This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. This is the first semester of a two-semester course sequence. In this course, students will gain the skills to talk about themselves and the world around them. Students will learn to introduce themselves, as well as describe their family and friends, what they like to do for fun, and their daily routines at home and school. Throughout the course, students will meet three fictional characters and some of their Spanish-speaking friends who will share their experiences in school, at home, and in other parts of their daily lives.
The class takes a proficiency-based approach, informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use, and grammar is taught implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. Grammar concepts taught include present tense conjugations (with some stem-changers), gustar (and similar verbs), possessive adjectives, adjective agreement, estar + prepositions, present progressive tense, and ir + a + infinitive.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to apply Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and acquired vocabulary in order to...
- Introduce and give basic information about yourself
- Describe basic information about your family, friends, and acquaintances
- Explain basic information about your hobbies, habits, and activities
- Identify activities related to your daily life at home and school
- Compare products, practices, and perspectives of Spanish-speaking cultures with those of your own
- Describe how languages are learned and assess your progress in learning Spanish
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Soy Yo
Unit 2: Las Personas de Mi Vida
Unit 3: Las Actividades y Las Responsabilidades
Unit 4: Mi Vida y Futuro
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: None
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will need a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. NOTE: Students must possess a working microphone and webcam on their device in order to record and submit audio and video files using either the embedded recording tools within the Brightspace learning management system or another means of recording and submitting audio and video files for world language performance assessments.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: Students will require a computer device with a webcam, speakers and a microphone. Students are required to contact their instructor to schedule one or more live speaking assessments during the course.