Spanish 1B Course expectations for 2019-2020
Mrs. Morrow
smorrow@elmiracityschools.com
¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español! – Welcome to Spanish class
What will I learn in this class? – This class is a beginning Spanish course. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate in short phrases in Spanish and hold very basic conversations. The curriculum is aligned to the old New York LOTE proficiency exams in Spanish. Upon completion of the course, students should know the following in Spanish:
Mrs. Morrow
smorrow@elmiracityschools.com
¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español! – Welcome to Spanish class
What will I learn in this class? – This class is a beginning Spanish course. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate in short phrases in Spanish and hold very basic conversations. The curriculum is aligned to the old New York LOTE proficiency exams in Spanish. Upon completion of the course, students should know the following in Spanish:
- Numbers 1-100
- Telling dates
- Weather
- Personal ID vocabulary
- Education vocabulary
- Food vocabulary
- Community vocabulary
- Clothing and shopping vocabulary
- Travel vocabulary
- House and home vocabulary
- Family vocabulary
- Occupation vocabulary
- Present tense verb conjugations
- Noun / subject agreement
- Basic adjective agreement
What is expected out of me in this class?
- Speak Spanish as much as possible
- Arrive to class on time
- Participate in class
- Be respectful
- Bring ALL materials to class everyday
- No cell phone use in class
What do I need for this class?
- Either a binder or a very sturdy folder
- 4 pencils to turn in
- 3 expo markers to turn in
- Paper
- 1 glue sticks to turn in
- Curriculum book (provided)
- 1 highlighter to turn in (NOT YELLOW)
- box of markers or colored pencils to turn in
How will I be graded?
Homework = 15%
Class Participation = 10%
Class work = 30%
Quizzes / tests / projects = 45%
Class Participation = 10%
Class work = 30%
Quizzes / tests / projects = 45%
Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones should be off and away during class time. The first time I see a phone out, I will ask the students to put it away. Should I see it again, I will ask for the student to hand over their phone for the remainder of the period. Should a student refuse to handover their cell phone, as per EDA policy, an administrator or SRO will be called to confiscate the cell phone and a parent will need to come to the school to pick up the device. Should I have to confiscate a phone multiple times from a student, that will also be grounds for turning in a phone to administration.
Class Participation – Students must actively participate in class and come to class with all required materials. A class participation grade will be calculated every 5 weeks. Using Spanish in class, being prepared, completing assigned work and contributing to class discussions will positively impact the participation grade. Skipping class, frequent tardies, cell phone use or abuse, not completing required assignments and lack of participation will negatively impact this grade.
Cell phones should be off and away during class time. The first time I see a phone out, I will ask the students to put it away. Should I see it again, I will ask for the student to hand over their phone for the remainder of the period. Should a student refuse to handover their cell phone, as per EDA policy, an administrator or SRO will be called to confiscate the cell phone and a parent will need to come to the school to pick up the device. Should I have to confiscate a phone multiple times from a student, that will also be grounds for turning in a phone to administration.
Class Participation – Students must actively participate in class and come to class with all required materials. A class participation grade will be calculated every 5 weeks. Using Spanish in class, being prepared, completing assigned work and contributing to class discussions will positively impact the participation grade. Skipping class, frequent tardies, cell phone use or abuse, not completing required assignments and lack of participation will negatively impact this grade.
Quizzes – Students will be given a quiz on average of once a week. Generally, I give quizzes on Fridays and they will focus on grammar and vocabulary topics. There are no retakes for quizzes. Students should study and plan accordingly for tests and quizzes.
Homework – Homework will be assigned weekly. Typically it will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Generally homework packets will focus on vocabulary topics. Any homework turned in early will receive a 10 point bonus. Any late homework will receive a 20 point penalty. From time to time, there may be opportunities in the homework packet to earn some extra points.
Projects –Students will be asked to complete various projects throughout the year both in and outside of class. All projects will be counted as a quiz grade. In the past these have been fun activities like creating a scrapbook in Spanish, a make believe family tree, a monster body poster, a postcard about themselves.
Class Work – Any work completed in class can be graded. These could be warmup activities, exit cards, writing prompts, work sheets etc. I reserve the right to assign a zero for any classwork a student misses if they skip class! Generally, I do not allow students to make up classwork they refused to complete. I also reserve the right to not allow a student to make up work they previously refused to do in class.
Parent Contact – If there are any issues with your child’s academic or behavioral performance in this class, I like to contact parents via e-mail. I have found this to be the fastest and most effective means of communication. I am asking families to please verify with the school that they have your most current email address on file. I use the e-mail address that is linked to the student’s record. I also like to send updates as to what we are doing in class at least twice a month. I also encourage parents sign up and frequently check the parent portal for the most up to date progress of your child. I may not have time to individually contact every family this year. However, I encourage you to send emails and ask questions about your child’s progress. I typically respond to emails within a 24 hour period barring holidays and weekends.
Extra Credit – I generally do not offer extra credit assignments. There may be times when I will offer everyone an opportunity for extra credit. I will not offer extra credit for students as a last resort to raise their grades before a report card is due. Students are encouraged to come see me after school or during available periods throughout the day. I also encourage students to e-mail me to ask questions about assignments if they are experiencing difficulties.
Bathroom Policy – Students are expected to take care of their personal needs between classes. As it is important for students to be in class to learn, students will be penalized participation points for excessively abusing and not taking care of this between classes. This is basically to deter the students from leaving the class and prioritizing how they should be budgeting their time. Should there be excessive overuse of the restroom during any 1 class period, I reserve the right to revoke sending students to the restroom that period. I also reserve the right to have students complete work before using the restroom Of course, any student that has a medical allowance for unrestricted use of the bathroom on file with the school nurse, will not be penalized for use of the restroom.
EXTRA HELP – I will be available to students for extra help during SAS. As the year progresses, there will be times that I will be after school as part of the APEX program for tutoring. Students wishing to work with me after school should see me as soon as possible and give me at least 24 hour notice.
Backpack policy - As per EDA policy this year, students must store their backpacks in their lockers at all times. Per school policy, phone calls will be made home and referrals are to be made for non compliant students as this is a safety issue.
Student name _____________________ Student signature _________________________________
Parent name ______________________ Parent signature __________________________________
Parent e-mail (please make sure this is the e-mail address on file with the school)