Español  I

This course is designed to help beginning students attain proficiency in the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Cultural materials, which give the students a realistic view of the Hispanic world, are included. Various forms of media are used to enhance students’ understanding of grammar and culture.

Topics

Throughout Spanish I, students will develop their language skills by studying a variety of topics. Each topic will have several sets of vocabulary and grammar points associated with it. The general topics to be studied include the Spanish-speaking world, family and friends, hobbies and pastimes, school and classes, meals and food, clothing and shopping, places around town, the home and chores, and sports.

Standards

Instruction is guided by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) standards. Throughout the course of each unit, we will focus on the 5 C’s: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities. This allows us to get the larger picture and use Spanish in real-world context, which is vital for a living language that is used in over 20 countries by more than 400 million people.  

Goals for Spanish Class

• By the start of class, you should be in your seat and ready-to-go, with all necessary materials.

  • By the time the bell rings, all phones and electronics should already be stored away.

  • For any Zoom meetings, this means that you are logged in and ready-to-go by the start time.

• Part of being prepared is arriving with your school-issued Chromebook, with a charged battery!

  • You should also have your own, personal headphones/earbuds to use for watching video lessons.

• Any missed work must be made up promptly. Generally, this would be double the time you were out.

• If you know you will be out for an extended time, please let me know at least 1 week in advance.

Behavior Expectations

• First and foremost, RESPECT for yourself, your classmates, our classroom and the teacher is vital! 

• You are expected to speak only when appropriate and to do so in an appropriate manner.

• It is important to have a positive attitude and to encourage your classmates. Mistakes are good!

• Our class is a place of tolerance and acceptance. Absolutely no put-downs or hurtful comments!

• You are expected to keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself. If it isn’t yours, don’t touch it!

• Electronic devices of any sort are prohibited unless express permission is given to use them!

Electronics Policy

Electronic devices may be used only with the teacher’s permission. There will be times that cell phones are permitted, either for the completion of specific tasks or to access online dictionaries and reference materials. When devices are out for academic work, they are to be used only for that task or assignment. At no time may students use their devices to send text messages, use social media or take pictures or videos. Violation of this policy may result in the loss of privileges to use the device in the future.

The use of any device without permission will result in disciplinary action.

Participation

You should check your grades frequently on Skyward. While many of your assignments will be graded in Google Classroom, the grade in Skyward is official!

Each marking period grade will be calculated using weighted categories. The grade for each category is calculated by dividing the points that you earned in that category by the category’s total possible points. The two categories are as follows:

Tests, Quizzes & Projects – 70%

Each marking period, tests and quizzes make up the majority of your grade. 

Tests will occur end of a unit to determine how well you learned that unit’s material. All tests may include multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions, and some will also have a longer written response question. 

Quizzes are also used to assess what you learned about more specific topics. They may focus on vocabulary, grammar and/or culture. Part of a vocabulary quiz is learning the spelling of the vocabulary terms. 

Tests and quizzes missed due to absence must be made up during a study hall or before/after school (not during class). There is a test/quiz retake procedure (see below).

Projects will occasionally be assigned and may be counted in the same category as tests and quizzes. Many units throughout the year will have some sort of project associated with them. Note that the majority of projects will require some of the work to be completed outside of class.

Practice – 30%

Your practice grade will be made up of both in-class and out-of-class assignments (in other words, classwork and homework). In-class work may include any of the following: warm-up exercises, textbook exercises, worksheets, speaking activities, writing activities, short presentations, etc. The teacher may choose to collect classwork at any time. It will generally be graded for completion.

Typical homework assignments include worksheets, book activities, online activities and other short written exercises. Homework may be checked every day that it is assigned (there may be days when it is not checked). It will generally be graded for completion. A homework grade will be entered into the gradebook at the end of each unit for all assignments checked during the course of that unit. Missed homework cannot be made up or turned in late, except in the case of approved/lawful absences.

Late Work and Missing Assignments

You should also check Skyward frequently to see if you are missing anything. It is your responsibility to take care of missing work. If you are missing something, but don’t know what it is, contact me ASAP!

Turning in assignments late will have an adverse affect on your grade. Each day an assignment is late will result in a 10% deduction, with a maximum of a 50% loss in credit. After two weeks, no credit will be given. Also, remember that daily homework assignments can not be completed late for credit.

Reassessment Policy

If you score poorly on a test or quiz because of a lack of understanding the material, you will have the opportunity to retake that assessment. The purpose of this policy is not to allow students to retake assessments that they simply did not prepare for. Tests must be retaken within two weeks of the original test date and quizzes must be retaken within one week of the original test date. The retake, in most cases, will be a different assessment on the same topics. The maximum score on any retake will be a 90%.

In order to retake an assessment, you must first see me to let me know that you would like to retake the test or quiz. You must come in either before or after school to determine your area(s) of weakness, receive help with those topics and make sure that you understand them. Also, you must have completed all homework, classwork and other assignments related to those concepts. This could include worksheets, essays and written projects. Only after doing all of this may a retake occur. We will then schedule a time for you to complete the retake.

Academic Honesty