Course Syllabus

CAÑADA COLLEGE
Spanish 801
Fall 2002

Text:
Puntos de Partida, Knorre et al., 6th edition: textbook, workbook and lab manual.

Objectives:
This course is designed to develop basic oral communication skills in Spanish to allow the students to use the language to talk about themselves, their families, their studies, other occupations, their surroundings, etc. Cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world will be highlighted, in order to raise cultural awareness and to use the language in a culturally appropriate manner.

Attendance:
Attendance is required. If a student is unable to attend class for any reason, the student is still responsible for all work done during the missed class and for the adequate preparation of the following class as well. According to college policy, a student may be withdrawn from the class if s/he misses the equivalent of two weeks of instruction.

Participation:
Participation is not only strongly encouraged but also absolutely essential in order to accomplish the course objectives. Students are expected to prepare for class by studying the assigned pages from the book and completing assignments BEFORE each class meeting. Required class preparation and relevant dates for homework and exams are given in the course schedule. Poor participation/lack of preparation will result in a reduction of the final grade.

Exams:
In this class we will cover capítulo preliminar through capítulo 4 from the textbook. There will be a quiz after chapters preliminar + 1, one covering chapter 2, and one covering chapter 3. If a student misses a quiz, s/he will receive a grade of 0 (zero) for that quiz. The lowest quiz score will be dropped. The material in chapter 4 will be in the final exam, which will be COMPREHENSIVE. Exam dates are in the course schedule.

Homework:
Students need to complete the sections vocabulario, pronunciación y ortografía and minidiálogos y gramática in the workbook (50%) and in the laboratory manual (all). Homework is worth 20% of the final grade (4 points per chapter, 2 for workbook + 2 for lab). The remaining sections in the workbook and lab manual may be done for extra credit (up to 2 points per chapter). Due dates are listed in the course schedule.

Late assignments:
I understand that we all have busy lives and emergencies sometimes do arise. Therefore, each student will be allowed to use 3 "late days" for homework without any penalty. These 3 "late days" can be used as needed (one at a time, all at once, etc). Once these days have been used, no late assignments will be accepted (i.e., no credit for late assignments)

Oral presentation:
Students will prepare an oral presentation for the class. Oral presentations can be scheduled throughout the semester, but no later than December 5.

Final grade:
The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows:

Quizzes	40 points (3 quizzes, lowest dropped)
Presentation	20 points
Homework	20 points (+10 points possible for extra credit)
Final Exam	20 points

 

 

 

The final letter grade for the class will be based on the following scale:
A: 91-100
B: 81-90
C: 71-80
D: 61-70
F: below 61


Course Schedule:

22 de agosto:
introductions; greetings (4-5). alfabeto, pronunciación (6-7)

29 de agosto:
Spanish (10-12);
Hispanics (20-21,28-30).
cognados (8-9,13-14)
números (16-17); la hora (21-23)

5 de septiembre:
gustos (17-19);
Vocabulario cap. 1 (34-36)
1 y 2. nouns and articles (38-43)

12 de septiembre:
3. subject pronouns, -ar verbs, negation (44-50)
4. yes/no questions (50-52); question words (24-25)
Education in Spanish-speaking countries (37; 60-61)

19 de septiembre:
Repaso. Quiz 1.
Video 1.
HW Cap. preliminar + 1 due

26 de septiembre:
Vocabulario cap. 2 (66-71).
5. ser (73-75)
6. possessive adjectives (77-79)

3 de octubre:
7. adjectives (80-84)
8. -er/-ir verbs (85-89)
Hispanic last names (70);
Hispanic families (96-98)

10 de octubre:
Repaso. Quiz 2.
HW 2 due.
Video 2.

17 de octubre:
Vocabulario cap. 3 (102-108);
Guayabera (106); lectura (128-9)
9. demonstrative adjectives (110-112)

24 de octubre:
10. tener, venir, etc (114-117)
11. ir (118-119)

31 de octubre:
Repaso. Quiz 3.
HW 3 due.
Video 3.

7 de noviembre:
Vocabulario días, meses, estaciones, fechas (132;162);
Vocabulario casas (133); Houses in the Hispanic World (135)
Preposiciones (134)
12. hacer, oír, etc (136-138)

14 de noviembre:
13. stem-changing verbs (139-142).
Presentaciones

21 de noviembre:
14. reflexives (142-145);
Presentaciones

5 de diciembre:
Presentaciones.
HW 4 due. Repaso.

12 de diciembre:
Examen Final