Mrs. Clemons Class

AP® Spanish Language Syllabus
Course Overview

Goals
Students will expand their interpersonal communication • skills in Spanish
through daily classroom interactions in the language. This includes
casual conversations with the teacher and classmates as well as formal
discussions. [C1]
• Students will increase and refine their written presentational skills in
formal and informal contexts.
• Students will refine their oral presentational skills in formal and informal
contexts.
• Students will broaden their comprehension skills of written and aural
material in formal and informal contexts.
• Students will broaden their understanding of the cultures that comprise
the Spanish-speaking world through the study of history, literature, art,
music, and current events.
• Students will make connections between their learning in the Spanish
classroom, their learning in other classes, and their daily lives.
Course Planner
Semester 1
Week 1 Review of summer homework, classroom rules, syllabus
Week 2 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 1, read article about dream
interpretation
Week 3 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 1, “El sur,” Jorge Luis Borges
Week 4 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 1—exam and creative writing
assignment, “El dinosaurio,” Augusto Monterroso, current events
Week 5 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 4, oral dialog
Week 6 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 4
Week 7 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 4—exam, verb review
(3-day week)
Week 8 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 5, current events
Week 9 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 5, “Bernardino,” Ana María
Matute
Week 10 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 5, exam, film:
Los niños invisibles [C3]
Week 11 “Cajas de cartón” de Francisco Jiménez; film: La ciudad, immigration
current events or opinion articles
Week 12 La casa en Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, current events
Week 13 La casa en Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
Week 14 La casa en Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, essay
Week 15 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 6
Week 16 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 6, “Un día de estos,” Gabriel
García Márquez, exam, current events
Week 17 “Gracias a la vida,” Mercedes Sosa, “Un par de botas,” ¿??, “Si el
norte fuera el sur,” Ricardo Arjona, discussions of economies
Week 18 Discussions of economies
Week 19 Grammar review—all subjunctive forms and sequence of tenses,
individual project presentations, semester 1 journal
Week 20 Current events, final exam

Semester 2
Week 21 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 7, command presentation
Week 22 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 7, exam
Week 23 El Quijote, parte I: episodios 1–8
Week 24 El Quijote, parte I: episodios 9–12, current events
Week 25 El Quijote, parte I: episodios 13–19
Week 26 El Quijote, parte III: episodios 3, 4
Week 27 El Quijote, parte III: episodio 6, review, collage
Week 28 Quijote projects, current events
Week 29 Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 12
Week 30 AP Exam practices
Week 31 AP Exam practices, Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 13
Week 32 AP Exam practices, Encuentros maravillosos—Chapter 13, current
events
Week 33 AP Exam week
Weeks Film study or other topic as chosen by students 34–36
Week 37 Film study or other topic as chosen by students, last week for seniors

Teaching Strategies
La palabra de honor
After struggling during my first years as an AP® teacher to convince my students that they must speak only Spanish in the classroom, I instituted the palabra de honor language pledge. Each year, usually on the second day of class, we have the official signing of the pledge. I explain that the only language allowed in class is Spanish, although on rare occasions, I may resort to a word or two of English for educational purposes. Students will only use Spanish once they set foot inside the room. No grade is given for this; however, a student failing to follow the pledge would see an effect in his or her participation grade. After a clear explanation, students are allowed one minute to speak English. Then they sign the pledge, and English evaporates. While reminders are sometimes needed for some students, I have yet to impose the threat of a lowered participation grade. [C1, C3, C5]

Current events and country study
At the beginning of each year, students choose a country or region to study. They research basic data about the country and read current event articles about that country throughout the semester or year. Students share oral summaries (in Spanish) of the articles they read with classmates. This provides practice for the speaking portion of the exam and allows students to gain a greater understanding of the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. [C4,C7]
Authentic sources Working with authentic sources is key to successful AP Spanish Language Exam preparation. Many of the themes for the weeks of study lend themselves to additional reading, such as author biographies or articles with the same theme as the literature. These sources will be sought from newspapers, the Internet, etc., as appropriate, throughout the year. Students will read articles to form a basis for essays and give oral summaries of the information read. [C4]

Student Evaluation
70% Quizzes, exams, projects, • and compositions
1. Exams generally include matching or multiple-choice sections, fill-inthe-
blank sections, and short answer or essay sections.
2. Projects may include group presentations, research, class discussions,
and more. [C2]
3. Instruction in writing is evidenced by instruction in brainstorming,
pre-writing, writing an introduction/conclusion, providing details and
synthesis. Most compositions are modeled on the format used in the
AP Exam. However, some creative writing compositions are assigned
as well. Part of the grade for composition includes conferencing with
the instructor and rewriting to improve writing proficiency. [C6]
• 15% Journal, country study, and class participation
1. Students are asked to write approximately 10 pages each semester
in a journal. This includes AP-style essays and free-choice pages. In
addition, they are required to include one additional page for each day
they are absent from class. [C6]
2. Students will choose a country or region of the Spanish-speaking
world at the start of the semester. They will do some basic research
on this country/region as well as keep current on news. Students will
report the news of their country/region to the class on a biweekly basis.
[C4, C5, C7]
3. Students grade their own participation using a rubric.
• 15% Term final and individual project
1. The final includes portions of previous AP Exams, reshaped to model
the exam item types as identified in the AP Spanish Course Description.
[C2]
2. Each student will choose one independent experience in Spanish to
complete during the semester. Options include (but are not limited to)
reading a novel, teaching Spanish to elementary students, volunteering
with a community group that reaches out to the local Latino population,
researching a historical or cultural topic of interest, or watching
a series of films or television programs. [C7]

Resources
Main Text
Kanter, Abby. Encuentros maravillosos: Gramática a través de la literatura.
Glenview, Ill.: Addison Wesley Longman, 2005. [C2]
Web Sites
BBC Mundo.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
www.cervantesvirtual.com
The City: La ciudad. (PBS)
www.pbs.org/itvs/laciudad/index.html
EuroNews
www.euronews.net/create_html.php?page=home&lng=5
Instituto Cervantes
www.cervantes.es/portada_b.htm
Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classrooms
www.clta.net/lessons/
López Nieves, Luis. Ciudad Seva: cuentos de Augusto Monterroso
www.ciudadseva.com/textos/cuentos/esp/monte/am.htm
Materiales (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España)
www.sgci.mec.es/usa/materiales/
McClennen, Sophia A. Cinergia.
www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/cinergia/cinergia.htm
Portalmix
www.portalmix.com
Romagosa, Santiago. Don Quijote de la Mancha
www.quixote.tv [C4]
CDs
Arjona, Ricardo. Si el norte fuera el sur. Miami: Sony, 1996.
Sosa, Mercedes. 30 años. Buenos Aires: Polygram Discos, 1993.
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Don Quijote. HNH International Ltd., 2003. [C3]