Spanish 1 Course Description

Name: ________________________ Date: ____________________

Spanish I teachers:
Seor Ros, Seor Sasscer, Seora Eldreth
Overview:
Spanish 1 is designed to introduce students to the basics of the Spanish
language and Hispanic culture with emphasis on listening, speaking, reading
and writing. This a high school level course and is taught as such. At the end
of the 8th grade, after successfully meeting the requirements of the course
and passing the final exam, students will receive 1 high school credit and
will be able to proceed to Spanish II if they choose. The grade earned in the
class will then become part of the students high school grade point average
(GPA) and permanent record. Since this is an advanced course, parents
should carefully monitor their childs progress in order to examine options
for their child in the case that he/she is not passing the course by the 1 st or
2nd marking periods. This can be done by monitoring ParentConnect and
Blackboard (There is more information below on accessing Blackboard).

What the Teacher Will Do to Support the Student:

Create engaging and rigorous learning activities using authentic resources which
help students build his/her understanding of Spanish language and culture.
Teachers will speak in the target language and encourage students to communicate
using the target language
Chunk assignments into manageable amounts and include time in class to debrief
and review work.
Provide additional support for assignments and assessments, including reteaching
so that students meet course standards. For 1st semester this will be on Tuesdays
from 2:15 3:00.
Notify parents via email or phone at any point during the marking period
if a student is in danger of failing or dropping 2 or more letter grades.

Curriculum Timeline (Tentative):

First Quarter - Greetings, Weather, Numbers, Dates, Spanish Alphabet,
Calendar, Subject Pronouns, the verb ser (meaning To Be), Adjectives,
Gender of nouns, and Likes and Dislikes. There is a Cultural and a Reading
Component to each lesson all four marking periods.
Second Quarter daily activities/hobbies vocabulary, comparing classes and
daily schedules, describing academic activities, using estar to determine
location, describe places in the school, time, present tense regular verbs
(ar verbs like estudiar, dibujar, etc.), expressions using the verb tener
(which means to have), feelings, prepositional phrases, interrogatives, and
food.
Third Quarter - places in town, making plans in town, using ir + a (the
verb meaning to go), the verb hacer (which means To make), sports
vocabulary, feelings about sports activities, possessive pronouns, colors,
seasons, and stem-changing verbs.
Fourth Quarter describe members of family, age comparisons (mayor que,
menor que), party planning vocabulary, restaurant vocabulary, conjugating
stem-changing verbs, house vocabulary, the two forms of the verb ser
(which means To Be), ordinal numbers, clothing vocabulary, chores, and
review for the final exam.
Grading Procedures:
Students will be evaluated in a number of areas. Homework counts as 10% of
the marking period grade, Assessments for 80% (30% for quizzes and 50%
for tests), and each quarterly Benchmark will account for 10% of the
marking period grade. Assessments may include quizzes, tests, speaking and
listening comprehension activities, writing assignments, projects, unit tests
and classwork. There is a midterm exam at the end of the 2 nd marking period.
Students must pass the class and final exam to earn high school credit.
Late assignments, including homework, will not be accepted. Please refer to
grading policy for more information regarding the grading policy:

http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/board/newpolicy/Sections/section_600/ad
minregIIRA.pdf
Assignment Descriptions:
1 Summative Assessments These include standards based performance
assessments, quizzes, projects, and presentations. There will be a
minimum of 4 summative assessments during the quarter; 2 per
context.
2 Formative Assessments there will be at least one graded classwork
assignment every other week. When an assignment is completed as
part of collaborative work, each student will receive his/her own
grade based upon his/her individual work.
3 Quarterly Assessment There will be one AACPS assessment to
synthesize all instruction throughout the quarter. Quarterly
assessments are Integrated Performance Assessments which measure
student mastery of the communicative standards. These assessments
may not be redone.
4 Homework Homework will be regularly assigned. Meaningful
homework serves as an opportunity to prepare students for upcoming
lessons and assessments, by reviewing skills or extending concepts.
Some homework assignments will be graded.
Extra-credit is not offered in this class. Students are encouraged to
participate in SOAR Extension, that takes place every day for approximately
35 minutes and Targeted Learning Opportunities (TLOs) that take place
after school on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tuesdays each month. These are intended
for intervention purposes in order for students to understand content and
improve grades.
The teacher will communicate progress via online grading. Assignments will
also be posted online on Blackboard for parents to be updated on studentresponsibilities. In Blackboard the parent and/or student must select
WCL (World and Classical Languages), then Spanish I, and the
appropriate teacher name to find pertinent information concerning projects,
assignments, and other announcements.

Here is the username and password for parents and students in Blackboard:

Username: croftonms

Passwork: eagles

Homework:

Homework is assigned for almost every class. The assignment will usually
come from the workbook. There is no charge for the initial workbook.
Students who lose their workbook will be charged $10.00 for a replacement.
Students will have the opportunity to sign-out a textbook.
Extra Help/ Make up Policy:
Students are expected to let the teacher know in advance when they will
attend TLOs and whether they will be there for make-ups or re-teaching for
grade improvement. No reassessments are permitted after five school days
from the time the assessment was returned. For example, if a quiz was
returned to you on Wednesday, you will have up until the following
Wednesday to receive re-teaching and take your reassessment.
Classroom Expectations:

Students have the responsibility to be prepared each class . Students will

need: a notebook or section in a binder, a folder to hold handouts, and
writing utensils preferably pencils. The students academic progress will
reflect her/his preparation work ethic and study skills. As students are
working toward high school credit it is essential to foster a classroom
atmosphere that maximizes learning.
Make-up work due to Absences:
There is a folder and written directions in the classroom for students to
retrieve make-up work.

Materials:
Notebook
Folder
Writing Utensils

Note to Parents:
Academic Dishonesty:
A student who exhibits academic dishonesty as determined by the teacher
and administrator shall receive a zero on the particular assignment in
question. Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy and Regulation may
result in disciplinary action. Consequences for violations may vary according
to the severity of the violation and shall follow the progressive interventions
and discipline as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.
This is an academic class. Please encourage your child to take it seriously, to
study on a daily basis (especially the speaking activities) and to always
complete the homework assignments. If your child is having difficulty, please
insist that he or she take advantage of SOAR and/orTargeted Learning
Opportunities; this will allow the student to receive re-teaching and a chance
to improve her/his grade.
We will be doing everything in our power to help your child be successful,
but we also need you on our team. Encourage your child to study for 15 to 30
minutes daily, to stay focused and to make use of the many resources
available to him or her.
We thank you in advance for your assistance and expect this to be a great
year!
If you have any concerns, please contact us at:
irios@aacps.org, tsasscer@aacps.org, or eeldreth@aacps.org

Student Signature___________________________________________
Parent Signature____________________________________________