SPANISH I

20010/11

Instructor: Lisa Salerno Classroom: C112

Phone: 402-333-0818 Ext 1112 Office: C112
Email: Teacher Availability: Daily at 720AM, after school
lasalerno@schools.archomaha.org until 330 or during 5th period
Class Web Site: www.srasalerno.blogspot.com

DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT

Teach the appreciation of cultural diversity and to promote better communication with others.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION
First year Spanish provides an introduction to the five language skill levels of listening,
speaking, reading, writing, and thinking in a foreign language. Emphasis is placed on
vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, and basic grammar concepts. Aspects of the Hispanic
culture are taught as an integral part of the learning process.

GOALS OF THE COURSE

At the completion of Spanish 1, students should be able to communicate about what they are
presently doing, what they are going to do, and what they have done in the simple past tense. The
students will be able to use their comprehension skills to answer questions based on both written
and spoken Spanish, and their knowledge of Spanish to express preferences, tell about their daily
lives and complete simple activities related to shopping, travel, and dining in a restaurant. They
will also be able to translate sentences in the aforementioned tenses, and have conversations
based on the topic at hand.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING PROCEDURES

Students in Spanish 1 will be expected to take notes whenever they are provided on the board,
and to turn that notebook in for a grade at the end of each chapter. The notes can also be found
on the class website. They will also be expected to be prepared for at least one simple
vocabulary / grammar quiz during each chapter, as well as a comprehensive test at the end of the
chapter. Each chapter will also include a listening exercise, as well as various workbook and
textbook exercises. Students will complete one set of translation sentences for each chapter that
will require the use of all grammar and vocabulary from that chapter. The students will also be
required to do a prepared, note-free conversation in front of the class using the vocabulary of the
chapter which will be graded on both grammar and pronunciation.

Major Projects: During the last quarter, students will be required to read “Pobre Ana” outside of
class and complete a study guide over their reading. They will also take a 50 point multiple
choice, true false test over the novel.

% Range Grade
94­100 A+/A  
92–93 A­
90­91 B+
86­89 B
84­85 B­
82­83 C+
78­81 C
76­77 C­
74­75 D+
72­73 D
70­71 D­

Spanish 1 grades are weighted as follows:

Homework: 25 % of final grade

Test/ Notebooks: 30% of final grade
Quizzes: 20% of final grade
Participation: 10% of final grade
Semester Test: 15% of final grade

Homework is crucial to the learning of a foreign language. It provides the student an important
practice opportunity, and me an invaluable tool for measuring the level of understanding of the
grammar concept. Homework is written on the board each day, as well as the website above.
Because homework is so very important, students receiving less than 80% on a homework
assignment turned in on time will have the option to re-do that assignment for an 80% until the
end of the chapter.

Each test will be preceded by a practice test, which is graded in class and reflects the layout and
type of question the students can expect on the final test. The test itself will always include 20
possible points that are based on the students’ notebooks. If their notes are complete, they will
receive those 20 points. It is the student’s responsibility to get the notes for classes that they have
missed. If there is no other student available to copy those notes from, I will find a copy for
them. Because students are provided with a practice test, I do not allow test retakes.

There will be at least one quiz during every chapter, students will be notified of the quiz on the
board ahead of time, and most times will have a short practice quiz on the day prior to the quiz.

The students will also receive a participation grade each day that will only be dropped if they are
not prepared for class or are disruptive or uncooperative. In other words, those points are theirs
to lose.

Semester tests are cumulative of the current semester only, and are multiple choice, true/ false,
short answer, and a small amount of sentence writing. The foreign language department
uniformly assigns this value to all semester tests in all levels of study.

TEXT

Buen Viaje Level 1 (text and workbook)

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE COURSE

Pobre Ana (novel)

ATTENDANCE / PARTICIPATION POLICY

Any absences from school or class that are not approved in advance by both the parents or
guardians and the school administration shall be treated as unexcused absences. Students will
not be allowed to complete work missed because of unexcused absences.

Any absence, (excluding school approved activities), in excess of ten (10) days per semester, per
class, will result in a loss of credit for that class. Individual cases, for reinstatement of credit,
may be reviewed through an appeal process.

Late work will be penalized as follows. Each student who does not have their completed work
must fill out a slip which will be filed and saved. The very first time they use this slip, their late
penalty is delayed for one day. This is an opportunity that is available once during the entire
school year, not each semester. Work is considered late if it is not completed and available to be
collected at the beginning of class on the day it is due. All assignments are due the following
class day unless otherwise noted. It is extremely important to any student’s progress in a foreign
language that they complete their daily assignments, and those assignments have very little value
after the end of a chapter. Therefore, a late assignment will be penalized 25%. That remains the
same until the end of the chapter (test day) when the assignments missing from that chapter,
including missed quizzes, will be zeroes.

TURNITIN.COM

Skutt Catholic High School subscribes to Turnitin.com. Turnitin helps detect potential plagiarism
by comparing student work against 3 massive, continuously updated databases of content. Every
Originality Report provides instructors with the opportunity to help students learn about proper
citation and safeguard their academic integrity. The following information is necessary to utilize
turnitin.com for this class:

Class ID: ______________

Join / Enroll Password: _________________

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY

The skills of learning from the work and writings of others, incorporating those ideas into an
individual's own work, and documenting the sources of others' ideas are sometimes difficult to
master. The SCHS faculty is committed to helping students learn and apply those skills with
ease. Keys to success in learning to use the work of others are to learn well and ask questions
when uncertainty exists.

OVERT DISHONESTY AND/OR CHEATING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

It is unacceptable for a student to intentionally represent the work of another as his/her own,
access or utilize information inappropriately during an examination, or knowingly obtain and/or
provide information about an assignment or examination to another student.

In addition to the trust lost and tainted reputation earned by those without academic integrity, not
to mention the negative character development involved, consequences will be issued in
accordance with the Skutt Catholic High School Student Handbook.

Academic Integrity Pledge

In keeping with Skutt Catholic’s ideals and with the Academic Integrity Code, I pledge
that this work is my own and that I have neither given nor received inappropriate
assistance in preparing it.

Signature: ____________________________________________