¡Hola y bienvenidos a la clase de español II!
As you know, Solon has adopted Standards Based Grading. In Spanish class, there will be learning targets for each unit. Learning targets are the goals for the unit and are what students will be expected to know on assessments. Tarea (task, work, job, practice problems) over the learning targets will be given daily, although tarea scores will not affect the final grade. Tarea is any meaningful task tied to a learning target or standard and can come in a variety of formats. Tarea can be an opportunity for stakeholders to identify strengths and continue to improve upon weaknesses. Regardless of tarea affecting the final grade, students are expected to complete the tarea so that feedback and suggestions can be given. The tarea will be marked in PowerSchool with completed. If you do not see completed, it means the practice has not been completed or it was not completed correctly. You are encouraged to look at PowerSchool to understand daily work habits. I would suggest checking Power School once a week to see if the week's activities were completed and how well your estudiante is performing on the learning targets. Success in class depends upon practicing Spanish DAILY!
In the Spanish classroom, most of our learning targets are assessed multiple times in the classroom without students needing to come in outside of class to reassess. Students are allowed to re-assess outside of class if they are not pleased with their in-class assessments. Spanish is new learning for almost all of our estudiantes and we have used multiple assessments for a few years before SBG. We feel that it has helped with grammar and vocabulary knowledge and class activities on a daily basis.
Like many other classes, we assess learning targets based on standards we post in our classrooms. We also have a final each nine weeks. The final is not re-assessable. All other activities are re-assessable provided that students follow our Spanish department reassessment policy. Reassessment Policy: Students who score less than a 3 (75%) on any learning target should seek help. We will work on any practice they have not completed first, then some independent practice. In order to re-assess a particular learning target, students need to have (somewhat correctly) completed all tarea and Vistas on the learning target, as well as class activities on the learning target. They also need to meet with the instructor to complete an additional practice activity successfully before re-assessing. Re-assessments over learning targets require a 24-hour notice. Re-assessments are to be completed within about two weeks of receipt (return) of the original assessment (or typically three weeks after the first in class assessment of the learning target). Please see Power School for reassessment deadlines. In Power School, there should be a "must reassess by" date for each learning target.
Handouts, including the syllabus, vocabulary lists, class packets (tarea) and sometimes answer keys may be located here. I do post assignments on remind (text 81010 @msputzy) and twitter (please follow the Spanish II class by searching twitter for KARRYPUTZY). I also post photos of class notes. I only post information about class.
If you are into electronic resources, another interesting site is quizlet. I have all the vocabulary lists for Middle and High School Spanish. Please search and add the classes under PUTZY. The vocabulary is broken down by topic, assessment and unit. There are flashcards, games and assessments.
Just a few last words on Grading. The district has adopted common language and grading. Just a note that a 4 is reported as 100%. It represents that a student has performed very well on the learning target. It does NOT necessarily mean that the work was perfect.
In order to be successful in (future) language courses, the Spanish Department highly recommends that a student have a 70% minimum proficiency before continuing on to the next nine-week course/semester. What is learned in Spanish I is not only used but built upon in Spanish II, III, and IV. Students who do not have a sufficient understanding of the first nine weeks are unlikely to succeed in the next nine weeks as Spanish is consistently building on itself and recycling material.
Academic Dishonesty (Cheating): All students are expected to do their own work. Under no circumstances are students to copy from other students, to represent anyone else’s work as their own, or to allow other students to do so. This includes having a native speaker or more advanced student do your work for you. It also includes using translation software or websites to do your work. Remember that computers make mistakes that are easily identifiable. Students who engage in any of the above behaviors will receive a zero for that assignment.
So, just to summarize, if students copy (from other students, websites, etc.) or use online translators (or another website to “do” the work for them), that is considered cheating (plagiarism) and they will not receive credit on the assignment. All students involved will receive zeros on the assignment. Do not allow others to take credit for your work.