Lockhart High School

WORLD LANGUAGES: Spanish II Course Syllabus (2013-2014)

Instructor: Crystal Barragn Room: 614

E-mail address: crystal.barragan@lockhart.txed.net LHS number: (512) 398-0436
Conference hours: 6th period Google number: (512) 348-6313

Mission Statement of LISD

The mission of the Lockhart Independent School District is to graduate all of its students as citizens who are
educated, productive, and self-fulfilling lifelong learners. The school districts community, parents, trustees,
staff and students will provide a safe, caring, and challenging learning environment in which all students
develop to their fullest

Scan to view class website!

Primary Texts for Spanish II: Look I Can Talk! / Look I Can Talk More! (Blaine Ray), Esperanza
(Carol Gaab), Felipe Alou: Desde los valles a las montaas (Carol Gaab).

Course Description: Required Materials:

Welcome to Spanish II! In this course, students continue with oral language
development through interpersonal and interpretive communication on topics One composition book (not a
related to them, their community and their environment with emphasis on spiral; to be left in class)
hearing, understanding and responding to spoken language. At this level One folder with pockets and
students' exposure to written language and embedded culture increases brads (to be taken home)
through film study and reading short, leveled novels and simple authentic texts. Writing utensils (blue/black ink
pens or pencils only)
A Note on TPRS/Comprehensible Input:
You will find that this class may not be what one traditionally expects of a Composition book description: Bound
language classroom. Spanish classes at LHS practice a method of teaching pages, college-ruled, usually in a black
second language called TPRS, which stands for Teaching Proficiency through and white speckled cover by Mead
Reading and Storytelling. Rather than the standard grammar-heavy language Corp. The cost is around $0.75. This is
class, this research-based language acquisition method uses a mixture of where you will enter warm-ups, free
reading and storytelling to help students naturally acquire a foreign language. writes, vocabulary structures and
Please check out my website for more information about TPRS and teaching grammar-related content.
with comprehensible input.

Proficiency Guidelines:
In accordance with the American Council of Foreign Language, students will be evaluated on their performance and on their
efforts to reach the next level of language proficiency. This means that students will periodically be assessed on what they can
do with the language they acquire every day.

American Council of Foreign Language Proficiency Guidelines

(http://actflproficiencyguidelines2012.org)

Novice Novice Novice Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Advanced

Low Mid High Low Mid High Low

Spanish I Spanish II Spanish III Spanish IV

Your learning goal for end of this Spanish II Pre-AP course is to reach the Intermediate Level in Spanish-language
proficiency. This means that you can begin to:
speak and write in somewhat complex sentences,
give some details about familiar topics, and
understand basic spoken and written language.
Standards-Based Grading:
Every day, we will be working towards real fluency and reaching for the next level in language proficiency. Grade categories on
Skyward (such as listening, reading, speaking and writing) will be evaluated based on whether or not you meet the standard
for that quarter. In other words, what determines your grade in class is not how many assignments you turn in, but rather,
how well you can interpret and use the language youve acquired in class. All assignments will be graded based on rubrics
similar to the one below:

Proficiency
Level
Description Grade

You miss opportunities to demonstrate

F
No attempt N/A what you can do because you are often
(0%)
distracted, not participating, or absent.

You know what the target proficiency

Adapted from Daughertys Bicycles Performance-Based Learning Prezi and Martina Bexs standards-based grading system
Novice Low (S1) level is, but you are confused and F
Beginning Novice Low (S2) probably frustrated. You need some help (55%)
to get started!

Novice Low (S1) You know what to do to meet the target D

Emerging Novice Mid (S2) proficiency level, but you need extra help. (65%)

Novice Mid (S1) You can meet the target proficiency level C
Developing Novice High (S2) in familiar tasks and situations. (75%)

You consistently meet the target

Novice High B
Proficient Intermediate Low proficiency level, and you are ready to
(85%)
move on.

You add your own ideas, perspective,

Intermediate Low and style into what you do. You are A
Advanced Intermediate Mid confident and are reaching for the next (95%)
level of proficiency.
(S1) = Semester 1, (S2) = Semester 2

Assignments 30%
Include: Participation (worth two daily assignment grades), homework, interpretive work (listening and reading activities),
interpersonal activities (face-to-face speaking), cultural activities (songs, music videos, current events, history, geography,
people).
Expect homework once a week.
In-class assignments (formative assessments that show how well you understand material while we are learning it)
may or may not be picked up for a grade. All assignments are considered supporting evidence of summative (test)
assessments in each grading category (listening, reading, speaking, writing).
Class participation will be graded every grading period (see Participation rubric).

Tests 70%
Include: Reading and listening comprehension quizzes (average taken as one test grade every grading period), timed-writes,
campanadas (warm-ups, taken up once every grading period), presentational speaking (projects/oral interviews).
Quizzes are periodically given at the end of the class period.
Expect 2 major projects, one per semester. A project will be worth 2 test grades or more.

Mid-term (S1) and Final exams (S2) count for 25% of your overall semester grade. Each may include an oral interview.
Classroom Expectations:
Student Responsibilities Teacher Responsibilities
Because I have high expectations for you, I also
have high expectations for myself. I expect you to Speak Spanish, not English! Speak Spanish, not English!

be respectful, responsible students, and I will in
turn be a respectful, responsible teacher.
Entering the Room:
These things should all be done before the tardy
bell rings:
1. Take out your composition book.
2. Borrow a pencil/pen, if needed.
3. Sit at your seat.
4. Begin working silently on your warm-up.
Seating:
Every quarter or so, I will change your seating
arrangement randomly in the same way you were
assigned a seat on the first day of class. Notice that our classroom features two very comfortable reading chairs. Access to
these chairs is restricted to reading time only; students will be picked at random each week to use the chairs.
Be respectful of yourself, your teachers, your
classmates, and your school.
Come to class prepared with the materials
you need to do your work.
Pay attention to your teacher.
DO YOUR 50%. Participate actively, ask
questions when you do not understand.
Spend at least 15 minutes outside of each
class each day looking over stories, vocabulary.
Complete all assignments on time.
Practice and redo everything until you
understand!
Attend class every day. Attend class every day.
Be respectful of myself, my students, my
colleagues, and my school.
Come to class prepared with an organized
lesson plan and all materials needed.
Listen to my students.
DO MY 50%. Speak to my students in a way
they can understand.
Spend time reviewing material in class each
day, build on information students already know.
Grade and return assignments as they are
submitted.
Help you practice and allow you to redo until
you understand.

Sustained Silent Reading:

Twice a week, instead of completing a warm-up, we will have silent reading time. During this time, you can choose a book
from the classroom library, take a pillow from the reading corner, and read silently for the first 10 minutes of class. You may or
may not have an assignment to complete (the important thing is that you will be reading something interesting to you that you
can understand). If you would like to borrow a book from the classroom library, you may check it out from me for a maximum
of one week. It must be returned on time, in excellent condition, or you will be fined.

Storytelling:
This year, we will learn Spanish through reading and storytelling. Amazing
things happen in your brain when we tell stories, and it makes language
acquisition not only a rigorous, creative undertaking but also a way for you to
develop beginner language into much more. The storytelling process
works in three steps: First, new vocabulary/grammar structures are
introduced using a combination of gestures, translation and personalized
questions; Then, in the second step, we create and act out a story using
those structures. Finally, in the third step, we see the same structures again in
a class reading.

I will ask many dumb, silly, obvious questions about our story in class (so many
that you will want to poke your eyes out), so its important that the stories we create together are funny and creative so that
were not super bored while we try to get in all the repetitions we need. The most important thing in storytelling is that you
always understand what I say; You cannot acquire the language I present to you without understanding it first. My job is to
talk to you in a way you can understand about things that interest you, and to let you read things that interest you
that you are able to understand too. Never hesitate to ask for clarification -- doing so helps me slow down and helps others
another chance at processing and decoding language they may have missed as well. The following are student expectations
when participating in creating stories in class:
1. Listen with the intent to understand.
2. Suggest cute answers, avoiding English.
3. One person speaks, everyone else listens.
4. Do your 50%.
5. Use the hand-in-fist gesture if you dont understand.
6. Actors match actions in story.

Quizzes:
As a language educator, it is important for me to evaluate how you use the language spontaneously without the need to cram
information youll soon forget. For this reason, quizzes (70% of your total grade) will be unannounced. Weekly and sometimes
daily short quizzes in reading and listening comprehension are the norm and are based entirely on the content of the days or
weeks story or chapter in our current novel. Retakes for these quizzes are available before or after school.

Leaving the Room:

These things should all be done before leaving class every day:
1. Return your composition book to the class bin.
2. Return borrowed materials (books or writing utensils) if applicable.
3. Clean your desk area.
4. Wait at your desk to be dismissed. Do not line up at the door.

Absences and Make-up Work:

Believe it or not, every day I speak to you in a way that you understand is a day in which youre naturally acquiring and
internalizing language. The more I speak to you in Spanish and the more you are able to decode what I say, the more
language you will ultimately acquire. Therefore, when you are absent, you will miss our conversations (and trust me, we will
have very interesting conversations) and you will fall behind in picking up the language. It wont matter how many worksheets
you try to complete to make up a grade. Our goal is to absorb language and I promise you its MUCH easier to do this if you
are present and listening to our crazy stories and conversations every day. If you are absent:
Know that you may have to spend time with me in before or after school tutorials.
You have five school days (one week) to turn in missed assignments, if any. After the fifth day, it will be
marked a zero.
Missed reading or listening quizzes and timed-writes (test grades) must be made up before/after school or during my
conference period.

Homework:
You should expect to spend at least 15 minutes a day practicing Spanish outside of class. Parents/Guardians: There will be
a weekly assignment requiring students to retell our class stories to you in Spanish. Please remind your student to do this,
and please sign off on the sheet they bring home.

Pre-AP Requirement:
In addition to moving at a slightly faster pace, the Pre-AP sections of Spanish II will fulfill extra writing and speaking
assignments throughout the course of the year. These writing and speaking assignments may incorporate the use of
technology; Access to a computer or mobile device may be required.

Academic Integrity:
Academic integrity is being honest and responsible with regard to your schoolwork. It means that your work is your work, and
anything you have found somewhere else is credited to its source. Students will receive a non-negotiable 0 on any
assignment in which academic integrity has been breached.
You may not copy another students work or allow someone to copy your work.
You may not use online translators to write sentences or essays.
You may not pass off work completed by a native speaker as your own.
You must cite any website, book, article, etc., from which you gather information.

Questions and Extra Help:

Always ask questions if material is unclear to you.
Morning and afternoon tutorials are held 3-4 times a week if you need extra help.
Find me in between classes, e-mail me at crystal.barragan@lockhart.txed.net or message me on Edmodo if you have
any questions or concerns. I promise to reply quickly.
Syllabus Agreement and Technology Use: A Letter to Students, Parents and Guardians

Dear LHS family,

Welcome to Srta. Barragns Spanish class! This year, we will be utilizing an amazing variety of resources, both digital and in print, to ensure
that foreign language learning at LHS is both meaningful AND fun! Whether it be through art, music, film, literature, or web-based
technology tools, I am 100% committed to work our 21st century skills in developing and refining our Spanish-language skills.

In an effort to make our use of technology as transparent as possible, listed below is an overview of some of tools we may utilize in class.
Parents, please read the descriptions and indicate whether or not your child may participate.

Edmodo provides teachers,
students, and parents a secure place
to connect and collaborate, share
content and educational applications,
and access homework, grades, class
discussions and notifications.
How it will be used in Spanish class?
Students can ask questions, view
assignments and notes, and use
Spanish in a fun and familiar setting.
Google Voice provides students a
secure and easy-to-use way of
submitting oral responses through a
virtual voicemail box.
How it will be used in Spanish class?
Students call a virtual Google number
to read a paragraph or speak
sentences, allowing for an effective
and individualized way of identifying a
students level of proficiency or areas
of needed improvement.
Edublogs is an easy, safe, reliable,
and feature-rich blogging platform
tailored for student use in the
classroom.
How it will be used in Spanish class?
Pre-AP students will be responsible
for the creation and upkeep of a
course ePortfolio. Students will be
given class time to update their
blogs in Spanish every week.

My child may participate My child may participate My child may participate

My child may not participate My child may not participate My child may not participate

Class notes, handouts, and announcements will be made available through our class Edmodo and on my class website, both of
which are accessible by students and parents. Throughout the school year, I may feature photos, videos, or work of individual students
(identified by first name only) or student group activities on either of those platforms. If you prefer that I not publish your childs photo, video/
audio recordings, or school work, please let me know. You may e-mail me at crystal.barragan@lockhart.txed.net.

If you have any questions regarding the course or information listed on this syllabus, please feel free to call, come by, or e-mail. My
conference hours are 1:15pm-2:00pm, Monday through Thursday. Im looking forward to a fantastic new year at LHS, and promise to do
everything I can to help my students reach success. GO LIONS!

Sincerely,
Crystal Barragn
Please return this page signed by Wednesday, August 28 (for a grade)

I have read and understood the Spanish II Pre-AP course policies, procedures, and expectations.

(student printed name) (student signature)

I have read and understood the course policies and procedures. I am aware of the expectations of the student for this
course. I understand that I may contact the instructor or access Skyward to view my childs grades.

(parent printed name) (parent signature)

(contact number) (e-mail)