Span 1 Syllabus

Spanish 1

2009/2010

Semester 1/2 Instructor’s Information: Name: Lisa Salerno School Phone # and extension: (402) 333-0818, EXT. 112 School E-mail address: [email protected] Office Hours: I am always available between 7:30-7:50, and 3:053:30. I usually arrive at school at seven, and am more than happy to provide extra help and/ or tutoring at that time. I have a preparation period third hour ( 9:40-10:25) and am available to meet or take phone calls during that period as well as prior to and after school. Textbooks & Required Texts: Buen Viaje 1 Testbook/ Workbook Pobre Ana Materials/Supplies: Students need a notebook that is dedicated only to Spanish that will be turned in for points at the end of each chapter. Course Content/Description: Spanish 1 students will be learning basic communication skills on a variety of topics including school, friends, and activities. These skills include grammar and pronunciation. The students will also be learning about various cultural and geographical topics related to the Spanish speaking world. Course Objectives/Outcomes: At the completion of Spanish 1, students should be able to communicate about what they are presently doing, what they are going to do, and what they have done in the simple past tense. The students will be able to use their comprehension skills to answer questions based on both written and spoken Spanish, and their knowledge of Spanish to express preferences, tell about their daily lives and complete simple activities related to shopping, travel, and dining in a restaurant. They will also be able to translate sentences in the aforementioned tenses, and have conversations based on the topic at hand.

Course Requirements: Students in Spanish 1 will be expected to take notes whenever they are provided on the board, and to turn that notebook in for a grade at the end of each chapter. They will also be expected to be prepared for at least one simple vocabulary / grammar quiz during each chapter, as well as a comprehensive test at the end of the chapter. Each chapter will also include a listening exercise, as well as various workbook and textbook exercises. Students will complete one set of translation sentences for each chapter that will require the use of all grammar and vocabulary from that chapter. The students will also be required to do a prepared, note-free conversation in front of the class using the vocabulary of the chapter which will be graded on both grammar and pronunciation. Major Projects: During the last quarter, students will be required to read “Pobre Ana” outside of class and complete a study guide over their reading. They will also take a 50 point multiple choice, true false test over the novel. Basis for Grading: Spanish 1students will be graded according to the Skutt Catholic Grading Scale: 94-100%- A/ A+ 92-93- A90-91- B+ 86-89- B 84-85- B82-83- C+ 78-81- C 76-77- C74-75- D+ 72-73- D 70-71- DSpanish 1 grades are weighted as follows: Homework: 30 % of final grade Test/ Notebooks: 30% of final grade Quizzes: 20% of final grade Participation: 5% of final grade Semester Test: 15% of final grade

Homework is crucial to the learning of a foreign language. It provides the student an important practice opportunity, and me an invaluable tool for measuring the level of understanding of the grammar concept. Homework is written on the board each day. Because homework is so very important, students receiving less than 80% on a homework assignment turned in on time will have the option to re-do that assignment for an 80% until the end of the chapter. Each test will be preceded by a practice test, which is graded in class and reflects the layout and type of question the students can expect on the final test. The test itself will always include 20 possible points that are based on the students’ notebooks. If their notes are complete, they will receive those 20 points. It is the student’s responsibility to get the notes for classes that they have missed. If there is no other student available to copy those notes from, I will find a copy for them. Because students are provided with a practice test, I do not allow test retakes. There will be at least one quiz during every chapter, students will be notified of the quiz on the board ahead of time, and most times will have a short practice quiz on the day prior to the quiz. The students will also receive a participation grade each day that will only be dropped if they are not prepared for class or are disruptive or uncooperative. In other words, those points are theirs to lose. Semester tests are cumulative of the current semester only, and are multiple choice, true/ false, short answer, and a small amount of sentence writing. The foreign language department uniformly assigns this value to all semester tests in all levels of study. Absences will be dealt with according to the Skutt Catholic attendance policy. As with any foreign language, missed class time is very difficult to make up, and I would appreciate if any student who misses more than a couple days of class would come in for some private tutoring on the material missed, either prior to or after school. Late work will be penalized as follows. Each student who does not have their completed work must fill out a slip which will be filed and saved. The very first time they use this slip, their late penalty is delayed for one day. This is an opportunity that is available once during the entire school year,

not each semester. Work is considered late if it is not completed and available to be collected at the beginning of class on the day it is due. All assignments are due the following class day unless otherwise noted. It is extremely important to any student’s progress in a foreign language that they complete their daily assignments, and those assignments have very little value after the end of a chapter. Therefore, a late assignment will be penalized 25%. That remains the same until the end of the chapter (test day) when the assignments missing from that chapter, including missed quizzes, will be zeroes. Behavioral Guidelines All Spanish students are expected to follow the Skutt Catholic behavior guidelines found in the Student Handbook at all times. Students are expected to be respectful and cooperative during class. Students are expected to arrive on time for class or have a pass. Students will receive demerits and zeroes under the cheating and plagiarism policy of this high school if they copy homework, including workbooks, or use the internet to translate their work. Classroom Procedures Students are expected to do the daily bell work that begins each class in their notebooks, and this will be part of what is checked when their notebooks are graded. They are also expected to write all notes provided in their notebooks and participate in oral activities during class. Course Timeline/Calendar Spanish 1 will cover the first 12 chapters of the textbook, therefore, each semester will cover six chapters, and each quarter we will cover three. First quarter will be 1-3, second quarter 4-6, third quarter 7-9, and fourth quarter 10-12.