AP Spanish

AP Spanish Language and Culture Prerequisites and Entrance Procedure:

Students must have ONE of the following:

• Successful completion of Spanish 4

• Successful completion of Spanish 3 and teacher recommendation

• Recommendation based on Oceana’s Spanish placement test (used for students who have substantial experience with Spanish outside of the Oceana program)

Course Description: At Oceana AP Spanish meets together with Spanish 4, with curriculum organized around a 2-year cycle of thematic units, allowing students to pursue the full 2-year cycle or either year alone. Each unit asks students to consider a contemporary theme from multiple cultural perspectives by exploring related pieces of literature, articles, interviews, short videos, and music from around the Spanish-speaking world. Sample units include how we care for our elderly, the role of ecotourism, the importance of minority languages, why we should value and protect art, how language affects our identity, and how technology has influenced society. Students taking the course at the AP level engage with certain materials with the whole class and complete additional independent reading and listening tasks specifically chosen to help prepare for the AP exam outside of regular class time. Throughout each unit, students actively work to develop proficiency with the language and will be expected to write essays, formal letters, record their voice in making short presentations and participating in simple conversations, in addition to other creative projects.

Syllabus

AP Spanish Language and Culture Information from the College Board

Important Consideration: For younger students who are ready for advanced Spanish courses and will also have have enough room in their 4-year high school plan to fit both of our 2-year cycle of courses, we highly recommend taking a year of Spanish 4 to get comfortable with sophisticated text and further develop literacy skills before tackling the more academic level of analysis inherent in the AP tasks. For students who are not eligible for one of Oceana’s advanced Spanish offerings until their senior year, choosing between Spanish 4 and AP often depends on how comfortable students already feel reading independently in Spanish, organizing longer essays that cite multiple sources in any language, and how much time students are prepared to dedicate to homework for their Spanish class. Spanish 3 and 4AP teachers are available to talk to any individual unsure of which to choose.