Spanish 1

Course Syllabus
Seora Fitzmorris
2015-2016
Contact Information
Teacher Name: Maria Luisa Fitzmorris
Email: marial.fitzmorris@raypec.org
Room Number: 211
Course Description
This course assumes no prior knowledge of Spanish. The purpose of Spanish 1 is to develop advanced
thinking skills that can be applied to future study of Spanish, and eventually college-level work.
Spanish 1 will familiarize students with Hispanic cultures and life, and aid them in the application of
the language. Projects in this course will reinforce and develop the students knowledge of the
language and cultures around the world that use the Spanish language every day. The study of
Spanish will enrich the students school experiences and teach them to appreciate and value other
cultures outside of their own. Spanish 1 is important in the development of critical thinking skills. By
the end of the year students will be able to communicate at a basic level through speaking, reading,
listening and writing. RECOMMENDED GRADE: It is recommended that students have at least
a C- in both semesters of their CA class the year prior to studying Spanish 1.
Course Goals
Students who elect to participate in learning a foreign language in the Raymore-Peculiar School
District will learn to communicate in Spanish through speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Students will also develop an understanding of cultures and traditions of a variety of Spanishspeaking countries.
Essential Understandings
The American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, or ACTFL, has developed content
standards, or essential understandings that all students should be able to do with foreign language
education. The following are the national foreign language standards (essential understandings)
upheld in the Raymore-Peculiar School District:
Communication Communicate in languages other than English
Cultures Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures
Connections Connect with other disciplines and acquire information
Comparisons Develop insight into the nature of language and culture
Communities Participate in multilingual communities at home and
around the world
*Adapted from the ACTFL website

Power Standards
1. The student will be able to comprehend and interpret a variety of authentic input.
2. The student will be able to use spoken language to communicate.
3. The student will be able to use the language to communicate in writing.
Course Textbook
A variety of resources will be utilized during this
course, however, our main textbook will be the
Viajes: Introduccin al espaol (2 edition).
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Course Units
This is a general guideline of the
Spanish 1 units and is subject to
change.
Unit 1 Nice to meet you
Unit 2 In a Spanish class
Unit 3 Family reunion
Unit 4 Free time
Unit 5 At home

Classroom Expectations
Students are expected to uphold all of the standards for student conduct stated in the student
handbook as well as the following classroom expectations. Students will receive one warning for
infractions of any of the expectations and then they may be sent to a buddy room, recovery room or
to the principal. They must process with me (before or after school) about the problem before they
are allowed to come back into the classroom. Repeated offenses will result in calls or emails to
parents and possible referrals to the principal.

Respect other people, their belongings, and the space youre in (be kind and polite, dont
curse, leave others belongings alone, dont interrupt the teacher or other students, clean up
messes, etc.).
Preparation be prepared to participate in class every day (this means bringing your
materials with you).
Following directions this includes being seated and quietly working on bellwork when the
bell rings.
Integrity honesty, doing your own work and making the right choices.
Choose your mood please come to class with a positive attitude.

Attendance, Tardies, and Hall Passes

Regular attendance is vital to learning a foreign language. It is important to be in class, on

time, everyday.

Students who arrive tardy to class are expected to join the class ready to learn. Any practice
missed due to tardiness is irretrievable.

A student may use his/her agenda hall passes and ID badge to be excused from class for an
emergency restroom break only. (I will NOT sign passes the first and last 10 minutes of the
period and remember that you are only allowed 1 pass per week.)
Classroom Procedures
Entering the classroom: Students are expected to use passing time to prepare for class. All items
necessary for class (paper, writing utensil, agenda, etc.) should be brought by the student.
Bellwork: Each class period will begin with a 5 minute assignment. This assignment will either serve
as a review over previously taught material or prepare students for a specific class activity.
End of class: Students will be given a few minutes notice to the end of the period. Students should
return the supplies and the classroom to its original appearance, and wait in their seats for the end of
class.
Travel time / Non-travelers: Students are expected to remain in their seat until they are dismissed
by the bell. Students ARE NOT to line up at the door.
Electronic devices: Cell phones, iPods, mp3 players, and other electronic devices may not be used
in class. If these items are in use without prior teacher approval or unnecessarily visible, the
device will be confiscated. Confiscated items will be taken to the appropriate administrator.
Dress code: The classroom environment is reserved for educational purposes. Inappropriate dress
that disrupts the instructional environment will not be tolerated.
Food & drink: Only water is allowed in the classroom. No gum or food should be consumed in class.

Grading Policy

The following standard scale will be used to

determine letter grades:
A
100-93%
A92-90%
B+
89-88%
B
87-83%
B82-80%
C+
79-78%
C
77-73%
C72-70%
D+ 69-68%
D
67-63%
D62-60%
F
59-0%

Overall grades are broken down as

follows:

Formative Assessments
(30%)
Summative Assessments
(60%)
Semester Final (10% of
overall grade)

Materials
The following are things students should have in class every day:

3 ring binder (1 inch) with 6 dividers and paper (you will need your binder
EVERYDAY)

Pens and/or pencils, blue or black ink preferred

Agenda & ID badge for keeping track of assignments & for ALL passes out of class

Please donate items for the classroom Expo dry erase markers, hand
sanitizer, Kleenex and Clorox Wipes.
RPHS Late Work Policy
At Raymore-Peculiar High School, academic achievement, student responsibility, and student success
are of paramount importance. All homework, assignment, or project deadlines will be strictly adhered
to as defined by the classroom teacher. Student failure to complete work by an established deadline
will result in a corresponding grade that matches the completed nature of the content being submitted
at the time of the deadline. Students who fail to submit any work at the time of a deadline can expect
that a zero will be entered for their grade.
RPHS Redo Policy
With the above policy being implemented, however, the staff and administration at RPHS fully
understand that all students learn at different rates and under different parameters, and we believe
that every student should be afforded the opportunity for academic success. Therefore, in an attempt
to honor our commitment to student success, RPHS will provide our students with the opportunity to
relearn/redo information based on specific and timely teacher feedback. Throughout the course of
the semester, students will be afforded three opportunities in each of their foreign language class to
redo formative assessments. It is very important to note that the purpose of this policy is to provide
students with genuine opportunities to relearn information, not to provide unlimited opportunities to
redo materials.
Before students are allowed to redo any formative assessment, they will be required to visit with the
classroom teacher to establish the relearning parameters (a relearning contract if you wish) that must
be fulfilled to demonstrate their efforts to relearn the information. In order to begin the relearning
process, it will be the sole obligation and responsibility of the student to initiate a conversation or visit
with the classroom teacher within one week of receiving a score and/or teacher feedback on the
original formative assessment. Once the relearning parameters have been established and agreed
upon, any student failure to adhere to the newly established timeframe will cause an immediate
forfeiture in the students ability to redo the formative assessment.
Assessments and the redo policy:
Formative Assessments:
30% of your grade
These are regular quizzes to assess student learning at any point in the unit. They help guide
the teacher in instructional planning. They can be announced or unannounced.
Formative assessments may be retaken. This is an intervention for struggling students not an
easy out for lazy students.
Remember, per the RPHS redo policy you are only allowed 3 retakes per semester.
All retakes must be completed before the Summative Assessment for the current unit.
In order to retake a student must:
contact your teacher within a week of receiving your score
fill out an Academic Contract and turn in to me prior to the date of retake

show me evidence of participation and active learning: some examples are completed
bellwork, completed homework, participation in class activities, proactive attendance in
tutoring, etc.
show me your corrected original formative assessment and any extra help
necessary: tutoring, online practice, etc.

Since youve had extra tutoring and extra time to study, you should get a better score
than the 1 assessment if you are thoughtfully studying. The grade you will receive will be the
2 grade even if it is worse than the 1 grade.

To retake, expect that the 2 assessment will test the same skills but will be more
difficult.
Summative Assessments:
60% of your grade
Summative assessments are the unit assessments or projects that encompass multiple skills
from the unit. Students will have at least one summative assessment per unit which will be
announced.
Summative assessments are NOT eligible for a retake.
Semester Final:
10% of your OVERALL grade
This is a comprehensive assessment over the entire semester. Students will demonstrate
mastery of the unit concepts and foreign language standards. A student may not retake the
final exam.
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Finding out student grades

A grade check will be provided to students every three weeks in their advisement class. Students and parents
may also use SIS online to view grades at anytime.

To be successful in Foreign Language:

Pay attention. Students should be actively engaged, staying on task, taking additional notes,
conversing in Spanish in class discussions or question-answer period, and reading along in guided
texts.

Study vocabulary. Study on a daily basis outside of the classroom, usually only about 5-10
minutes.

Do your homework. This is the students chance for feedback and practice before they are
assessed. Homework is not busy work as it is directly linked to assessments and standards.
Often the assessments, both formative and summative, come directly from the homework.
Feedback is not calculated in the students grade in the class. NO points will be given for
daily homework.

Get organized. Your notebook is your textbook. All your resources (grammar and vocabulary
notes) should be easy to find and use on a daily basis.
Parents/Guardians:
I look forward to working with you and your student this year! I have included my contact information
at the top of the front page. I will keep in contact by using e-mail when available.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have at any time.
Thanks,

Maria Luisa Menendez Llosa

Fitzmorris