Latin Reading Challenge – Week 0

Every summer more and more Latin teachers take advantage of opportunities around the country to get together and speak Latin For many it is a chance to connect with old friends and immerse themselves in the language. Others, many of whom have studied Latin language and literature for years, have …

Four-day summary: Self-directed learning

Offering someone else professional development always gives my own teaching something of a boost. Let’s face it – we all get caught up in the grind and keep running the same routine over and over again. It’s helpful to remind ourselves once in awhile what Good Teaching looks like. This …

Da Mihi Pecuniam!

A class participation system that really “pays” off As hard as we all try to be fair, that “participation point” can often go to the quickest student, or the smartest, or even the most gregarious.  What if you’re that kid who listens and stays focused but doesn’t want to be …

TQ: My Brother’s Teacher

As we continue to work with Where Are Your Keys? in the classroom, there are certain things which we need to consider. Remember that WAYK was developed based on an informal, community model, with varying numbers of people, of different skill levels coming together. When we bring WAYK into the …

Ask Me About Speaking Latin

This weekend was celebrated the 2013 ACTFL Convention & World Languages Expo in Orlando, Florida. It was, as always, an exciting and energizing weekend of professional development, with some outstanding language educators sharing their knowledge and experience. Bob Patrick, a teacher from Atlanta, GA attended as a Teacher of the …

Catullus 85 – Literary Analysis

The following was prepared as an example of literary writing for the Latin AP exam. Odi et amo.  Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris. Nescio.  Sed fieri sentio, et excrucior. In Catullus 85, Catullus uses diction and word order to explore the theme of conflicting emotions. The poem opens with the …

Making Interdisciplinary Connections in Latin 4

Baltimore County’s new curriculum model and the new Common Core standards place particular emphasis on making interdisciplinary connections and moving students towards global understanding.  While this may seem like a challenge, Latin readily opens itself up to this kind of meaningful, contextualized learning. The first unit of the new Latin …

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling is a way for students to use the computer to create a digital slide-show.  Students select a series of pictures, and add narration and music to tell their story.  Digital Storytelling is fun, easy to learn, and can be used to meet a number of different goals. Digital …