Curriculum Night 2019

1. Curriculum Night 2019 Español 2 with Mr. (Profe) Gardner

2. About Mr. Gardner • 14th year of teaching Spanish.7th year at Skyline High School. • B.A. from Washington State University (Spanish with a Teaching Certificate) • M.Ed. from Graceland University (Differentiated Instruction) • Skyline HS Freshman Football Head Coach • Skyline HS Baseball Assistant Coach

3. Student Teacher INformation • Only my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd period classes will be taught by my student teacher. • From now through the end of September, she will be observing and helping out in smaller individualized activities. • October, she will begin teaching full class lessons and working with me under a co-teaching model. • November, she will begin taking over the classes with my assistance in class. • December – January, she will begin taking over the classes slowly. • February, she will take complete control of the classes. • March – April, she will have complete control of my classes. • May, transition control back to me. • June, I will have complete control back and finish up the school year with the students.

4. Student Teacher • Maari Swain • B.A. in Spanish and Early Childhood and Family Studies from the University of Washington • Studied Spanish and taught English in Spain from 2015-2017 • Currently working on certification and Master in Education from Seattle Pacific University

5. Textbook Adoption • I know that I sent out an email a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure that I touch on the textbook adoption once again… • In October, we will be transitioning away from Descubre and into the Senderos book for one unit. • In November, we will transition away from Senderos and into the Entreculturas book for one unit. • In December, we will transition from the Entreculturas book and back into the Descubre textbook…BUT, we will have to fill in learning gaps caused by these transitions and to make sure that the students are prepared to successfully take the semester final exam. • In January, we will be back on pace with the rest of the department.

6. Textbook Adoption Continued This is what Senderos looks like: This is what Entreculturas loos like:

7. General Classroom things… • This is a COMMUNICATION class, and there are a number of different types of communication that we will be teaching to throughout the year. • We have modified the grading scale to better allow us to track and evaluate every student’s various communicative abilities…but as always, it is a process. • I track participation using ClassDojo (more to come on that), the goal is for each student to obtain 10 points EVERY week. • The pacing of this class is very fast, but there are a lot of ways to work with me to get individualized assistance for your student.

8. Participation • If you did not receive a ClassDojo Parent Sign Up Sheet attached to your student’s syllabus (which have all been signed and returned), send me an email (gardnerm@Issaquah.wednet.edu) and I will respond with it attached electronically. • Tracking the participation is crucial for you (and your student) to understand what exactly it is that I’m seeing in the classroom. • If you EVER have any questions at all, please feel free to email me and I will be sure to respond as quickly as possible. • ClassDojo tracks both positive (which add points) and negative (which take away points) behaviors, so please be sure to add the points weekly, not look at the percentage that it will immediately display.

9. ClassDojo behaviors Positive Behaviors Negative Behaviors Disrespectful behaviors -1 Disrupting others -1 Off task -1 Tardy -1 (only used when it happens repeatedly, after a warning, and when it takes away from learning opportunity) Unprepared -1 (only used when causes a scene a takes away from learning opportunities of others) Unwilling to participate -2 Using cell phone -2 Using English -2 (I’ll explain in next slide) • Asking questions (in Spanish) +1 • Engaging in Authentic Spanish Conversation +2 • Game Winner +2 • Helping others +1 • On Task +1 • Open to corrections +1 • Persistence +1 • Speaking in Spanish +1 • Teamwork +1 • Volunteering +1 • Working Hard +1

10. Spanish use in class • The expectation is that this is as close to a Spanish Immersion setting as possible, meaning that we are all speaking in Spanish as often as possible. • For the 1st Quarter, students are only required to use Spanish during specifically designed speaking activities. • During 2nd Quarter, students are required to speak in Spanish at all times in class. The only exception is asking clarifying questions, which can still be done in English. • 2nd Semester, students are required to speak in Spanish at all times, all communication (including questions) must be conducted in Spanish during class time.

11. Tutors / Getting Assistance • I have a list of tutors that are current IB Spanish students on the wall in my classroom. • Apart from these students, I will never recommend a private tutor for a student. • I feel as though it is MY job to work with MY students to help them to understand the content of this class, so have them come and work with me first! • I am available before school each and every day, we have Flex Time in our schedule as well, and I am here to help, so please send your student to me if help is needed.

12. Homework / quizzes / tests • I assign homework each and every day to continue practicing what we are working on in class…95% of these assignments are being built upon in the next class period, which is why I cannot accept late work. • Homework assignments are graded on EFFORT not accuracy. • I do NOT expect my students to spend more than 30 minutes/night working on Spanish – if they ARE spending more than that, please let me know! • Quizzes are low pressure check-ins to me…lower in point value and over one concept at a time. • Tests are a summative assessment that demonstrate a student’s ability to combine ideas and concepts to effectively communicate. • We assign tests/quizzes more regularly so that we can more effectively track our student’s understanding and growth.

13. Projects • It is my personal goal this year to create more project-based learning opportunities for my students. • Most projects will require some sort of visual, but will be focused on your student’s ability to effectively communicate in Spanish. • I do not want students to feel unnecessary stress or anxiety during project presentations, but it is an important element of this class. • I want students to ultimately feel COMFORTABLE using Spanish…so they need to be able to speak to me individually, to partners, as well as in front of groups of their peers.

14. Last things… • Both Ms. Swain and I are here to help, so PLEASE don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions and PLEASE encourage your student to come and speak with us. • Your student’s Spanish skills are never going to be perfect, but I want them to be satisfied knowing that we are ALL (myself included) making constant mistakes. And, that this is normal and okay. • I’m here to support your student and I want them to feel safe and comfortable in my class, so that they can feel good in going through this process of learning Spanish.

15. Let’s have a great year • I hope that I have your support in working with your student this year. Because together, as a team, I feel that you and I can find a way to make sure that your student is successful in my class. • If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at:gardnerm@Issaquah.wednet.edu • Ms. Swain’s email will be posted to my website once she begins to take control of my classes.