Nombre ____________________________________ Fecha ______________________________________ Clase ______________________________________

TASK LIST for INFORMAL WRITING

Assignment: _____________________________________________________

Include the following points in your writing. Check them off in the first box as you write and re-write.

[__] [ ] Answer the Prompt/Question (This is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING to do!

If you do not do the assigned task you will not receive a grade at all.)

_______ [ ] ← Number of Words (Must be between 80 and 140 words in order to receive a grade)

[__] [ ] Appropriate Grammar (Errors in Elementary Structures will severely lower your score)

Accomplishing the above tasks will get you in the game. Your score is determined by the criteria below.

↓ Write the number beside each item as you write it in your paper.

1. [__] [ ] Appropriate Greeting (Formal or informal—matches tone and purpose of letter)

2. [__] [ ] At least 3 Idiomatic Expressions (Think of some that will work)

3. [__] [ ] 1 Subjunctive: Impersonal Expression (Es importante que … ; Era posible que … )

4. [__] [ ] 1 Subjunctive: Special Expression (Usually for an action you may do in the future.)

Remember the acronyms: PMS EnCA THE MCD. Includes expressions like: Mientras…; Cuando…; Hasta que…; etc.)

5. [__] [ ] 1 Subjunctive: Expressing Desire (Wanting someone else to do something: Quiero que le hables)

6. [__] [ ] Appropriate Ending (Formal or informal—matches tone and purpose of letter)

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AP® SCORING GUIDELINES

Grammar for Written Work—both Formal and Informal Writing

¡OJO! Scores will be lowered on Formal Writing with less than 250 words (But more is not necessarily better. Do not write more than 500 words or it will be graded down because it is too long.) For Informal Writing 80-140 words is best.

Papers with pervasive errors in Elementary Structures are graded down severely. If you show a pattern of consistently using Elementary Structures incorrectly it will really hurt your grade. The highlighted structures are particularly important.

Elementary Structures include (but are not limited to):

a) Subject/Verb Agreement yo tengo; ella habla; nosotros damos; tú escribes; ellas bailan (This very important--should be a slam dunk)

b) Noun/Adjective Agreement (This one is particularly obvious and egregious to the graders): el gato blanco; los muchachos feos; la chica buena

c) Demonstrating Possession • With de: la casa de Juan; la mano de Meghan; • With possessive pronouns: mis clases; nuestra escuela; tu gato; su hermano

d) Infinitive Uses (tiene que ir; quiere comer; no puede ver; le gusta jugar; etc.) e) Reflexive Pronouns (se lava la cara; me levanto; nos ponemos; ellos se llaman) f) Object Pronouns (le dice; lo ve; le da; la escribe) g) Consistent Flow of verb tenses:

• Present • Preterit vs. Imperfect—Stay in the past, but appropriately switching between them.

h) Distinctions between similar words: • ser/estar (This one is big to the graders even though it is very hard to get) • saber/conocer

• trabajar/funcionar • por/ para

Advanced Structures

Use as many Advanced Structures as possible when you write and speak. The graders are looking for evidence of advanced proficiency. Give them a reason to give you a good grade. Advanced Structures include (but are not limited to):

a) Subjunctive Mood (Correctly use the present, past, & perfect in your writing) Use the subjunctive a lot. Think of ways to use it. Native speakers use the subjunctive all the time. The best way to pick it up is by reading fiction.

b) Double Object Pronouns (se la da; me lo dijo; te las regalaron) c) Flow of verbs, especially "advanced" tenses and moods. Must fit together and make

sense: • Conditional (Use with the past subjunctive: SIPS + would) • Future • Perfect tenses (he hablado; hemos visto; él había puesto; habían dicho)

d) Personal “a” (Escribo a Juan; El policía ayuda a la chica; A ella le gusta) Mastering the personal "a" is impressive, and crucial if you are to score well.

e) Comparatives

• más _____ que … (comparing qualities): Era más grande que un elefante. • más de… (comparing quantities, #'s): Hay más de ochocientos estudiantes.

f) Idiomatic Expressions

TASK LIST for

FORMAL WRITING

To get in the game: (You MUST do all of these to even qualify to get a score)

____ Answer the prompt. Did you refer back to it to see if you were indeed answering the question?

____ Write at least 250 words, and not more than 700 words. This is between 2 and 5 handwritten

pages. The grader needs a big enough sample to judge what you can do, but not too much.

____ Make no consistent errors in Elementary Structures (Basic Grammar--see attached sheet)

To begin playing the game: (Doing these will help you to get a passing score)

1. ____ ____ Write clearly. Write in an easily understood and organized manner in distinct

paragraphs. A standard 5 paragraph essay may work well here--- (1)

introduction, (2-4) the three sources and (5) your conclusion. You could also do

a compare and contrast essay format. Label your paragraphs with a ¶ symbol.

2. ____ ____ Cite all three sources. Make it obvious. Underline and label with 2a, 2b, 2c.

3. ____ ____ Use Advanced Structures (Upper Level Grammar--see attached sheet).

Show that you know your stuff—particularly use hypothetical situations, which

demonstrate your ability to think and use abstract language: the SiPS + would

formula works well here. Underline and label with 3a, 3b, 3c.

To win the game: (Doing these will help you to get a better score)

4. ____ ____ Use at least 3 idiomatic expressions. Underline and label with 4a, 4b, 4c.

5. ____ ____ Use the subjunctive mood at least 3 times. Underline and label with 5a, 5b, 5c.

6. ____ ____ Use an authentic Spanish saying to show you understand something about

Hispanic culture and can apply that knowledge in real world situations.

Underline and label with 6.

7. ____ ____ Use your voice. Put a bit of your own personality into it, don't just be a robot

that states the facts. Give some of your opinion or ideas as they relate to the

facts in the sources. This is a bit harder to quantify, but for now underline and

label it with 7 where you have used it.

WRITING AN ESSAY #5

REFRANES

En general el uso de los refranes es más común en la cultura hispana que en el mundo inglés.

Los refranes y dichos tradicionales constituyen unos grandes tesoros de la cultura hispana: en sus

frases, breves y sentenciosas (pithy), se encierra mucha de la sabiduría de la gente hispana

común. Aquí se muestra unos cuantos refranes y dichos muy conocidos que reflejan dicha

sabiduría.

Te sugiero que uses unos refranes en los ensayos y cuando hables para mostrar tu

familiaridad con este aspecto importante del lenguaje español y la cultura hispana.

REFRÁN EXPLICACIÓN BREVE

1. A buen entendedor, pocas palabras bastan. La persona inteligente comprende rápido lo que se quiere decir. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. A caballo regalado no le mires los dientes Debemos aceptar los regalos con gracia.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. A lo hecho, pecho Hay que enfrentar las consecuencias de lo que se ha hecho. _______________________________________________________________________________

4. A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda. Muchas veces el éxito depende de la rapidez.

(madrugar = to get up early)

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Al mal tiempo, buena cara. Cuando las cosas no pasen bien, hay que

mantener una buena actitud

______________________________________________________________________________

6. Antes que te cases, mira lo que haces. Hay que pensar de las consecuencias a largo

plazo de nuestras acciones.

______________________________________________________________________________

7. Aunque el mono se viste de seda, mono se queda. No se puede cambiar la naturaleza de una cosa.

______________________________________________________________________________

8. Cuatro ojos ven más que dos Es bueno tener por lo menos un amigo par ayudarte.

______________________________________________________________________________

9. De tal palo, tal astilla. El origen de algo puede explicar mucho.

(astilla = chip, splinter)

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10. Del dicho al hecho, hay gran trecho. Decir y hacer son cosas muy diferentes.

(trecho = distance)

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11. Dime con quién andas, y te diré quien eres. Por los amigos que tiene se puede saber

mucho acerca de la persona.

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12. El sapo a la sapa la tiene por muy guapa. La belleza depende en él que ve.

______________________________________________________________________________

13. El tiempo es oro. El tiempo es costoso y vale más que nada.

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14. En boca cerrada no entran moscas. Se te callas, no vas a meterte en líos.

______________________________________________________________________________

15. Hablando del rey de Roma, por la puerta asoma Se da cuenta de que las cosas

(asomar = to begin to appear) suceden cuando se hable de ellas.

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16. Las paredes oyen. Es casi imposible guardar un secreto.

______________________________________________________________________________

17. Más vale prevenir que curar. Más vale prevenir al mal con tiempo que,

después de venido, buscar el remedio

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18. Más vale tarde que nunca. Es mejor llegar tarde que no llegar nunca.

______________________________________________________________________________

19. Más vale solo que mal acompañado. Es mejor no tener amigos que tener amigos malos.

______________________________________________________________________________

20. Mejor pájaro en la mano que cien volando. Se aplica a falsas promesas y proyectos irrealizables, que llevan a olvidar lo simple pero seguro.

______________________________________________________________________________

21. No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy. Hazlo hoy. Hazlo ahora.

______________________________________________________________________________

22. No es oro todo lo que brilla. Aunque algo parece bueno, es posible que no sea.

______________________________________________________________________________

23. No hay mal que por bien no venga. A veces, algo negativo trae consecuencias positivas. ______________________________________________________________________________

24. No se ganó Zamora en una hora. Las cosas que valen mucho suelen necesitar

mucho tiempo para cumplir.

______________________________________________________________________________

25. Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. No se sufre por lo que no se sabe.

______________________________________________________________________________

26. Perro que ladra, no muerde. Los que hablan mucho, suelen hacer poco.

______________________________________________________________________________

27. Poco a poco se va lejos. Se puede lograr mucho por hacerlo poco a poco.

______________________________________________________________________________

28. Poderoso caballero es don Dinero. Con el dinero se puede hacer mucho.

______________________________________________________________________________

29. Por el humo se sabe donde está el fuego. Si algo parece raro o malo, probablemente es.

______________________________________________________________________________

30. Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta Quien emprende muchas cosas a un tiempo,

generalmente no desempeña ninguna bien.

______________________________________________________________________________

32. Quien se ríe último, se ríe mejor. Es el final que importa, no el principio.

______________________________________________________________________________

33. Ver y creer. Ver para creer. Muéstramelo para que yo pueda creerlo.

______________________________________________________________________________

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hay más refranes en los siguientes sitios de la red mundial:

http://www.augustobriga.net/memoria/REFRANES.htm#extremadamentecomunes

http://www.espanole.org/refranes

http://www.redargentina.com/refranes/

http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/DAVMAL/refranes.htm

http://www.augustobriga.net/memoria/REFRANES.htm#extremadamentecomuneshttp://www.espanole.org/refraneshttp://www.redargentina.com/refranes/http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/DAVMAL/refranes.htm

Match the Spanish sayings on the previous pages with their

English equivalents below:

A. Jack of all trades, master of none.

B. He who laughs last laughs best.

C. Seeing is believing.

D. Where there's smoke there's fire.

E. Slow but steady wins the race.

F. Money talks.

G. A barking dog does not bite.

H. Out of sight, out of mind.

I. Rome wasn't built in a day.

J. Every dark cloud has a silver lining.

K. All that glitters is not gold.

L. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

M. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

N. Better late than never.

O. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A stitch in time saves nine.

P. The walls have ears.

Q. Speak of the devil (and he appears).

R. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

S. Keep your chin up. Keep a stiff upper lip.

T. You've got to face the facts. Deal with it.

U. The early bird gets the worm.

V. Look before you leap.

W. You can't make a silk purse out a sow's ear.

X. Two heads are better than one.

Y. Easier said than done.

Z. Birds of a feather flock together.

AA. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

BB. Time is money.

CC. A word to the wise is sufficient.

DD. He's a chip off of the old block. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

EE. It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear an idiot than to open it and remove all

doubt. Loose lips sink ships.

FF. Flag on the play! This is not fair! There is no comparable popular English saying.

ANSWERS:

1. A buen entendedor, pocas palabras bastan. CC A word to the wise is sufficient.

2. A caballo regalado no le mires los dientes R Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

3. A lo hecho, pecho. S, T

4. A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda. U The early bird gets the worm.

5. Al mal tiempo, buena cara. S, T

6. Antes que te cases, mira lo que haces. V Look before you leap.

7. Aunque el mono se viste de seda, mono se queda. W You can't make a silk purse out a sow's ear.

8. Cuatro ojos ven más que dos X Two heads are better than one.

9. De tal palo, tal astilla. DD Like father, like son.

10. Del dicho al hecho, hay gran trecho. Y

11. Dime con quién andas, y te diré quien eres. Z Birds of a feather flock together.

12. El sapo a la sapa la tiene por muy guapa. AA Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

13. El tiempo es oro. BB Time is money.

14. En boca cerrada no entran moscas. EE

15. Hablando del rey de Roma, por la puerta asoma. Q Speak of the devil and he appears.

16. Las paredes oyen. P The walls have ears.

17. Más vale prevenir que curar. O

18. Más vale tarde que nunca. N Better late than never.

19. Más vale solo que mal acompañado. FF (No comparable English saying.)

20. Mejor pájaro en la mano que cien volando. M A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush.

21. No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy. L

22. No es oro todo lo que brilla. K All that glitters is not gold.

23. No hay mal que por bien no venga. J Every dark cloud has a silver lining.

24. No se ganó Zamora en una hora. I Rome wasn't built in a day.

25. Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. H Out of sight, out of mind.

26. Perro que ladra, no muerde. G A barking dog does not bite.

27. Poco a poco se va lejos. E Slow but steady wins the race.

28. Poderoso caballero es don Dinero. F Money talks.

29. Por el humo se sabe donde está el fuego. D Where there's smoke, there's fire.

30. Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta A Jack of all trades, master of none.

32. Quien se ríe último, se ríe mejor. B He who laughs last laughs best.

33. Ver y creer. Ver para creer. C Seeing is believing.

CONGESTIÓN DE TRÁFICO

El Problema:

Hay siete piedras pasaderas y seis personas. En las tres piedras de la izquierda, volteadas hacia

al frente, se paran tres personas. Las otras tres personas se paran en las piedras de la derecha, cuales

también están volteadas hacia el centro. La piedra del centro no está ocupada.

El Desafío: Cambiar lugares

Cada persona debe moverse para que las personas que están paradas en las piedras de la

derecha se pasen a las piedras de la izquierda y viceversa con la piedra del centro desocupada.

Las Reglas:

1. Después de moverse, cada persona debe estar parada en una piedra pasadera.

2. Si empiezas en la izquierda, solamente te puedes mover a la derecha y viceversa.

3. Puedes "saltar" una persona si hay una piedra desocupada en el otro lado.

No puedes saltar más de una persona. Debes brincar en una línea recta.

4. Solo una persona se puede mover a la vez.

Vocabulario en el rompecabezas: congestión de tráfico traffic jam

piedras pasaderas stepping stones

volteadas hacia al frente facing the front

se paran they are standing

volteadas hacia al centro facing the center

desafío challenge

parado standing

debe estar parada must be standing

desocupada unoccupied

a la vez at a time

brincar to jump

línea recta straight line

Vocabulario para conversar y resolver: a la izquierda to the left

a la derecha to the right

no puede moverse can't move

ésta puede saltar this one can jump

acá here

allí there

este lado this side

puede cruzar can cross

horizontalmente horizontally

diagonalmente diagonally

para adelante forward

para atrás backward

una movida a move

EL MUCHACHO VALIENTE

SPANISH JOKE

empujó les pegó luchó nadó respondió Use more advanced words from AP Spanish lists to EXPAND for UPPER LEVELS. Tell at levels of increasing difficulty that answer more and more questions. Había un millonario. El millonario tenía una fiesta en su casa. Había un montón de cocodrilos en la piscina. --Le daré un millón de dólares a la primera persona que nade de este lado al otro lado de esta piscina. Nadie respondió. Así que el millonario les dijo a todos: –A la primera persona que nade al otro lado de esta piscina le daré un millón de dólares, y también un carro. Y de repente, ¡Había un muchacho en el agua! El muchacho estaba nadando y por fin salió del agua en el otro lado. El millonario no podía creerlo. Gritó --¡felicitaciones! --al muchacho. El millonario le dio un cheque para un millón de dólares, apuntó hacia sus carros. Le preguntó al muchacho: --Y ahora, ¿qué quieres? El muchacho le respondió --¡Quiero el imbécil que me empujó al agua! 2ND TELLING: SLIGHTLY MORE ADVANCED GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY Había un millonario. El millonario tenía una fiesta en su casa. La fiesta era magnífica. Había una piscina grande y bonita, pero nadie estaba nadando. Nadie quería nadar. Nadie quería entrar al agua porque había un montón de cocodrilos en la piscina.

Los cocodrilos feroces eran las mascotas del millonario. Al millonario le ocurrió una idea traviesa. El sonrió y les anunció a todos sus huéspedes: --Le daré un millón de dólares a la primera persona que nade de este lado al otro lado de esta piscina. Nadie respondió. Así que el millonario hizo otra oferta. Les dijo a todos –a la primera persona que nade al otro lado de esta piscina le daré un millón de dólares, y también un carro. Puede escoger entre mi Hummer, mi Lamborghini o mi Rolls Royce. Cualquier automóvil que escoges será el tuyo. De repente, el millonario oyó un sonido. ¡Vio que había un muchacho en el agua! El muchacho estaba nadando frenéticamente hacia el otro lado de la piscina. El muchacho luchó contra los cocodrilos desesperadamente. Les pegó un cocodrilo en la nariz. Agarró la boca de otro. Luchó y empujó los cocodrilos uno tras otro, y por fin salió del agua en el otro lado. El millonario no podía creerlo. Gritó --¡felicitaciones! --al muchacho. --¡Fuiste magnífico! ¡Fuiste la única persona valiente en toda la fiesta! El millonario le dio un cheque para un millón de dólares y le preguntó --Y ahora, ¿qué quieres? El muchacho le respondió --¡Quiero el imbécil que me empujó al agua!

A billionaire threw a magnificent party for his many friends. Only one thing was bothering everyone; his very large

pool was filled with alligators. Toward the end of the evening, he stood before a podium and announced to his

guests, "The first person that swims across this pool will get a million dollars!"

He then stepped back and waited for a response. No one responded, so he made another offer.

"I'll give the first person a million dollars and my mansion." Once again he stepped back and waited. Finally he

said, "I'll give you a million dollars, my mansion, and a choice between my Corvette or Lamborghini."

Suddenly he heard a splash and turned to see a man swimming across the pool.

The man hit the alligators on the head, wrestling one after the other.

The man reached the other end of the pool and climbed out at the millionaire's feet. The millionaire congratulated

him and invited him up to his office to receive his awards. When they got to his office the millionaire asked, "What

The man replied, "I want the jerk who pushed me into the pool!"

Noticiaslocas.com: Noticias del jueves 8 de setiembre

POR COMER PIZZA EN LA OFICINA, GANÓ EL PREMIO AL DESPIDO MÁS ESCANDALOSO

Un ingeniero en sistemas perdió su trabajo luego de comer dos porciones de pizza en la oficina, pero gracias a ello ganó el premio al "Despido Más Escandaloso".

La mala fortuna de Jim Garrison finalmente tuvo su recompensa, ya que su caso fue elegido como el "Despido Más Escandaloso", entre más de mil personas que enviaron sus historias a un sitio de Internet. Al resultar ganador, Garrison, de 39 años, ahora podrá disfrutar de un viaje en crucero por el Caribe. Otro empleado también perdió su trabajo luego de que malinterpretara las instrucciones que le había dado su jefe: la orden era "enviar información sensible a 'microfilm'", pero el desafortunado empleado envió la información por mail a un tal "Michael Finn". Garrison, que vive en Colorado, EEUU, declaró que nunca hubiera pensado que sería premiado por haber sido despedido, aunque también agregó que nunca hubiese pensado que lo despedirían por comer dos porciones de pizza de pepperoni que habían sobrado de una reunión de la empresa. Lo que él desconocía era que un grupo de empleados ya había elaborado un plan para llevarse los restos de pizza y que, cuando vieron que él se los había comido, lo denunciaron en la oficina de personal.

Bryce Hedstrom National TPRS Conference, Chicago Illinois, July 19-23, 2010

TPRS in the Upper Levels and A.P.

Steps of TPRS

1. Establish Meaning 2. Tell/Ask a Story 3. Read and Discuss Two Week Revolving Lesson Plan (Posted in class to keep me on track) M Class Chat; "News from Lake Wobegon"; Submit Reading Logs; Read (20 minutes) T Structures & Vocabulary for the week; Begin story W Retell story so far ("Teacher forgets" gimmick), expand story Th Continue Story &/or Music (Listen, Sing and Discuss or Cloze) F Wrap up story or "to be continued…" Authentic Listening (occasional authentic movie) &/or Brain Teasers M Class Chat; Submit Reading Logs; Read T Current News from TL countries: Read/Listen on line. W Structures & Vocabulary for the week; Begin story Th Continue story F Wrap up story; Authentic Listening (occasional authentic movie) and/or Brain Teasers Always be ready to throw out your plan "Can we just read today, señor?" "What story did they tell in the other classes?" Every class is a differentiated class, especially in the upper levels We want students of ALL levels to go on. Students will learn more Spanish if they take a Spanish class. Focus on the Fundamentals "This is a football" ―Vince Lombardi Creating/Telling a story in the upper levels: The same, but more so More creativity, more possibilities, more direction by students Keep returning to core vocabulary and structures: AP Spanish Lists (Prentice Hall). Built in grammar: The nature of the situation drives the grammatical structures Structures and vocabulary on board to remind teacher and students Bare outline—more creating and double checking the facts than telling. "Teacher forgets" gambit Tell and tell again. More telling = more questions (both clarifying and pondering) Big Circling (a lot) vs. Little Circling (not so much) Keep listening for what they do not know well, keep watching for where they lack confidence and practice those. Comprehensible, Compelling & Cultural Materials with all three are ideal, but I'll take 2, or even 1. Stories: About them, their futures, their ideas, what they think, what they like, what they hope, what they want,

what they see. Novels: El Alquimista, Senderos Fronterizos, Harry Potter, Viajess Fantásticos, La Corza Blanca & La Cruz del Diablo

by Bécquer (simplified), Twilight Movies: La Misma Luna, Casi Casi, Machuca, El Laberinto del Fauno, The Official Story, Cinco Amigas, The Sea

Inside, Motrcycle Diaries Music: Popular, Spanish standards, folk music, children's songs and grammar songs They have to hear somebody besides just you and each other Storytelling is the core and what we always come back to, but they need to hear other voices Prentice Hall AP Spanish CD's Authentic News in the T.L. (see form next page)

The Tragic Tale of Mark and How Kirsten rescued him

Ben, You had asked if someone could explain what an advanced class looked like when taught with comprehensible input. Here is a snapshot of a couple of days in one of my classes this week. This is the story that we started to tell in my seventh hour Spanish 4/AP class when you and Jennie came to observe the other day.

Bryce Hedstrom National TPRS Conference, Chicago Illinois, July 19-23, 2010 The grammatical structure we were focusing on had been introduced, but the students needed much more work on it to become more fluent. The structure was the Past Perfect Subjunctive/Conditional Perfect combo meal (If he had studied more he would have been able to go to college). It is highly abstract and theoretical—not used much, but is impresses the hell out of the AP graders if kids use it on the exam and they will also need to recognize it because there is likely to be a few instances of its use in the reading and listening parts as well. A tale of a life filled with regrets is a good way to practice this devilish combination (Blaine Ray and Joe Neilson have a good model of this in the last chapter of "Mirame, Todavía Estoy Hablando", La Mujer Presa). I asked the kids who was the student that most likely to succeed in the class. They chose two, a boy and a girl named Mark and Kirsten. Then I asked them to pick a nice person in the class. They chose a girl named Mackenzie. The kids have had fun with the story because it goes against type. The actors are super-students and seem destined for success. We are not trying to make fun of depressed students—in fact, the compassion that the kids have injected into the story is heart-warming to me. We are just trying to be outrageous and have fun while working on Spanish. The only story line I had in my head was that a character had to have made a series of bad decisions, and then regret it. The nice person is there to help him and to hear his sad story. We had done a similar story a couple of days before and the kids liked it. Since the class insisted on two characters, I had one help the other and also make some questionable decisions. Here is the story as it stands after two days of asking, telling, re-asking, re-organizing, and summarizing with the class so far (we will add a bit more to explain Kirsten's role tomorrow). The story uses relatively simple vocabulary and sets up the use of complex grammar. "Shelter the vocabulary, but not the grammar" as Susie Gross says. Here is what we have come up with so far (I can send the Spanish translation if you would like for people to use as an extended reading): In an upper level class the students do a lot more speaking. The ideas are popping up all over the room and the teacher tends to become more of a moderator than a storyteller. The teacher sets the stage, but the students tend to generate more ideas and twists in the story line than in lower level classes—this makes sense because they have more language to work with and have more tools to express themselves. There are more nuances and things can get livelier. I often find myself mainly asking questions and trying to understand how all of the different elements of the story tie together—reframing and re-wording it with slightly more complex expressions as the story progresses. As with stories in level I and II, these upper level stories can quickly grow and become remarkably complex. We often have to abandon some ideas and sub plots to tie the entire narrative together into a meaningful whole. One thing I find fascinating is that the personalities and values of the students and teacher begin to emerge in the telling and re-telling of these tall tales in the upper levels. As we knead the dough of the class story together, some of our DNA rubs of off us and becomes part of the tale. In the most recent telling of the Mark and Kirsten story below, one might think that we are being cruel to the depressed and elitist towards those that don't go to college. That may be there, but deeper themes develop: dealing with life's disappointments, caring for the downtrodden, taking responsibility for our actions and our duty to develop our gifts and talents also emerge. The silliness of the lower level story is still there, but an organic thoughtfulness also sprouts when we bend our minds and tongues towards building a story together. First Telling (Slightly expanded outline from original thumbnail plot): When Mark was younger, it seemed like he was going to be very successful en his life, but it didn't happen that way. He made a lot of bad decisions. The same thing happened with Kirsten. She also seemed like she was going to be very successful, but she also made mistakes. Mark liked Lady Gaga and wasted all of his time sending her wigs. If he had not wasted his time, he would have been able to study more. If he had not wasted all of his money, he would have been able to go to college. If he had studied more, he would have gotten better grades in school. If he had gotten better grades, he would have gone to college. But he didn't do any of these things, and Mark became a poor man living on the street. Kirsten went to college and studied engineering at a good university. After graduating, she became a famous engineer and was very successful in her work. Kirsten invented many ingenious machines that helped a lot of people, but she left her work in order to go to the ocean to save the whales. Kirsten ended up saving Mark and caring for him. One day Mackenzie was walking in the city and saw Mark sitting in the street. She talked with Mark and asked him what had happened with his life. The Story after 3 Days (and not finished yet!): "This story takes place ten years in the future. It happens ten years from today. Mackenzie was walking down the mean streets of Chicago. She had now become a math teacher in a prestigious secondary school in a Chicago suburb. She also was a volleyball coach in the school. She had had a lot of success in the few years that she had been teaching already, and she was very happy and satisfied with her job and with her life.

Bryce Hedstrom National TPRS Conference, Chicago Illinois, July 19-23, 2010 Mackenzie was walking down the street in downtown Chicago because she was planning on taking a field trip to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange with the students from her advanced calculus class, but she wanted to see everything before she took 57.6 students (one boy had been very sick and he was very skinny) to the downtown of such a big city. Also, she felt like going shopping while she was there. While Mackenzie was walking, she saw two people sitting, a man and a woman, on the sidewalk. They seemed like nothing more than poor vagabonds, like the hundreds of homeless people that you see in the streets of any big city in the world. They were wearing clothing that was out of style and that was really little more than dirty rags. There wasn't much room on the sidewalk, and Mackenzie didn't want to kick them (Mackenzie was still a very friendly and courteous person, like she had always been before), so she said "Excuse me" to them with a soft voice as she passed near them. When the man heard the voice, he was a little bit shocked because he was not accustomed to hearing respectful voices. Normally people didn't even seem to see him, even when he was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. All of the busy businessmen of the city tended to ignore him completely, or worse, sometimes they had said profanities to him as they passed by. The man really didn't know how to respond to such courteous behavior that came from a stranger in the street. The man slowly lifted his gaze and whispered a weak "Of course" to Mackenzie. Mackenzie looked at him (the man had not seen this very often either because people almost always had avoided looking at him in the eyes when they had approached him on the sidewalk). When Mackenzie and the man looked at each other, it seemed to her that she knew recognized the dirty and poor man. All of a sudden, Mackenzie realized that she knew him. Even though he was dirty, she could see beneath his long hair and the stains in his dirty beard. She realized that the pathetic man on the sidewalk was her old classmate Mark! Mackenzie yelled merrily "Mark? From Spanish class?" When she heard Mackenzie's friendly voice, the woman on the sidewalk raised her head also and whispered "Mackenzie?", and then a little bit louder, "It's me! I am Kirsten! I was in Spanish class too!" Kirsten stood up. She couldn't believe that Mackenzie was standing in front of her. She was even more shocked when Mackenzie stepped forward and hugged her. It seemed like it didn’t matter to her that Kirsten was dressed in rags and stank a little bit. They started to talk, and Kirsten explained to her that Mark didn't tend to talk much anymore since the unfortunate chain of decisions that he had made during the last ten years. Mackenzie wanted to know more about this sad story and also she wanted to help them, so she invited Mark and Kirsten to have a coffee with her in a little café that was nearby. Kirsten told her that she agreed as long as Mackenzie paid for it. Mackenzie and Kirsten tenderly lifted Mark and took him to the café while he kept on muttering "Bad decisions! So many bad decisions!" to himself. The three of them sat down in the café. Mackenzie ordered the coffees and paid for them with her platinum credit card. After drinking most of three extra large cups of caramel flavored coffee, Kirsten started to tell the tragic and disastrous story of how Mark had arrived at this point in his life when it seemed like he was going to be so successful before. Kirsten said to her: "You probably didn't know that Mark was a big fan of Lady Gaga during his last year in high school. Almost nobody knew it. Mark just loved the magnificent wigs that Lady Gaga wore and he insisted on sending her at least two new wigs each week in the mail. I suppose that he was hoping that she would wear one of them in a video, but she never did, and so Mark became depressed. He had no money, no wigs, no future and no hope. Kirsten continued: "If Mark had not spent all of his time and money sending wigs to Lady Gaga during his last year in school, he would have had enough money to attend a good university. Also, if he had studied a little bit more instead of dreaming about wigs, he would have gotten better grades. If he had gotten better grades he probably would have been able to receive a scholarship to attend a university. But he didn't do it. Mark made bad decisions. If he had gone to the university, he probably would have had a good job. But since he had neither the money nor the good grades to go to college, Mark became a sailor and went to serve in the Navy on a ship in the Pacific Ocean. Going into the Armed Service isn't a bad decision, but it is not what Mark really wanted to do and he became even more depressed. But Mark was not successful there either. He couldn’t focus on his duties on the ship because he was still so depressed about the issue with Lady Gaga's wigs. He got worse and worse jobs on the ship. If he had been able to focus a little bit more, he would have gotten a more interesting job, but at the end, the only job that he could do was to clean the dirty socks of the 13,000 sailors on the ship each week. If he had never gone to the Navy, and if he hadn't been so depressed, he wouldn't have arrived at the desperate point of thinking about throwing himself overboard. And in fact, he did just that. He threw himself overboard 23.5 times in less than two months. The first 23 times the sailors rescued him, but the last time something terrible happened… (We already know from the earlier versions of the story that Kirsten will simultaneously cause Mark harm and rescue him when he accidentally jumps headlong into her boat while she is out trying to save the whales.)

Bryce Hedstrom National TPRS Conference, Chicago Illinois, July 19-23, 2010

Nombre: ________________________________

Fecha: ________________________________

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL (NEWS IN SPANISH) by Bryce Hedstrom

TOTAL SCORE (45 points) Student score _____ Teacher score _____

Assignment: On the internet, find news articles in Spanish that originate in or are about Spanish-speaking

countries. Find current general news articles (headlines), not just sports and celebrity gossip. Read and/or listen to

the news in Spanish, and report on what you have read/heard. The purpose is to expand your knowledge of the

Spanish language and of current issues in the Spanish-speaking world. Here are some websites for news in

Spanish:

News from Costa Rica: nacion.com News from Chile: emol.com News from Argentina: lanacion.com Últimas noticias sobre Ciencia, Tecnología e Historia: MuyInteresante.es Univision: univision.com esmas. com BBC Mundo – http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/ Telemundo/Yahoo – http://telemundo.yahoo.com/ Periódicos Iberoamericanos - http://www.oei.es/medios.htm La Tribuna Colorado - http://www.latribunacolorado.com/

ARTICLE #1: (15 points) Student score _____ Teacher score _____ I Read it □ I Listened to it □ Website: _________________________________________ Country: _______________ Name of article: ________________________________________ Write at least three (3) sentences in Spanish summarizing or reacting to what you read: (3 sentences = 15 points, 2 sentences = 10 points, 1 sentence = 5 points)

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Write on the back if there is not enough room → → →

ARTICLE #2: (15 points) Student score _____ Teacher score _____ I Read it □ I Listened to it □ Website: _________________________________________ Country: _______________ Name of article: ________________________________________ Write at least three (3) sentences in Spanish summarizing or reacting to what you read: (3 sentences = 15 points, 2 sentences = 10 points, 1 sentence = 5 points)

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Write on the back if there is not enough room → → →

ARTICLE #3: (15 points) Student score _____ Teacher score _____ I Read it □ I Listened to it □ Website: _________________________________________ Country: _______________ Name of article: ________________________________________ Write at least three (3) sentences in Spanish summarizing or reacting to what you read: (3 sentences = 15 points, 2 sentences = 10 points, 1 sentence = 5 points)

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Write on the back if there is not enough room → → →

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/http://telemundo.yahoo.com/http://www.oei.es/medios.htmhttp://www.latribunacolorado.com/

TASK LIST for INFORMAL WRITINGTASK LIST for FORMAL WRITINGWRITING AN ESSAY #5 RefranesActividad de Congestión de tráficoEL MUCHACHO VALIENTE Joke.docxNoticias Locas--DESPIDO ESCANDALOSOTPRS in the Upper Levels and AP