Spanish
McNicholas High School
Bienvenidos
Dear students,
I am your Spanish teacher, Mrs. Canisalez. I hope you have enjoyed your summer vacation. I am really looking forward to getting to know each one of you.
A little bit about me: I have been teaching Spanish since 1996. I began teaching at McNicholas in 2001. I really love teaching Spanish at my alma mater. Go Rockets (Class of '91)! I studied Spanish at Northern Kentucky University and Wright State University. I love travelling especially to Spain, Italy and Mexico. I also have organized many educational tours and including, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Monaco, France, Puerto Rico, and Africa. I will be sure to tell you lots of stories about my travels.
In addition to teaching, I also moderate the Rockets for Life, organize trips to Washington DC for the March for Life, sponsor the Spanish National Honor Society, and moderate the Spanish Club here at McNicholas. I also help coordinate the Guatemalan and Spanish exchange student programs. Furthermore, my husband and I live in Cincinnati. Our son, Louie, a future Rocket currently attends Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Below you will find your course syllabus. We will discuss this during your first week of school. I'm so blessed to have you as my students. I can't wait to start teaching you some Spanish! Let's go Rockets!
¡Que Dios te bendiga!
Mrs. Canisalez
Email: tcanisalez@mcnhs.org
Website: traceycanisalez.weebly.com
Phone: 513-417-4142
Facebook: facebook.com/dietzcanisalez
Twitter: @TCanisalez
Course Syllabus
Email: tcanisalez@mcnhs.org
Course objective: To increase understanding of the Spanish language, develop skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish, and increase awareness of customs, traditions and values of Spanish-speaking countries.
The Essential Skill: Communication- the ultimate goal is to be able to proficiently communicate in Spanish with native Spanish speakers.
Textbook: Español Santillana, Interactive Student Edition Text with links to audio, video and photo galleries, Practice workbook, Speaking workbook and Listening Workbook are available on Schoology. Also for native Spanish-speakers we also have Cuadernos para Hispanohablantes available.
We will use Schoology to connect to our text, workbook and fans online activities. These contain interactive vocabulary, grammar, communication and cultural activities.
Fans de Español: allows students to follow the characters (or fans) from the student textbook that will provide different challenges as we travel to different destinations. Four pairs of fans of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures travel to different Spanish-speaking countries to get to know the the people, landscapes, cities, customs and traditions of the Spanish-speaking world. Our mission is to find the most surprising place, the most fun costumes and traditions. In each country we will take on Desafios (challenges) that each pair will try and complete. Will we succeed? Por supuesto!
Class Novels: In addition to our Santillana online materials, students will read leveled novels in class.
Honor Students: will have additional work assigned.
Duolingo: Students will engage in this website and app with weekly goals to be completed outside of class or at home. Using Duolingo weekly (or better yet daily) will greatly improve students learning. Duolingo is like having a private Spanish tutor. It's free and easy to use.
Necessary Materials: Headphones with microphone (or ear-buds with built in microphone)
Teacher Wishlist Items (Not Mandatory) - Any of the following items will greatly be appreciated:
- A box of tissues
- Disinfectant wipes
- Crayola markers
- Highlighters
- Expo dry erase markers (black or assorted colors)
- Red or black pens
AAPPL Proficiency Exam- All students taking foreign language classes will be required to take the AAPPL Exam and will be recorded as their final exam grade at the end of the year. The exam is typically administered the last weeks of April or early May. AAPPL stands for "ACTFL Assessment of Performance Toward Proficiency in Languages". And ACTFL is the "American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages". The AAPPL Test is a national exam that will measure your proficiency in learning Spanish. It is different than the National Spanish Exam. This exam measures your proficiency and performance in 4 areas: speaking, reading, writing and listening in Spanish. You get to show off your skills on this test. There is no cost for you to take the AAPPL exam. The only materials you will need on the day of the exam are your tablet and headphones with microphone. For more information on the AAPPL visit: https://aapplcentral.com/
Grading: Quarter grades will be earned by the accumulation of points for the following: Participation (class assignments, group projects, dialogues and assignments), homework, quizzes and tests or projects. You have 3 days to make up a missing assignment. Each day I will deduct 10 points or a letter grade from your score. After 3 days, you will receive a zero.
A = 93-100%, B = 85-92%, C = 75-84%, D = 70-74% Below 70% = F
Class Participation: Students should be ready to speak Spanish the moment they walk into the classroom. Please do not be afraid to speak or make mistakes. Mistakes are proof that you are trying.
TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling)
This class is taught by optimizing immersion using the TPRS method. TPRS is a method of second-language teaching that uses highly-interactive stories to provide students with many opportunities to be involved in the Spanish language at or just above their level of understanding. I will be using comprehensible input to create immersion-like environment designed to introduce or strengthen the understanding of high frequency words and phrases in Spanish. TPRS maximizes the input in the classroom by making the input comprehensible, repetitive and interesting. TPRS involves reading stories and novels with conversation and questioning so that the brain acquires Spanish more naturally. This approach is based on decades of second language acquisition research. This method will be supplemented with occasional grammar lessons.
What does a TPRS class look like?
It sounds like a lot of Spanish! Some typical activities are storytelling, story writing, reading, songs, games, projects, videos and more!
Expectations: Be prepared, try hard and work to your fullest potential. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be kind and have a positive attitude.
Somos Amigos: It is my hope that you will build lasting friendships in your Spanish class. So many of the activities we will do in class will be very communicative.
Spanish Club: Join the Spanish Club! See Mrs. Canisalez for more details. Sign up on Schoology using the access code: G8KSB-32F67 I also moderate the Rockets for Life and sponsor the National Spanish Honor Society.
Need Help? If at any time during the year you need my help, I will be more than happy to assist you. Please do not hesitate to talk to me.
Tutoring: I may have some upper classmen in Spanish 4 or AP Spanish that may be able to help you outside of class. Let me know if you are interested.
Learning a language should be fun! So don't worry! We are all in this together. So let's learn some Spanish!
The McNicholas Fight Song
Cheer, cheer for McNicholas High
Bonded together, that is our cry
Never leave it just for one
Bonded together we get things done
Green and white are our colors true
We have no time to be sad or blue
For our days at MHS
Are numbered among the best.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!