Sra. Garcia Aguerrevere

Bloomington High School North

Spanish 1

General Information	Students	Resources for Español
Classroom Policies and Expectations	Textbook	News
Materials	Quia	Sports
Web Grades	Verbs	Culture
Participation	Vocabulary/Grammar	Countries
Strategies For Language Learning	Reference
Why Study Spanish?	Homework Calendar
Bloomington Community Events	Community Connections

Classroom Policies and Expectations

In the Classroom

Be Prompt: All students are expected to be in their seats and ready for class when the bell rings. A student will be tardy if they are not in their seat when the bell rings.
Be Prepared: All students are expected to arrive in class with all of their materials including textbook and workbooks, paper, pencil/pen, folder, binder. Arriving to class without your materials 3 times will earn you a detention. There will be no passes to go to your locker.
Be Mindful: Food (including gum), drinks (other than water), CD players, MP3 players and cell phones are not allowed in the classroom. If these items are brought in the classroom they will be confiscated and a detention will be given or DOR written.
Be Involved: Students are expected to participate in class by;

Having all assignments completed before class
Taking notes during instruction
Working on assignments and tasks given by your teacher
Repeating after your teacher in pronunciation modeling
Volunteering to ask and answer questions
Practicing when in groups or pairs
Helping others

Be Positive: Students are expected to be courteous and respectful to their peers and teachers and refrain from using vulgar language, putdowns or derogatory statements.

In the Computer Lab

No gum candy or drinks allowed.
Keep talking to a minimum.
The playing of games and streaming of audio or video files is unacceptable. If you are found to be at a site other than the one assigned, your participation grade for the day will be zero.
You receive a highly weighted participation grade each time we are in the lab. You must be on your absolute best behavior.

General Classroom Procedures

Bell Work/Warm-up: Students take notebooks out, write date, write warm-up questions, and answer warm-up questions.
Preparation: Write down homework assignment; take out homework and other materials needed, prepare to go over daily warm-up questions and homework.
Instruction: Focus on the lesson, write down everything that the teacher writes on the board, listen carefully and follow instructions.
Practice: Model and repeat, pair work, group work or independent practice that focuses on the material presented.
Assessment: exercises, vocabulary quiz and homework.
Dismissal: Class is not over until I dismiss you. Until that time, stay in your seat and remain focused. Do not put away your materials early, or line up at the door. Before exiting the classroom, be sure to leave a tidy workspace for the next student.

Make up work/Absences

It is the student’s responsibility to find out what assignments/quizzes/tests were missed during an absence. Please do this before or after class only. Check the Homework Website or the Homework transparency in the classroom.
If you have an excused absence you have the same number of days absent to turn in your assignments. It is your responsibility to submit make-up work within the allotted amount of time; afterwards it will not be accepted. If you miss class for field trips or pre-arranged absences, you are expected to come to class the next day with all work prepared.
If you return to school on a test day and you have had prior knowledge of the test, you will be expected to take the test in class that day. All missed tests will be taken upon return from the absence. You will be asked to arrange a time to make up tests and quizzes before or after school.
If absences are unexcused, a “0” will be given for all missed work.

Homework

Homework is assigned every day we meet. Students should keep all work organized in their folders or binders.
The daily homework will be checked in class and documented as done or not, but not graded each time. One homework assignment will be collected at random per week and graded.
Absolutely NO late homework is accepted unless it is make-up work for an excused absence.
Homework is to be done at home or in a study hall. It is NOT to be hurriedly finished in the few minutes before class begins. If this is the case, it will not be counted.

Tests/Quizzes

Tests are given at the end of each chapter (every 3 weeks). To study for a test:

Go over your notes and say all of the words aloud to yourself.
Study the homework that we have covered.
Make lists, draw pictures, do anything creative to help you remember the material.
Study the words in a sentence.
Do the on-line exercises from your www.go.hrw.com online edition.
Do the “A ver si puedo” section at the end of each chapter in your textbook.

Vocabulary/Grammar quizzes will be given once a week.
Exams are given at the end of each semester and will include all material covered during that semester.
Unannounced quizzes may be given at any time.

Materials

3 Ring Binder or folder with pockets and brads
Dividers
Paper
Keep all homework & class work assignments and handouts in your folder in the order in which they are assigned/handed out.
Maintain 3 sections in your binder/folder:

vocabulary,
handouts/notes, and
homework/class work.

Blue or Black ink Pens and pencils for writing in class
Red ink pens for grading and correcting homework in class

Grades

For each 6 weeks students will earn points in the following categories: chapter tests, quizzes, homework, class work, projects, participation, community connections, and computer lab.

Tests /Projects	1 test per chapter 40-100 points,	35%
Quizzes	3 + quizzes per chapter 20-40 points each	25%
Homework/Class work/Computer Lab	5-10pts. for daily, 20-40pts. for weekly/random	20%
Participation	3 points daily	20%

Grading Scale:

97-100% A+	87-89% B+	77-79% C+	67-69% D+
93-96% A	83-86% B	73-76% C	63-66% D
90-92% A -	80-82% B-	70-72% C-	60-62% D-

Participation

Participation is:

Trying to learn by:

Coming prepared
Having all assignments completed before class
Taking notes during instruction
Working on assignments and tasks given by your teacher
Repeating after your teacher in pronunciation modeling
Volunteering to ask and answer questions
Practicing when in groups or pairs
Helping others
Speaking in Spanish

Strategies for Language Learning

Listening Skills

ü Concentrate on the message, not on the individual words.

ü Check for clues: gestures, context of the message, general situation or what is being talked about.

ü Pick out key words that convey the message.

ü Listen for cognates: words in Spanish that sound like their English counterparts and generally have the same meaning.

ü Use all of the resources available to you: textbooks, workbooks, computer lab, Student Tutor, the Internet, relatives and, friends.

ü Learn key questions in Spanish that will help you clarify meaning: Would you repeat that? Speak more slowly, please.

Learning Vocabulary

ü Use the word in a sentence. A word within a context will help you learn the meaning better.

ü Rewrite the sentence, highlight the words you know, say the sentence aloud.

ü Imagine a picture image or an action scene in your mind of the Spanish word.

ü Use flash cards:

o Draw an image on one side and the word on the other. You can also cut out pictures from magazines, use clipart, etc.

o Write the English word on one side and the Spanish word on the other side.

o Use cards with words on them to construct sentences.

o Color-coded: Use blue cards for masculine nouns, pink for feminine nouns.

o For Verb Tenses: Include on side 1 of your card the tense name, the regular endings, and all possible translations with examples. On the back list all the irregular verbs and their irregularities.

ü Write the words, use the words, and take advantage of any opportunity to hear, read and speak Spanish.

ü Use all of the resources available to you: textbooks, workbooks, computer lab, Student Tutor, the Internet, relatives and, friends.

Speaking Skills

ü Concentrate on the message you are trying to convey rather then every single word.

ü Find someone to practice dialogues with outside of class so that you can hear yourself speak in a natural conversation

ü If you do not have someone to practice with, talk to yourself. It is very important that you get used to hearing yourself speaking in the new language. The more you do this the more comfortable you will become.

Understanding and Using Grammar

ü Reading the rules helps. It is more important that you use the different grammar structures in sentences.

ü Practice by using substitution drills to practice the changes in verb endings, adjective endings, pronouns, etc.

ü (I wash the car, you _____ the car, he _____ the car, etc.)

ü Use you homework time to understand how the language works.

Reading for Content and Information

ü Before you begin to read a selection, skim the piece to get an idea of what the topic is:

o Look at the pictures and read the captions

o Read the titles of sections and the first sentence of each paragraph

o Then read concentrating on the main message and information.

ü Go for the context rather than the meaning of each word you read.

ü Do not look up every word you do not know.