Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
AP Spanish Course Overview
AP® SPANISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
COURSE OVERVIEW
The AP® Spanish Language and Culture course is intended for students who have demonstrated excellence in Spanish, who are intrigued by the Latin American and Spanish cultures and who wish to take the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. Spanish V will follow the same syllabus and be taught simultaneously, however students will not take the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. The course offers glimpses into the inner workings of said cultures that are available through this intense study of Spanish. As defined by the College Board, students taking this course should “demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (Connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (Comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (Communities).” Spanish is the official language of the course and will be spoken exclusively. The students are encouraged to practice Spanish throughout the year with their teacher(s) and peers. In the AP® Spanish Language and Culture course, students will use Spanish to:
Express themselves orally in a variety of settings on a variety of themes
Read and understand selected materials from a variety of authentic sources including, but not limited to, short stories, periodicals, essays and poetry
Initiate, maintain and close a conversation on a familiar topic
Hear and understand conversations from a variety of sources in a variety of settings
Express themselves formally and informally in writing on class-work, homework, e-mails, essays, journal entries, quizzes and tests using open-ended questions
Correctly use word derivation strategies such as circumlocution and cognates to broaden their use of the language
RESOURCES
The AP® Spanish Language and Culture course will be taught using a multitude of resources to cover all aspects of the Spanish language. The primary text is Temas: AP® Spanish Language and Culture. The authors of this text have the following to say about their creation:
“Temas incorporates the requirements of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture Curriculum and Exam, focusing on six overarching themes that are the heart of real-world communication. [It ]lets [the students] experience authentic language and culture through engaging texts and multimedia materials from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Activities are designed to help [the students] understand challenging language and concepts and to communicate using a rich, varied vocabulary.”
The textbook Temas is accompanied by an online Temas supersite. With daily practice using the digital activities, the students will improve their writing, listening and speaking skills.
MAIN TEXTS
Draggett, P., Bianco, J., Conlin, C., Ehrsam, M. and Millán, E. (2014) Temas: AP Spanish Language and Culture. Boston, MA: Vista Higher Learning.
Frisancho, Jorge. (2014) AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam Preparation. Boston, MA: Vista Higher Learning.
WEBSITES
Audiria
BBC Mundo
CNN en español
Más voces
El Mundo
La Nación
National Public Radio
www.npr.org/series/alt-latino/
Notes in Spanish
El Nuevo Herald
Paperboy
Prensa Escrita
Radio Naciones Unidas
Radioteca
Unesco
Univision
WEBSITES FOR GRAMMAR PRACTICE
Bowdoin
http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/index.html
Colby
www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php
Study Spanish
Ver taal
SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS
Blanco, J.A., Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. C. & García, P. N. (2011). Imagina: Español sin
barreras (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Vista Higher Learning.
Cabat, L. & Cabat, R. (1999). Momentos Hispanos (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Amsco
School Publications, Inc.
De la Vega, Sara L., Salazar, Carmen. (2007). Avanzando: Gramática española y
lectura (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Jiménez, F. (2000). Cajas de cartón. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Kanter, A. (2011). Encuentros Maravillosos: Gramática a través de la literatura
(2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Lavoie, D. (2010). 5 Steps To A 5: AP Spanish Language 2010-2011. New York,
NY: McGraw Hill.
Leech, M. (2010). The Princeton Review Cracking the AP® Spanish Exam With Audio
CD (2011 ed.). New York, NY: Random House, Inc.
Renjilian-Burgy, Joy, Valette, Rebecca M. (2005). Album (3rd ed.). Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Walqui Van-Lier, A., Barraza, R.A., Dellinger, M.A. (2005). Sendas literarias 1:
Español completo para hispanohablantes. Needham, MA: Pearson Prentice
Hall.
Wasserman, C. & Wasserman, M. (1997). Prosa moderna del mundo
hispánico (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, Inc.
UNIT COMPONENTS
Each unit includes work on the following skills and strategies:
Grammar
This course requires students to update and broaden their awareness of Spanish grammatical structures. There is a strong focus on the appropriate use of verb tenses and moods, as well as in-depth review of grammatical topics covered in previous years of Spanish study. Students are encouraged to correct themselves and each other to increase their understanding of grammar, in English as well as Spanish.
Reading
Each unit includes multiple reading selections. Many reading assignments are taken directly from our texts. Others come from a variety of authentic resources, whether from the teacher’s personal collection or current events and articles in newspapers and magazines, both in print and online. Students are encouraged to read each selection on their own, and respond to prepared written or spoken questions. They will learn to use context clues and other techniques to garner meaning without the use of a language dictionary. To increase vocabulary acquisition, students will maintain a self-created dictionary to which they will add new words or expressions as they encounter them.
Writing
Students will write in a variety of formats in order to demonstrate proficiency with grammar, vocabulary and facts, and to articulate their opinions. Writing exercises are completed in class and each unit contains several graded writing samples. Written assignments will often be discussed in class, and used for peer-editing exercises. Students will regularly write interpersonal entries such as e-mails, journals, blogs, letters and postcards. They will also write formal compositions and essays, based on the material covered in each unit to serve as practice for the presentational writing portion of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. Students will be able to track their progress and growth in said writing activities by the accompaniment of the same rubrics used on the exam.
Listening
The teacher will conduct almost all instruction, explanation, and exercises in Spanish. Students will become accustomed to listening to a variety of Spanish accents and dialects as they listen to each other, other teachers at the school and any guest speakers. They will have many opportunities to listen to a variety of samples by native speakers from the Temas supersite, audio CDs provided by supplemental textbooks, podcasts, other online sources and the teacher’s diverse music and film collection. Students will learn techniques to grasp important information when listening to rapidly spoken Spanish, and they will be tested on listening comprehension using multiple-choice and open-ended question formats. To further hone their auditory skills, the teacher will give weekly dictations.
Speaking
Spanish is the official language of the course; students are expected to speak Spanish exclusively while in class and to practice Spanish consistently with the teacher, as well as with other adults and peers outside the classroom if presented the opportunity. Students will practice regularly on a variety of topics, and will learn techniques such as circumlocution to successfully express themselves. Students will often be asked to orally summarize writing assignments and listening samples in order to improve vocabulary retention and practice, and will practice speaking out loud simultaneously in preparation for the oral component of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. Students will be encouraged to use a wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures in order to be creative and more expressive.
The students will also have a weekly assignment of a newscast-type session. They will begin each week with a different country. Throughout the week, they will use a variety of Spanish language websites to find a current event of personal interest that they then will report upon in the form of a newscast with a personal opinion component.
Culture
Understanding the cultural differences between the target language of study and one’s native tongue is a vital component of language acquisition. The students will gain a deeper understanding of cultural and historical experiences that are a part of everyday life to those in the Spanish-speaking world. Based on the calendar year, there will be monthly cultural activities for the students to immerse themselves in, including but not limited to: movie nights, modismos and refranes, “Tomatinas,” and Parrandas and tertulias.
Assessments
Unit Exams
The unit exams will mostly follow the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam model in a condensed format, including multiple-choice components, listening, reading and speaking components, and writing samples. Full attendance is expected on the days of these exams.
Midterm Exam
The time allotted for the midterm exams is similar to that of the actual AP® Spanish Language and Culture Exam. We will therefore take our first full practice AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam during our given midterm day, with only slight modifications.
Final Exam/Project
After completion of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam, students will have the opportunity to further examine cultural and historical topics, literary genres, and writers discussed previously throughout the year. With the teacher’s guidance, they will complete a performance research project, using Spanish sources, which will include a written component and a formal presentation consisting of a presentation of the material researched followed by a question- and-answer/discussion session with the teacher and classmates.
Unidad 1 ≈ Las identidades personales y públicas
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Cómo se expresan los distintos aspectos de la identidad en diversas situaciones?
¿Cómo influyen la lengua y la cultura en la identidad de una persona?
¿Cómo se desarrolla la identidad de una persona a lo largo del tiempo?
Grammar
Verbos y expresiones para indicar cambios
El lenguaje académico
Los anglicismos
Reading
Avanzando: “Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Voz feminista de Hispanoamérica,” “Dos poetas chilenos: Mistral y Neruda, ” “Inmigraciones hispanas en los Estados Unidos”
Variety of selection from Temas: “Borges y yo,” “Expulsados”
Writing
Creating vivid, descriptions using dynamic vocabulary and sentence structure
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries, emails, etc.
Presentational writing: composition on identities, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources
Listening
Dictations
Temas: “Una ley para fortalecer el guaraní,” “XV Festival de Jazz en Toledo”
Music: Listen to various accents: Mexican in “Pobre Juan” by Maná, Argentinean in “Milonga de Marfil Negro” by Haydee Alba, Spanish in “Papeles mojados” by Chambao
Speaking
Question/answer exercises with other students
Imitating the accents of peninsular v. Caribbean v. South American Spanish
Initiating and maintaining a conversation on a familiar topic
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Geography of Spain and Latin America
Independence Days in Latin America
Hispanic Heritage month
La Tomatina
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
Film: Diarios de motocicletas
Unidad 2 ≈ Los desafíos mundiales
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Cuáles son los desafíos sociales, políticos y del medio ambiente que enfrentan las sociedades del mundo?
¿Cuáles son los orígenes de esos desafíos?
¿Cuáles son algunas posibles soluciones a esos desafíos?
Grammar
Cognados falsos
Los prefijos
Verbos seguidos de preposción
Palabras compuestas
Reading
Album: “Sala de espera”
Temas: “La desglaciación de la cordillera andina” and/or “Clase media crece en América Latina y el Caribe”
Imagina: “Recursos naturales”
Writing
English-to-Spanish translations using covered verb tenses
Creation of appropriate Spanish past-tense verbs without English hints
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries
Presentational writing: composition on global challenges, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources
Listening
Discuss themes, various podcasts and audio clips from Internet
Dictations
Music: “¿Qué hacen aquí? Illapu, “¿Dónde jugarán los niños?” Maná and “The Movement” Las cafeteras
Speaking
Small-group discussions on assigned themes
Initiating and maintaining conversations on familiar topics
Re-telling stories that have been previously read or heard
Spanish tongue-twisters (trabalenguas)
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Hispanic Heritage Month
Día de la Raza vs Columbus Day and Spanish conquest of Latin America
Día de los Muertos
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
“Landfill Harmonic” in Paraguay
Film: The Book of Life and/or El laberinto del fauno
Unidad 3 ≈ La familia y las comunidades
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Cuáles son las diferencias en los papeles que asumen las comunidades y las familias en las diferentes sociedades del mundo?
¿Cómo se define la familia en distintas sociedades?
¿Cómo contribuyen los individuos al bienestar de las comunidades?
Grammar
Vocabulario para descubrir
Expresiones de percepción sensorial
Acentuación
Signos de puntuación
Reading
Imagina: “Juchitán: La ciudad de las mujeres”
Temas: “En esto creo” , “Luces para creer”
Album: “No oyes ladrar los perros” and/or “El nieto”
Writing
Responding to written and spoken prompts
Composing orderly paragraphs
Using transition words and a wide range of vocabulary
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries
Presentational writing: composition on family and community, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources
Listening
Continued practice with audio and video materials from Internet, television, and radio, critiquing other students’ spoken Spanish.
Dictations
Speaking
Continued practice with voice-recording equipment
Informal spoken presentations with written and audio prompts
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Family life in Spain and Latin America,
Selected articles, in print and/or online including but not limited to:
-DOMA
-Adoption, infertility, definitions of family
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
Parrandas, Posadas
Unidad 4 ≈ La belleza y la estética
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Cómo se establecen las percepciones de la belleza y la creatividad?
¿Cómo influyen los ideales de la belleza y de la estética en la vida cotidiana?
¿Cómo las artes desafían y reflejan las perspectivas culturales?
Grammar
Las conjunciones
Gentilicios y topónimos
Las citas
Reading
Avanzando:“Una puerta a la historia”
“Almodovar genio español que conquistó Hollywood” www.latinol.com
Temas: “El concepto de lo estético a través de la historia,” “La literatura y la vida”
Writing
Responding to written and spoken prompts
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries
Presentational writing: composition on concepts of beauty and esthetics, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources
Listening
Dictations
Music: “Talento en la TV”
Temas: “30 años del Guernica”
Speaking
Voice-over of clips from Almodovar movies
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Stereotypes of Spanish and Latin American concepts of beauty as portrayed in songs
Miss Universe/Miss World in Latin America
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
Film: Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios
Unidad 5 ≈ La ciencia y la tecnología
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Qué impacto tiene el desarrollo científico y tecnológico en nuestras vidas?
¿Qué factores han impulsado el desarrollo y la innovación en la ciencia y la tecnología?
¿Qué papel cumple la ética en los avances científicos?
Grammar
Verbos comunes
Expresiones de tiempo
Acentuación: Casos especiales
Signos de puntuación
Reading
Imagina: “La intrusa” and /or “La desespereción de las letras”
Temas: “Facebook, el monstruo de las dos cabezas” and/or “Centroamérica y las redes sociales”
Album: “Apocalipsis”
Writing
Writing in response to written prompts
Constructing multi-paragraph essays
Writing from a variety of sources (extrapolating meaning, tone, theme)
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries
Presentational writing: composition on science and technology, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources
Listening
Television and/or Internet and/or radio audio/video programming
More strategies for garnering meaning from rapidly spoken Spanish
Dictations
Speaking
Debates on researched issues
Practice with voice-recording equipment using AP® exam format
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
Film: Happy Cool
Unidad 6 ≈ La vida contemporánea
Preguntas esenciales:
¿Cómo influyen los productos culturales, las prácticas y las perspectivas de la gente en la vida?
¿Cómo definen los individuos y las sociedades su propia calidad de vida?
¿Cuáles son los desafíos de la vida contemporánea?
Grammar
Expresiones de transición
Los sufijos
Los números
Reading
Avanzando : “El tango, baile universal” and/or “La América Central”
Imagina : “La herencia de los mayas” and/or “La Mirada
Temas: “La evolución de la Amistad”
Writing
Constructing comprehensive paragraphs using a wide range of vocabulary, transitions, and appropriate sentence structure
Interpersonal writing: Journal entries
Presentational writing: composition on contemporary life, comparing and contrasting based on a variety of sources including the quote “Un pueblo sin tradición es un pueblo sin porvenir”
Listening
Connecting the sound of a word to its spelling and accentuation
Dictations
Speaking
Small-group discussions on assigned themes
Informal presentations to the class
Initiating, maintaining, and close conversation on familiar topics
Presentational speaking: Current events “Newscasts”
Culture/History
Current events in Spain and Latin America pertaining to the theme
Semana Santa
Carnaval
AP Specific training
The last two weeks of April are dedicated to rigorous practice for the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. This includes analyzing previous years’ sample student work, practice tests, speaking simultaneously, timed writing and speaking.
FORMAL AP EXAM = Thursday May 16, 2024 @ 8 AM