Class Information

Spanish II (Español II) is a continuation of the basics of the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures learned in Spanish I. Based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language's (ACTFL's) World-Readiness Standards for Learning Foreign Languages as well as the New York State Education Department's (NYSED's) Learning Standards for World Languages, we will focus on:

• building our Spanish language vocabulary and understanding of Spanish grammar. See topics below.

• practicing the three modes of communication in Spanish: interpersonal, interpretative, and presentational through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

• developing an understanding of the various Spanish-speaking cultures. We will primarily focus our study in Spanish II on Pre-Columbian civilizations and Latinos in the U.S.

• reinforcing and expanding on our understanding of other subjects/academic disciplines, primarily Mathematics (pre-Algebra and Geometry), English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

• making comparisons between the Spanish language and the English language in order to increase fluency and proficiency in both.

• making comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and our own home cultures to develop a deeper appreciation for both.

• seeking out opportunities to participate in Spanish-speaking communities both near to and far from home.

A few of the vocabulary and grammar topics covered will be:

1. Greetings and introductions

2. Telling time (hour, day, month, year, season, etc.)

3. Describing oneself and daily life as well as inquiring into others' (family, home, school, pastimes, preferences, etc.)

4. Verb conjugation in the following tenses in order to describe actions in complete sentences: present indicative, simple future, present progressive, command, present perfect, preterit (past), imperfect (past), and others as necessary

5. Proficiency at use and gender and number agreement of nouns (including subject vs. object (both direct and indirect) pronouns), adjectives, and articles

6. Others as content, standards, and proficiency guidelines require. The development of the Spanish curriculum is a work in progress and will change to meet the needs, abilities, and skills of the students dynamically.

Spanish III (Español III) is a continuation of the foundational concepts and vocabulary of the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures learned in Spanish II. The primary goal of the Spanish III curriculum will be to fully prepare students for success on the Checkpoint B Exam, therefore guaranteeing full credit earned for the course towards pursuit of a NYS Regents diploma or Regents diploma with advanced designation. Based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language's (ACTFL's) World-Readiness Standards for Learning Foreign Languages as well as the New York State Education Department's (NYSED's) Learning Standards for World Languages, we will focus on:

• building our Spanish language vocabulary and understanding of Spanish grammar. See topics below.

• practicing the three modes of communication in Spanish: interpersonal, interpretative, and presentational through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The vast majority of the materials used for this purpose will be what are referred to as authentic materials. Authentic materials are materials (written or spoken) that are created by native speakers for a native speaking audience and are therefore not edited for content to make sure they are fully understood by language learners. 

• developing an understanding of the various Spanish-speaking cultures. We will primarily focus our study in Spanish III on the Spanish-speaking world from the year 711 C.E. to today.

• reinforcing and expanding on our understanding of other subjects/academic disciplines, primarily Mathematics (pre-Algebra and Geometry), English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

• making comparisons between the Spanish language and the English language in order to increase fluency and proficiency in both.

• making comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and our own home cultures to develop a deeper appreciation for both.

• seeking out opportunities to participate in Spanish-speaking communities both near to and far from home.

A few of the vocabulary and grammar topics covered will be:

1. Greetings and introductions

2. Telling time (hour, day, month, year, season, etc.)

3. Describing oneself and daily life as well as inquiring into others' (family, home, school, pastimes, preferences, etc.)

4. Communicating proficiently to describe one's thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

5. Verb conjugation in the following tenses in order to describe actions, thoughts, ideas, desires, etc. in complete sentences: present indicative, simple future, present progressive, command, present perfect, preterit (past), imperfect (past), conditional, future, preterit perfect, past perfect, conditional perfect, present subjunctive, past subjunctive, and others as necessary

6. Proficiency at use and gender and number agreement of nouns (including subject vs. object (both direct and indirect) pronouns), adjectives, and articles, as well as more advanced grammar concepts as they arise

7. Others as content, standards, and proficiency guidelines require. The development of the Spanish curriculum is a work in progress and will change to meet the needs, abilities, and skills of the students dynamically.

Spanish IV (Español IV) is a continuation of the foundational concepts and vocabulary of the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures learned in Spanish I. Spanish IV is for the advanced language learners who desire to become not only functionally proficient in the use of the Spanish language (both conversationally as well as in more formal settings), but knowledgeable about the wide range of perspectives of the various cultures of the Spanish-speaking world both today and throughout history. This will involve not only interaction with literature, but the arts, historical texts, and others as well as use and development of critical thinking skills to analyze material and synthesize ideas about the material. Based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language's (ACTFL's) World-Readiness Standards for Learning Foreign Languages as well as the New York State Education Department's (NYSED's) Learning Standards for World Languages, we will focus on:

• building our Spanish language vocabulary and understanding of Spanish grammar. See topics below.

• practicing the three modes of communication in Spanish: interpersonal, interpretative, and presentational through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The vast majority of the materials used for this purpose will be what are referred to as authentic materials. Authentic materials are materials (written or spoken) that are created by native speakers for a native speaking audience and are therefore not edited for content to make sure they are fully understood by language learners. 

• developing an understanding of the various Spanish-speaking cultures. We will primarily focus our study in Spanish III on a survey of the Spanish-speaking world, civilizations, cultures, and literature.

• reinforcing and expanding on our understanding of other subjects/academic disciplines, primarily Mathematics (pre-Algebra and Geometry), English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

• making comparisons between the Spanish language and the English language in order to increase fluency and proficiency in both.

• making comparisons between Spanish-speaking cultures and our own home cultures to develop a deeper appreciation for both.

• seeking out opportunities to participate in Spanish-speaking communities both near to and far from home.

A few of the vocabulary and grammar topics covered will be:

1. Advanced greetings and introductions appropriate to a variety of contexts

2. Telling time (hour, day, month, year, season, etc.) in detail with descriptions of conditions

3. Describing oneself and daily life as well as inquiring into others' (family, home, school, pastimes, preferences, etc.)

4. Interacting in various travel-related scenarios (buying tickets, asking directions, etc.)

5. Communicating proficiently to describe one's thoughts, ideas, and beliefs as well as inquire about those of others. This will be done at both informal (texting, casual emails, conversations with peers, etc.) and formal (job applications and resumes, professional emails, formal presentations, etc.).

6. Verb conjugation in the following tenses in order to describe actions, thoughts, ideas, desires, etc. in complete sentences: present indicative, simple future, present progressive, command, present perfect, preterit (past), imperfect (past), conditional, future, preterit perfect, past perfect, conditional perfect, present subjunctive, past subjunctive, and others as necessary

7. Proficiency at use and gender and number agreement of nouns (including subject vs. object (both direct and indirect) pronouns), adjectives, and articles, as well as more advanced grammar concepts as they arise to level of near mastery

8. Others as content, standards, and proficiency guidelines require. The development of the Spanish curriculum is a work in progress and will change to meet the needs, abilities, and skills of the students dynamically.