Heather Rosenbleeth
Humanities/World Languages
This page last modified on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 07:57:16 AM

Ms. Rosenbleeth currently teaches Spanish at Bow High School. Prior to her work in Bow she taught at the Hillsboro-Deering High School for three years. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New Hampshire. Ms. Rosenbleeth has lived abroad and enjoys traveling both nationally and internationally. She has organized community service trips to Ecuador for students and has run a summer language camp. Every two years she leads a week long trip to Spain for students in the Bow High School. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the language department at New England College.

EXTRA HELP AVAILABILITY

Students may arrange to meet with me periods 2, 3, and 8. I am also available for extra help during our 25 minute school wide break.

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

Spanish I: The intent of this class is to begin to develop a basic proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening in the Spanish language. Students can expect to develop a greater understanding of Hispanic culture through discussions, readings, audio-video presentations and guest speakers. It is expected that students will apply what they have learned to their daily classroom activities and real-life situations. The majority of class will be conducted completely in Spanish (both teacher AND students).

Spanish II: The focus of the second year of Spanish is to build upon the level of basic proficiency already started in Spanish I. Students will be required to read, write, speak, and listen in Spanish at a higher degree of difficulty. A great amount of emphasis will be placed on expanding ones ability to communicate in a variety of grammatical tenses and with a higher degree of sophistication. The studies will include the investigation of cultural diversities through readings, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and guest speakers. Students are expected to speak Spanish in class at ALL times.

Spanish IV: The fourth year of study will delve into the complexities of Spanish grammar through the use of readings by modern Hispanic authors. Students will read from a variety of literary genres and through these gain a greater insight for the structure of the language and cultural diversities within the Hispanic world. Students will also explore "cultural artifacts" such as paintings, music, dance, and customs for a more thorough understanding and appreciation of the Hispanic world. We will spend a significant amount of the year focusing on present day issues surrounding Latin America and Spain as well as examine how they may relate to historical contexts. Students are expected to speak entirely in Spanish and will be assigned regular in-depth writing assignments.

Spanish V: This years focus is on reading a variety of literary works selected from a range of Spanish speaking countries.  Students will be expected to speak entirely in Spanish.  Students will also be asked to write a variety of compositions throughout the year.  We will be surveying a number of films from the Spanish speaking world that relate to the topics being studied.

HELPFUL HINTS ON HOW TO STUDY SPANISH

Students should be doing at least 2-3 of these techniques EVERY night, and more if there is no written homework. It is expected that a half hour a night will be dedicated to working on Spanish studies.

Vocabulary Study

• Repeat each new word aloud 5 times.
• Use flash cards or section lists to review old, troublesome words. (You can keep two piles - easy review and hard to remember piles)
• Copy over difficult words 5 times paying close attention to the correct spelling.
• Study new words in groups of 3, go on with list, reviewing every 3 groups.
• Use new vocabulary in journals, essays and conversations.
• Remember your accent marks.

Reading

• Review old homework and reading assignments. Break down difficult sentences into English.
• Go over (for comprehension) exercises not assigned in class.
• Pay special attention to pronouns and verb tenses.
• Take advantage of the books and magazines in the library.

Writing and Grammar

• Use your notebooks and written assignments as places to explore new grammar. For example, if a new tense has been introduced, try it out in a sentence.
• Avoid writing about the same topics all the time. Expand yourself.
• Use new vocabulary.
• Understand why homework assignment corrections were made. Try using the corrected forms in new ways.
• Go over your old tests and quizzes.
• ASK QUESTIONS - All questions are valid. (If while your are studying and a question arises write it down and bring it to the next class)

Oral Work

• Talk to yourself. Try translating in your head at odd times of the day. How would you say something in particular in Spanish?
• Review old vocabulary by applying it in other classes. Ex. You are about to sharpen your pencil; Actively think "lapiz"
• When doing homework, say the question and answer aloud.
• Review how to ask questions. Make a list of common questions that would help you in class.
• Listen carefully in class. Try to catch the material taught the first time, don't have lazy ears.

CLASSROOM UPDATE

October 2

Spanish II       1/2/07  The next two weeks we will be working on the material in Chapter 3B.

                        Students should also be studying for the midterm exam which will cover chapters 1A - 3B

                        The following is an outline for the midterm exam:

                                Chapter 1A

•  Describe classroom objects and activities
• Talk about classroom rules
• Express affirmative & negative ideas
• Hay que... & se prohibe... pg 19
• Stem changing verbs (present tense) pg 27
• Affirmative & negative words pg 31

• Vocabulary pg

Chapter 1B

• Talk about extracurricular activities

• Compare people and things

• Say what people know or know how to do

• Say with whom or what people are familiar

•   Ask and tell how long something has been going on

• Making comparisons pg 53

• Verbs saber & conocer pg 56

• Hace + expressions of time pg 58

• Vocab. pg 68

Chapter 2A

• Describe getting ready for a special event

• Talk about daily routines

• Express possession

• Reflexive verbs pg 80

• Verbs ser & estar pg 86

• Possessive Adjectives pg 88

• Vocab. pg 96

Chapter 2B

• Describe clothing & fashion

• Talk about going shopping

• Describe events in the past

• Point out specific objects

•  Avoid repetition when comparing similar things

• Preterite of regular verbs pg 110

• Demonstrative adjectives pg 114

• Using Adjectives as nouns pg 116

• Vocab. pg 124 

Chapter 3A

• Talk about things you did and where you did them

• Explain why you couldn't do certain things

• Describe things you bought and where you bought them

• Direct object pronouns pg 138

• Irregular preterite verbs (ser, ir) pg 140

• Irregular preterite (hacer, tener, estar, poder) pg 142

• Vocab. pg 152

Chapter 3B

• Give directions for getting to places

• Give a friend directions for a task

• Discuss driving and good driving habits

• Direct object pronouns pg 166

• Irregular affirmative tu commands pg 168

• Commands tu+, tu-, Ud., Uds. (see your notes)

• Present progressive: irregular forms pg 171

• Vocab. pg 180

***As always please feel free to make an appointment with me for extra help.  I am available during periods 2,3,and possibly during 8th or during break on Tues., Wed., or Fri. by appointment.

         

Spanish IV      Midterm Exam Outline

• Uses of Por/Par :  Be able to list the uses of each and determine which you would use in a sentence and why
• Conditional Tense:  Formation, verb endings, regular/irregular, answer questions with complete sentences, translate sentences from English to Spanish, fill in the blank (paragraph) with the proper conjugation of a given verb, use with hypothetical situations and with probability
• Subjunctive/Imperfect Subjunctive:  Verb endings, uses of the subjunctive (present/imperfect), know the difference between the resent/imperfect, know irregular imperfect subjunctive conjugations
• Demonstratives: (this, that, these, those)
• Marianela:  Content, characters, vocabulary
• Art:  Biography of artists, artistic styles, specific paintings, vocabulary
• Reading Selection: Specifics to be discussed in class
• Essay: Specifics to be discussed in class

**I will be giving you more detailed information in class.

                                      

Spanish V        Test on "Dama del Alba"

                          Prepare songs to present in class

                        Study for the midterm exam

SPANISH CLUB

Thursday 9/7 during break we will hold our elections for the executive board and then begin to plan out a calendar of events for the year.  Hope to see you there!

HELPFUL LINKS:

Newspapers In Spanish:

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/online-newspapers-spanish.html

http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/types/flnews/spanish.html

Art and Culture:

http://www.artcyclopedia.com

http://www.spanish-fiestas.com

TRIP TO SPAIN:   The following was our itinerary for 2006 we will possibly be traveling again on a similar itinerary in 2008.

    (Thurs.) March 23  Leave Boston fly to Madrid

    (Fri.)  March 24       Arrive in Madrid

                                      Check into Hotel

                                        Walking Tour

                                                Plaza Mayor

                                                Plaza de Espana

                                                El Palacio Real

                                                 La Gran Via

                                    Return to La Plaza Mayor for dinner

                                    Evening walk to Los Cibeles and the Parque del Retiro

                                     Write in Journals

    (Sat.) March 25

                Visit:  El Prado

                            La Reina Sofia

                            El Palacio Real

                Lunch in the Plaza Mayor

                Return to El Parque del Retiro

                               Visit the Crystal Palace

                                Go  out on the pond in boats

                Journal Writing

                Dinner

                Flamenco Show

    (Sun.)  March 26

                Leave Madrid early on the AVE to Sevilla

                Arrive in Sevilla

                Check into hotel

                 Visit La Giralda and the Cathedral

                                    Christopher Columbus's tomb

                 Lunch at a cafe in the area

                Visit El Alcazar

                Return to hotel or stay out in the plaza (journal writing)

                 Evening walking tour of Sevilla

                            Guadalquivir River

                             Bull Fight Arena

                              Plaza de Espana

                    Return to hotel

(Mon.)  March 27

                Leave Sevilla - take morning train to Granada

                   Arive in Granada - check into hotel

                Walking tour of market area and cathedral

                Lunch at a cafe near hotel

                Evening walking tour around the base of the Alhambra

(Tues.)  March 28                    Take the early shuttle up to the Alhambra

                                    Visit Alhambra and Generalife

                        Early lunch

                        Return to Madrid

                        Check into hotel in Madrid

(Wed.)  March 29

                    Day trip to Toledo

                    Return to hotel and pack

                     Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe

(Thurs.) March 30

                    Return to Boston

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PHOTO GALLERY

(more coming soon)

                     GRANADA