Advice for teachers -
Latin

Outcome 1

Read passages of Latin, translate them into fluent English and answer questions on the accidence and syntax of the passages.

Examples of learning activities

‘Adapted Latin’ means Latin texts that are based closely on ancient texts but have been adapted to make them easier for students to understand. This may include changing unfamiliar vocabulary for more familiar vocabulary, changing word order to make meaning clearer, and omitting sections that digress or are grammatically too difficult. Teachers can modify texts accordingly or they may choose to use the final volumes of existing courses that present passages of adapted Latin.

• Translate a passage individually or in pairs.
• Prepare a passage for translation by looking up all words not glossed or known; then translate it as a class.
• Read through a passage as a class, with the teacher asking questions to encourage students’ understanding. Follow this with more detailed translation.
• Complete comprehension questions on a passage or read a passage and devise questions for other students to answer.
• Using one sentence from the passage as an example, compose a sentence in Latin that uses similar grammatical structures.
• Change sentences in the passage from singular to plural, active to passive, or vice versa.
• Underline all verbs and fully identify each one (person, number, tense, voice and mood).
• Bracket all subordinate clauses and highlight all main clauses.
• Circle all nouns and pronoun, and fully identify each one (case, number).
• Create a vocabulary list of related words, such as compounds of the same word (fero, aufero, confero, defero, effero, infero, refero) or theme-based words (military vocabulary, legal vocabulary).
• 
  Complete a unit of adapted texts focused on Hannibal.
  

Detailed example

Develop a unit of adapted texts focused on Hannibal

Teacher prepares the following activities for students.

1. Using Perseus, Lacus Curtius or a similar online resource, scan through Nepos and Livy to find passages that might be appropriate.
2. Read through the Latin texts carefully, looking for difficult grammar, unusual word order and a strong narrative line. Then, using the online resources of Perseus or the Latin Library, make a copy of the Latin text.
3. Nepos Hannibal 1 has a suitable introduction to Hannibal that is expressed in a clear, direct manner. It will need little more than the addition of some nouns that are omitted in the original and slight changes to word order, bringing adjectives next to their nouns.
4. Livy, Roman History 21 34–37 covers Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps. Some of the Latin is suitable for students new to original Latin, but some sentences are too complex.  However, most of these obstacles can be overcome by making changes to word order, moving subjects to the start of the sentence and verbs to the end, and adjectives and adjectival phrases next to their nouns. A couple of clauses are too difficult for this level, and will need to be glossed completely for students. Where ellipsis occurs, words such as sunt will need to be added.
5. Vocabulary is straightforward, and students will have dictionaries. Where words with an unusual meaning are used, these will be glossed by the side of the text.
6. Add in paragraphs in English to set the context for the crossing and summarise the repulse of the attack by the hill tribes, which is omitted for reasons of space.
7. Devise a set of accidence and syntax identification questions for students to work through.
8. Livy makes use of gerunds. Prepare a lesson to explain this feature to the students, with examples from the text and further practice modelled on these sentences.

Outcome 2

Respond to questions on the content and context of a seen passage of Latin.

Examples of learning activities

‘Content’ refers to details of what is occurring or being described in the passage. ‘Context’ refers to the understanding that is needed to make contextual sense of the passage. For example, in the sentence ‘The senators blocked the tribune from entering the Forum’, content concerns who was trying to enter the Forum, what the senators were doing, and similar; whereas context relates to the student’s understanding of the rules of senators and tribunes, the significance of a tribune being blocked, what the Forum was and its role in Roman politics.

• Create a timeline based on the events related in a passage.
• Create a diagram or battle plan based on the information given in a passage.
  
• Answer short questions on the content of a passage.
• Give a presentation to the class on selected aspects of contextual information, such as Roman military organisation or political offices.
• Write a biography of a character from the text being studied.
• Analyse a text for what we can learn about an aspect of life in Rome, such as patrons and clients or the treatment of slaves.
• Annotate a map showing a character’s travels.
• Annotate a plan of a Roman house showing what the text reveals happened in different locations.
• Create an online quiz on the content or context of a text that fellow students can play.

• 
  Complete a set of activities based on Caesar’s siege of Alesia.
  

Detailed example

Caesar’s Siege of Alesia

Students complete the following activities.

1. Research the Roman army at the time of Caesar: weapons, tactics and organisation.  Contrast this with the weapons and tactics of the Gauls at this time. Create a series of annotated diagrams.
2. Make a map of Caesar’s siege of Alesia, showing the location of forts, walls and other defences.
3. War-game the battle, placing yourself in the position first of Vercingetorix, and then of Caesar: what would you do? (Do this before reading what actually happened.)
4. Make a model of the different types of defences described in detail by Caesar.
5. Draw a series of diagrams showing the course of the battle, including Vercassivellaunus’ attack, the attempted break out, the attack on the sloping camp and the cavalry action.
6. Read Vercingetorix’ speech of surrender. What values does this speech show? What picture does it give of Vercingetorix – and of Caesar, his conqueror?

Outcome 3

Translate passages of original Latin into fluent English and to answer questions on the accidence and syntax of the passages.

Examples of learning activities

‘Original Latin' refers to Latin passages that are largely unadapted. They may omit digressions or add words that have been left out by ellipsis. Passages should have punctuation and capitalisation added in accordance with the practice of Latin textbooks with which students are familiar.

• Learn how to use a dictionary. Teacher explains common abbreviations, the importance of selecting the most appropriate translation, and how to find a headword from an inflected form.
• Individually translate a passage of unseen Latin under timed conditions, with access to a dictionary.
• In groups, translate a passage of Caesar’s Gallic War.  Present the translation to the rest of the class, with discussion about decisions made when choosing how to translate different phrases.
• Read a passage of Quintus Curtius Rufus’ Life of Alexander.  Practise parsing selected sentences using bracketing and labelling.
• Create a specialised vocabulary list of key words and phrases used by a particular author.
• Individually translate an unseen passage of Latin prose, and answer questions on accidence and syntax in order to achieve a better translation.
• Create or complete an online quiz on the accidence of a passage previously read by the class, with a mix of simple, medium and advanced questions.
• Complete a mini-lesson on a particular point of grammar that features for the first time in a reading passage; for example, gerunds.

• 
  Complete a translation of an unseen passage.
  

Detailed example

Create a set of unseen passages for translation

Teacher prepares the following activities for students.

1. Decide on a set of authors as the focus. It is desirable for students to have time to get used to the style and subject matter of a particular author before moving on to the next author. Nepos and Caesar are suitable for Unit 1, but there are many other prose authors that could be used. These can either parallel the seen text being studied or be completely different.
2. Using Perseus, Lacus Curtius or a similar online resource, scan through the chosen authors to find passages that might be appropriate. Your aim might be to find four passages from Nepos and four from Caesar, each 80–90 words long. Each passage should stand in its own right, but together the passages from one author may have a theme.
3. In some cases a passage may be made by combining sentences or omitting some sentences or clauses – ‘pruning’ of this type is an acceptable form of adaptation.
4. Adapt the passage as noted above where necessary.
5. Initially, it may help students if passages are presented one sentence at a time, making them appear less daunting.
6. Provide notes, giving contextual information, explaining unusual meanings of words or asking pointed questions about grammar.
7. Review each passage for the main elements of grammar, and advise students a week in advance of what they should revise before the next unseen translation.