Course Description: Espaol III provides a continuation of Espaol I and II to the Spanish language. You will continue exploring basic themes concerning personal, familial, scholastic, social, and societal facets. Through these themes, four linguistic competencies (listening, speaking, reading, and writing respectively) are emphasized. You will also explore cultural components of Spanish-speaking countries and people as well as how these elements relate to language.
Required Materials:
1 to 1 3-ring binder with all class content divided with the following 5 labels: Calentamientos/Apuntes (warm-ups and notes) Vocabulario (vocabulary) Actividades/Tarea (in-class activities, homework and worksheets) Metas/Pruebas/Exmenes (goals, quizzes and tests) Notas del Profe (teachers notes) Loose leaf paper for the binder Writing utensil High School Planner
Classroom Expectations and Responsibilities: Attitude: Be eager to learn every day to maximize class time and your experience in Espaol III. Make the most of the experience and come in with a good attitude.
Respectful Communication: Speaking is encouraged and necessary in a language classroom to enhance linguistic proficiency and meet communicative learning goals. However, you should always wait your turn to speak, refrain from interrupting, and give a classmate or classmates on the floor your undivided attention. Please accept others right to disagree and recognize that all comments should be constructive in nature to better the collective class experience and enrich overall learning. If you are not meeting the above expectations, you will be given ONE gentle reminder. If you must be reminded a second time, you will be removed from the class and expected to make up the entire class period after school.
Attendance: Arrive on time, prepared for class with your binder and book to read, without food, gum, candy, or beverages. You are able to use your school planner as a pass for tardies, nurse, bathroom and/or locker visits. If, however, you are found leaving class or are late an unacceptable amount of times, a conference will be held between you and Miss Hopkins.
Arrival: As you enter the classroom, you should find your desk as quickly and quietly as possible without disturbing your classmates.
Calentamientos: Every day, when you enter the classroom, open your binder to your Calentamiento or Warm-Up section, date the page (day-month-year), and immediately begin copying and/or responding to the overhead activity.
Dismissal: Please do not shuffle and pack your books in preparation to leave. You will be dismissed on time. Please kindly refrain from lining up at the door before you are dismissed and dont forget to tastefully push in your chairs and return your tables and materials to their original position.
!Basta: Basta time is given out if you have forgotten how to conduct various procedures during class. Some examples are listed below. You will receive explanations on all expectations in class and if, throughout the semester, you forget about an expectation, you will have a retraining basta either that day after school or the following day before school. During your retraining session you will fill out a sheet assigning your own consequence to the behavior and your plan to correct the behavior, approved by Miss Hopkins. o EXAMPLES: entering/leaving the classroom, moving around the classroom, sitting in chairs, conducting oneself in the learning environment, finishing work early, etc.
Extra Help: Before due dates, feel free to come into the classroom to seek clarification or guidance. There will be an availability calendar up on the board in the classroom and online for your reference.
Absent Protocol: If you are absent, any make-up work is your responsibility to complete and submit. The following guidelines will assist you with make-up work: 1. A list of all classroom activities and assignments will be posted on the class web site and any papers you may have missed will be located in the binder on the round table. Web Site: http://whsmodernlanguage.weebly.com/ 2. Ask a classmate for notes. 3. Feel free to come before or after school for an explanation concerning class work and concepts. 4. Ask Miss Hopkins about due dates, questions regarding assignments and activities, and arrangements to make up a test, quiz, or project (refer to number 5). All make-up work should be handed in with ABSENT written at the top. 5. If your absence is planned, it would be in your best interest to get your work completed ahead of time. Tests, quizzes, or projects announced prior to an absence must be taken or turned in on the due date or day of your return. For example, if you are present on Monday and a quiz is announced for Wednesday, you will be expected to take that quiz even if you are absent on Tuesday.
Grading Policy:
Two types of student assessments will be used in this course, formative and summative assessments.
Formative assessments are used to help you learn from your mistakes and develop a better understanding of the curriculum. Formative assessments include in-class assignments, which may be from the textbook, workbook, or the grammar and vocabulary exercise book. A formal grade may not be entered in the grade book for individual formative assessments. You will be expected to assess and make corrections to your own formative assignments (in a color ink/lead) when they are reviewed in class. Each formative assessment should be kept in your Actividades/Tarea binder section after it has been assessed and corrections have been made. The entire binder will serve as a language portfolio, which will document your progress. Once each quarter, your portfolio will be collected and assessed for a grade. At this time, Miss Hopkins will also write any notes on current progress in the Notes section of your binder. Formative assessments determine approximately 15% of the final grade. Individual achievement of the designated learning objectives will be the only basis for grades. Effort, participation, attitude, and other behaviors are reported separately unless otherwise stated as part of the learning goal. Behavior is important and is recorded and communicated. Quarter grades are treated as progress reports. The quarter grade is not averaged to calculate the semester grade.
Summative assessments give you an opportunity to demonstrate your learning for a grade. Summative assessments include: Tests Quizzes Projects Performance Evaluations (speaking grades)
*This grading policy may be adjusted to meet needs outlined in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Final Grade: The Waverly High School grading scale is used. Your Espaol III grades are weighted in the following categories:
A 94-100 B 86-93 C 78-85 D 70-77 F 0-69 Tests and Projects 40% Quizzes 30% Binder Assessment 10% Speaking/Projects 10% Cumulative Final Exam 10%
Extra Credit: This option is only available to students who have completed and mastered all other work and wish to continue progressing. Please see Miss Hopkins for examples of possible extra credit opportunities.
Retake Policy: Tests and quizzes demonstrate student comprehension of covered material. Quizzes will be given frequently in a variety of formats. If you do not demonstrate desired learning on a quiz, you may have the opportunity to retake a similar version of the quiz within ONE WEEK of the original summative assessment date. Only one retake opportunity is offered and the highest grade is recorded. Re-takes will not be offered for projects, chapter exams, or semester finals.
Missing Assignment Policy: You are required to complete all assignments, assessments and projects. If you do not meet these expectations, you will be given a Missing grade in the grade book. Once you have received a Missing grade, you will be given a half sheet (a signed contract) that outlines times chosen by you to complete the missing assignment. If you do not complete the assignment within the time you have chosen, you will receive a referral to the office.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty includes any form of cheating, copying, and/or plagiarizing. Plagiarism is using someone elses words and passing them off as ones own. Students will NOT be allowed to use online translators for sentences and phrasing. The best resources are either a paper dictionary or www.wordreference.com. If a student is suspected of/found to be using a translator or any other behavior included within the academic dishonesty umbrella, the students parents will be contacted and the student will completely redo the assignment under a new deadline. The re-submitted assignment cannot receive a grade higher than a 70%.