AP Spanish Language and Culture - MLA 447-448
August 3: We started by discussing everything in the open house letter, especially rules about
phones being up front from bell to bell and no headphones/earbuds. We discussed the grading
policy change as dictated by the county that will be 60/40 instead of 70/30. We also discussed
what you will see on this website and Google Classroom. We went over the "AP Spanish FAQ"
document that was already posted on Google Classroom and looked at the other information
that can be found there. We took a vow of "no freakage", realizing that we have to discuss what
will be expected on the AP test, but we won't be able to do all of that right now, which is normal.
August 4: We started discussing the types of regular grades we will have in the class and what
will be required. We will discuss each of these in detail on Monday. We also discussed how the
vocabulary will be covered - see GC for the sets you need to study for a quiz most every Friday.
Make sure you have joined the AP Spanish class on Google Classroom, Remind for AP and
Quizlet for AP. You can find the codes or link for all three on the home page of this website. We
will also need to join AP Classroom next week.
August 7: Today we had a bunch of handouts. You have a printed copy of the calendar of due
dates for your essays each month for the whole year. Pay special attention to November,
December and April for differences in the regular schedule. You have a printed copy of the
specific instructions for listening charts, reading charts and journal essays, including an example
of listening/reading charts and what information I need on what you turn in. You have printed
notes on preterite/imperfect, irregular preterite verbs, and a mega worksheet for practicing all
the major verb concepts, plus por/para, that have been covered in Spanish 1-3. You are not
required to complete this worksheet, but use it as a reference for practice if you need to brush
up on something. You also have a printed copy of an example of how to keep up with culture
information as we travel through the year. Also, you have a printed copy of authentic resources
for listening and reading charts. All of these documents may be found on Google Classroom as
well. Please have an organized notebook and this information at your fingertips in class.
August 8: We finished discussing the requirements for the essay we will write each month. We
chose folder colors today and with those coupled with the journal calendar we received
yesterday, you now know when your essays will be due all year. We also revisited which
grammar concepts you all would like to review as we start the year. We discussed what our
expectations to make sure we have realistic goals. We briefly explored the Temas book and
the global themes we will work with this year. At the end of class, we used phones to sign up
for AP Classroom. Starting tomorrow we will start looking at the different skills required for the
test.
August 9: We discussed the multiple choice section of the exam today, which includes the
sections for reading comprehension, reading/listening comprehension combined and listening
comprehension. We did a quick reading comprehension example and went over the answers.
Remember, you are not to worry if these activities are challenging right now. THIS IS NORMAL!
We also reviewed quickly what to do with por and para and everyone has a printed copy of
those notes. I will add them on GC too.
August 10: Today we did another reading comprehension activity and discussed the answers
afterward, also paying close attention to the wording in questions. We wrote down the
instructions for that section of the test. We did a listening comprehension activity and discussed
the answers afterward, also strategy for how to approach these exercises. We wrote down the
instructions for this section of the test too. Don't forget your first vocabulary quiz tomorrow.
August 11: We took our first vocab quiz over El género 1, 2 and bonus. We will have a quiz over
El género 3,4 next Friday, August 18. Those sets are included on the quiz assignment on GC.
We will also have a listening chart due next week and the requirements are explained on the
chart calendar posted on GC - 15 minutes, unlimited attempts to listen. Please review what is
required to turn that in - instructions available on GC and you have a printed copy in your
notebook. We also started our first theme - familias y comunidades - reading through the intro
to comunidades educativas on p 4 in Temas and we also discussed the first activity on that
page on our preferred learning situations.
August 14: We continued on with our subtheme - educational communities - and did activities
2 and 3 on p 4 in Temas. We read the introduction to the article we will read tomorrow called
Tiempo de Juego on p 5 and we did activity 1 to prepare to read the article.
August 15: We finished two more pre-reading activities on p 5 and then read the article Tiempo
de Juego on pp 6-7 of the Temas book. We read silently and then discussed it together. We will
finish tomorrow.
August 16: We finished discussing the last part of Tiempo de Juego and worked through the
comprehension questions after the article as a whole group. We read through the introduction
to the next article En esto creo. We will continue with that tomorrow.
August 17: We started reading En esto creo and we will finish reading it on Monday. Tomorrow
our first listening charts are due and we will have a vocabulary quiz over Género 3,4.
August 18: We took our vocabulary quiz over Género 3,4. Copies of topic ideas, phrases for
conversations, emails and different aspects of persuasive essays and lots of advice for how to
write persuasive essays and the formal register email. Then we played Heads Up for practice
with spontaneous speaking. Next week we will have a listening and a reading chart due and we
will have a vocabulary quiz over Modismos 3,4.
August 21: We finished reading En esto creo and discussed the principal perspectives Fuentes
shares in this essay. We also discussed the comprehension questions afterward.
August 22: We reviewed the main perspectives from the Fuentes essay and compared those
perspectives to how we think about education in the US. We read the conexiones culturales on
p 16 and added those to our culture points. We started exploring the interpersonal writing
activity for the exam - the email written in formal register. We will continue with that tomorrow
and look at an actual exam question and actual student responses.
August 23: We continued with our interpersonal writing activity today. We shared what our
responses would be to the questions asked and also what questions we could ask in return,
which are the two main responsibilities in this task. We read through the rubric used to grade
the writing tasks. Then we started looking at actual student samples from that test and, using
the rubric, trying to decide what score that response received. We will finish that tomorrow.
August 24: We finished looking at the writing samples from the activity we started yesterday and
using the rubric to decide what score we thought the samples received. We were right both
times, so it seems we do have a good idea of what will be required for this task. We moved on
to a short story that fits our theme of family/communities and subtheme of education. We read
through the first section of the story. We will continue after the quiz tomorrow. Don't forget that
listening and reading charts are due tomorrow as well. Parents must initial.
August 25: We took a vocabulary quiz over Modismos 1,2. We will have Modismos 3,4 next
week. Listening and reading charts were due. Next week it will just be listening charts. Those of
you with red folders need to be working towards turning in your first essay on September 8.
After the quiz we continued with our short story and will finish those on Monday.
August 28: We continued with our short story, Cajas de cartón. We will finish it tomorrow. We
have listening charts and vocabulary this week. We will not have charts next week. Red folder
essays are due next Friday - so please be on top of that.
August 29: We finished up our story, Cajas de cartón. We will talk about César Chávez tomorrow.
We will also review subjunctive tomorrow.
August 30: We discussed some highlights from the life of César Chávez. Then we discussed two
parts of subjunctive - cabeza and corazón.
August 31: Since several people went to the incentive day activities, those left in class did a
reading comprehension exercise. Don't forget that listening charts are due tomorrow and we
have a vocabulary quiz over Modismos sets 3,4.
September 1: We studied for a couple minutes to get focused and then took our quiz over
Modismos 3,4. Listening charts were due. We will not have charts next week. Red folder essays
will be due next week and we will have a vocabulary quiz over El hogar 1, sets 1,2. See GC for
the sets. The following week we will have listening and reading charts (Colombia) due. Always
check the chart calendar when in doubt.
September 5: We started a new subtheme today under Families and Communities - online communities or
communities through social networks. We read the introduction on p 17, discussing the activating questions, and
completed the intro activities on that page. We read the introduction to the article we will read tomorrow and
did some of the activities to prepare us to read it. We started reading the first page of the article silently and will
finish the rest tomorrow, as well as begin discussion of it. We don't have charts this week, but we will have red
folder essays due this Friday and a vocabulary quiz over El hogar 1, sets 1,2.
September 6: We read the rest of our article about Facebook silently. We went to the activities after the article to
try to see how much we understood on our own. After reading through the comprehension questions together, we
started to read and discuss the article together. We will finish it tomorrow.
September 7: We finished the article about social media and then read through and discussed a group of graphs
and charts representing the use of social media in Central America. We also read the culture connections on p
30. Please remember red folder essays and the vocabulary quiz over El hogar 1, sets 1,2 for tomorrow.
September 8: We studied for a couple minutes to get focused and then took our quiz over El hogar 1, sets 1,2.
September 11: We started a new subtheme today on human geography. We read the introduction and the activating
questions on p 35, then did activities 1, 2, and 4 on the same page to be prepared for what we will read.
September 12: We continued discussing human geography and sharing our own experiences with cultural tradition
and custom in our families.
September 13: We continued human geography with an article on Lake Atitlán. We read it silently and discussed
what main ideas everyone was able to glean from reading on their own. We started to discuss the article together.
We will have a presentation tomorrow and will finish the article on Friday.
September 14: We had a presentation from Spanish 4 today on notable Hispanic figures in recognition of Hispanic
Heritage month which starts tomorrow.
September 15: We studied for a couple minutes to focus and took our vocab quiz over El hogar 1, sets 3,4. We will
have a quiz over El hogar 2, sets 1,2 next Friday, September 22. Green folder essays, listening and reading charts
were due today. Next week we have listening charts and yellow folder essays due. We nearly finished our article
on Lake Atitlán and we will on Monday.
September 18: We finished the last little bit of our article on Lake Atitlán. We read through the introduction to Como
agua para chocolate - a fragment from this novel. We practiced with the vocabulary highlighted before the story
and then began reading this excerpt silently. This piece has relevance to our families and communities global
theme. We will continue tomorrow.
September 19: We read the piece from Como agua para chocolate today and discussed it together. Tomorrow we
will watch that same excerpt from the movie.
September 20: We discussed some questions after the section of Como agua para chocolate that we read together
yesterday. We also watched a few minutes of the movie of that book that corresponds to the text we read.
September 21: We read the introduction to the short story El otro by Jorge Luis Borges in the Encuentros book. We
also practiced with the vocabulary highlighted before the story. We read the story silently and then discussed it
together, noting the evidence of "realismo mágico" in the story. Don't forget listening charts and yellow folder
essays are due tomorrow and we have a quiz over El hogar 2, sets 1,2.
September 22: We studied for a couple minutes to get focused and then took the quiz over El hogar 2, sets 1,2.
Yellow folder essays and listening charts were due. Next week we will have listening charts and reading charts on
Venezuela, plus the vocabulary quiz over El hogar 2, sets 3,4. Blue folder essays will also be due. Chart calendar
and Journal Calendar are on GC.
September 25: We finished the subtheme of human geography with the cultural connections on p 47 in Temas. We
discussed what would be comparable here in the US. We moved on to the subtheme of traditions and values. We
read the intro and essential questions on p 48 and did activities 1, 2, and 3 together to dig into the subject. We
will continue tomorrow with a fragment of a play related to family values and traditions.
September 26: Continuing with the subtheme on traditions and values, we had a fun discussion about how we
relate in our families, follow rules at home and many other things. We continued on to read information about
Usigli, a Mexican writer, teacher and diplomat, who wrote El niño y la niebla. We will read a fragment of that work
tomorrow, which relates to the theme about conflicts within the family and between generations.
September 27: We read the fragment of the play El niño y la niebla silently and then different people read the parts
as we discussed it together. Remember that you can use references to the fiction we read to support your
cultural comparison presentation on the test, so these fiction pieces benefit you just as much as the non-fiction
we read or hear.
September 28: We read and discussed the cultural connections on p 61 from our subtheme of traditions and
values. We moved on to the global citizenship subtheme of families and communities, read the introduction and
activating questions on p 64 and discussed each of those questions. Tomorrow we have a quiz over El hogar 2,
Sets 3,4 and listening charts, reading charts (Venezuela) and blue folder essays are due.
September 29: We studied for a couple minutes to focus and then we took our quiz over El hogar 2, sets 3,4. Next
Friday, October 6, we will have a quiz over El hogar 3, sets 1,2. We spent the rest of the time looking at the
Spanish version of the UN International Declaration of Human Rights and discussing their relevancy in reference
to our discussion on global citizenship yesterday. Blue folder essays, listening charts and reading charts were due.
We will have listening charts, requirements have changed, and red folder essays due next Friday. See the chart
calendar for changes.
October 2: We discussed a graphic on family structures and percentages of different types of households in Latin
America urban populations. We compared those to similar statistics in the US. We started reading and discussing
two poems Rebelde and En paz. We will continue discussing Rebelde tomorrow and read and discuss En paz
tomorrow. After that, it is AP Spanish tradition to memorize En paz. This will be an oral grade in your 40%.
October 3: We finished discussing Rebelde. We read En paz silently and then read and discussed it together. We
will memorize this poem for next Thursday, October 12. See GC for details. Next week will only be three days, so
we will not have vocabulary or charts. Green folders will still be due though.
October 4: We each received an envelope today with the poem we have to memorize, En paz, cut into parts out of
order. We worked in pairs to put them in the correct order, then to help each other memorize the parts. At the end
of the period, we started working as a whole group. We won't spend the entire day tomorrow on this, but we will
practice a bit each day.
October 5: We practiced with En paz together. We will review it quickly again tomorrow. After we practiced the
the poem, we discussed the instructions for and requirements for the presentational speaking task/cultural
comparison. Don't forget the vocab quiz tomorrow over El hogar 3, sets 1,2. Red folder essays and listening charts
will also be due.
October 6: We studied for a couple minutes and then took our quiz over El hogar 3, sets 1,2. We turned in listening
charts and red folder essays. Next week only green folder essays will be due - no vocab or charts. For Friday,
October 20, we will have a quiz over El hogar 3, sets 3,4, yellow folder essays, listening and reading charts
(Perú).
October 11: We worked on memorizing En paz. We will recite on Friday instead of tomorrow because Spanish 4
will present tomorrow. We also did a practice cultural comparison together.
October 12: Spanish 4 presented on indigenous languages today. We will recite En paz tomorrow. Please be ready.
Green folders are due tomorrow, but no vocabulary or charts.
October 13: We recited En paz today. Those who didn't get to do it will recite first thing on Monday. Green folders
were due. Next week we will have vocabulary El hogar 3, sets 3,4 on Friday, listening and reading charts (Perú)
and yellow folders will be due.
October 16: We finished our last two recitations of En Paz. Afterwards, we discussed some common errors seen
in our essays: uses of por/para, uses of ser/estar, passive voice/active voice, perfect tenses. I will add the ser
and estar notes to Verb Review on GC and por/para is already on there. Try not to use passive voice at all. We
looked at it today to see what it is and how it should be done correctly if you use it, but no one wants you to use
passive voice in either language. ;-) We may not be in class tomorrow because I have to monitor the PSAT. If I
am not in the room, split off according to locations listed on this document. Room assignments are first for PSAT,
but after that is the list of split locations.
October 17: We did not make any progress today with all the interruptions from PSAT and having to split off to
another room, etc.
October 18: We started our new global theme today, Belleza y astética. We discussed the activating questions for
the unit and had class discussion with activity 1 on p 142 in Temas.
October 19: We continued discussing the opening activities for our new theme. We read through the introduction
to the article we will read about how ideas of beauty have transformed through the ages. Don't forget our vocab
quiz tomorrow. Both charts and yellow folder essays will be due as well.
October 20: We studied for a few minutes for focus, then took our quiz over El hogar 3, sets 3,4. We turned in
listening charts, reading charts and yellow folder essays. Next week we will have a vocabulary quiz over La
escuela, sets 1,2. Listening charts, same requirements, will be due and blue folder essays. BE REMINDED that
in November and December we will have some differences in due dates for essays. Please check the Journal
Calendar on GC.
October 23: We read silently the article in Temas on how concepts of beauty and aesthetics developed through
history. We popcorn read together afterwards and started to discuss the points made in the article.
October 24: We finished our article on how aesthetics and concepts of beauty developed through history and
discussed the comprehension questions after the article. We did a reading comprehension practice and we will
finish discussing those answers tomorrow.
October 25: We discussed the introduction to a survey on what people find attractive. We had class discussion
based on activities 1 and 2 on p 147. We will discuss the actual survey tomorrow.
October 26: We read and discussed the survey today. We will have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow over La escuela,
sets 3,4. Listening charts and blue folders are due as well.
October 27: We studied for a few minutes, then took our vocabulary quiz. We turned in listening charts and blue
folder essays. Next week we will have a vocabulary quiz over La escuela, sets 3,4; listening charts and reading
charts (Guinea Ecuatorial) and red folder essays will be due.
October 30: We finished the cultural connections on p 154 Temas. We talked through how we would approach a
cultural comparison like the one on the same page and what would be good examples from the US culture to use. Then we started on the subtheme of fashion and design by reading the intro and some of the activating questions
on p 155.
October 31: We finished with the activating questions on p 155 for our new subtheme. We discussed the different
hairstyles listed in activity 2. We read through the introduction to an article on hipsters and started discussing
activity 1 on p 156.
November 1: We continued discussing what types of clothing different people in society would wear, we talked about
clothing that would indicate members of certain groups and also how much importance people give to name
brands. We were discussing the results of a survey on that topic when the bell rang. We will finish that tomorrow.
November 2: We finished the discussion we started yesterday about brand names and how important they are. We
looked at Met Gala photos and described what people were wearing to learn new clothing vocabulary and also
remember some basics. We also revisited what people can be doing on their own to try to increase their
spontaneity in speaking.
November 3: We studied for a few minutes, then took our vocabulary quiz. We turned in red folder essays, listening
and reading charts also. We will have a quiz next Thursday on Universidad, sets 1, 2. We will have listening charts
and green folder essays due next Thursday as well.
November 6: We did some discussion activities associated with the article on La literatura y la vida, including
reading about the author and the introduction to the article. We read the article silently and then discussed the
main points of it afterward. We will not have a listening chart this week, but green folder essays are due and we
will have our vocabulary quiz on Thursday.
November 7: We worked with the comprehension activities after the article we read yesterday. We continued on to
an excerpt from One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, beginning with the introduction to the
fragment and a vocabulary activity before we read it silently.
November 8: We read through and discussed the very challenging fragment from One Hundred Years of Solitude.
We will read another less complicated excerpt also. We did comprehension activities after the reading and will
finish tomorrow after the quiz. Don't forget your vocabulary quiz tomorrow over La universidad, sets 1,2 and green
folder essays are due. Listening and Reading (la República Dominicana) will be due next week. See GC for
essay and chart calendars whenever you aren't sure.
November 9: We studied for a few minutes for focus and then took our vocabulary quiz. We will have sets 3,4 next
Friday. Green folder essays were due today. Next week we have listening, reading (DR) and yellow folder essays
due on Friday.
November 13: SPEAK WEEK! We will be doing activities all week long focusing only on speaking. Today we did
"speed-meeting" where we acted out conversations for different situations and switched partners each time.
November 14: We divided into two groups and played a card game that required players to ask a question on their
card to the group and everyone searching their cards for the logical answer to that question. We will continue
"speak week" tomorrow with a video activity.
November 15: We used filminute movies for our next speak week activity. After watching the one minute movie,
one partner had to convey to the other what happened. Then after watching it again together, we discussed how
well the main ideas were conveyed and what vocabulary we needed to do it better.
November 16: We used filminute movies again today. Everyone seemed to do even better this time. We will have
a vocabulary quiz tomorrow over La universidad, sets 3,4. Listening charts, reading charts (DR) and essays are
also due.
November 17: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took our quiz. Charts and essays were due. We
will have reading and listening the week we return - reading on Puerto Rico. Blue folder essays need to be turned
in by Wednesday, November 29. Red and green folders will be due December 1. Yellow and blue will be due
December 8. We will have a vocabulary quiz on Pasatiempos, set 1,2.
November 27: We read the introduction to and reviewed the vocabulary highlighted for another excerpt from Cien
años de soledad. We read the excerpt silently and will discuss it tomorrow. We will not have essay folders due for
December, however, those who have fallen behind are expected to catch up. Please make sure you are doing the
listening and the reading charts listed on the chart calendar.
November 28: We discussed the excerpt from Cien años de soledad that we read silently yesterday. We started an
excerpt from La casa de los espíritus by Isabel Allende.
November 29: We read and discussed the excerpt from La casa de los espíritus. Tomorrow we will compare these
two examples of realismo mágico and their authors.
November 30: We looked at a grammar section in the Encuentros book on using the past subjunctive and especially
using it with si clauses. We practiced with the exercises there and then we also looked at examples of it use in the
excerpts we read from Márquez and Allende. We also discussed the similarities between these two authors and
some similarities between the two excerpts we read. Vocab quiz tomorrow over Pasatiempos, sets 1,2 and
listening charts are due.
December 1: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took our vocabulary quiz over Pasatiempos, sets
1,2. We will have sets 3,4 next Friday, December 8. We made a plan for a mock exam on a Saturday morning in
January and everyone will check calendars before we decide on the exact date. We wrote a list of numbers that we
will know for the final exam for those in the class not exempting. Listening charts were due. We will have both
charts next week also, reading on Puerto Rico.
December 4: We read a poem by Pablo Neruda and discussed it. We made a list of artists we will be discussing in
class as we do visual arts next. We will be doing a visual art presentation and you will have to find an Hispanic
artist not on that list to present. You can start exploring that now.
December 5: We did some reading comprehension activities today. We will finish those tomorrow and also do some
listening comprehension tasks.
December 6: We did one more reading comprehension practice. We did two listening comprehension activities.
December 7: We continued with listening comprehension practice. Tomorrow we have listening and reading charts
due and our vocab quiz over Pasatiempos, sets 3,4.
December 8: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took a quiz over Pasatiempos, sets 3,4. We turned
in listening charts and reading charts on Puerto Rico. We will not have any charts or vocabulary next week. Not
signing any exemption forms if you still owe me missing grades. Get those done by next Wednesday.
December 11: We continued test prep with two print/audio activities. We discussed the answers to the first one and
we will discuss the answers to the second one tomorrow.
December 12: First we discussed the answers to the second activity from yesterday working with interpreting the
questions well and strategies for eliminating wrong answers, etc. We also did a interpersonal writing task, the
formal email, and we will discuss it tomorrow along with strategies and things we really need to remember with this
task. Don't forget, those of you taking the final exam need to know numbers, spelling and everything.
December 13: We discussed everything regarding the interpersonal writing task we did yesterday and shared the
ideas presented in our writing so we could discuss the validity of those choices within the context of the task. we
also discussed pitfalls of this activity and things we really have to be prepared to do for this activity.
December 14: We used class time to prepare for whatever necessary. Our exam will be the first exam on Monday.
December 15: Anyone who came to class today had time to prepare for exams, either ours or any other.
December 18: We took our exam this morning. Happy Holidays!!
January 4: We had a get back into the swing of things day. We will start with Spanish artists tomorrow.
January 5: We started discussing Spanish artists today - continuing our theme on Belleza y estética. We read
about El Greco and looked at examples of his paintings. We read about Diego Velázquez and started to look at
some of his paintings, but we will have to finish those on Monday. Vocabulary for next week will be posted today.
We will have listening charts due next week. Red folders are due by Wednesday next week and green by next
Friday. We discussed that schedule back in early December.
January 8: We continued with Spanish painters today, reviewing highlights from El Greco and finishing Velazquez.
We moved on to Goya and will finish looking at his paintings tomorrow. This week we have a vocabulary quiz over
Los deportes, sets 1,2. Listening charts are due - each piece can only be counted twice towards your total 25
minutes. See chart calendar on GC. Red folders were due last Friday. Please get those in right away. Green
folders are due this Friday.
January 9: We continued reading, discussing and looking at works done by Spanish painters today. We finished
with Goya and moved on to Picasso. We will finish looking at more works by Picasso tomorrow and move on to
Salvador Dalí.
January 10: We continued with Spanish artists today by looking at a few more Picasso paintings and then reading
about Salvador Dalí. We started looking at Dalí paintings and will finish those tomorrow.
January 11: We finished looking at Salvador Dali paintings today. We read about Frida Kahlo and looked at some
of her iconic paintings.
January 12: We read about Remedios Varo, a Spanish surrealist. We only began looking at her paintings and will
continue next week.
January 16: We looked at more paintings by Remedios Varo. We read the culture connections information on p
198 in Temas, all but one bullet. We will read about Fernándo Botero tomorrow. Your oral presentation on an
Hispanic artist of your choice will be due on Monday, January 29. Please start searching for your subject now.
Details will be posted today on GC.
January 17: We read about Fernándo Botero and looked at some of his works. We are finished discussing the
visual artists in class that we were to cover. You may choose any other Hispanic visual artist to present to the
class for our art project. This will be due on Monday, January 29. Please read carefully the details posted on GC.
January 18: We finished reading the last culture connection on p 198 and then discussed how we would make the
culture comparison question on that page. We started the subtheme on architecture by reading the intro on p 201
and thinking through the activating questions. We also did an activity to familiarize ourselves with some terms
related to architecture and the definitions of those terms on p 201. We started to look at some of the architectural
gems in Barcelona by Antoní Gaudí. We will explore Gaudí a little more tomorrow.
January 19: We studied for a couple minutes and then took our quiz over Deportes, sets 3,4. We turned in our
listening charts, reading charts and yellow folder essays. Next week we will have only listening and vocabulary
due on Friday and blue folder essays will be due. DON'T forget to plan to be here for our mock exam on Tuesday,
Jan 23. Your 6th and 7th period teachers will be notified and hopefully we will finish between 4-4:30.
January 22: We had a fire drill that took up a bunch of time at the start of class. After that we familiarized ourselves
with the headsets we will use on the mock exam and the exam this year, especially determining how to avoid
muting ourselves when we should be recording. We reviewed the instructions for all the tasks, so we can make use
of the that time to work instead while doing the task. We will have our mock exam tomorrow starting at 6th period
continuing until we finish sometime after school, probably around 4:30ish.
January 23: We used AP Classroom to practice the interpersonal speaking task (conversation). You can use all
the things on there for practice between now and the test. We took our mock exam starting at 6th period.
January 24: We discussed what each of us considered our strengths and weaknesses after taking the mock exam
yesterday and what we feel we should work more on going forward. More activities for practice will be released on
AP Classroom. Please take advantage of those whenever you have free time, especially in the areas you found
weaker during the mock exam yesterday. We also discussed issues with the online process and things that made
taking the online practice exam difficult. We read the last subtheme topic on p 203 in Temas about creativity and
had class discussion about that afterward. Make sure you are working on the art project due next Monday.
Listening charts are canceled for this week, but essay folders and vocabulary are still due on Friday.
January 25: We started Don Quixote today. We read some background information about Cervantes and the novel
in general and then we read the first chapter. Don't forget your vocabulary quiz tomorrow and blue folders are due.
January 26: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took our quiz over Medio ambiente, sets 1,2. We
will quiz over sets 3,4 next Friday, February 2. Blue folder essays were also due today and listening charts from
anyone who did not attend the mock exam. We will have listening and reading charts next week. We will read
about Panamá. Art project presentations are due by Monday, January 29. See GC for details.
January 29: We did five art project presentations. Please be ready to present tomorrow if you have not done yours.
January 30: We finished four more presentations for our art project. We have someone who is absent still to
present and one more. We will hopefully finish those tomorrow. We read the second little chapter of Don Quijote
and discussed it.
January 31: We had a presentation today from Spanish 4 on the golden age of Spain. We will finish art projects
tomorrow and continue with Don Quijote.
February 1: We listened to one of the remaining art projects today. We read the rest of Chapter one of DQ and the
the first part of Chapter 2. We will finish discussion on the first section of Chapter 2 tomorrow.
February 2: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took our quiz over Medio ambiente, sets 3,4. Next
week, we will have Medio ambiente 2, sets 1,2. Red folder essays, listening charts and reading charts were due
today. We finished discussing the first part of Ch 2 of DQ. After that, we skimmed through potential book series
being considered for adoption by the county and gave student feedback on what we saw.
February 5: We had our last art project presentation and then we continued on with reading Don Quijote through
part 3 of Chapter 2. We will finish discussing that section tomorrow. Remember your vocabulary for this week, see
GC, listening charts and green folder essays.
February 6: We continued with DQ today to finish chapter 2 and start chapter 3.
February 7: We finished chapter 3 of DQ, discussed each section and the related vocabulary. We started reading
the first part of chapter 4.
February 8: We finished reading all of chapter 4 and we will discuss the last section after our quiz tomorrow.
February 9: We studied for a few minutes and then took our quiz over Medio ambiente 2, sets 1,2. We finished the
last section of chapter 4 in DQ. For next week we will have a vocabulary quiz over Medio ambiente 2, sets 3,4 and
listening/reading charts (Spain) and yellow folder essays will be due.
February 12: We read the first and second part of chapter 5 of DQ and discussed them and the related vocabulary.
February 13: We continued reading DQ and will finish it tomorrow.
February 14: We finished Don Quixote today. We discussed why this novel is considered to be one of the most
important novels ever written, what its influence has been and things that we say in everyday language that stem
from the story. We also watched a YouTube performance of "Impossible Dream" from the Broadway show Man of
la Mancha, which allowed us to see the more noble part of the character, aside from the comedic episodes we
read about in our abbreviated novel.
February 15: We studied for a couple minutes, then took our quiz over Medio ambiente 2, sets 3,4. We will have a
quiz next Friday over La naturaleza y los desastres, sets 1-4. Yellow folder essays, listening and reading charts
(Spain) were due today. Next Friday will be listening charts and blue folder essays.
February 20: We discussed some common issues seen on the mock exam. We have a packet of practice pages
that focus on phrasing nouns and adjectives and verb expressions and tenses. We will take a couple days to do
some grammar refreshing to hopefully fine tune our writing.
February 21: Spanish 4 presented a food project with an entree from Valencia, a dessert from the Basque region
and a lime-flavored drink based on a Latin American recipe. We will continue with our grammar review tomorrow.
February 22: We continued reviewing some grammar today, focusing on the different types of adjectives, where
they are placed and how much they will match the nouns they describe. We also reviewed the irregular yo verbs
in present tense and how those spelling changes become part of how the verb is spelled in the subjunctive. We
started working on the section reviewing infinitive phrase idioms and will discuss those tomorrow after the quiz.
All of these things address patterns of error in the writing we have done so far. Tomorrow we have listening charts
and blue folder essays due, plus the vocabulary quiz over La naturaleza y los desastres.
February 23: We studied for a couple minutes for focus and then took our quiz over La naturaleza. We reviewed
infinitive phrases, ser and estar and the present progressive. We will go over a couple more things on Monday and
then move on. Blue folder essays were due today along with listening charts. We will have listening charts,
reading charts on Nicaragua and red folder essays due next Friday. Our next vocabulary will be El consumo. Sets
will be on GC today.
February 26: We finished our grammar review, focusing on verbs we often confuse with each other, the proper
format for gustar-like verbs and reflexive verbs. We will go over por and para at a later date. Please use the
grammar review I posted at the beginning of the year to practice anything you are less confident with and I will be
glad to look that work over and give you feedback.
February 27: We started a new theme today, La vida contemporánea, in the subtheme on education and careers.
We started with exploring vocabulary with professions and then continued on to an article about floating schools in
Argentina.
February 28: We continued with our new theme using the Temas book with an article on future professions in a
world with so many technological advances, pp 215-217.
February 29: We discussed the article we read yesterday on pp 215-217 in the Temas book. Remember the vocab
quiz tomorrow and that listening charts, reading charts (Nicaragua) and red folders are due.
March 1: We studied for a couple minutes and took the quiz over El consumo, set 1. Listening charts, reading
charts and red folder essays were due today. We will have listening charts next week and green folders will be
due also. The vocab for next week will be El consumo, set 2.
March 5: We finished reading the article on new types of careers in the future. We read the cultural connections
afterward and discussed what we could use for the cultural comparison on that page. We continued on to the
next subtheme on entertainment and fun and had a discussion based on the activities in the introduction.
March 6: We discussed alimentary habits in the US and in Spanish-speaking countries, especially with regard to
eating with the family and extended family. We read through a mole recipe, searching for new and interesting
vocabulary and reviewing cooking and kitchen terms.
March 7: We did some intro activities and discussion to an interview with an actress on a Spanish TV series,
experiencing some industry terms for discussing shows along the way. We will finish going over the rest of the
interview tomorrow after the quiz on El consumo, set 2. Listening Charts will be due tomorrow along with green
folder essays.
March 8: Listening charts and green folder essays were due. We studied for a couple minutes and then took the
quiz over El consumo, set 2. We will have a quiz next Friday over sets 3 and 4. Next week we will have listening
charts and reading charts (Uruguay) and yellow folder essays are due. DO NOT FORGET that we will do the
statewide composition contest on Wednesday, March 13, so please be present. We also finished discussing the
reading from yesterday.
March 11: We discussed how our cultural perspectives are evident in the things we do for fun or entertainment and
read some culture points on the same in some Hispanic countries. We moved on to travel and leisure. We did
some exploring of related vocabulary and then read through an email that we will discuss tomorrow.
March 12: We discussed the reading from yesterday and moved on to the intro and intro activities for a story by
Sepúlveda. We did the vocabulary activities prior to reading the story and will finish with those tomorrow and
exploring the places mentioned in the story. Then we will read it.
March 13: Apparently having lost my mind, I forgot all about the composition contest that we were supposed to
complete today. We will complete it next Wednesday. Instead we continued with our story Mundo al fin del mundo.
We will finish that tomorrow.
March 14: We finished reading the story by Sepúlveda. We also read the culture connections page after the story
and discussed what we might use to compare how the geography of some locations in Spanish-speaking places
and US places have created tourism.
March 15: We studied for a couple minutes, then took the quiz over El consumo, sets 3,4. Yellow folders, listening
charts and reading charts (Uruguay) were due today. We had a presentation from Spanish 4 on research into
sounds of Spanish in different regions. We will have a quiz over Relaciones personales, set 1 next Friday, plus
listening charts and blue folder essays will be due. DON'T FORGET the composition contest next Wednesday.
Also, don't let me forget - UGH!
March 18: We watched a senior project presentation and gave constructive feedback to the presenter. We moved
on to the subtheme of personal relationships. Our vocabulary this week will also be on this theme. We read the
intro on p 255 and did activities 1 and 3 to increase vocabulary and discuss the basics of this theme. We
moved on to friendships and how those change with different stages of life. We read the intro on p 256 and
started activity 1. We will continue with the activities and the article La evolución de la amistad tomorrow.
March 19: We finished activities 1 on p 256 and then read the article "La evolución de la amistad" on pp 257-258.
We read the introduction to part of a story by Cortázar. We started with activity 1 to gain some vocabulary on
p 260. Tomorrow we will be participating in the statewide composition contest. Your teachers have been notified
that class may run over a little bit to have the entire hour to write.
March 20: We participated in the statewide composition contest today.
March 21: We did activities 2 and 3 on p 260 and we started reading a portion of Cartas de mamá by Cortázar.
March 22: We studied for a couple minutes and then took the quiz over Relaciones personales, sets 1,2. We
finished reading and discussing the excerpt by Cortázar.
March 25: We finished the last couple paragraphs of the story by Cortázar and discussed the comprehension
questions afterward. We moved on to discuss the cultural comparison question on p 267 about what gestures,
language and actions we use to indicate affection and friendship here in the US and in Hispanic countries. We
read the cultural points on that page to have specific examples from Spanish-speaking places.
March 26: We continued on to the last two sections of La vida contemporánea, lifestyles and traditions/values. We
will finish those discussions tomorrow. After that, we will only be practicing for the exam from then on. Everyone
said they needed more listening practice and speaking practice, so we will start and end with those, however, there
are plenty of activities available to you in AP Classroom and you should make use of those activities as much as
possible between now and the test.
March 27: We discussed traditions and values using the activities on p 273. We will finish that discussion and
exploration of that vocabulary tomorrow.
March 28: We finished up with traditions and values on p 273 in Temas. We discussed Latin women in history for
Women's History Month. We also discussed the significance of Semana Santa in Spanish-speaking places and
watched two short videos about traditions in Spain.
March 29: We studied for a couple minutes, then took our quiz over Relaciones personales, sets 3,4. We will take
a quiz over Relaciones personales 2, sets 1,2 next Friday, April 5. We turned in listening and reading charts (Costa
Rica). We will only have listening charts next week. Essay folders will not be due until April 19 - the last one for
red and green folders. Yellow and blue folders will be due April 26. We will be practicing full time for the exam
starting next week. We will still have charts and vocabulary every week.
April 1: We started practicing full time for the exam today. We did two audio activities and will do some more
tomorrow. Please use AP Classroom activities as much as possible to practice on your own as well.
April 2: We continued with audio activities today. Please use AP Classroom activities to practice further.
April 3: We continued with audio activities today. Please use AP Classroom activities to practice further on your
own. We will do print/audio tomorrow.
April 4: We started working with print/audio activities today.
April 5: We turned in listening charts. We will have listening charts, red and green folder essays due on Friday,
April 19. We will also have a vocabulary quiz over Relaciones personales 2, sets 3,4. We studied for a couple
minutes and then took our quiz over Relaciones personales 2, sets 1,2. After the quiz, we did another print/audio
activity. We will focus on the simulated conversation when we return from break.
April 16: We started working on interpersonal communication activities today. We discussed best strategy and did
three activities from the new Temas practice book. We will continue working with these activities tomorrow.
April 17: We continued practicing interpersonal communication activities.
April 18: We continued practicing interpersonal communication activities. We will do this tomorrow as well. Red
and green folder essays are due tomorrow. Yellow and blue folders are due next week. We will have a listening
chart due tomorrow as well, and next week listening and reading. We will pick a country tomorrow. We will not
have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow, but we will next week over Relaciones personales 2, sets 3,4.
April 19: We did more practice with the interpersonal communication part of the exam today. We will work on
cultural comparisons next week. Don't forget that more practice can be found on AP classroom and hopefully
the activities we have in our practice books can be added to Google Classroom as well.
April 22: We started with presentational speaking tasks today. First, we reviewed some culture connections in the
text and took notes on those. Then, we discussed strategies for this section of the test, reviewed the instructions
for this section and then did one activity today. We will continue tomorrow.
April 23: We received a packet of helpful hints and strategies for each section of the test, including some useful
vocabulary. We did four cultural comparisons after that. We will continue tomorrow.
April 24: Spanish 4 presented the results of a project on the Basque region of Spain today. We continued with
gathering our culture points.