Spanish 4

Spanish 4 builds on the skills students have developed in Spanish 1, 2 and 3, and is a Pre-AP course. Semester 1 will begin with a review of Spanish 1, 2 and 3 skills, including strategies for reading and comprehending Spanish texts. As the year progresses, students will continue to develop their vocabulary through the use of varied listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. Each of the units will incorporate at least one of the six AP Themes outlined by the College Board: Beauty and Aesthetics, Global Challenges, Families and Communities, Personal and Public Identities, Science and Technology, and Contemporary Life. Students will participate in discussions related to cultural topics and other course material, complete written and speaking activities, listen to authentic Spanish audio and video files, practice reading authentic and relevant materials and engage in collaborative projects. Throughout the course, students will gain insight into Spanish and Hispanic cultures and discuss relevant and engaging subject matters. All vocabulary units and student projects directly correspond to the aforementioned themes, and will prepare students for a literature based Spanish 5 or AP course.

Grammatically, Semester 1 contains a review of conjugating present tense and past tense the present and past perfect, the conditional, and the present and past subjunctive. Semester 2 will focus on the past subjunctive, the past perfect subjunctive, the conditional perfect, the passive voice and the use of “se”. The last unit will contain a comprehensive summary of the indicative and subjunctive moods presented in Spanish 1-3, in order to ensure subject mastery and prepare students for a literature based Spanish 5 course or an AP Spanish course.

Each of the six units from the textbook will contain several vocabulary sections, three reading selections, three short films, three grammar topics, and a cultural profile. At the end of each unit students will complete an outline that serves as a study guide, and then take a unit exam. Each week, there will be a discussion, at least one listening and writing activity, and one graded assessment (like a quiz, or specific writing activity). There will be group projects intermittently throughout the year, as well as several peer editing activities. Each term will also contain an individual, research and literature based project.

Overall, the purpose of this course is to broaden students’ knowledge of Spanish Speaking Countries and Spanish Speaking Communities. As the Spanish language becomes more and more widespread and popular, the need to understand Spanish and Hispanic cultures grows. Although topics that are typical to a foreign language class will be covered, such as vocabulary and grammar, a significant amount of time will be spent learning about important people, customs, and modern culture. Students will read authentic selections from well known Spanish and Hispanic authors, as well as watch several award winning short films. The big picture of this course is for students to walk away with an appreciation and understanding of the complexities of the Spanish and Hispanic cultures, and be prepared to take a more rigorous literature based course upon completion.

Since this is an online course, the majority of course materials are available online and learning activities occur in our virtual classroom platform. This course includes a variety of learning activities including discussions, presentations, and team projects.

• Access to special characters specific to the language, including á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, ñ, ¡, ¿.
• Access to a device with headphone, microphone, and camera.
• Students will be expected to record and upload videos of themselves speaking in target language in order to exhibit proficiency in the speaking domain using a video tool within the course platform.