AP Caminos Literarios
Syllabus
Course Overview
The AP Caminos Literarios course is conducted completely in Spanish. Its curriculum is designed to expand and refine the Spanish native speakers abilities with their own language in oral and written expression. The course focuses on reading and writing through literary and cultural thematic units. Students discuss similarities and differences between Hispanic and American cultures in order to develop an understanding and appreciation of their own heritage and culture.
Course Objectives:
I. Interpret and analyze literature in Spanish.
By employing diverse genres (fiction, non-fiction, legend, fantasy, informational narrative poetry, etc.) and modes of literature (textbook, novels, newspapers, magazines, etc.) we analyze the stories we read and discuss various literary elements. Class discussions take place and opinions are expressed in relation to story interpretations.
II. Improve students reading skills and comprehension.
Through silent reading, reading out loud, group reading, and individual reading the students practice correct pronunciation. We read a variety of stories and a number of different reading strategies, such as “Written Conversation”, “Literature Response Logs”, “Free Writes”, “Think-Pair-Share” and “Story Maps”, are utilized to provide the students with the opportunities to become successful readers.
III. Improve writing skills.
By partaking in a variety of written activities (bi-weekly journal entries; self-reflections; five to seven paragraph essays including thesis statements, supporting details, conclusions; summarizing; synthesizing, reports, projects…) students practice and improve on their writing skills. The following are stressed: accents, sentence structures, parts of speech, use of different types of sentences (simple, compound…), proper use of punctuation and capitalization, practicing the use of different language registries (they may not write in the same manner that they speak), correct verb conjugation and their spelling, and use of diverse verb tenses.
IV. Expansion and refinement of their oral expression.
Using a rich vocabulary and proper language registries (formal, informal…), students will improve their speaking skills. Studying the use of colloquialisms vs. standard Spanish, provides the students with an understanding of what these terms consist of, how they are used, and when it is appropriate to utilize them. A wide spectrum of activities such as projects, presentations, discussions, oral self-reflections, generating and expressing opinions, debates on a variety of topics, give the students the opportunity to enhance their speech.
V. Preparation for AP Spanish Language Exam
Throughout the school year, students prepare for the AP Spanish Language Exam. Mock Spanish language exams are created from excerpts of past released exams (2003 & 2006). Students practice and discussions take place. Students participate in timed reading, speaking, listening, and writing activities as well as in non-timed exercises.
Course Outline:
Semester 1:
Thematic Units:
Unit 1: Por los caminos del recuerdo (memories from the past)
stories: “Un oso y un amor” (Sabine Ulibarrí)
“La botella de chicha" (Julio Ramón Ribeyro)
“Mi planta de naranja-lima” (José Mauro de Vasconcelos)
“El beso de la patria” (Sonia Rivera-Valdés)
some of the activities that take place:
· essay – personal narrative (memorable event)
· letter to a character
· summarizing the main points (take notes & synthesize; use of Cornell notes)
· essay – “Mi travesura de niñez” (prank played as a child)
· notebook - “Escritura en cuaderno” (writing on different topics related to our unit)
· worksheets - vocabulary; comprehension activities; note-taking
Unit 2: La justicia social (the social justice)
stories: “Los gallinazos sin plumas” (Julio Ramón Ribeyro)
“Espuma y nada más” (Hernando Telléz)
“Un día de estos” (Gabriel García Márquez)
“Una palabra enorme” (Mario Benedetti)
“Cuando era puertorriqueña” (Esmeralda Santiago)
“Los chicos” (Ana María Matute)
some of the activities that take place:
· creation of “la muralla del oprobio” (the wall of shame)
· discussion of social problems that exist in our society
· essay - “Aproximación a un problema social” (approximation to a social problem) - exposition, argumentation, conclusion
· creation of a cinquain poem – in relation to one of the characters
· interview – author or character
· making predictions based on the title (what is the story going to be about) and after reading parts of the story, what is going to happen next or how is it going to end
· vocabulary – defining words from context, use of dictionary, and practicing their uses in a variety of activities such as writing sentences and creation of mini-stories
Unit 3: Imaginación y fantasía (imagination and fantasy)
stories: “El ahogado más hermoso del mundo” (Gabriel García Márquez)
“El sendero interior” (Ana Alomá Velilla)
“Paco y la bruja” (Félix Pitre)
“La suerte” (Rudolfo Anaya)
“El ruido de un trueno” (Ray Bradbury)
“Pájaro verde” (Joe Hayes)
some of the activities that take place:
· a fantasy mini-collage
· essay – comparison and contrast
· project - creation of a story (fantasy) fully illustrated
· movie - “Gremlins” (analysis on the use of imagination and fantasy)
· essay – cause and effect
Unit on La poesía (poetry)
poems: “Yo voy soñando caminos” (Antonio Machado)
“Dos patrias” (José Martí)
“Peso ancestral” (Alfonsina Storni)
“A Julia de Burgos” (Julia de Burgos)
“Autorretrato” (Rosario Castellanos)
some of the activities that take place:
· essay – comparison on attitudes (how are they similar and how are they different): Julia de Burgos and Rosario Castellanos
· discussion on use of metaphors, similes, rhyme …
· group discussions – compare their experiences and those of José Martí
· interpretation and inferences
Semester 2:
Thematic Units:
Unit 4: Las mujeres en primer plano (focus on women)
stories / poems: “Me han pasado cosas como si fuera una película” (interviewer:
César Chelala; interviewee: Rigoberta Menchú)
“Zapatos de huevos” (Jim Sagel)
“Hombres necios” (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz)
“El machismo en México” (Salvador Reyes Nevares)
“El machismo” (Angela Labarca y Raquel Halty-Pfaff)
“El marianismo” (Angela Labarca y Raquel Halty-Pfaff)
“Superwoman” (Gloria Velásquez)
“Tú me quieres blanca” (Alfonsina Storni)
“Como agua para chocolate” (Laura Esquivel)
some of the activities that take place:
· class discussion on cultural differences, heritage, customs, traditions, stereotypes…
· designing and creating a “güipil” (colorful blouse worn by women in Guatemala – tradition)
· notebook - “Escritura en cuaderno” (writing on different topics related to our unit)
· “dialectic journey” (two column entry – column 1: students write sentences form the text that they found interesting, important, or unclear; column 2: the students write the reasons why they chose the sentences that they chose; the students then share their “journeys” in small groups and have discussions)
Unit 5: La casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba)
some of the activities that take place:
· comprehension activities
· writing a letter to their favorite character
· Working in partners, they create and write the dialogue that takes place between two of the characters (this dialogue is not a part of the reading) and later share it with the class.
· creation of a tombstone for “Adela” (dedication…)
· other form of assessments (quizzes and tests)
· character sketch
· movie – “La casa de Bernarda Alba”
Cultural Unit:
· Día de los muertos (we discuss its significance and importance; students express their thoughts and personal experiences (90% of my student population is of Mexican descent); we create an altar in commemoration of this day) - Mexico http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
· Los vejigantes (we discuss its history; we watch the movie “El carnival Ponceño” for students to get a feel and experience the true meaning of this cultural event that takes place in Puerto Rico; as a Puerto Rican myself, I relate my personal experiences for I took part in this cultural event for 24 years; we also create masks / vejigantes) – Puerto Rico http://www.bombaboricua.com/vejigante/Loiza/Samuel%Lindhtml
http://www.caminantetv.com/cainante_dev/sintonice.shtml#Loiza
· Country projects (research on the Latin American country chosen by each student; presentations)
· Music (bomba, tango, bachata, merengue,….; study of its origin, meaning, dances; we listen to many different types of music that are heard in different Latin American countries )
http://www.musicofpuertorico.com/index.php/generos/bomba
http://www.caravanmusic.com/Guidelatinmusic.htm
· Research and comparison on different cultural festivities that take place in the United States & Latin America (Christmas, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Three Kings Day….; we utilize the magazines known as Hoy día, Ahora, Que tal, El Sol as references – they contain many cultural related articles on different parts of the World - North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean)
Gabriel García Márquez Unit:
stories: “La siesta del martes"
“La prodigiosa tarde de Baltazar”
“La viuda de Montiel”
“Un señor muy Viejo con unas alas enormes”
some of the activities that take place:
· stories are divided among the students (jigsaw)
· story maps are created (retell their stories through the use of pictures)
· summarize stories through synthesis
· group editing
· each group presents their story map and retell their stories
· class discussions take place (share their opinions…)
Other readings: “El Lazarillo de Tormes” (Anónimo)
“Marianela (Benito Pérez Galdós)
“El conde Lucanor (Ejemplo XXXV)” (El infante don Juan Manuel)
“Las medias rojas” (Pardo Bazán)
some of the activities that take place:
· We watch the movie Marianela and comparisons and contrasts are made between the movie and the story.
· story analysis takes place
· essay – persuasive (rough draft / peer editing)
Grammar - Semesters 1 & 2:
In our class, we work with the Sendas Literarias: Cuaderno de lenguaje y práctica (grammar workbook) to practice topics related to grammar. They are
a part of every unit. There are sections known as Enriquezcamos nuestro español
(Let’s enrich our Spanish), Escribamos correctamente (Let’s write correctly), and
Exploremos el lenguaje (Let’s explore the language).
These are some of the grammar and linguistic topics that are studied:
· punctuation and capitalization
· linguistic registries (formal, informal…)
· accents (rules, division of words into syllables, stress, accent placement)
· colloquialisms, “spanglish”, standard Spanish, argot
· Hispanic geography (maps of countries & capitals – Central America, South America, and the Caribbean)
· parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, …)
· use of synonyms and antonyms
· types of sentences (interrogative, exclamatory, desiderative, exhortative..)
· verb tenses (conjugation)
· summarizing (current-events: who, what, when, where, why and their opinion of the articles) Newspapers: La Voz & Prensa Hispana
Textbooks:
Sendas Literarias by Aida Walqui-van Lier & Ruth A. Barraza. Published by Heinle and Heinle (1999).
Sendas Literarias 2 by Aida Walqui-van Lier & Ruth A. Barraza & Mary Ann Dellinger. Published by Prentice Hall, Inc. (2002).
Sendas Literarias Cuaderno de Lenguaje y Práctica by Mary Ann Dellinger. Published by Prentice Hall, Inc. (2002).
Abriendo Puertas: Antología de literatura en español (Spanish Readers): Tomos I & II. (2003).
Other materials:
1- Authentic audio recordings from 2003 AP exam
2- Authentic audio recordings from 2006 AP field test
3- Authentic video from “Marianela”
4- Authentic video from “La casa de Bernarda Alba”
5- Authentic audio recordings: (Music – Cultural Unit) songs from websites & CD’s
