SHSD Latin

The primary goal of this course is to give the students a more detailed perspective into Roman and Greek culture and to develop their speaking and translating skills further. Pronunciation, sentence structure, and vocabulary will be stressed in the linguistic aspect, and daily life, mythology, and history will be stressed in the cultural aspect of the course. Through translations about a typical Pompeiian family in the first century AD, the students will gain a basic working knowledge of the language. The vocabulary studied will be such that etymology and derivation of English words, prefixes, and suffixes will be made obvious and parallels to the English language will frequently be drawn.  Latin provides students with an appreciation for ancient societies and shows how they influence many modern societies.  Students will be working from Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 1, along with a workbook, providing activities to assist in learning Latin and providing logical links to the 8th grade program.

Latin 7 students read and translate stories about the city of Pompeii and the Roman provinces while building vocabulary and learning the elements of Latin grammar. Likenesses to English words and sentence structure as well as other practical aspects of Latin are stressed. Among the ultimate objectives in the Latin courses are an ability to read Roman literature, an increased understanding of English and an appreciation of Rome’s history and culture. In addition, an understanding of the importance of archaeology in the knowledge of ancient history is stressed. Desired outcomes for this course include the students’ ability to produce fluent English translations or summaries of Latin stories, understand Latin foundations of other languages and develop an appreciation of the ancient cultures of Rome and its provinces. 

 

This course uses audio-visual resources and computer programs to offer a hands-on approach to learning.  Through the Fusion web page (as well as this page) students are provided the opportunity to practice and study their Latin by playing student and teacher-created computer games at home or at school.  Another web-based study aid for vocabulary can be found at Quizlet.com.

In the spring, students who take this course will sit for the National Latin Exam: Introductory Level.

This course is, in essence, the first half of the Latin I high school course.