As a continuation of Spanish 1, Spanish 2 is a full credit course designed to provide students with beginning the intermediate study of the Spanish language and culture of Spanish-speaking places. This course is guided by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language World Readiness Standards and is designed to help students begin to communicate about themselves and their lives, express their own thoughts, and get things they need. Students will be asked to read, write, listen, and speak in Spanish on a regular basis, demonstrating an ability to speak in sentences and ask simple questions. Students will also be asked to make comparisons between their culture and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. The course also strives to support students who are interested in pursuing their studies at the AP level. The thematic units in Spanish 2 connect directly to the themes of the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam, including (1) Contemporary Life (2) Families and Communities (3) Global Challenges (4) Science and Technology.
About the Self-Paced Course Model
Self-Paced courses are comprehensive and designed for students who need or desire more flexibility in their academic schedule. VHS Learning teachers will regularly interact with students in asynchronous discussions, will host weekly office hours, and will invite students to monthly 1-on-1 progress meetings. Teachers will support students, answer questions, and provide feedback on work. Students will work independently on course activities; the course does not include class discussion assignments or other collaborative work.
Students may start this course on any Wednesday from September through the first Monday in February. Students must maintain enrollment for a minimum of 20 weeks and have until mid-June to complete all assignments in the course. It is expected that students will work for approximately 200 hours to complete this course, though the amount of time may vary depending on a student’s work habits and comfort with the material.
Course Essential Questions:
- How do daily routines of students vary among cultures?
- What foods are native to Spanish speaking places?
- What celebrations and festivals are celebrated in Spanish speaking places and how do they differ from place to place?
- What is healthcare like in Spanish speaking countries?
- How does technology affect the way we live?
- How does my definition of home compare to that of students’ from other cultures?
Course Learning Objectives:
Students who enroll in Spanish 2 will be working towards the Intermediate Low proficiency level as defined by ACTFL. By the end of the course students will be able to:
- Identify the topic and related information from simple sentences in short informational texts.
- Identify the topic and related information from simple sentences in short fictional texts.
- Identify the main idea in short conversations.
- Request and provide information in conversations on familiar topics by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions.
- Interact with others in conversation to meet my basic needs in familiar situations by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions.
- Ask about, and react with some details to preferences, feelings, or opinions on familiar topics, by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions.
- Present personal information about my life, activities, and events, using simple sentences.
- Express my preferences on familiar and everyday topics of interest and explain why I feel that way, using simple sentences.
- Present familiar and everyday topics, using simple sentences.
- Identifying similarities and differences in the products, practices, and perspectives of their own and other cultures.