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West Hartford World Language Department High School Mission Statement 2004-2005
The mission of the West Hartford World Language Department is to enable our students to communicate effectively in the target
language">
West Hartford World Language Department
High School
Mission Statement 2004-2005
The mission of the West Hartford World Language Department is to enable our
students to communicate effectively in the target
language, develop an understanding of the cultures of the speakers of that
language and compare that to their own. As a result,
students will be able to use their language skills in learning and
understanding of other disciplines, seeing themselves as life-long
learners and as members of the world community.
Department Goals
Achievement
To finalize the World Language Department curriculum initiative in
preparation for Five-Year Plan Curriculum Review presentation,
November 22, 2004.
To articulate performance-based assessment strategies according to the
tenets of the ACTFL guidelines for student proficiency.
To infuse literacy strategies in the reading of ancillary material and
authentic documents.
To collaborate with colleagues in the discussion and evaluation of student
work.
To design interdisciplinary projects/coursework with other departments.
To include the National Standards and the State Frameworks in personal goals
and in the delivery of curriculum.
To enrich instruction by the implementation of a uniform continuum of
culturally appropriate thematic units and materials.
Safe Schools
To support initiatives that insure the integrity of the learning environment
and that increase the potential of all students to achieve.
Community Collaboration
To communicate department resources and events to the school community.
To collaborate with community through guest speakers, volunteer projects,
field trips etc.
Technology
To provide opportunities that increase teacher and student application of
technology in the learning environment and in the
assessment process.
MODERN LANGUAGES
French I 1
LF0133 1
Credit
Prerequisite: None
The aims of this course are to begin
the development of language skills in
French with early emphasis on listening
and speaking and to introduce students
to the rich and varied cultures of the
French-speaking world. Classroom
activities include: use of taped material
and visual aids for comprehension, pronunciation, and conversation stimuli;
dialogues, oral and written exercises;
explanation of basic grammatical
patterns in French; reading of short
passages with discussion; vocabulary
building; and use of video for reinforcement.
French II 1
LF0233
Credit: 1 Unit
Prerequisite: French I*
This course is a continuation of French I
for those who begin French in the high
school. The course is also designed for
students coming from the middle school
program who are not yet ready for the
French III level. Students will continue to
build proficiency in the four basic skills to
the degree that they will be: (1)
LISTENING for imitation and comprehension of simple conversations, (2)
SPEAKING in basic sentence patterns
and in a manner acceptable to native
speakers, (3) READING simple
dialogues, paragraphs, and culturally
oriented selections for purposes of
answering questions about the material
and building vocabulary, and (4)
WRITING using vocabulary and
structures which have already been
learned orally.
French III 1
LF0333
Credit: 1 unit
Prerequisite : French II or recommendation of middle school teacher.
This course is for students who
demonstrate a strong achievement in
French in middle school or who complete
French II in high school. The broad aims
of this intermediate course are: (1) to
understand the target language without
frequent references to English, (2) to be
able to ask questions and give
information on basic survival topics, (3)
to read not only dialogues but also short
stories and connected prose on cultural
topics, and (4) to write using intermediate
levels of syntax and create short
paragraphs on topics which have been
discussed orally.
French III Honors
LF0343 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French II or recommendation of middle school teacher.
This course is for the outstanding
student from the middle school program
or from French II, who has demonstrated a
high level of achievement in French and
who is considering the Advanced
Placement Program. Although the basic
goals of the course are similar to those of
French III, the materials used are more
demanding. Students are expected to be
able to discuss a range of topics and
readings in the target language. *
or recommendation of middle school teachers
22
LANGUAGE COURSES
French IV 1
LF0433 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French III
This course combines the
conversation, grammar review, and
reading of selected prose as the students
continue to build their proficiency in the
four skills. There are also units on the
French-speaking world and on current
events in those areas. Listening skills are
enhanced by audio tapes in the language
lab.
Additionl higher-level grammatical
concepts are introduced.
French IV Honors 1
LF0443 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French III H
The emphasis in this course is on a
high level of oral communication. There
will also be continued development of
mastery of French grammar. Students
will be expected to write compositions in
French with an increased level of
accuracy of expression and real print
materials will be used in the classroom.
French V 1
LF0533 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French IV
This course places emphasis on the
application of the student’s ability to use
the spoken and written language in a
wide variety of situations he/she may
face in business and travel. Readings
consist of contemporary
prose–principally short stories and
drama as well as magazines and
newspapers. Culture and current events
of the French-speaking world are given
considerable attention.
French V H 1
LF0543 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French IVH
This is the preparation course for the
Advanced Placement French Language
course which follows. Along with a general
review of French grammar, students will
read appropriate and representative works
of literature. Students will be expected to
discuss the readings in French. There will
also be discussions in the target language
on contemporary issues.
French VI 1
LF0633 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French V
This course relies heavily on real print
materials and contemporary literature
representative of the French-speaking
world. Composition assignments will
reflect advanced grammatical concepts
and writing for different purposes.
Current global issues will be discussed
and differences in cultural attitudes
acknowledged. Video and film will be
incorporated into class activities.
Advanced Placement French 1
LF0553 1
Credit
Prerequisite: French V H
This is a college level course which is
described in detail in the CEEB
Advanced Placement booklet. Students
taking this course will be prepared to take
the Advanced Placement Examination. It
is expected that all students will take the
AP examination in May.
Spanish I 1
LS0133 1
Credit
Prerequisite: None
The aims of this course are to begin
the development of language skills in
Spanish with early emphasis on
listening and speaking and to introduce
students to the rich and varied cultures
of the Spanish-speaking world.
Classroom activities include: use of
taped materials and visual aids for comprehension, pronunciation, and
conversation stimuli; dialogues, oral and
written exercises; explanation of basic
grammatical patterns in Spanish;
reading of short passages with
discussion; vocabulary building; and use
of video for reinforcement.
Spanish II 1
LS0233 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish I*
This course is a continuation of
Spanish I for those who begin Spanish
in the high school. The course is also
designed for students coming from the
middle school program who are not yet
ready for the Spanish III level. Students
will continue to build proficiency in the
four basic skills: (1) LISTENING for
imitation and comprehension of
simple conversations, (2) SPEAKING in
the basic sentence patterns in a
manner acceptable to native speakers,
(3) READING simple dialogues,
paragraphs, and culturally oriented
selections for purposes of answering
questions about the material and
building vocabulary, and (4) WRITING
using vocabulary structures which have
already been learned orally.
Spanish III 1
LS0333 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish II or recommendation of middle school teacher.
This course is for students who
demonstrate strong achievement in
Spanish in middle school or who
complete Spanish II in high school. The
broad aims of this intermediate course
are: (1) to understand the target
language without frequent references to
English, (2) to be able to ask questions
and give information on basic survival
topics, (3) to read not only dialogues but
also short stories and connected prose
on cultural topics, & (4) to write using
intermediate-level syntax and create
short paragraphs on topics which have
been discussed orally.
Spanish III Honors 1
LS0343 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish II or recommendation of middle school teacher.
This course is for the outstanding
student from the middle school
program or from Spanish II, who has
demonstrated a high level of
achievement in Spanish and who is
considering the Advanced Placement
Program. Although the basic goals of
the course are similar to those of
Spanish III, the materials used are
more demanding, and the students are
expected to be able to discuss a wide
range of topics and readings in the
target language.
Spanish IV 1
LS0433 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish III
This course combines conversation,
grammar, review, and reading of
selected prose as the students continue
to build their proficiency in the four skills.
There are also units on the Spanish-
speaking worlds and on current events in
those areas. Listening skills are
enhanced by audio tapes in the
language lab and by the introduction of
the video program, La Catrina.
Additional higher level grammactical
concepts are introduced.
Spanish IV Honors 1
LS0443 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish IIIH
The emphasis in this course is on a
high level of oral communication. There
will also be continued development of
mastery of Spanish grammar. Students
will be expected to write compositions
in Spanish with a high level of accuracy
of expression and real print materials
will be used in the classroom.
Spanish V 1
LS0533 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish IV
The principle resource for this course is
DESTINOS, a video program developed
by PBS and the Annenberg Foundation
for Public Television. The 52-episode
program follows Raquel, a Spanish-
speaking lawyer from Los Angeles, as
she tries to find a young man who has
lost contact with his family. Raquel’s
search takes her from Seville through
Madrid to Argentina, Puerto Rico, and
Mexico as students learn about each of
those areas, their cultures and linguistic
differences. Audio tapes, a text, and
activity books complete the course.
Spanish V Honors
LS0543 1
1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish IVH
This is the preparation course for
the Advanced Placement Spanish
Language course which follows. Along
with a general review of Spanish
grammar, students will read
appropriate and representative works
of literature. Students will be expected
to discuss the readings in Spanish.
There will also be discussions on
contemporary issues in the target
language .
Spanish VI
LS0633 1
1
Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish V
This course relies heavily on real
print materials and contemporary
literature representative of the
Spanish-speaking world. Composition
assignments will reflect advanced
grammatical concepts and writing for
different purposes. Current videos and
films and a limited amount of Spanish
for use in the business world will be
incorporated into class activities.
Current global issues will be
discussed and differences in cultural
attitudes acknowledged.
Summer Exchange Program
LS9037 1
Credit
The West Hartford Public Schools
have an on-going exchange program
with a sister school in Madrid, Spain.
During odd-numbered years (2005,
2007, etc.), a group from West
Hartford travels to Spain, and even-
numbered years (2006, 2008, etc.), a
group of students from Madrid comes
to West Hartford. Each travel
experience includes a short excursion
to see some of the country followed by a
3 week home stay with a Spanish
family. Over the years, hundreds of
West Hartford students have
participated in this program and have
found it to be a rewarding experience.
This program is a two-year
commitment: one summer that
involves hosting and one summer of
travel. Students interested in participating should ask a Conard Spanish
teacher for more information.
AP Spanish Literature/
Hispanic Studies
LS0733-SS3541 1
or 2 Credit
Prerequisite: Spanish IV
This is a college-level course which
is described in detail in the CEEB
Advanced Placement booklet. It is a
survey course of Spanish Literature.
The course focuses on representative
works of Peninsular and Latin
American authors from the Middle
Ages through the Spanish Golden
24
Age (Siglo de Oro), and it also
includes representative works of the
19th and 20th centuries. Students will
read and analyze poems, plays, short
stories and chapters of classical
novels such as Don Quijote. Students
taking this course will be prepared to
take the Advanced Placement
Examination in Spanish Literature in
May. The language of instruction is
Spanish.
This course is the Spanish Literature
component of the Hispanic Studies
program. There is also a Social
Studies component. Please see the
Social Studies section of this booklet
for a description of course #SS3541,
which details more completely the
Social Studies component of the
Hispanic Studies program.
Students who are currently
Sophomores or Juniors are eligible to
enroll in this program for next year.
Students of Spanish IV Honors or
Spanish V Honors are eligible to enroll
in the Spanish component if their
teachers recommend it. Heritage
speakers of Spanish who are
interested in the literature portion of
the course and are not currently
enrolled in a Spanish course are
encouraged to select this program.
While it is preferable that students
commit to both courses, there is also
an understanding that for some this
may not be possible. Therefore,
students may elect one course or the
other or both. The teachers, Mr. Greg
Andrews and Mrs. María DiPoi, work
collaboratively to ensure appropriate
connections. The teachers are
committed to ensuring that students
have a meaningful experience in this
program in addition to attaining
college credit for the two courses. *
or recommendation of middle school teachers
23
Classical Languages
Ancient Greek I 1
LG0003 1
Credit
Prerequisite: None
The aim of this course is to enable
students to read ancient Greek early
in the year and to accomplish this
within the context of classical Greek
culture. Daily life, political events,
mythology, religion, philosophy,
literature, art and architecture are
among the areas explored. As with
Latin, one of the goals of the study of
ancient Greek is to achieve a better
understanding of English. Greek roots,
prefixes, and suffixes that appear in
English are highlighted as well as the
influence of Greek on the language of
politics, philosophy, literature, science
and medicine.
Ancient Greek II 1
LG2033 1
Credit
Prerequisite: Greek I
Ancient Greek II builds upon the
linguistic, cultural and historical
foundations established in the first
year of Ancient Greek. Continued
emphasis is placed upon the
development of reading skills. The
purpose of this course is to master the
fundamentals of Greek grammar by
incorporating authentic Greek texts to
ultimately begin study of Ancient
Greek literary; historical, and philosophical texts. Greek roots, prefixes,
and suffixes that appear in English will
continue to be highlighted, as well as
the broader influences of the Greek
language on English.
Please note that third and fourth year
Greek are available by arrangement
with the teacher.
Latin I 1
LL0133 1
Credit
Prerequisite: None
This introductory course is designed
to teach students the Latin language
through extensive practice in reading
it. Further, through carefully calibrated
readings, students develop an understanding of the social and political
history of the Romans, especially
during the first century C.E. The
technical aspects of language are
presented in the context of an
interesting and compelling storyline,
which students find entertaining.
Mathematics Courses
An algebra, geometry, algebra sequence will meet the entrance requirements
of most colleges although additional courses are
recommended for students considering college majors in mathematics,
engineering, other science-related fields, or business.
Experience has shown that a final mark of C or better is needed to assure
some success in the next course in mathematics. (If
you earned a D, you should plan to repeat the course, preferably in summer
school, before continuing your math sequence. If you
do not have a full credit in a prerequisite, you may not enroll in the next
course). Department Permission Is Needed To Change
Levels.
*Graphing calculators are used extensively in some courses and required in
some Advanced Placement Exams.
Latin II
LL0233 1
Latin III/IV Literature
LL 0333 1
1
Credit LL 0433
Prerequisite: None 1 Credit
The purpose of this course is to (Alternate years 2005-2006)
further develop the reading skills of the Prerequisite: Latin II
student within the context of a This course introduces students to
continuing story which is firmly set in the poets Catullus and Horace.
the Roman Empire. Historical Through their work students examine
characters are frequently introduced the tumultuous period that character-
and students learn about them using izes the end of the Roman Republic
primary written sources as well as and the establishment of the Pax
archaeological evidence. Students Romana by Augustus. On a more
continue to develop an understanding personal “stage” students also explore
of ancient literature, law, politics, the world of two extremely learned and
religion, philosophy, art, architecture sophisticated artists. They study
their
and technology. By the end of this poetry. The objective will be not only to
course students are ready to begin translate, but also to interpret what is
reading authentic Latin texts, and have translated. Students will pay
special a
firm foundation for the continued attention to all aspects of the writer’s
study of the Latin language through technique and ultimately will seek to
literature. An honors section is answer the question the poet and
available with permission of the scholar John Ciardi asked, “How does
teacher. a poem mean?”
Latin III/IV Vergil 1
LL0333
LL0433 1
Credit (Alternate years: 2006-2007)
Prerequisite: None
Virgil’s Aeneid, the great epic poem
which recounts the fall of Troy and the
rise of the Roman civilization, forms the
major reading for this course. Since this
world classic has influenced the works
of so many poets and writers of prose
throughout history, great emphasis is
placed upon its content, versification,
and figures of speech and their applicability to literature today. Advanced
vocabulary building and derivative study
continue to be stressed. Either level (III
or IV) may be taken for regular or honors
credit. Honors students enrolled in this
course as fourth year students will be
prepared to take the Advanced
Placement Examination. |