Spanish 2008-2009

The New School of Northern Virginia

Third Quarter Syllabus 2009

Advanced Spanish

 

Profesora: Juana Gómez Díez   Juana@newschoolva.com

 

Course description: The yearlong course includes reading of literary works focusing on twentieth century Spanish and Latin American authors. The students will develop critical thinking/writing skills, as well as oral skills by discussing texts, reporting current events and giving presentations on Spanish and Latin American culture. Grammar is reviewed on an ongoing basis.

 

Main theme for the Third Quarter:

Colombia: History, Literature, Art, Music, Cuisine, Costumes, and Legends.

 

Third Quarter Course Objectives:

·             Communicate effectively (orally and written): The goal of this class is to build oral proficiency while increasing awareness of twentieth century Latin American authors. We will emphasize conversation and discussion, as well as reading and writing from literary texts, and short stories related to the main theme: Colombia.

·             Appreciate and understand different perspectives: The students will read and discuss selections of works from Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Gaitán Durán.

·             Work collaboratively: The activities will be done in pairs or small groups to encourage participation and group interaction, which are essential for the course.

 

Cultural aspect:

1. Discussions on the social and political situation in Colombia at the beginning of the 20^th century with the videos based on the novels by Gabriel García Márquez.

·        Crónicas de una muerte anunciada (Directed by Francesco Rosi, 1987)

·        El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (Directed by Arturo Ripstein, 1999)

·        Amor en los tiempos del cólera (Directed by Mike Newell, 2007)

·        Eréndira (Directed by Ruy Guerra, 1983) (With parental permission)

·        Del amor y otros demonios (Directed by Hilda Hidalgo,2009)

·        María de mi corazón (Written by Gabriel García Márquez, 1998)

 

2. We will virtually travel to Colombia and discover its history, food, folklore, costumes, and legends/folk tales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activities/Assignments:

 

Daily Assignment: Readings, writings, research, and vocabulary and grammar practice.

 

Two Main Assignments/ Portfolio Project:

I.                    Biography Research Paper: The students will conduct research on one of the author / personages we are working on and present it to the rest of the class.

II.                 The students will write a summary style essay about each of the movies watched and discussed in class.

 

 

Quiz: Weekly vocabulary and grammar quizzes.

Exam: There will be one written exam about Gabriel García Márquez and his work, the Liberator Simón Bolivar, the poet Jorge Gaitán Durán, and the artist Fernando Botero.

 

Grading:

 

·        Oral Communication                           25%

·        Written Communication                      25%

·        Projects/ Tests                                    25%

·        Student Ownership/ Portfolio              25%