Sra. Carretero's 7th and 8th Grade Spanish Class

SEVENTH GRADE SPANISH SYLLABUS
Ms. C. Rodriguez Carretero
Room 109
ccarretero@savcds.org

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Students will learn a second language in exciting new ways using technology and focusing on communication (speaking). Learning a language is not just learning grammar and vocabulary. It is learning new sounds, expressions, and ways of seeing things; it is learning how to function in another culture, how to know a new community from the inside out.

10 Reasons to learn a foreign language
1. To increase global understanding
2. To improve employment potential
3. To increase native language ability
4. To sharpen cognitive and life skills
5. To improve chances of entry into college or graduate school
6. To appreciate international literature, music, and films
7. To make travel more feasible and enjoyable
8. To expand study abroad options
9. To increase understanding of oneself and one’s own culture
10. To make lifelong friends and text them in another language

OBJECTIVES
The “successful” student in my classes will use his/her vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking skills to comprehend and perform in the Spanish language in written and oral forms. In addition, via exposure to multicultural Hispanic aspects, my Spanish students will attend a global perspective of the world and specially, the Latinos and their diversified cultures.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Class activities will focus on listening, speaking, reading, and written communication and comprehensive Spanish and will involve individual, paired, and small group activities, and some educational memory games, and multicultural Spanish videos. Online activities will be assigned for homework.

MATERIAL
BOOK: Vista Higher Learning DESCUBRE Level 1 Lengua y cultura del mundo hispanico. Boston, Massachusetts, 2011.
Cuaderno de práctica, Cuaderno de actividades.
First quarter, Chapter 1 (p. 1): Hola, ¿qué tal?
Contextos: greetings and leave-takings, identify yourself and others, expresiona of courtesy.
Fotonovela: Mrs. Ramos, from the travel agency Ecuatur, greets the students. Don Francisco, the driver, introduces himself and asks the students to board the bus.
Cultura: Greetings in the Spanish speaking world, the plaza principal.
Estructura: Nouns and articles; numbers 0-30; present tense of ser; telling time. Recapitulacion.
Adelante: Lectura: Telephone list. Escritura: Address list in Spanish. Escuchar: Conversation in a bus station. En pantalla. Oye cómo va. Panorama: Estados Unidos y Canadá.
Second quarter: Chapter 2 (p. 39): En la clase
(Same structure as Chapter 1).
Third quarter: Chapter 3 (p. 77): La familia.
(Same structure as Chapter 1)
Fourth quarter: Chapter 4 (p. 115): Los pasatiempos.
(Same structure as Chapter 1).

QUIZZES
All quizzes will be announced in my blog.

ASSIGNMENTS
Everyday, you’ll be assigned homework on line, vhlcentral.com
Everybody will create her/his own account.

CLASS RULES
1. No disrespect allowed to teacher or to other students. Use inside voice all the time.
2. Be on time and be prepared for class. That means in your seat, working on any bell work when the bell rings. Have homework out and ready to be checked and collected. You need to have all the materials to work in the class: book, pen/pencil, workbook, dictionary, etc… (Not having material in class will follow consequences).
3. Raised your hand when you have any questions, or when you need to get up of your chair for any reason.
4. Wait to be called on and do not call out answers.
5. No gum chewing. You will practice modeling your tongue in different ways than in English, therefore you need to speak clearly.
6. Come back after 2:40 PM (2:30 Tuesdays), when you encounter any problems and you want to discus anything with me. I will listen to you, but I don’t argue with students.
7. We are going to play games; because of this I expect good behavior.
CONSEQUENCES IF BAD BEHAVIOR
1. First violation = Verbal warning.
2. Second violation = Lunch detention. (Not serving lunch detention is an after school detention).
3. Third violation = After/before school detention.
4. Fourth violation = Office referral.
(I will contact your parents at any time)
Some more serious infractions could result in an automatic office referral.

REWARDS
1. Stamps weekly chart for individual good behavior.
2. Positives notes sent home or phone calls.
3. Participation in learning games.
4. Field trips and other planned activities.

HOMEWORK, ABSENCES, AND LATE WORK
Homework will be assigned nightly, as regular practice is essential to foreign language mastery. Most regular homework will be completed and submitted via the Descubre online SuperSite and E-cuaderno. This will allow students to access audio, video and other resources while working on their assignments, thus providing a more immersive and productive environment for language practice. Homework typically consists of a series of short practice activities focusing on the topics being studied in class. In addition, reading comprehension and listening comprehension activities may be assigned. In general, you should expect to spend about 30-45 minutes per night preparing for this class.

Each student will have a Supersite passcode and an E-cuaderno pascode that they purchased with their textbook. During the first days of class, students will be instructed on how to use these codes to create an account with the Descubre online system, and how to enroll in their instructor’s online course.

Most homework activities will be instantly graded via the Supersite. This is highly beneficial to you as a student, as it allows you to see right away how well you understand the concept. For this course, you will have up to three attempts at most activities. That is, you may do the activity up to a total of three times, improving your score by correcting your mistakes on each new attempt (T/F activities are one of the exceptions). Only the best score of the three attempts will be recorded.

Homework is due by 3:00pm (EST) each day. Since the homework is submitted electronically and date and time stamped, no exceptions will be made on this policy. However, since there inevitably are a couple of occasions each year that make on-time completion of homework unfeasible (technical difficulties, family emergency, etc.), each student will be allowed to submit up to two (2) late assignments per quarter. In these cases, students will have no more than 72 hours (three days) from the original due date to submit the assignment with no grade penalty. (For example, if the homework were due on Tuesday at 3pm, the student would have until 3pm on Friday to submit the assignment.) Late assignments beyond the first two per quarter will not be accepted and no credit will be given for that work.

If a student misses class due to an EXCUSED absence, every effort should be made to still submit the online homework on time (especially if the absence is foreseen). However, should this be unfeasible, the homework must be submitted no later than 72 hours after the original due date of the last assignment missed, in order to be accepted with no penalty. (For example if a student was sick and missed class on Monday and Tuesday, the homework due on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would need to be submitted online no later than Saturday at 3pm, which is 72 hours after the due date of the last assignment missed.) After this time, no makeup work will be accepted for credit. (In the case of prolonged absences due to severe illness or other excusable circumstances, alternative arrangements can be made for makeup work—Please consult with your instructor.)