AP Spanish Language and Culture

Spanish I-IV or the equivalent with at least a B average in your previous Spanish class. In this fifth year Spanish course, it is assumed that students have already learned the grammar and syntax of the language and have acquired strong skills in speaking, writing, reading, and understanding Spanish. The college-level curriculum for this course is designed to reinforce and sharpen these skills with the goal of achieving mastery in the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing as defined by the AP Spanish Language course description. Students will be working at a rigorous pace to cover the material and prepare for the Advanced Placement Examination in May. This course will meet the needs of highly motivated students who have a strong interest and ability in the Spanish language.

The course will:
* Encourage a thematic approach to teaching.
Students participate in activities that integrate language, literature, and culture; make connections to other disciplines; and compare aspects of the target culture with other cultures.

* Articulate clear learning objectives.
Clearly articulated learning objectives provide information on the knowledge and skills students should demonstrate to succeed on the exam.

* Reflect college-level expectations.
The College Board collaborates with language educators from leading colleges, universities, and secondary schools to ensure that the course reflects rigorous college standards.

Students enrolled in Advanced Placement VHS courses are required to take the AP exam, and are required to report their AP examination scores to VHS . Upon receipt of the student’s exam score, each score will be recorded by VHS and assigned an anonymous tracking number to ensure student anonymity and confidentiality. By enrolling in an AP VHS class, the student authorizes their school site coordinator and school administration to report AP examination scores to VHS. Exam results will not affect the student’s VHS grade or future enrollment in VHS courses.

This course has recommended summer reading. Students are encouraged to complete and submit the summer assignment for extra credit. The summer assignments will help students prepare for the course as well as the AP exam. All summer work for AP Spanish can be found here: [AP Summer Work]

Theme 1: Las identidades personales y públicas
As an introduction to the topic, students respond in written form to one or all of the following questions in their journal for the week.

Students are provided with a list of pertinent vocabulary to access and augment as they work through the topic.
Students listen to the song “Latinos en Estados Unidos” by Celia Cruz
Students discuss the content of the video, “El reto de ser joven latino en Estados Unidos.” and ask questions that elicit opinions from others in the group. They then debate the following comment: “El tema de la identidad es esencial para el crecimiento.”
Students search for authentic articles from Spanish-speaking newspapers that focus on the lives of immigrants in the United States. [CR2b] Formative Assessment: Students select one article and write a brief summary. Then, in a written presentation, they compare the information in the article with their own community.

Theme 2: Las familias y las comunidades
In a discussion, one student writes down all of the words s/he generated. Other students then add to the list the words they have not on the list. Then each student writes a short story about a family using at least twenty of the words generated by the students themselves.
This forms the start of a discussion of Juan Rulfo’s “No oyes ladrar los perros.” Students then read Gabriel García Márquez’s “La siesta del martes” and compare the two works.
Students interview a young native speaker from their community or talk to one of their own native speaker friends. Each student will interview a student. They will ask the student questions about family structure, how close the family is with one another, what the family is like, etc. The exact questions can be chosen by the student. Presentation: Compare the common idea of a “typical” American family and one from a Spanish- speaking country and describe how you feel the concept of “extended family” differs from, or is similar to, your own.

Theme 3: La vida contemporánea
After reading the article, “Los desafíos de la mujer actual: Conciliar trabajo y familia”, students comment about the role of women in the community as described in the article by creating an entry in a class discussion.
Students write a cover letter as part of an application for a job that they researched in the classified section of an authentic newspaper online, explaining why they would be an ideal candidate for the job.

Theme 4: Los desafíos mundiales
Students are presented with a graphic organizer. Based on the vocabulary topic: el
bienestar mental, they generate a list of “cluster” words that relate to the topic.
The teacher will divide the class into groups of three or four students. Each group will have a different article that they will read. Each student in each group will become the “expert” for that particular article. Students form new groups so that each group has an expert on each of the different articles. Each student summarizes the information regarding the article that his/her group worked on. Other students take notes, ask questions, etc. Finally, the group chooses the article that they find the most interesting. Based on the content, they write an opinion column for a newspaper, using evidence from the article they have read. As an extension activity, one student from each group shares the editorial with the class.
Students select Spanish language resources about how American health care reform affects Latinos. Students research the topic and defends their point of view.

Theme 5: La ciencia y la tecnología
The teacher leads a class discussion about how technology impacts the students’ personal lives. Instant and constant communication — is it a good thing? Do you sleep with your cell phone turned on? How many hours do you spend online? What do you think of sites like Facebook?
Students read “Rosa” by Angel Balzarino and write a review based on the story.
Students will design/create a new product. They will present a rationale for the creation of the product, design a marketing campaign using media and both print and tech-rich ads (e.g., posters, tv/internet ads), and will “sell” it to the rest of the class via a Power Point or video presentation. Classmates will vote on the best product.

Theme 6: La belleza y la estética
In small groups, students make a list of what they consider to be beautiful. This could be a painting, a person, etc. The teacher then selects different images of what other cultures consider to be “beautiful” and asks students to react to the images and the question from their own perspectives.
Students select a new painter from the Spanish-speaking world. They select a painting from his/her collection and via an art gallery created in a WIKI, they will upload an audio recording describing the work of art they’ve selected. After uploading their own work of art and audio description, they will listen to at least two other audios from fellow students and make pertinent commentary explaining why they like or don’t like the chosen artwork.
Students take a virtual trip to Museo Soumaya and describe in writing their
favorite works of art and why.
Students watch the video segments from the PBS Series; “THE CITY, LA CIUDAD”.
After each segment, students are asked to reflect on each situation via
discussion.

Media Kit

Item Title/Name: Abriendo paso: Temas y lecturas Digital Edition
ISBN: 0131163647
Pub: Pearson Publishers
Author (Last + First name):
José M. Diaz and Maria F. Nadel
Edition/Date: 2014

Item Title/Name: AP® Spanish: Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination Digital Edition
ISBN:
Pub: Pearson Publishers
Author (Last + First name): José M. Díaz
Edition/Date: 2014 4th edition