AP Spanish - Pablo Neruda - Day Six

Neruda’s primary poetic form was the ode-- a song of praise.  But Neruda did not praise elite things but common things.  Neruda worked hard to make objects that people could pick up easily in their hands.  He worked concretely, at the level of the metaphor, to raise the status of humble objects to an exalted, spiritual level.  He did this not to remove them from our everyday lives or to make still-lifes out of them, but to elevate our everyday lives and endow them meaning.   


Neruda praised things by using metaphor.  He also liked to personify objects or address them directly or tell little narratives about them.  But through metaphor, he makes his most compelling humanist arguments linking the self with the earth and with culture and the cosmos.  So in this assignment, I’d like you write an ode, paying special attention to your use of metaphors.  The following instructions may help you get started.  But feel free to try your own approach - whatever gets you going.  

1. Choose an object X (food, clothes, animals, furniture, tools, etc.) 
2. Or choose an activity X (walking, running, drinking, studying, talking). 
3. Describe X.  What are the physical qualities, the attributes, the important parts?   How does X look, feel, sound, taste, smell? 
4. What normal functions do you associate with X? 
5. What experiences have you had with X? 
6. What could X be like?   
7. Can we understand X like or as something else?   
8. If X has no sound, what sound would you imagine it to have? If X has no smell, what would you imagine it to smell like? 
9. What do we gain from speculating about X in terms of something/someone else?


Your oda - in the style of Neruda - is due in class on 3/27.

Ode to an Umbrella

Enjoy the English version of our Neruda-esque "Ode to an Umbrella"! (Spanish translation coming soon!)

Ode to an Umbrella

By - Ms. Ledford's AP Spanish IV Students

Umbrella, I love you.

Whenever I see you, I remember my childhood

& how playing in the rain was always great fun.

I spun you like a top and

you became a bright color wheel

of many faces - yellow, green, red, blue.

Whenever I see you, I remember the smell of fresh rain

and how you would shield me from any storm.

You were not only my shield, but my sword.

The driving wind and rain

could not penetrate your impermeable dome.

Whenever I found myself in bad weather, 

you opened your metal arms

to deflect what was coming down.

You've been like a soldier,

always ready to defend

never asking for anything in return.

Or maybe like a mother

always ready to encourage her child.

Your handle remains strong and sturdy,

though in the end you'll eventually fly away.

Leaving me stranded,

but teaching me not to be weak and defenseless;

as I learn to stand on my own.

You taught me how to play in the rain.

Spanish II - Homework 3/21 & 3/22

Use formal commands to give me directions from Mercy to your favorite store, restaurant, etc. Be sure to use the vocabulary that you were given in class today. Don't forget - I'm bad with directions, so help me find my way! You may type or write your directions by hand. 


Just in case you need some help, you can find your vocabulary & definitions here.

AP Spanish - Neruda - Day Five

Ladies -


Continue editing and adding to our "Ode to an Umbrella". I have left the text as-is, so feel free to add punctuation, new verses, etc. We will continue editing our poem until Neruda himself would be proud! (Don't worry if you make an accidental deletion - I have saved the original.)

Attention Travelers!

Now that we've got less than 100 days until we leave for Italy & Spain, be sure to check out my Travel blog - Traveling Mercies or follow me on twitter @travelingjags. I'll post updates before, during & after our trip on both sites. Are you excited yet?!?

Spanish II - Homework 3/19 & 3/20

Watch or listen to FIVE commercials (radio or tv) and write the following:


1. The product that is being sold/promoted.
2. The command used (in English)
3. A translation of the advertisement using the command (in Spanish)


For example:

1. Twitter

2. Follow us.

3. Síganos en twitter

Can you find the commands here?

& just for fun...

...and now that you've watched enough tv, go outside & enjoy the beautiful weather! 
¡vayan!

AP Spanish - Pablo Neruda - Day Four

Choose your favorite "oda" by Pablo Neruda from the list available at La Universidad de Chile. Once you have chosen your poem, please e-mail it to me via my school e-mail address. Also, please read the following odes for homework: Oda a la Alcochofa & Oda al Traje. On Wednesday, we will share our poems & begin working on our class oda!

Oda a la Critica - Pablo Neruda 

(one more ode - just for fun!)

Spanish II - Practice with Formal Commands

AP Spanish - Pablo Neruda - Day Three

“Explico Algunas Cosas”

Actividad con la poesía de Pablo Neruda

As you have seen, poetry can be a very powerful way to express your opinions.  In this activity, you will write your own poem of protest about an issue that is important to you. ***Please remember that you are Women of Mercy & students in a Catholic school - these poems are not meant to protest or debate the faith/beliefs of this institution or to offend your classmates.***

Purpose:

To explore the development of poetry in Spanish.

To create & defend a strong argument for your cause.

 To practice some of the techniques you have studied.

***Think about how this can help you prepare for the AP Exam!

Assignment:

1. Choose an issue about which you feel a strong opinion. 

2. Now select a partner and brainstorm aloud for 3 minutes as your partner takes brief notes  & writes down key phrases.  Talk about everything you can think of relating to your topic. Go ahead and allow yourself to get fired up about your cause, talking about why it is important, how things could be different, and especially citing examples of people, things, and situations affected by this issue.  After 3 minutes, switch places with your partner.  Take notes while he/she talks about a different topic.  

3. Review the notes your partner took.  Circle or highlight key words or phrases that catch your eye for any reason.  Look for concrete images and strong “tone words.”  These will serve as a bank of ideas for your poem.

4. Now begin to write your poem using your word bank.  Do not attempt to make the ends of lines rhyme, or you may become distracted from the true meaning of your message.

5. Follow the tips below to create a poem that packs a punch:

a. Show, Don’t Tell: Do not mention the cause, but make a few small references to it.  Your poem is an illustration, not a lecture. Use your vocabulary!

b. Shift in Tone: by showing a contrast between two things, situations, or people, you show your audience that you are right, rather than telling them.

c. Word Choice: Carefully choose words that convey your desired tone. Think about the purpose of different verb tenses and moods! What can the Spanish language convey to a listener? Be prepared to read your work aloud to the class.

d. Simile and metaphor: these comparisons can appeal to the five senses and captivate your audience (“I have seen the blood of Spain tower like a tide to drown you in one wave”) 

e. Sound devices: (repetition, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, etc.  ex: “kill children”, “poppy-petalled”) make the words quietly stick in the audience’s mind. Think about the activity we did on the board – which words do you want to stick with your readers?

f. Audience: Be aware of who you are addressing in this poem.  How does your choice of audience affect your poem?


For more inspiration, read La United Fruit Co. by Pablo Neruda. We will read & discuss this poem in its entirety next class. 

AP Spanish - Pablo Neruda - Day Two

Pablo Neruda [1904-1973], whose real name is Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He wrote this poem in 1936 in Spain where he was a Chilean consul, shortly after the murder of his friend, the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, by Franco's fascists -- the Nationalists -- who actually forced García Lorca to dig his own grave. 

Neruda died on September 23, 1973, about two weeks after the "suicide" of Chile's democratically-elected president, Dr. Salvador Allende, when Pinochet's government overthrew the legitimate Chilean government and brought about a dictatorial regime based on terror and torture. Like Franco, Pinochet was a Nationalist. Neruda, like García Lorca, was considered a 'subversive.' Who do you think History will celebrate, Pinochet or Neruda (horror or beauty)? 

According to the wife of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara who was tortured, his hands broken, and eventually killed by the military at the Estadio de Chile, "As we walked through the back streets towards the cemetery, I heard Neruda's poetry being recited by one person after another in the crowd, verse after verse, defying the menace of the uniforms surrounding us; I saw the workers on a building site, standing to attention with their yellow helmets in their hands... Neruda's verses took on an even greater significance as voice after voice took them up, confronting the visible face of fascism."  

Resumen de la guerra civil española

Explico Algunas Cosas por Pablo Neruda

Formal Commands

Formal Commands on Prezi

Formal Commands - Homework for 3/12 & 3/13
**Click the link above to open this document. Once open, click 'file' and choose 'download as' & 'excel document' from the dropdown menu. You should complete conjugations for both Ud. and Uds. commands. You may either type the conjugations OR print the spreadsheet & write them by hand.  All conjugations are due next class period! 
Let me know ASAP if you have any difficulty! Ms. Ledford**


**B DAY & 2A CLASSES**
Copy and paste my spreadsheet into a new a spreadsheet in GoogleDocs, conjugate all verbs in command form & share it with me by e-mailing or printing out a QR code linked to your document.


**It has come to my attention that some of you may be having difficulty copying the document. If this is the case, please e-mail me & I will share a copy of the spreadsheet with you. Please include the e-mail address associated with your Google account.**

AP Spanish - Neruda - Day One

Pablo Neruda - Proyecto con sus Compañeras

Using dipity your group of 2-3 people should create a timeline of events centered around the life of Pablo Neruda. We will discuss/share these timelines in class on 3/13. When listing important events & dates, please be sure to include the significance of that item. Please include photos, links, quotes & etc. 

Use the following websites to do your research:

Nobel Prize - Biography

Academy of American Poets

Universidad de Chile - Biografia de Neruda

Fundacion Neruda

Poetry Foundation

La Casa - Study Guide for Quiz on 3/7 & 3/8

Click the following link to study your words using interactive practice activities - La Casa. OR use the flashcards below:

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study spanish flash cards

Use this drawing to help you prepare for your quiz on Wednesday/Thursday! Remember - Ms. L does NOT use word banks!

AP Spanish - Substitute Plans (3/2)

Subjunctive Role Play

Work with a partner to prepare an oral presentation employing the following uses of subjunctive:

		Wish/Want (querer, desear, preferir, and so on) Emotion (alegrarse, sorprenderse, enojarse, and so on) Doubt (dudar, no estar seguro, and so on) Denial (negar) Impersonal Expressions (Es importante, bueno, malo, necesario, and so on) Negation (No + verbos como creer, pensar) God (ojalá)

Each group should respond to TWO of the following situations:

**Remember - these informal conversations are EXCELLENT practice for the AP Exam!

**The span of each conversation should reach - at minimum - two minutes.

• Una cita romántica. 
  For example  - "Espero que mi novio y yo vayamos a la playa para nuestra cita." The other student may respond by saying, "Ojalá que caminemos en la arena en la playa."]
  
  
• En un restaurante elegante
• En un viaje a Europa
• En un parque de atracciones
• En el parque zoológico
• En el museo de arte
• En un concierto de rock
• El primer día de escuela
• Las vacaciones de verano
• Una fiesta de sorpresa
• Un partido de básquetbol/fútbol/béisbol

You should be prepared to share these brief presentations in class on Tuesday 2/6. Be creative! Write your conversations in the form below:

Subjunctive in Action


Respond to the following videos on the form below: