¡Bienvenidos a la clase de la Sra. Boreing! Spanish III Pre-AP, IV Pre-AP & V AP Phone #: Website:

ACTFL Guidelines

TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills) Four Skills Listening Speaking Writing Reading The 5 C’s Communication Comparisons Connections Culture Community

Teaching Using a Skill-Based Approach (versus a Content-Based Approach) How Want/Desire What Reasoning Listening Speaking Reading Writing C on te nt

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACTIVITY ACCOUNT If you would like to donate funds for resources like: AA uthentic Materials CC lassroom Readers BB ooks for Pleasurable Reading CC omic Books SS ubscriptions to newspapers and magazines Please make your tax-deductible check out to the Bowie Foreign Language Account

TOP 10 REASONS READING IS VALUABLE 1. Reading is Rewarding 2. Reading Builds a Mature Vocabulary 3. Reading Makes you a Better Writer 4. Reading is Hard, and “Hard” is Necessary 5. Reading Makes you Smarter 6. Reading Prepares You for the World of Work 7. Reading Well is Financially Rewarding 8. Reading Opens the Door to College and Beyond 9. Reading Arms You Against Oppression 10. Reading is Fun!

Bowie’s Foreign Language Department works hard to align the curriculum vertically and horizontally to ensure students’ success Are we being successful? Spanish Language V AP students achieved a 91% passing rate in last year’s exam Students not taking AP are earning college credit by taking credit by exam or simply using it in the workforce

Why does Sra. Boreing conduct the class in Spanish? “Exposure to natural communication in the target language is necessary for the subconscious processors to work well. The richer the learner’s exposure to the target language, the more rapid and comprehensive learning is likely to be.” S. Krashen

College Board Data Upper level math, science, and foreign language have the strongest correlation with SAT-M scores. SAT-V most strongly dependent on years of FL study. Approximately 20 extra points on SAT-V per year of study beyond the first year, fewer at the bottom, most towards year V. Results are almost the same for SAT-M. (College Board refers to it as a “nontrivial relationship”). In the advanced FL classes, students deal with most comprehensive input and output. This might explain why Levels IV and V have the highest benefit for critical thinking, and analytical, and logical skills. Self-selection is certainly a factor – only the most motivated students will take these advanced courses. Same correlation is true across ethnicities and income levels. It matters slightly what the language is: Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, French, German, Latin, Russian each create about a 10 pt. difference in both SAT-V and SAT-M scores for each language. Relationship between coursework and performance on the SAT

NEA Research, Dec The Benefits of Second Language Study Students of foreign languages tend to score higher on standardized tests. Results from the SAT show that students who had studied a foreign language for 4 or more years outscored other students on the verbal and math portions of the test. Students who completed at least four years of foreign-language study scored more than 100 points higher on each section of the SAT than students who took a half year or less. Students who studied four or five years of a foreign language scored higher on the verbal section of the 2004 SAT than students who had studied any other subject for the same number of years. Other studies correlate bilingual proficiency with higher scores on standardized tests and tests of both verbal and nonverbal intelligence. Foreign language learners consistently outperform control groups in core subject areas on standardized tests. Third-graders who had received 15 minutes of conversational French lessons daily for a year had statistically higher Stanford Achievement Test scores than their peers who had not received French instruction. (This helps diffuse the argument of “self-selection.”)

Advanced Placement Program College-level courses taught in the high school AP teachers use college-level materials approved by the College Board Students can earn college credit and/or placement

What do these all have in common? Art Biology Chemistry Computer Science Economics English French German Government and Politics History Latin Mathematics Music Theory Physics Psychology Spanish

They are all courses offered in the AP Program At Bowie High School

Pre-AP Courses “It’s not about trying to teach AP (Advanced Placement); it’s about coordinating our efforts to prepare more students for AP opportunities and (college) later on.

The AP Effect: Students who complete AP courses are: Better prepared academically More likely to choose challenging majors Likely to perform significantly better than students who did not take AP courses More likely to exercise leadership More likely to graduate with a double major Twice as likely to go into an advanced study

Why take an AP Class? It saves MONEY$$ on books, tuition, room and board A student can earn up to 30 hours of college credit while in High School Students who take AP classes are better prepared for the challenges of college

What counts in College Admissions Courses SAT Class Overall Essay Work/School Selected Scores Rank Grades Activity

Did you know that …? “The academic intensity and quality of one’s high school curriculum (not test scores, and certainly not class rank or grade point average) counts most in preparation for bachelor’s degree completion.” Clifford Adelman, Senior Research Analyst, U.S. Department of Education Answers in the Toolbox 1999 The Toolbox Revisited 2006

Useful websites for tutorials:

Spanish Clubs