martes, 20 de marzo de 2012

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?!?

lunes, 19 de marzo de 2012

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!)


jueves, 15 de marzo de 2012

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. 



martes, 13 de marzo de 2012

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."  






lunes, 12 de marzo de 2012

Formal Commands

miércoles, 7 de marzo de 2012

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:

martes, 6 de marzo de 2012

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:




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



jueves, 1 de marzo de 2012

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: