Spanish IV
This course is designed to help students improve their oral communication skills through the practice of guided conversation and oral reports, as well as to enhance their written communication through developing formal and informal writing. Students focus on improving listening and reading comprehension through exposure to authentic sources, such as magazine and newspaper articles, the Internet, current music and film. Reading selections include short stories, poetry and excerpts from prominent Spanish speaking authors. Grammar is reinforced in the context of these authentic readings. Special effort is made to enhance vocabulary knowledge through exposure to thematic units containing more sophisticated vocabulary. Students also reach a deeper understanding of the culture and current history of the Spanish-speaking world through more in-depth study of literature and film. Students work on two larger projects relating to their lives and several aspects of the Hispanic culture. Spanish IV serves as additional skill-building for those students interested in continuing the study of Spanish at the AP level in the future. Students have their choice of enrolling at the AP level, either AP Spanish Language or AP Spanish Literature, (with instructor permission) after successfully completing this course.