In Spanish 2A, students will continue their language learning journey by exploring the Spanish-speaking world. Students will use the language to learn about the cultural practices and products of Spanish-speaking countries while following the journey of fictional Spanish-speaking friends, as they themselves explore and share what they’ve learned about different Spanish-speaking countries.
Spanish 2A is the first semester of a two-semester course. The class takes a proficiency-based approach which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use, with grammar being learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. The course will incorporate grammatical concepts including: continuing use of present tense conjugations (including reflexive verbs), imperatives, indirect/direct object pronouns, and continuing to use past tense in both preterite and imperfect forms.
Prerequisites: Spanish 1A and 1B - Students should be familiar with: present tense conjugations (with stem-changers), gustar (and similar verbs), possessive adjectives, adjective agreement, estar + prepositions, present progressive tense, ir + a + infinitive, affirmative formal and informal imperatives, indirect/direct object pronouns, and basic first person preterite tense.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Describe how languages are learned, assess their progress in learning Spanish, and the strategies and mindsets they would like to implement to become a successful language learner
- Introduce and give basic information about themselves
- Engage appropriately in interpersonal conversations
- Use detailed descriptions to describe family, friends, and acquaintances
- Describe activities and routines related to their daily life and social life at home and at school
- Discuss body, health, and experiences in the doctor office and pharmacy settings
- Compare products, practices, and perspectives of Spanish-speaking cultures with those of their own
- Use past tense and descriptive language to describe setting and retelling of an event or story
Course Outline:
Unidad 1: Mis Experiencias y Metas
Unidad 2: Mi Vida Diaria y Social
Unidad 3: Mi Salud
Unidad 4: Mi Historia
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.