Beginning first unit!

We have been reading and learning about the IB program itself and the format of the assessments so far (doing it in Spanish!), but that will al change tomorrow!

Tomorrow we begin our first unit: The concept of health and beauty. Students generally enjoy exploring the different cultures' idea of what is considered beautiful and even what it means to be healthy. This will prepare us for many of the rigors of the IB exam components such as the paper 2 in May (25% of overall IB score), as well as the individual oral exam in February/March (20% of overall IB score).

Here are some things we do in class - all in Spanish, of course!
*watch an ad in Spanish and discuss in Spanish what we understood and relate to the theme
*read an article from BBC in Spanish and discuss
*define concepts such as beauty and recognize how rooted it is in different cultures
*find articles and present to the class in Spanish in own words

You can see it is challenging yet the students find it quite engaging!

Syllabus

Here is the course syllabus. Of special interest is the section on how the IB exam is scored and weighted.

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2015-16 - IB Spanish, Standard Level (SL)

Maestra: Sra. Theresa Jensen correo electrónico: tmjensen@mpsomaha.org

Aula:  2614 teléfono: (402) 715-1406

Textos: Spanish B Course Companion, Oxford University Press, 2011

IB Spanish Skills and Practice: Spanish B for the IB Diploma, Oxford University Press, 2011

Developing Skills for Text Types, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2012

Spanish-language literature (abridged novel, poems, short stories), but primarily current news articles

I.  Contenido del curso (course content)

1. Core themes (temas troncales)
1. Communication and media (censorship, telephone/cell phones)
2. Global issues (effects of man on the environment, racism, prejudice, discrimination)
3. Social relations (language and cultural or personal identity; nationalism, patriotism, fanaticism)
2. Options (opciones)
1. Health (concepts of beauty and health, alternative and traditional medicine)
2. Cultural Diversity (beliefs, norms, values and culinary heritage)
3. Grammar and structures are reviewed as needed, with special attention placed on mastering subjunctive. Students are encouraged to take the initiative to review and seek help immediately if they find themselves struggling with previously learned concepts.

II. Notas (grades)

A.  HABLAR

     1. Speak Spanish as much as possible – you won’t get points for every time you do, nor will you lose points for every error. Quit worrying about points and just speak Spanish! This is different than your other Spanish classes in that 90% of the time we are learning about other things, talking about other things USING Spanish. You are stepping into a social studies, science, health, reading, TOK class that is conducted IN SPANISH. That being said, we are patient and sympathetic, everyone is expected to participate at whatever level they are. It is only through use that we will all improve! There is no sitting back quietly and observing; as we will discuss almost daily to get ready for our first official IB oral exam in just over a month.

     2. IB Oral Exams – 3 group oral exams (approx. October, November and January) and 1 individual oral in February or March. I grade these and send them to IBO, so you get a Millard and an IB grade. This is your Internal Assessment and 30% of your final IB score (10% group/20% individual). I use the IB oral rubric (with a scale for class).

B.  ESCRIBIR

1. You will learn other content USING Spanish, not just learn the language. The focus is proficiency, not just

measuring how well you studied for an assessment. Does studying help? Of course, but some of you will need

to study - and to practice – more than others.

2. Timed writes: given a prompt in Spanish, you will write a well-developed response in Spanish, graded using

the IB rubric. These all prepare you for Paper 2 of the External Assessment, which is worth 25% of your final IB

score. I grade your practices using the IB written rubric, using a scale. The real thing is in May.

3. Trabajo escrito: 20% of your final IB score will consist of a paper that you write based on 3 sources you

choose. It will be assessed externally and I am not allowed to help (some parameters).

4. Grammar quizzes: We’ll have a couple of these, but not many. They will be rather comprehensive- such as

all verb tenses and subjunctive. We will of course review, but it will be too much for some and not enough for

others. Gage yourself well and see me for extra help right away if you feel you’re struggling.

               5. Practice IB exams: - Especially during the 2nd semester, you will do practice activities and old exams preparing you for Paper 1, also referred to as manejo de textos, of the External Assessment which is worth 25% of your IB score. It is done with paper 2 in May.

IB Exam breakdown:

Internal assessments:

10% - Group/interactive orals (approx. October, November, January), core themes

20% - Individual oral (February/March 2016), options

*choose from 2 unique photos and prepare a 5-6 minute description/analysis, discuss with teacher 5-6 min.

External assessments:

20% - Written task (February 2016), core themes

*read 3 articles on related topics and compose a text in class only

25% - Paper 1 (May 2016), core themes

*text handling exercises

25% - Paper 2 (May 2016), options

*choose a prompt from the 2 options we studied this year and compose a text

III. Tips for success from Señora:

1.  Connect

ANGEL

To access the IB Spanish Angel page, go to https://mpsomaha.myelearning.org Sign in,  enter the course ID: 0160_WL_tmjensen & the password: __ebay___. Find information about the IB assessments, course calendar, access practice IB exams and more!

GOOGLE CLASSROOM

I will be posting announcements (what’s up in class, big assignments/assessments, etc.) and assignments, as well as uploading materials to my IB Spanish Google classroom. The code to join is lowzee (?). Join now!

Remind me-> text @mnib2015 to the number 81010. Be reminded via text messaging if we’re in the lab, etc.

           

In this day and age, there are so many wonderful resources, you can practically learn a language without setting foot in a classroom. I’m even learning Italian on www.duolingo.com  Fortunately for you, you have both! Use the resources available to you and you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams ☼

Other useful websites:

Diccionario en línea: www.wordreference.com (best one out there and also shows conjugations)

Diccionarios.com: www.diccionarios.com – excellent- also synonyms/antonyms, but charges for mobile devices only

BBC Mundo-  www.bbcmundo.com  (current events assignments)

CNN Mexico- http://mexico.cnn.com/

Geomedios (links to other Spanish newspapes across the world) www.geomedios.com

Conjuguemos (practice old grammar) -  www.conjuguemos.com (practice old grammar)

2.  Study a little every day –

The amount of time you spend outside of class learning and using Spanish has a direct impact on your success in class.  The IB exam is not something you can memorize a bunch of vocabulary or grammar rules for at last minute.  You must live it.  Watch Univisión (or telenovelas on Youtube like I did last year and ended up with an Argentinian accent!), listen to Latin music, check out books from Señora, chat in Spanish with a friend or visit South O. How fluent can you get by the end of the year? A full 50% of your IB Spanish score is completed by the first week of March, so don’t put off practicing any longer!

Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Don't worry, this will be in English so you can keep in the loop, parents!

Please FOLLOW BY EMAIL (look to the RIGHT) to keep abreast with what we are learning, important dates for IB assessments, and other news. This will be the primary way I keep in touch with you and older messages will all be stored right here in one place for ease of access.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
As always, please contact me at tmjensen@mpsomaha.org if you have questions or call the office (402) 715-1406 and the office will message me to call you back.

I look forward to working with your children this year!