• Talking about what you like to do
• Discuss what you and others do with your free time
• Telling where people and things are
• Present tense of the ar verbs
• The study of con, conmigo, contigo
• Use of que
• Present tense of estar and ir

Chapter 5

• Discuss how often you do things
• Talking about what you and your friends like to do together
• Talking about what you do during a typical week
• Giving today’s date
• Talking about the weather and the seasonal activities
• Negation
• The use of the question words quien and quienes
• Present tense of er and ir verbs

Chapter 6

• Describing a family
• Describing people
• Discussing things a family does together
• Discussing problems and giving advice
• Possessive Adjectives
• Present tense of hacer, salir, deber, and poner
• Understanding the personal a
• The use of the verb hay

Skill Outcomes:

• Express emotions, likes, plans, and in general be able to have a conversation with a native speaker that would allow both parties to learn to know about one another
• Be able to travel in a Spanish speaking country with ease
• Understand the culture and habits of those who speak Spanish
• Become aware and be respectful of different cultures
• Be able to read and write basic Spanish
• Be aware of the best strategies to learn Spanish or any other foreign language

Part VI Examples of Expanded Assessment

• Written tests and quizzes
• Oral dramatizations and individual interviews
• Group presentations
• Written individual and group projects
• Class individual and group participation
• Individual portfolio in Spanish
• Performance and practice of a songs
• Reading and translation of newspapers or other resources

Those involved with preparing this syllabus:  Sara Baquero-García

Date of this draft:  May 9, 2004

Course Title: Spanish B

Grade: Primarily 8th grade, although some 7th graders have entered the course.

Prerequisite: Spanish A

Length of Course: One year

Books & Materials:

• The Ven Conmigo Textbook series
• The Ven Conmigo Grammar and Vocabulary workbooks
• The Ven Conmigo Practice and Activity Book
• The Ven Conmigo LD series of videos for all chapters
• The Ven Conmigo CDR series for listening and oral practice with computers
• The DIME textbook and series of LD materials for limited exercises and visuals

In addition we use a variety of materials for the course from the internet that might be of cultural interest.  They include:

• http://espanol.yahoo.com/ (Spanish search engine)
• http://www.sol-plus.net/bib.htm (Spanish search engine)
• http://library.uncg.edu/news/ (Search engine for Spanish language newspapers)

Course Description: Spanish B continues the grammatical material and vocabulary that was started in Spanish A.  Units covered are Chapters six through 12 of the Ven Conmigo program.  In addition, students are given a variety of opportunities to explore Spanish beyond the text book through the use of video to make interviews, tours and dramatizations in Spanish while in class and outside of class as well.  Students are expected to know the present, past, gerund and command forms of regular and many irregular verbs.  Students learn to talk about their likes, family, thoughts and wants, make plans, and make simple but effective conversations geared at communicating with either other Spanish students or native speakers.  After the completion of this course, students are ready to enter level II at the high school level, since the successful completion of Spanish A and B at the middle school is equivalent to Spanish I level at the HS.

Part II ASIJ Schoolwide Student Learning Outcomes

Effective Communicators

• Students are constantly involved in listening and speaking activities that demand their attention, their careful preparation of appropriate vocabulary and grammar in order to effectively communicate in Spanish.
• Students learn to talk about real-life situations by talking about their likes, hopes, families, friends, classes and plans for the future.
• Students learn to ask for directions, order food at a restaurant, ask for help and in general feel confident in a Spanish-speaking environment.  Here, rather than focus on grammatical perfection, students are encouraged to speak up and communicate their needs or feelings.
• Students conduct interviews and engage in conversations to effectively communicate in Spanish.

Literate Individuals

• In classes students spent time reading and learning Spanish from authentic documents such as newspapers, menus, notices, etc.
• Grammar study is an important part of becoming literate.  Students spend time learning grammatical patterns and practicing them in order to gain familiarity with the new grammar.
• Students gain confidence in their ability to communicate in Spanish by being encouraged to communicate with what they know instead of being afraid to speak because of what they do not know.

Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers

• Students are involved in-group activities constantly.  They are presented with situations from which they have to create dialogues, solve difficult cultural situations, and successfully accomplish a task in Spanish.
• Students are expected to understand and appreciate differences of opinion in different cultures, and they are also expected to deal successfully with difficult situations while communicating in Spanish.

Self-Directed, productive Learners

• By communicating in Spanish on a daily basis, students gain confidence in expressing themselves in Spanish in front of the class, therefore practicing to use Spanish in the outside world.
• Students learn to enjoy learning and practicing Spanish, to prepare them for a life-long experience in learning and communicating with others.
• All students use creativity through in the class through projects such as making posters, interviewing people, writing, practicing and acting their video project and other skits throughout the year.
• Everyone is encouraged to find out new vocabulary on their own, to go beyond the expected.  The portfolio assignment, for example, gives the students the opportunity to collect a variety of personal assignments in which they involve their own likes and interests and work to accomplish a final product of personal work and high quality.
• Students are encouraged to talk to other community members outside of the class who speak Spanish in order to practice the language, and gain new personal knowledge.
• As the teacher is responsible for the best possible teaching in the classroom, the student is expected to be responsible for his/her own learning.  A proactive, positive attitude towards learning the language is encouraged throughout the year.
• Using time wisely in class and at home to complete assignments and projects is an essential component of the class.  The students are given the freedom many times to practice skits in the common area of our school, and are given the trust, and therefore the responsibility to learn in groups or individually wisely.

Constructive Community Members

• Students are encouraged to do their work honestly and with integrity by being expected to complete their assignments in a timely manner, exhibiting high quality and most of all done with care and attention to detail.  Students understand that plagiarism in any sense is highly punished
• Students are expected to respect one another, and create an atmosphere of friendliness and care.  Our class is a family, and as such, mutual respect is critical.
• Throughout the program, students are exposed to the various cultures and customs of Spanish speaking countries.  Students are encouraged to be open minded about trying new foods by cooking and eating Spanish recipes in class parties, and are also made aware of cultural topics through our video and CD Rom programs.
• Students are encouraged to use only those resources they need, to use recycled paper when paper is needed, or to stick to a notebook for notes instead of separate paper sheets which saves paper.  In future years, students will be encouraged to turn in their work either on a web-based program or through attachments in order to save paper resources.

Part III Critical Questions

• 1. Why is learning Spanish a useful and important resource?
  2. What study techniques will help me to become a good language learner?
  3. How can I best memorize new vocabulary and grammar?
  4. How can I become an active, positive member when practicing my Spanish with others in a group?
  5. What new aspects of the Spanish culture can I learn to enjoy throughout my own life?
  6. How can I continue learning Spanish on my own even after leaving ASIJ?
  7. What are the best ways to communicate my emotions and wants in the Spanish culture context?
  8. How can I best adjust to the different teaching styles of my Spanish teacher who might be from another culture?
  9. What are the cultural expectations of the Spanish speaking countries?  How should I behave for “success”?

Part IV Technology Use and Library Use

• The Spanish CD-Rom program in our TRC used to practice Spanish
• The LD Program used in the classroom to introduce lessons
• The CD Listening program used for tests and student practice
• Video (HI 8, or Digital) used to video tape conversations and our video
• Microsoft Word used to write reports in Spanish
• Internet search engines in Spanish such as yahoo Mexico, etc.

Part V What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do

Chapters 1 – 6 for the Ven Conmigo Program will be briefly reviewed at the beginning of the year.

Chapter 7

• Talking on the telephone
• Extending and accepting invitations
• Making plans
• Talking about getting ready
• Turning down an invitation and explaining why
• Stem changing verbs (e to ie)
• The use of pensar + infinitive
• The use of [ir +a + INF] and [tener + que + INF] phrases.
• An introduction of reflexive verbs

Chapter 8

• Talking about meals and food
• Commenting on food
• Making polite requests
• Ordering dinner (food) at a restaurant
• Asking for, and paying for the bill
• Present tense of encantar and the indirect object pronouns
• Use of estar to talk about how things taste
• Stem changing verbs (o to ue)
• Expressions with tener
• The forms of otro

Chapter 9

• Discussing gift suggestions
• Asking for, and giving directions downtown
• Commenting on clothes
• Making comparisons
• Expressing preferences
• Asking about prices and paying for something
• Indirect object pronouns
• Demonstrative adjectives
• Numbers from 0 – infinity

Chapter 10

• Talking about what you are doing right now (present progressive)
• Asking for, and giving an opinion
• Asking for help and responding to requests
• Telling a friend what to do (informal commands)
• Talking about past events (preterit tense)
• Direct object pronouns

Chapter 11

• Making suggestions and expressing feelings
• Talking about moods and physical condition
• Saying what you did
• Talking about where you went and when
• The verb sentirse
• The verb doler with the indirect object pronoun
• The verbs ir and jugar in the preterit

Chapter 12

• Review of the year’s grammar
• Final oral and written examinations

Skill Outcomes:

• Express emotions, likes, plans, and in general be able to have a conversation with a native speaker that would allow both parties to learn to know about one another
• Be able to travel in a Spanish speaking country with ease
• Understand the culture and habits of those who speak Spanish
• Become aware and be respectful of different cultures
• Be able to read and write basic Spanish
• Be aware of the best strategies to learn Spanish or any other foreign language

Part VI Examples of Expanded Assessment

• Written tests and quizzes
• Oral dramatizations and individual interviews
• Group presentations
• Written individual and group projects
• Class individual and group participation
• Individual portfolio in Spanish
• Performance and practice of a songs
• Reading and translation of newspapers or other resources

Those involved with preparing this syllabus:  Sara Baquero-García

Date of this draft:  April 24, 2002