OVERVIEW AND GENERAL GOALS
Spanish 4 Honors is the culmination of the four year honors track at Xavier High School. The course aims to synthesize the previous three years of language instruction by doing an intense review of the salient points of Spanish grammar. Advanced, new vocabulary is introduced with every lesson. In addition, a literary component is present, whereby the students read short stories and articles by famous Spanish and Latin American authors. Speaking and writing skills are also perfected via writing and oral exercises completed in class, for weekly projects, and for homework.
First Marking Period
- The present indicative mode
- Ser, estar, and gustar
- Adjective agreement
- Present Progressive
- Present Perfect
- Preterite and Imperfect
- Direct and Indirect Objects
- The pluperfect tense
- “Historia de cronopios y de famas” by Julio Cortazar (reading)
- “El nacimiento” by Carmen Kurtz (reading)
- “Los juegos de Lilus” by Elena Poniatowska (reading)
Second Marking Period
● The future tense
● The future perfect
● The conditional tense
● Reflexive verbs
● Commands
● “Tecnología, rumbo al futuro” (reading)
● “Protejamos nuestra Tierra” (reading)
Third Marking Period
● The present subjunctive
● The subjunctive with expressions of emotion
● The subjunctive expressions of doubt
● The present perfect subjunctive
● The subjunctive in adjectival clauses
● Prepositions
● “Tiempo Libre” by Guillermo Samperio (reading)
● “Chac Mool” by Carlos Fuentes (reading)
- “Enero: Tortas de Navidad” by Laura Esquivel (reading)
Fourth Marking Period
- The use of the subjunctive in adverbial clauses
- The imperfect subjunctive in nominal, adjectival, and adverbial clauses
- The pluperfect subjunctive
- The Passive voice versus the active voice
- Uses of the gerund, infinitive, and participle
- “El hijo” by Horacio Quiroga (reading)
- “A Julia de Burgos” by Julia de Burgos (poem)
- “Don Quijote de la Mancha” (excerpt) by Miguel de Cervantes (reading)
ASSESSMENT
Testing is done through daily quizzes. Short compositions will be assigned, and exams will be administered throughout the year. There will be Internet Assignments posted on the teacher’s website.
TEXTS
Nuevas Vistas, by María Elena Alvarado, Sylvia Madrigal Velasco, and Virginia Maricochi (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston Inc.)
Workbook: Spanish Three Years by Stephen L. Levy/Robert J. Nassi (AMSCO School Publications, Inc.) |