Spanish IV Honors

Standard 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 Communication: Communicate in languages other than English

Standard 2.1, 2.2 Cultures: Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures

Standard 3.1, 3.2 Connections: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information

Standard 4.1, 4.2 Comparisons: Develop insight into the nature of language and culture

Standard 5.2 Communities: Participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

Estimated Time Range:

August to June

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

The student will understand that:

1.	Language is a reflection of culture.
2.	Tradition varies within a culture as well as between cultures.
3.	Custom varies within a culture as well as between cultures.
4.	How one says something is as important as what is said.
5.	Concepts are expressed differently and similarly in Spanish and English.
6.	Thoughts are expressed differently and similarly in Spanish and English.
7.	Learning the structure of a new language enhances the learner’s skill level in English. Conversely, a strong foundation in English grammar facilitates the acquisition of Spanish.
8.	There are structural differences between Spanish and English.
9.	There are structural similarities between Spanish and English.
10.	Spanish language acquisition involves linguistical elements rooted in the Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Visigoth languages.
11.	Literature reflects the psyche of a culture and its’language.
12.	Literature reflects the history and perspective of a culture and its’ language.
13.	In Spanish culture, the family unit is the nucleus around which life is centered.

SAMPLE ASSESSMENTS

1. Written tests, compositions, dictation, question-answer sessions, conversations, discussions, debates

Example of a discussion assessment: After a comprehensive vocabulary and cultural unit on the Spanish family, the students are asked to come to class prepared to talk about their family. They are required to discuss the members of their family, how their family unit is constructed, who the most interesting or important member of their family is and why they chose this person. They are also asked to talk about what family means to them and explain why. They are told they can not read directly from their notes but they can refer to them for information if necessary. They are also told not to memorize their prepared thoughts as that would disqualify them from presenting and thus from being assessed. The class is required to listen carefully, take notes and formulate interesting and accurate questions for the presenter. The presenter is required to respond. All speech is to be in complete sentences. Students are assessed on their participation and accuracy.

Example of a question-answer assessment: The teacher asks questions orally in Spanish from the unit on family. The students respond in written form in Spanish in complete sentences. Student work is assessed according to accuracy of content, spelling, and structure.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1.	What is the difference between future and conditional time?
2.	How is what one says determined by the accurate use of tenses and grammatical structures?
3.	How do past actions differ from one other?
4.	How is communication determined by the choice of verb mood and tense in Spanish?
5.	How does one need to think differently in Spanish in order to express preference, wishes, doubt and similar ideas?
6.	How does time effect verb mood?
7.	How does what is definite or indefinite effect verb mood and tense?
8.	How does one deduce or infer meaning from context?
9.	What is the difference between a formal imperative and a familiar imperative?
10.	What are the conceptual and usage differences between the two Spanish verbs that mean, “to be”?
11.	How does the confluence of languages that produced Spanish effect the language?
12.	How does Spanish literature reflect the Spanish language, people, and culture?
13.	What is the role of the family in Spanish society and how does it differ from the experience of students?
14.	What vocabulary is needed in order to travel to a Spanish-speaking country?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The student will be able to:

1.	Express future events and conditions. (Future and conditional)
2.	Express completed past actions. (Regular, irregular, and stem-changing preterite)
3.	Express actions that may or may not take place, opinions, wishes, preferences, advice and commands in present, future, and past time. (Present and past subjunctive)
4.	Express doubt, emotion, disbelief, and make suggestions about actions. (Present and past subjunctive)
5.	Recognize and use nouns with phonetic and /or orthographic irregularities. (Masculine nouns that end in “a” and feminine nouns with a stressed “a” or silent “h”)
6.	Discuss travel habits in the Spanish speaking world.
7.	Discuss how to get necessary information in different travel situations.
8.	Describe weather conditions.
9.	Read and discuss a weather forecast from a newspaper article.
10.	Read, discuss, analyze, and personalize selected literary works.
11.	Recite a poetry selection with accuracy.
12.	Express the known or unknown. (Present and past subjunctive in relative clauses)
13.	Express information with expressions such as “so that,” “unless,” “perhaps,” “although,” etc. and time expressions. (Present and past subjunctive in adverbial clauses including adverbial conjunctions of time, and with special expressions such as ojala, tal vez and quiza)
14.	Express how long an activity has been going on. (Hace y hacia)
15.	Express the idea of having just done something in present and past time (Acabar + de + infinitive.
16.	Discuss topics selected by the students that reflect the students’ interests or personal experiences as well as current events.
17.	Compose an original poem modeled after a selection previously studied.
18.	Recognize and be able to produce verbs that express surprise, interest, annoyance, preference, etc. (Gustar and similar verbs)
19.	Recognize and be able to produce formal and informal commands.
20.	Express and analyze the appropriate verb “to be,” according to context.
21.	Discuss his/her family and talk about a very special family member. (Vocabulary)
22.	Discuss the family and its’ role in society. (Culture)
23.	Contrast an American family with one from a Spanish-speaking country. (Culture)
24.	Express habitual, recurring past actions in contrast to completed past actions. (Preterite and Imperfect)
25.	Identify verbs whose meanings change in the preterite tense.
26.	Express past actions that occurred suddenly. (Preterite)
27.	Narrate in the past. (Preterite and imperfect)
28.	Describe people, things, and events in the past. (Imperfect)

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

Schmitt/Woodford. De Viaje, Glencoe Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 1997 ISBN 0-02-646362-8

Schmitt/Woodford. De Viaje workbook, Glencoe Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 1997

Audiovisual materials: Maps, globes, films, photographs, charts, diagrams, signs, and other realia.

Authentic readings from contemporary Spanish language newspaper and magazine articles, announcements, advertisements, interdisciplinary readings, and weather reports.

Literary selections such as poems, short stories, excerpts from novels, etc.

SUGGESTED CONNECTIONS

Health and/or medical careers

Political science careers

Foreign service careers

Teaching careers

Service career (international au pair/customer service)

Communications careers (international postal/telephone)

International business careers

Tourism/travel related careers