Latin Course Information

Latin Course Information

Salvete! Welcome to Latin.  I look forward to our journey through Latin this year. I began Latin in seventh grade and was hooked. Latin opened up fascinating dimensions in words, concepts, history, mythology and the history of ideas (science, medicine, philosophy, religion). Eventually it provided the ticket for me to live for 7 years in Rome and two in Florence.  Where will it lead you?  I am here to help you have the best possible experience growing and discovering through Latin.

      Even though Latin in no longer anyone’s native language, pedagogical research tells us that one learns best when all the senses are engaged. A current motto among Latin teachers is:” Look, Listen, Speak, Do, Read. Write (Spectate, Audite, Dicite Agite, Legite, Scribite).” Therefore we will be doing all these things in class. We will also be learning about the cultural and historical contexts that gave birth and meaning to all aspects of Latin. In the process we will learn about the origins of many of our own words, since Latin is the root of so many of them.  Sursum! (onward and upward).

Course objectives

·         Comprehend short phrases, quotations and expressions in spoken Latin

·         Read Latin passages aloud with proper classical pronunciation

·         Translate Latin passages into English

·         Write simple sentences in Latin

·         Improve grammar knowledge both in English and in Latin

·         Improve vocabulary both in English and in Latin

·         Make connections between Latin and everyday life

·         Recognize the contributions of the Romans on western civilization and beyond

·         Appreciate differences in cultures

·          Increase their knowledge of  ancient communities

·         Enjoy learning in different ways, including art, music and learning games

Required Course Materials: YOU MUST HAVE THESE ITEMS BY JANUARY 29. YOU WILL RECEIVE A QUIZ GRADE FOR HAVING THEM.

·         a bound composition-style notebook with at least 70 pages (more would be better)

·         loose-leaf  notebook or binder at least one-inch thick

·         notebook paper

·         five dividers

·         two two-pocked folders with prongs inside for holding papers

·         pencil/pen

·         glue sticks

·         colored pencils

·         200 3x5 index cards and rubber bands

·         A dry-erase marker

·         Recommended for Latin II and up: Latin Dictionary (any Latin dictionary that you like is fine)

·         Highly recommended: a small pair of scissors

We will use the composition notebook (your “interactive notebook”) for most classwork and some homework. I strongly recommend using a bound composition book and not a spiral notebook since pages fall out of spiral notebooks more easily.  We will use the loose-leaf notebooks for organizing and storing handouts, reading texts, completed homework, quizzes, tests, culture, study guides and projects. Label the dividers: Practice, Latin texts, Assessments, Projects (notes, rubrics, final project) and Other handouts (culture, history, mythology).  The loose leaf notebook will remain in the classroom most of the time, though students may take it home to study for tests. Each student will put his or her name on the spine of the binder and date each item that goes in it.  We will use the two pocket folders for work that goes back and forth from school to home. It is a good place to keep you Latin assignment log too.

Course website (updated daily with instructions for class and homework; links to important resources: Latin I blog spot daily updates

Textbooks*

The Ecce Romani textbooks and workbook are available on line in a Google doc folder which I will share with all students and any parent who requests it.

*I do not recommend downloading any of these texts in their entirety.  Download just the current chapter we are working on in class and put it in your homework folder. Later you will put it in your binder. We will not use the whole of any book.

QUIZLET! I have created vocabulary sets for each lesson and class in Quizlet. My teacher address is https://quizlet.com/gillmagistra. There you will find a list of my classes. You must create an account if you don’t have one and then ask to enroll in your Latin class.  Once you do this, I will be able to see that you have practiced a study set. This will allow me to give you homework credit and extra credit too. Many schools and universities use Quizlet. If this is the first time you have encountered it, it probably won’t be the last. So write down and remember your user name and password. Do not create mysterious user names or I won’t be able to credit you. Please make your first or last name the first element in your user name. This is a safe site. No one can contact you through it except me.

Grading:  Interactive notebook: 30%; Binder & Homework: 10%; Quizzes 20%; Tests 25%; Vocabulary Practice in Quizlet and vocabulary note cards (5%); Class participation and engagement 10%. Projects count as one test grade. 

PowerSchool: I will not have access to PowerSchool for about a month. Until then, I will not be able to enter student grades.

First assignment:

Go now to the following pages for Class Expectations, Rules and Routines.  You must have a parent or guardian sign the last page and provide contact information. You must also have these Rules and Routines with you in class every day.   We will have quizzes on the Rules and Routines throughout the first two weeks and practice them in class.  Your parent/guardian signature will be worth one quiz grade and is due back September 7.

Name:                                               Class Period                      Date:

Class Rules and Procedures:  Regula et Ratio

Virtutes. Students will have no trouble following our class rules if you remember the four classical, ancient virtues

• Prudentia: wisdom; the ability to make informed, sensible decisions and identify and chose right from wrong. Prudence is making proper choices without doing anything rash. Prudence is a person's ability to judge his own actions as appropriate or inappropriate.  Self-esteem comes from doing hard work to acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable you to enjoy a full, good life.
• Fortitudo: courage, emotional strength, the ability to confront fear, intimidation, difficulty and uncertainty. And perseverance in following the right path.
• Temperantia: self-control, moderation
• Iustitia: respect for others; ability to act with fairness to all; honesty. Any student who disrupts the class is interfering with other students’ right to a good education.

·         To these I will add Humanitas: kindness, courtesy, civility and open mindedness toward others.

1. Treat all people in this class with respect

• Remember that all students in this class have the right to learn and that the teacher as the right to teach. Iustitia + Humanitas
• Ask yourself, “Will what I am about to say or do positively contribute to learning?”  “Will my words and actions show respect for other students, the teachers and myself? Iustitia + Prudentia
• Raise your hand if you want to speak.  Tolle manus (raise your hand).  Habeo quaestionem (I have a question). Prudentia
• Become quiet when your teacher raises her hand. “Tacite, quaeso” Means quiet please. “Silentium” means the same. Prudentia + Temperantia
  
  

2. Attend every day, be on time and do your best at all times.

• Be here and participate! Focus on your work and the ideas you are learning.  Ask questions if you are unclear about content or instructions.  Persist. Fortitudo.
• Avoid distractions and disturbances. Prudentia
• Be thoughtful and thorough about your assignments. Prudentia

3. Come to class ready to get down to work.

• Have your Latin materials, paper and a writing instrument with you when you arrive in class.  Prudentia
• Immediately copy the warm-up text on the board into your composition book (libellus). This is a timed independent activity, so do not talk. When you finish this task, review notes from the preceding lesson. Prudentia + Temperantia
• Magistra Gill will review the home and class work  in your notebooks at this time
•   Make sure you are on task and following directions

4. Take care of the materials associated with this class.

• Treat books, tools, displays, furniture and other resources with respect. Iustitia
• They are our shared tools for learning. Iustitia
• Return things to their proper place before leaving. Prudentia + Iustitia
• Keep the room clean. Iustitia + Humanitas

Hand signals

I will raise my hand to ask for silence and your attention.

You will use the following signals to communicate with me. Just because I see your hand signal, it doesn’t mean I will or can act on it immediately. Be patient until I call on you.

Student signals

One finger raised means: I have something to say but it is not related to what the teacher is saying or current classwork

Two fingers raised: I have to go to the bathroom. I understand that I cannot go to the bathroom during the first or last 10 minutes of class, and then only if I have listened and done my work.

Three fingers: I have a question that is directly related to what the teacher is saying and what we are doing in class.

Four fingers: emergency

Five fingers: I’d like to answer the question the teacher has asked.

Procedures: Rationes

At the beginning of class

1. Greet your teacher at the door with “Salve, Magistra” and respond to questions she asks before enter.
2. Enter class quietly and take out your Latin notebook, a writing instrument and your homework. Make sure your phone and any other extraneous items are put away.
3. Sit in your assigned seat and make sure nothing of yours is obstructing the passageways between desks.
4.  Bell work. There will always be something for you to do when you enter. Either Magistra Gill will give it to you at the door, you will find it on your desk or written on the board. Bell work is timed and graded. It should be done silently.
5. If you are tardy: enter class quietly, get out your materials and catch up with the rest of the class without disturbing others.

During Class

6. Raise your hand (one finger) if you need to sharpen a pencil or borrow one. Do not dally if granted permission to go to pencil sharpener or get supplies that you should have arrived with. Raise your hand (one finger) if you have a note about an absence or an early departure at the beginning of class.
7. Phones are not allowed in class and may not be visible in any way, unless the teacher gives explicit instruction that they may be used for a certain class related activity. Keep them in a zipped section of your backpack. Same goes for other electronic devices and earphones.
8. During class there should be nothing on your desk besides your notebook, assignment book, handouts and something to write with. Phones will be immediately confiscated according to school policy. Class time is for learning.
9. Students are to show respect at all times and in all manners toward themselves, others, and staff. This includes all verbal and non-verbal forms of communication including body language, facial expression and tone of voice. Sarcasm, eye-rolling, slouching and mumbling under your breath are not respectful.
10. Students are to be on task AT ALL TIMES and work to the best of their ability. This means you are to be working on whatever assignment is given with all of your concentration. If you are finished an assignment early, you should first review your notes from the previous classes, study vocabulary or the textbook. . There is no talking in my class except to address the academic issue at hand. Class rime is for learning.
11. There is absolutely no gum, food, drink, candy, make-up, mirrors, grooming, electronic devices or any other distraction allowed in my class. Any of these visible will be immediately confiscated and picked up after school. Class time is for learning
12. You are to raise your hand to get permission to speak. Raising your hand does not give you permission to speak, it just lets me know you want to speak. You are never to leave your seat without first raising your hand and receiving permission. We will practice the hand signals above so that you may alert me to the kind of need you have.
13. If you need to use the restroom (two fingers), you may do so after you have finished the most recently assigned task. Only one person may go to the rest room at a time. Re-enter the room quietly.

At the end of class

14. Normally I will give some time to helping students with questions and to give other students time to copy the homework, catch up after an absence or add to their notebooks. This is not social time and there should be no conversation, eating, etc. Quietly check the handout bin and check with me or another student about what you missed.
15. At the end of class I will inform you whether you are to put your libellus (composition book) on your class shelf or whether you may take it home.  Put all loose items in your two pocket folder.  You will have also have a home folder to take home to show your family or containing something to do some work at home.
16. Copy the homework assignment.
17. Remove all trash from around your desk, even if you didn’t put it there.
18. The teacher not the bell dismisses you. Wait from the teacher to dismiss you. Say “vale” (goodbye) to the teacher and classmates.

Academic honesty

19.  Cheating on a test or quiz earns an automatic referral and a zero. Some classwork is collaborative and some is not. I will clearly let you know the difference. Bell work is not generally collaborative (do your own work or be penalized).

Homework & Other Assignments

20.  You will have homework every night.

21.  You should plan to study vocabulary using Quizlet, Quia, flashcards or your composition books for at 15 minutes each night. Quizlet and Quia let me know that you have studied vocabulary sets and this will raise your weekly grade. A vocabulary pop quiz may occur at any time. Review vocabulary from past and well as current sets. You have to see a word at least seven times for it to pass into SHORT TERM memory. You have to see, say, write, practice it over 50 times for it to stay in LONG TERM memory.  We are aiming for long term memory here.

22.  You will often have exercises to do at home.

23.  Realize that you cannot turn in homework more than two days late.

24.  Know that if you turn in work later the same class period or day that the work is due, you will lose ten points off of the grade.

25.  Know that you will lose ten points a day for daily or quiz grades that are turned in late. After five days, I will not take the assignment.

26.  QUIZLET! I have created vocabulary sets for each lesson and class in Quizlet. My teacher address is https://quizlet.com/gillmagistra. There you will find a list of my classes. You must create an account if you don’t have one and then ask to enroll in your Latin class.  Once you do this, I will be able to see that you have practiced a study set. This will allow me to give you homework credit and extra credit too. Many schools and universities use Quizlet. If this is the first time you have encountered it, it probably won’t be the last. So: write down and remember your user name and password. Do not create mysterious user names or I won’t be able to credit you. Please make your first or last name the first element in your user name.

When there is a substitute, you should: 

27.  Follow all classroom rules and procedures, just as if I were here.

28.  Be respectful and follow the directions given by the substitute, as I will always leave lesson plans and will expect them to be completed.

29.  Realize that the substitute will report back to me, and there will be penalties for students who misbehave.

Miscellaneous important procedures

30. We will be speaking a lot of Latin in class, learning with our ears and voices. Don’t fear mispronunciation. Dive in.
31. Information about what we are doing in class and copies of class materials will be posted on our website. Check it regularly.
32. You may reach me through the contact form on the class website or at gillmagistra@gmail.com.

Group Work

33.  Collaboration is the key to being a successful learning club.
34.  All members participate, share, learn from, and help one another.
35. Use same procedures for speaking as you do during class.
36. No one group member is to do all the work.
37. Practice Active Listening.
38. Cooperate.
39. Do your personal best.

Accountability

If you choose to break a rule or not follow a procedure	Rewards from following the rules and procedures
1.     Verbal warning	Social break halfway through class
2.     Responsibility card /Self-behavior assessment	Choose a prize or a game to play (Kahoot, Quizizz, Quizlet Live etc.)
3.     In school detention/parent contact	Homework pass
4.     Parent phone call and teacher/student conference	Positive notes or calls to your parents
5.     Parent contact & office referral	Free choice activities at the end of class
Cheating, cell phone use, and severe disruptions do not get a warning. Disciplinary action will be taken.

STUDENT / PARENT INFORMATION – Magistra Gill

PARENTS – Please go over the Class Information Sheets and Rules and Procedures with your child and sign this information sheet indicating that you have done so.

·         If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact via e-mail: gillmagistra@gmail.com.  I try to return messages as soon as my schedule allows.

·         I do not yet have access to PowerSchool, but will let you know when I do so you can keep track of your student’s progress.

STUDENTS- Keep the “Class Rules and Procedures” sheets in your notebook or homework folder for future reference.  Return THIS page to Magistra Gill by September 7. Counts as quiz grade.

Student Information Class period/day: __________________                                 Grade ______

Last name_______________________________ First name _________________________________ 

Preferred name_________________________________

Home Telephone number(s) ___________________

Parent’s/Guardian’s name (s) ______________________________

Parent/Guardian’s relationship to you ____________________________________

Parent e-mail(s) (Please write legibly.) _______________________________________________

Preferred method of contact (please circle):                    E-mail                                      Telephone

Do you have regular access to the internet at home? (please circle):         YES                             NO

Do you have a smartphone or tablet that you could use in class? YES                             NO

Is there anything special I need to know about you?  Any medical issues?  Allergies?

Student

·         I have read and understand that I will be expected to follow the guidelines listed on the “Class Information and Procedures" sheets (please initial each section)

____Class Information

____Rules & Procedures (separate sheet)

Print Student Name __________________________  Student Signature __________________________

Period ________

Parent

·         I have read and understand that my son/daughter will be expected to follow the guidelines listed on the “Class Information and Rules and Procedures” sheets.

Print Parent/Guardian Name ______________________________________

Student Signature: _______________________________  Date_______________

Parent Signature _______________________________   Date________________