Spanish Courses

Spanish 1

Grade: 9-12 Duration/Credit Year / 10 Credits UC/CSU:
Yes; “e” - World Languages
Prerequisite: None.

Students will learn how to communicate about themselves, friends, and family members. Students will learn skills such as useful conversational phrases for daily life, telling time, descriptions, likes/dislikes, family, sports, etc. Students will learn to read, write, speak, and understand basic Spanish. Students will also be exposed to a variety of Spanish-speaking cultures and traditions from the Spanish-speaking world. While the primary focus of the course is to develop overall communicative proficiency and vocabulary, we will also focus on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation as needed.

Spanish 2

Grade: 9-12
Duration/Credits      Year/10 Credits
UC/CSU: Yes; “e” - World Languages

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Spanish 1. Students who come from a Spanish-speaking home or who attended a Spanish-immersion program should provide a writing sample to assure appropriate placement.
Students will continue to learn conversation for daily life, building on what they already know. The topics covered include hobbies, extra-curricular activities, vacations, shopping, clothing styles, the morning routine, and childhood activities. In addition, students will continue to build their reading, writing, and listening skills. Finally, students will learn about a variety of cultural elements of the diverse Spanish speaking world including places to visit, music, and celebrations.

Spanish 3

Grade: 9-12
Duration/Credits         Year/10 Credits
UC/CSU: Yes; “e” - World Languages

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Spanish 2. Students who come from a Spanish-speaking home or who attended a Spanish-immersion program should provide a writing sample to assure appropriate placement.
Students will continue to acquire skills for maintaining more complex conversations in Spanish. Students will read, write, and talk about nature, sports, music, drama, food, and culture. Students will continue to focus on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation, with a particular emphasis on the most commonly used verb tenses.

Spanish for Native Speakers

Grade: 9-12
Duration/Credits         Year/10 Credits
UC/CSU: Yes; “e” - World Languages. Note: passing the course with a C- or higher fulfills the two-year UC/CSU requirement.

Prerequisite: Students have conversational Spanish from an early age, from a Spanish-speaking home or by attending a Spanish-immersion program. Students need a teacher recommendation and writing sample.

In the course we will focus on the four modes of communication: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish (students and teacher). With respect to language, we will also increase our vocabularies, work on our grammar and spelling (including written accents), and we’ll focus on the difference between formal and informal language. We will also explore other personal and cultural topics such as Hispanic/Latino identity and bilingualism, the community, culture, the news, influential Latinos, literature, art, and more.
En el curso, vamos a mejorar los cuatro modos de la comunicación: escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir.  En esta clase solo hablamos en español. Ampliaremos el vocabulario, perfeccionaremos la gramática y la ortografía (el alfabeto y los acentos/tildes) y nos centraremos en la diferencia entre el habla “formal” e “informal.” También vamos a tratar los temas de la identidad hispana/latina y el bilingüismo, la comunidad, noticias, la cultura, latinos de gran influencia, la literatura, el arte y más.

AP Spanish

Grade: 10-12
Duration/Credits             Year/10 Credits
UC/CSU: Yes; “e” - World Languages

Prerequisite: Students must pass Spanish 3, Spanish for Native Speakers, or demonstrate equivalent skills.

This course is conducted entirely in Spanish and organized by thematic units about the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.  Students will develop their reading, writing, and speaking skills as they learn about topics stuck as Mayan culture (indigenous group from Central America), No hay que complicar la felicidad (a short play), and Son Jarocho music (from Veracruz, Mexico).  In addition, students will learn about and practice all sections of the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam.