Philip M. Donley, Ph.D.
Vistas Co-Author
Austin Community College
Austin, Texas

General Course and Lesson Planning Suggestions
If I were teaching VISTAS in a two-semester configuration with three contact hours per week, I would probably want to cover nine lessons each semester and allot approximately five to seven days to each lesson, depending on the total number of contact hours available per semester. For example, if each semester lasted 16 weeks, with a total of 48 contact hours, I would devote five hours to most lessons and six hours to lessons that contain material that students traditionally find especially challenging (e.g., ser and estar in Lección 5, preterite vs. imperfect in Lección 11).

NOTE: In order to gain additional contact hours per lesson, I might consider omitting Lección 18, Lecciones 17-18, or Lecciones 16-18. This would not harm students academically because these lessons contain material that is often presented in second-year courses.

Day-to-Day Teaching Suggestions
With three contact hours per week, I would devote most of my class time to the textbook itself, focusing primarily on the Contextos (vocabulary), Fotonovela (video-based), and Estructura (grammar) sections. I would have my students work outside of class on the Student Activities Manual (workbook, laboratory, and video activities) and Interactive CD-ROM on an as-needed basis.

Here are some of the ways I might use the various sections of the textbook in my day-to-day teaching, bearing in mind that the total number of contact hours is limited:

1. Contextos
   I would have my students study the illustrated vocabulary and the vocabulary lists before coming to class. As much as possible, I would assign the closed-ended and transitional Práctica activities as homework so that class time could be devoted to the more open-ended Comunicación activities.
   
   NOTE: Each Práctica section in Contextos begins with a listening activity that students can do at home using their Student Cassette/CDs. The other Práctica activities can often be done as written homework or as homework to be prepared orally before class.
2. Fotonovela
   Since many students find the video modules compelling, I would integrate them into the instructional sequence for each lesson. I might show the video in class, have students watch each lesson's video module at home or in the lab on the Video CD-ROM, or use the condensed video episodes in the Fotonovela section as an at-home reading assignment. In any case, I would build on the video modules or the condensed video episodes by asking a few comprehension questions in class or having students do one or more of the Reacciona a la fotonovela activities.
   
   NOTE: Before having my students watch the video or read the Fotonovela section, I would have them learn the functional expressions contained in the Expresiones útiles box. These functional expressions are part of the active vocabulary load and serve as an excellent linguistic organizer for the material students will hear in the video and encounter in upcoming Estructura sections.
3. Pronunciación/Ortografía
   I would have my students work through the Pronunciación sections (Lecciones 1-9) at home using their Student Cassette/CDs, reviewing the concepts very briefly during class time. I would assign the Ortografía sections (Lecciones 10-18) as written homework as needed.
4. Estructura
   I would have my students familiarize themselves with the material before each class session and do one or more of the Práctica activities as written homework or as homework to be prepared orally before class. I would spend as much class time as possible having students work through the open-ended Comunicación and Síntesis activities in pairs and small groups.
5. Adelante
   This section contains optional activities that allow students to practice the four skills while integrating in a communicative and meaningful way the material they have learned. Whenever I had extra time, I would cover one of the Adelante subsections (Lectura, Escritura, Escuchar, Proyecto) in class. I might also assign these subsections as material for extra credit or as work to be done at home.
   
   NOTE: Students have the option of working through the Escuchar section at home using their Student Cassette/CDs.
6. 6. Panorama
   Because each Panorama section contains interesting facts about the peoples and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, I would briefly cover the material in class whenever possible. I would also probably use the Panorama as an ongoing reading assignment to be completed by the end of each lesson, at which time I would go over the ¿Qué aprendiste? comprehension questions in class or have students prepare them as written homework.