Mesa Middle School - World Languages

REGISTRATION

Mesa 8th graders, currently taking any World Language Level 1B or Level 1, will need to have an A or strong B from the 1st semester Content Knowledge and strong work habits to be recommended for the move into Level II in 9th grade. Students with a C or D in Content Knowledge will be recommended to repeat Spanish I, which will give them an opportunity to strengthen their skills and adjust to the faster pace. The high school World Language classes progress at nearly twice the speed of the middle school courses and require learners to study vocabulary and practice regularly and independantly. We recommend that students plan to study each evening for 5-10 minutes and adjust that as needed throughout the year.

Students who are not sure of the best choice should conference with their teacher.

To access an individual teacher's website, click on the appropriate name below.

Julia Singleton

Martin Escobosa

Senora Fanning

Katie Bower

Andrew Granat

Victoria Gao

Denise Sternberg

Language B Grading Practices

Content Knowledge Grades

Content Grades are based on student demonstration of academic achievement; therefore, Content Grades are:

Determined by a body of evidence that supports the achievement of standards/checkpoints in a content area.
Determined through the use of multiple assessments over time as well as the opportunity for retakes if necessary. Retake opportunities/multiple opportunities for demonstration of learning are an integral part of standards-based grading and reporting. These practices should be consistent within departments.
Reflective of tasks completed, whether in or out of class, to demonstrate an understanding of content knowledge and skills (e.g. assessments, demonstrations, projects, presentations, research papers, etc.).

Language B - Spanish Content Knowledge Grades

Colorado State and Douglas County Standards

Communication in a Language Other than English
Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Connection with Other Disciplines and Information Acquisition
Comparisons to Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture

IB Criterion

A Oral Communication
B Visual Interpretation
C Reading Comprehension
D Writing

**Students' end of year grade must be a B or higher to go on to the next level of study.

Oral Communication

Criterion A	8 7	6 5	4 3	2 1
Vocabulary	Wide range of current and previous vocabulary	Variety of vocabulary	Limited use of vocabulary	Minimal / incorrect use of vocabulary, English
Pronunciation and intonation	Good pronunciation	Some small errors, does not affect comprehension	Errors sometimes affect comprehension	Errors make comprehension very difficult
Grammar	Wide range of structures	Variety of grammar structures, some errors	Basic structures, many errors interfere with communication	Grammar errors, consistently interfere with communication
Communication of ideas	Communicates required ideas easily plus more	Communicates basic ideas clearly, talks about all required info	Communicates ideas some the time, talks about some of the required info	Communicates few ideas successfully, talks about little of the required info
Flow of conversation	Contributes to the conversation, expresses ideas easily, some spontaneous interactions	Conversation is natural, expresses ideas with some hesitation	Expresses some ideas, often needs help	Unable to express ideas, even with help

Visual Interpretation

Criterion B	8 7	6 5	4 3	2 1
Comprehension	Expresses main idea clearly Variety of supporting details Makes a variety of connections beyond the obvious Identifies some cultural aspects	Gives a basic main idea and supporting details Makes connections beyond the obvious May identify obvious cultural aspects	Gives some supporting details Does not clearly identify a main idea or connections beyond the obvious	Does not identify sufficient details
Vocabulary	Uses a variety of previously learned and advanced vocabulary	Uses current and some previous, commonly learned vocabulary	Uses some current vocabulary, basic, cognates	Minimal vocabulary, English, Struggles to produce
Communication of Ideas	Expresses a variety of ideas clearly, logical progression of ideas	Expresses ideas clearly, generally follows a progression of thought	Some ideas, may be unclear, disjointed idea, focus on one aspect	Few ideas, one word answers

Reading Comprehension

Criterion C

8 7

6 5

4 3

Identifies the main idea and many supporting details

Clearly understands entire text

Can draw conclusions

Identifies main idea and some supporting details;

Mostly understands text

Identifies some details, partially gets main idea

Understands parts of the text

Identifies minimal details from text, does not understand main idea

Writing

Criterion D	8 7	6 5	4 3	2 1
Vocabulary	Wide range of current and previous vocabulary	Variety of vocabulary	Limited vocabulary	Minimal / incorrect vocabulary, use of English
Spelling	Few spelling errors	Some spelling errors	Occasional spelling errors may interfere with communication	Frequent spelling errors interfere with communication
Grammar	Wide range of structures, minimal grammar errors, some advanced structures	Variety of grammar structures, few errors	Basic structures, many errors	Many grammar errors make comprehension difficult
Communication of ideas	Expressed many ideas naturally and clearly, requirements plus more	Expresses basic ideas clearly, talks about all required info	Expresses ideas some the time, talks about some of the required info	Expresses few ideas successfully, talks about little of the required info
Organization of ideas	Well organized with transitions, paragraphs and topic sentences	Organized, use of topic sentences, paragraphs	Ideas grouped but not in coherent paragraphs	Ideas are disorganized and/or repetitive

Work Habits

Work Habits Grades are based on student demonstration of behaviors related to work completion, preparedness for learning, participation, and following classroom expectations. These behaviors contribute to academic success as well as the ability to be lifelong learners and positive contributors to society. Specifically, Work Habits Grades are:

Determined based on tasks that are assigned for practice or preparation, including homework completion and homework quality.
Determined by other factors such as class participation, work ethic, neatness, effort, attendance, punctuality of assignments, class behavior and attitude, student notebooks and journals. This data may be collected through observation.

The Language B Department uses the Mesa Middle School Work Habits Grading Rubric. For recording purposes the grade book is divided into 2 categories, Assignments and ROAR.