¡Bienvenidos a la clase de Español



¡Bienvenidos a la clase de Español!

Robinson Middle School

Exploratory Spanish

Related Arts

Grade Level: Grades 6, 7, and 8

Instructor: María del Mar Carter

Office: Classroom 216

Phone: 378-2212

Fax: 378-2220

E-mail: mar_carter@

Office Hours: 10:35-12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Dear Parents,

During the next six weeks your son/daughter will be enrolled in an Exploratory Spanish Class. Exploratory Spanish is a six-week course, which provides an introduction to the Spanish language and culture. Students will practice the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – with an emphasis on vocabulary and pronunciation. Students will survey aspects of the history, culture, geography, and daily life in Spanish speaking countries. Since Spanish is an Indo-European language as are German, Latin and French, it will serve as a jump start to strengthen skills in the acquisition of a foreign language in high school.

You child will be working on the following areas of Spanish:

Listening Students will recognize and understand simple oral questions and

commands.

Speaking Students will respond to simple questions and commands using

acceptable pronunciation. They will be able to use basic vocabulary to

initiate simple conversations.

Reading Students will demonstrate an understanding of simple written statements, questions, and commands.

Writing Students will be able to use basic vocabulary to express themselves through writing simple statements, questions, and commands.

Culture Students will develop awareness of Hispanic ways through study of Hispanic history, geography, customs, and culture, including recognition of the diversity among peoples who share the same language.

Technology Students will work on a research project using technology.

Benefits of learning Spanish

• Better understanding of English - Since English has Latin origins and Spanish is a Romance (Latin) language their grammars are similar, many of the prefixes, suffixes, and word roots have common meanings. In addition, probably there is no better way to learn English grammar than by studying the grammar of another language, for the study forces you to think about how your own language is structured.

• Knowing your neighbors – About 44.6 million people in the United States have Spanish as their heritage language, some of them might be your neighbors.

• Travel – It is possible to visit any of the 20 Spanish speaking countries without speaking a word of Spanish. But it isn’t nearly as much fun.

• Cultural Understanding – Learning another language will also help you to better understand how other people think and feel, a way that is different from our own. Spanish offers a wealth of literature, art, music, and dances both modern and traditional. In addition, if you are a movie fan, you know that films made in the Spanish speaking countries are rapidly gaining prestige around the world. It is more fun to watch them in their original version, no dubbing in English.

• Learning other languages – If you can learn Spanish, you will have a head start in learning other Latin based languages such as French and Latin. It will also help you with German, since both share Indo-European roots.

• Higher Standardized Achievement Scores – The finding of several studies suggest that studying a second language for a number of years may contribute to higher scores on college entrance exams such as the SAT. Numerous other studies have also shown a positive relationship between foreign language study and English language arts achievement.

• Society benefits – American citizens who are fluent in more than one language can enhance America’s economic competitiveness in the world market.

• Job Opportunities – Knowing a second language can also give you a competitive edge in the work force by opening additional job opportunities and incentives.

• It’s easy – Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages to learn. Much of its vocabulary is similar to English’s and written Spanish is almost completely phonetic; one letter to one sound. Once you learn how to pronounce the vowels and the few odd consonants that are different from English you have Spanish pronunciation under control.

Class Expectations

It is your RESPONSIBILITY to behave in a way that encourages positive RESULTS by...

* Participating in class work

* Doing your homework – You will have a brief assignment on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday

* Managing your time

* Working with different partners

* Bringing the materials you need to do academic work:

· One inch 3 ring binder with tabs to be kept in the classroom and 2 pencils

· Bring daily a pencil or pen

Supplies:

|6th Grade |7th Grade |8th Grade |

|Lined paper |Lined paper |Lined paper |

|One inch 3 ring binder white |One inch 3 ring binder red |One inch 3 ring binder blue |

|2 Pencils |2 Pencils |2 Pencils |

|1 highlighter |1 highlighter |1 highlighter |

|1 book ring |1 book ring |1 book ring |

RESULTS will be reflected in a grade that is based on:

Class participation and class assignments, technology report, 40%

• Demonstrate focused attention

• Be prepared, attentive, responsive, and respectful in class.

• Have your supplies and binder every day.

a. Everyone will receive 100 points to start. You may loose those points by failing to do any of the following:

• The students will earn points by asking topic related questions, answering questions, using the target language in and out of the classroom, and as prizes for games.

• The students can loose points by engaging in activities that take away from their personal learning or the learning of the class as a whole.

• The points can be made up by writing the vocabulary under study each in Spanish and English, using it in a sentence, and illustrating it. Each vocabulary set will count for 5 points.

Technology Report –

The students will work on a research project using technology.

Homework completion and class folder, 20%

• Homework is practice, not a test. Even if you aren’t sure you’re doing it right...do it!

• You earn credit for having homework assignments done to the best of your ability and on time.

• You will maintain a class folder. You are to keep all homework, handouts, and daily work and notes in it. You are responsible for keeping it in order, visually appealing, and neat.

Quiz and test grades, 40%

There will be at least one quiz and one test on each unit we study. Be sure you understand what we are learning and that you are acquiring the vocabulary. It may take a lot of practice and repetition. Flashcards are a good tool for this particular skill.

Grading Scale:

A = 93-100

B = 85-92

C = 75-84

D = 70-74

F = 69 and under

Spanish Classroom Procedures

The Beginning of Class: Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings. Look at the white board and see what material will be covered during that class period. Complete the start up activity.

The End of Class: Class is not over until I dismiss you. Until that time, you will stay at your seat and work. Do not put away your materials early, line up at the door, or walk around the room.

Before you leave, make sure that your desk is in the same place you found it and pickup any trash on the floor.

Tardiness: Any time you arrive late to class, hand me your pass. Seat yourself quickly and join in whatever activity is in progress. You are responsible for making up any activity that you missed, as well as copying any notes. If you do not have a late pass then you will loose five class participation points.

Absences: If you are absent for any reason, you are required to make up all work missed.

It is your responsibility to find out what assignments and notes you missed.

How to find makeup work assignments: Find the lesson plan for the date or dates of your absence and copy down the missed assignments. If there were any handouts, check with another student or ask me for a copy. If there were any notes, politely ask a student next to you if you may copy the notes.

Bathroom and other breaks

You may not ask to go to the bathroom or any other place when I am addressing the entire class or giving entire class instruction. You may not leave the room the first ten minutes or the last ten minutes. Remember that when you ask to leave the class it will cost you five points of your participation grade.

Substitute Teachers: There will be times when I will not be in the classroom. Please cooperate with the substitute teacher. Be aware that substitute teachers may not be proficient in Spanish.

Extra-Credit:

Students will receive extra credit by choosing one of the following activities:

• Learn to read a children’s book in Spanish and read it out loud to the teacher

• Memorizing the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in Spanish

• Making a flag of one of the Spanish speaking countries

• Going out to eat at one of the Spanish speaking restaurants and ordering the meal in Spanish, need to have the waiter’s signature and verification that the student spoke Spanish

• Identify all Spanish speaking countries in North, South, and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.

• Write a one-page report after watching a Spanish related video available for checkout in the classroom.

• Looking for items written in Spanish at home and in the community

• Other – See me for approval

Positive and Negative consequences

Positive consequences:

Learn Spanish

Sense of accomplishment

Culture treats every once in a while

Special activities and games

100 points in class participation

End of six weeks fiesta – the student must have a minimum of 90 points in class participation in order to attend.

Negative Consequences:

1st Offense – Warning

2nd Offense – Move to the carol at the back of the room complete behavior lesson and copy week’s vocabulary 10 times in English and Spanish. A grade will be taken.

3rd Offense – Give a written assignment pertaining to the offense. It has to be taken home and signed by the parent. The parent will be called to be notified of the persistent problems in class.

4th Offense – After-school detention – 2:40–3:40 p.m. Copy week’s vocabulary 30 times each in English and Spanish and complete other assignments related to the week’s lesson. A grade will be taken.

In addition the negative behavior will be reflected on the final conduct grade and the student will loose class participation points.

* By school policy 6 or more offenses may be subject to an office referral and most likely ISS. ISS may affect dance attendance and field trip participation.

Citizenship Grading Scale:

|Weeks |Satisfactory |Needs Improvement |Unsatisfactory |

|1st |0-9 |10-14 |15+ |

|2nd |0-8 |9-13 |14+ |

|3rd |0-7 |8-12 |13+ |

|4th |0-6 |7-11 |12+ |

|5th |0-5 |6-10 |11+ |

|6th |0-4 |5-9 |10+ |

The numeral above indicates the number of offenses the student can accumulate and the corresponding grade.

How Parents Can Help

• Help your son/daughter make time to practice – Help him go over the vocabulary and learn it. Flash cards are an excellent way to do this.

• Have your son/daughter teach you to say something in the language every day.

• If you have access to the internet your daughter/son may contact the RNR website and follow the links to Related Arts and the Spanish page. There he/she will find class information and the links to practice the vocabulary and grammar we will be studying.

• Find cultural events connected to the language and culture being studied. Let your child know if you are aware of current event related to the Hispanic countries in the newspaper and or the news. You may want to cook a Hispanic dish or go out to eat at one of the Hispanic restaurants in the area. Encourage your daughter/son to use the Spanish he/she is learning as she/he interacts with the waitress or waiter. You may also want to participate in the activities that the Club Latinoamericano of Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City offer.

• When you rent a movie, encourage your son/daughter to view it in Spanish with Spanish subtitles. This is an excellent way to practice and learn Spanish. You do not have to watch the entire movie this way but can watch at least 10 to 15 minutes in this mode.

• Persuade your child to check out some of the resources available in the classroom.

• If you have access to the internet, have your son/daughter get online and get on one of the many links available to him/her. I will give them numerous links to practice Spanish. These are fun and very beneficial.

• You may also help at the end of the six weeks fiesta. The students will be asked to bring different items and you may also volunteer on that day and help with the cooking and supervising the students.

• Look for opportunities outside of the classroom.

You will receive 100 homework points when you return the signed form by the date indicated. In addition, you will have a quiz on this handout. A grade will be taken.

Return by Friday, February 20, 2009 Student Number ____________________________

Name __________________________ Date ______________________

Grade__6th________7th_________8th Period 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 7th 8th

I have read Sra. Carter’s expectations. I understand that to be successful I will have to participate in class and follow the procedures. The binder and two pencils are due immediately. By signing this form, I am binding myself to a high standard of conduct and behavior that will allow me to be successful.

Student’s Name Student’s Signature

_______________________________ _____________________________________________

Parent section

I have read Sra. Carter’s procedures, and expectations. I understand what is expected of my son/daughter.

Parents’ Names Parents’ Signatures

__________________________ _____________________________________________________

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