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    Why study foreign language?

     

    The study of a foreign language is important to all students several reasons. These reasons, which can be found in the school curriculum, are as follows:
     
    1)  A person who studies a world language gains empathy and increased tolerance towards others as a result of a broadened worldview who comes from learning about other cultures and peoples.
     
    2)  A person who studies a world language gains a better understanding of and appreciation for one’s own native language as well as the increased capacity to learn related world languages.
     
    3) A person who studies a world language benefits from improved critical thinking skills and creativity.
     
    4) A person who studies a world language increases performance in all aspects of learning, especially language acquisition, reading, and social studies.
     
    5)  A person who studies a world language produces higher ACT and SAT scores.
     
    6) A person who studies a world language is more competitive in the global marketplace.
     
    7) A person who studies a world language and culture examines one’s own personal values as well as civic responsibilities.

    All these benefits, plus Spanish can be a lot of FUN! 

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    Expectations for the Class

     

    1) Student will arrive on time to class every day, prepared with with their iPads, completed homework, and a pen or pencil. They will maintain a neat, organized binder with homework and handouts and organized do-nows on their iPad.

    2) Students will show respect to the teacher, their classmates and themselves. They will not use profanity. They will keep topics of conversation appropriate for the classroom. They will keep hands, feet, and objects to themselves and not distract themselves or others during class time.

    3) Students will raise their hand to speak. They will not speak over the teacher or their peers.

    4) Students will never use electronic devices (such as cellphones and iPads) unless specifically directed to do so by the teacher.

    5) Students will come to Spanish class every day with a positive attitude and make every attempt to communicate in Spanish.

     

     
    Materials
     
    • A pen or a pencil
    • A three-ring binder (in which to keep any paper materials such as homework and notes)
    • Charged iPad (provided by the school) with an organized electronic file of their do-nows to be checked each marking period 

     

    Grading

     

    The grading system will be based on:

    • Homework (25%)
    • Participation/Classwork (25%)
    • Quizzes (25%)
    • Tests/Projects (25%)

     

     

    Homework

     

    • Homework will be given most class periods and is expected to be completed and turned in the next class period. If a homework assignment is incomplete, the student will lose credit for that assignment. Students may turn in a homework assignment late for half credit. What the homework assigned for the night is can always be found, completed and turned in on our class Schoology. Thus, all students are responsible for knowing and completing the homework.
    • Every night, the student should go over their notes or the Quizlet flashcards (link can be found on Schoology) for the current unit for at least 10 - 15 minutes. This is a task that is both expected and necessary to succeed in Spanish class.
    • If you do not understand something written in Spanish, please use the dictionary in the back of your book to help translate the words you don’t understand. You may also use an online dictionary (such as www.spanishdict.com). DO NOT USE A TRANSLATOR TO TRANSLATE SENTENCES TO SPANISH! This is very obvious to the teacher and a zero will be given for the assignment.

     

    Classwork and Participation

     

    • Students are expected to fully participate in a positive manner in all activities in class, including whole-class instruction, small-group instruction, group work, and individual activities.
    • Every single day, students will be given a participation grade out of 5 points based on their behavior, participation, and preparedness in the class. 5 is excellent, 4 is good, 3 means room for improvement, 2 means poor, 1 means a student got written up and 0 means a student was escorted from the class by security. 

    • They are also expected to arrive on time to class every day prepared with the necessary materials (see “Materials” section).
    • During class, students will sometimes complete classwork to hand in, which will go towards their participation grade. These assignments will be graded for correctness as well as completion. Since these assignments are done during class, students will have the opportunity to have their questions answered by me while they work on the assignments.Do-nows also count as participation and must be done regularly and in an organized fashion.
    • Students are responsible for independently completing their do-nows as they come into class each day, and maintaining an organized, chronological document on their iPad (or in their binder) with all of their do-nows. Do-nows will be checked once a marking period for a participation grade.
    • If a student is absent, they should see me the next class period to get the assignments that they have missed. They may also see the Wiki to see what they have missed. This is the student's responsibility. Students have one day for each day absent to complete the missed work. Anything not completed will turn into a zero.
     
    Quizzes
     
    • Quizzes will be given frequently (one every week or every other week). They are frequent but they cover a small amount of material. Quizzes should boost a student's grade and allow me to assess what concepts the students struggle with and with which concepts they struggle.
    • Quizzes may be announced or they may be pop quizzes. The reason for the pop quizzes are that they allow me to assess which students are paying attention during class and completing their homework/studying at home.

     

     
    Project and Tests
     
    • Tests are always announced.
    • We will have 6 - 7 tests a year, plus the final. The tests are difficult, but the students can take steps to prepare themselves. Students should consistently study at least 15 minutes every night.
    • We will have 5 - 6 projects a year. The projects will count as one test grade. These projects are also meant to boost a student's grade. If the student puts the effort and the work into the projects, the projects will work in their favor.
    •  If any student is struggling with the material, he or she should feel comfortable approaching me to ask for help. I am more than happy to help the students in any way that I can, including staying after school for extra help.

     

    Tardiness and Discipline policy

     

    • Students are expected to act professional, appropriate, and respectful in the classroom environment.
    • Students must respect themselves, their classmates, and the teacher. Teasing and rude behavior (such as interrupting or creating a distraction for classmates) will not be tolerated. Bullying is taken very seriously in this school and any incident of that will be written up immediately and sent to an administrator.
    • Students are expected to come to class on time. Every four tardies counts as one unexcused absence for the class. 11 unexcused absences from the class can lead to a loss of credit for the class.

    • The use of cell phones or other non-school electronic devices are not permitted in class. If a student is seen with their cell phone outside of their backpack, they will be given a warning. After one warning, the phone may be taken away until the end of class. If it continues to be a problem in future classes, the phone may be confiscated and given to an administrator.
    • If a student loses/forgets their ID, they must get a temporary ID until they replace their own (which costs $5).
    • Trips out of the room (to the nurse, the bathroom, etc.) are to be limited to once per class, 10 minutes or less. If a student goes over this time limit or uses their pass to go somewhere other than where their pass states, they may be written up for a cut.
    • No food or drink (other than water) is to be consumed within the classroom.
    • All rules can be found in the student handbook and all rules are strictly enforced.