WHAT HAPPENED THURSDAY IN CLASS? AN UPDATE FOR THE ABSENT
Thursday several people were absent from class and we had a relaxed day. First, we talked about this website. Next semester, should this class have all of its material on line, as now, or should it have a printed book? The general concensus was that a mix would be good: a storybook with vocabulary lists, and supplementary / grammar exercises from this site. I would be interested to know what anyone who was not there thinks, if you would like to express an opinion, since fall book orders are due soon.
In class we broke into small groups to discuss the conversation questions on immigration which had been assigned. This was to prepare in Spanish for the general discussion with the whole class which followed. That, in turn, was intended to introduce and contextualize the issues raised in the reading.
Of the reading assigned, we only had time to go over the general, short introduction and the “vivencia” Raíces profundas. People still have questions about this text and I would like to look at it briefly again on Tuesday. The short vocabulary quiz planned for Tuesday will be drawn from words in THIS TEXT ONLY - and those words are these:
CHICANO – ANGLOSAJON – BARRIO – SENDERO – MORENO – VIVENCIA – ASIMILAR – CORBATA – TRAJE – COMPARTIR – MANTENER VIVO – RAIZ – HERENCIA – BASTANTE – CONCIENCIA – ASUSTAR – LAZO – OBRERO – CAMPESINO – PERTENECER – CONSERVAR – SOBREVIVIR – RECHAZAR.
[Note: I also realized that there are two introductions in that BBC site - I meant for us to read the short one, but some people may have read the long one. If you are one of these people, don't worry, your time has not been wasted - I'm assigning it over spring break.]
WHAT ELSE WILL WE DO IN CLASS TUESDAY?
Tuesday we will also discuss the second reading planned for Thursday, Recién llegados. This, I have decided is enough reading; the rest of class Tuesday will be spent discussing composition topics and review for Thursday’s quiz.
COMPOSITION TOPICS (FOR THURSDAY) ARE (CHOOSE 1):
1. La historia de un inmigrante. (Tell an immigration story – yours or someone else’s – and comment on it. Was it sad, happy, fortunate, etc.? What would your hopes be for this person and/or for other immigrants? Use preterit, imperfect, subjunctive, and other appropriate verb tenses well!)
2. Una perspectiva sobre la inmigración. (You are a Presidential candidate. Explain your proposed immigration policy and explain how it will improve upon the present situation. Use expressions like “creo que,” “pienso que,” “es horrible que,” etc., with the appropriate verb forms, and use the future tense correctly as needed.)
3. El peor problema del mundo. (What is the world’s worst problem and why is this problem the worst? What impact will it have in/on our future? Use expressions like “no es verdad que,” “es un desastre que,” etc., with the appropriate verb forms, and use the future tense correctly as needed.)
4. Un desastre ecológico. (Describe a natural or ecological disaster, real or imaginary, and comment on it. What do you think and feel about the situation, and what implications do you think it has for the future?)
5. El mundo en 2050. (What will the world be like then? Will it be a utopia? What kind? An anti-utopia? What kind? A post-apocalyptic disaster area? What type? How did this situation evolve? Is it better or worse than 2008? Why? Note: this topic requires you to use verb tenses well – note that the past tenses, the present indicative, the future, and the present subjunctive will probably all appear.)
MATERIAL THURSDAY’S QUIZ COVERS IS:
- The songs OJALA QUE LLUEVA CAFE and DONDE JUGARAN LOS NIÑOS, and the associated grammar and conversation topics
- Our reading from the BBC program MUNDO LATINO.
THE QUIZ FORMAT WILL BE:
I. General Questions – to be answered in a sentence or two – on the general topics of discussion raised in the songs and the reading. They will resemble the questions in the exercises, and our general conversation questions (from last Thursday). At least some of the questions will elicit the use of the subjunctive and the future tenses. What I am looking for is coherent sentences with good use of verbs.
II. Reading comprehension – a short, slightly altered passage from one of our readings from the BBC (if you’ve done the readings carefully, you’ll recognize it) – with brief questions on comprehension / content.
