AP Spanish language covers the equivalent material of a third-year college course in advanced Spanish composition and conversation. The aims of this two-semester course are: to improve dramatically the student’s speaking ability; to review systematically grammar previously studied; to master — orally and in writing — new and more complex grammar concepts; to expose students to the literary use of Spanish and to increase both their literal and critical reading skills; to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Spanish Language Examination; and to enhance the students’ knowledge of the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will be required to speak Spanish in a variety of situations ranging from class discussions to oral presentations and debates. Students will read newspaper and magazine articles, short stories, poems, and excerpts from novels or plays by peninsular and/or Latin American authors. The selected class materials are designed to stimulate and perfect conversation and to assist students in the imitation of the native speaker’s pronunciation, rhythm, moods and humor as their abilities increase. This class is conducted in Spanish, and students are expected to speak Spanish at all times.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
This is an advanced, semester-long course designed for students who wish to improve their Spanish language skills and cultural knowledge, with particular emphasis on the improvement of oral communication skills. Students will gain a better understanding of the culture, history and traditions of Latin America and Spain by watching films and participating in class debates and discussions. New vocabulary and expressions will be taught to allow the students a better understanding of the authentic materials used in class. The class will review some of the advanced grammar structures learned in previous classes, but no new grammar structures will be covered. This class will be conducted in Spanish, and students will be expected to speak Spanish at all times.
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
This one semester course will explore the origin, cultural value, and materials used to create a variety of Latin American handicrafts. Students will make their own craft for each unit. Scheduling approximately 9 class meetings per handicraft project would allow for 5-6 different units during a semester course. The class would be conducted in Spanish. Students would also learn new vocabulary and review a major grammar point per project.
Each craft project would be accompanied by:
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- historical background of object
- cultural value and meaning of object
- vocabulary list related to current topic
- at least one main grammar review point
- formal and informal commands
- preterite & imperfect
- present subjunctive
- future & conditional
- at least 2-3 reading comprehension activities
- music/videos/visuals
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
Students will explore Mexico through the lens of film for one semester in this advanced Spanish course designed for students who wish to improve their Spanish language skills and cultural knowledge. In class, students will view full-length feature films, shorts, and documentaries. Students will learn about the Golden Era of Mexican Film during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Students will focus on New Mexican Cinema with films from the 2010’s. Students will learn to appreciate Mexican directors, like Luis Buñuel & Claudia Saint-Luce, and actors, like Pedro Infante, Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”, Blanca Estela Pavón, Karla Souza, Eugenio Derbez. Students will gain perspective on the Mexican experience, taking a critical look at poverty and wealth, gender issues, music as a tool for change, migration, and the family unit amongst other themes. Students will be asked to view a brand new Mexican movie at a film festival. In-class discussions will provide a forum for students to think critically and trade ideas with each other. Writing assignments will include movie critiques and alternative final scenes. Students will get to make their own short films as well. In order to immerse students, the class will be conducted in Spanish and students are expected to speak Spanish in class.
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
Students will delve into Caribbean music for one semester in this advanced Spanish course designed for students who wish to improve their Spanish and cultural awareness. Genres include salsa, son, merengue, bachata, rumba, latin jazz, and cumbia. Through music, students will better understand the beautiful culture, complex history, and powerful influence of Caribbean people from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Students will learn to recognize styles and instruments, break down song lyrics, watch films like Buena Vista Social Club, and read related literature like stories by Gabriel García Márquez. Themes of the music include love and friendship, religious syncretism, political resistance, baseball and fútbol, and racial, geographic, and national identities. Students will experience artists like Bomba Estereo, Carlos Vives, Celia Cruz, Afro-Cuban All Stars, Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente, Juan Luis Guerra, Sara González, and Prince Royce. Students will create and dance to different Caribbean rhythms. Students are asked to go see a live concert and report back on their experience. Students do not need a background in music to take this course. In order to immerse students, the class will be conducted in Spanish and students are expected to speak Spanish in class.
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
In this one semester Spanish course, students will explore, use and improve their Spanish by reading outstanding short stories by some of the most successful authors of our time; Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, & Juan Rulfo, just to name a few. Students will read ONE short story per week. Students will be asked to read, understand, & analyze these short stories. For quizzes students will need to recall characters, vocabulary, and storylines and critically think about themes. Class discussions and debates will provide a forum for students to become literature critics and trade ideas with the teacher and classmates regarding the messages provided in the stories. Students will be able to strengthen their grammar, vocab and speaking skills in Spanish. In order to immerse students in the target language, the class will be conducted in Spanish and students are expected to speak Spanish at all times.
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
Language Teaching Assistants provide support for the Language faculty for 1 hour/week. Teaching Assistants fulfill the following duties:
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- checking homework
- grading objective sections of tests
- doing Internet or other research
- decorating bulletin boards
- peer tutoring
Normally, the student will help before school or after school. There will be times when some of the correcting may be taken home for delivery on the following day. Interested students may apply by requesting and completing a Teaching Assistant Contract from their teacher.
The first part of the course reviews basic terminology, notation, concepts, skills, and application of elementary algebra by examination of the real number system. This part includes real number concepts and skills involving operations with positive and negative numbers and zero, solution of linear equations and inequalities, one and two variable equations, solving verbal problems, properties of polynomials and rational expressions. Ideas such as set, variable, number line, open sentence, ordered pair, equivalent sentences, and Cartesian coordinate system are studied and the student is required to demonstrate ability to solve problems involving these concepts.
The course also includes the concepts of function and relation and emphasizes linear and quadratic relations and functions. The text chapters discussing this material employ symbols, concepts, and methods presented in the earlier chapters. Thus, the course continually grows and builds on learned material. The course also includes discussions on exponential functions and logarithms, and a short look at trigonometry. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
Precalculus mathematics is a course designed for the student who intends to continue the study of mathematics in the direction of the natural or physical sciences and is a preparation for Calculus. Traditional analytic trigonometry is taught at the beginning of the course which includes an intense study of right triangle trigonometry, its applications to vectors, circular functions, and trigonometric identities, and solving trigonometric equations. The rest of the course is an analysis of families of functions and relations – polynomials, rational functions, radical functions, trigonometric functions, logarithmic functions, and exponential functions — and their graphs both algebraically and through the graphing calculator, including an introduction to the fundamental aspects of Calculus. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
Precalculus mathematics is a course designed for the student who intends to continue the study of mathematics in the direction of the natural or physical sciences and is an intensive preparation for Calculus. Most of the course is an analysis of families of functions and relations – polynomials; rational function; radical functions; trigonometric functions, including an intense study of right triangle trigonometry, its applications to vectors, circular functions, and trigonometric identities; logarithmic functions; and exponential functions — and their graphs both algebraically and through the graphing calculator, including an introduction to the fundamental aspects of Calculus. Significant independent work is considered a requirement for this course – students will be asked to perform independent study tasks, including (but not limited to) viewing and taking notes from screencasts, taking online quizzes, and collaborative learning. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
