This activity can be adapted to fit whatever grammar your class has reached by Valentine’s Day. Then, you can give the class this letter and have them fill it in as a Mad-Libs activity. They then share their letters to the class and the class can help grade/review the letter for grammatical accuracy. As a twist, you can make it a competition where a grammatically correct letter earns group points, or the funniest letter earns points.
Either way, it offers an opportunity for students to see how a Roman letter might work and create Latin sentences in a structured, scaffolded manner. The letter should be funny, yet not inappropriate (a delicate balance, for sure). This activity can lead to a greater culture discussion on letter writing (a topic brought up in Ch. 7 of Ecce Romani), Roman literacy, or even love letters. –Mr. C
Mad-Libs Activity—Valentine’s Letter to a Lover
Cārissime ____________________ (nomen):
Hodie, meus vīlicus mē vetat ____________________ (infinitive) tē. Volō tē ______________________ (infinitive), sed
_______________________ (1 st declension nominative) mē _______________________ (verb) ____________________
(complementary infinitive). Doleō, cārissime __________________ (nomen in linea una), doleō valdē. Ubi non
___________________ (1 st person verb), meus vīlicus mē ______________________ (verb). Iam, _________________________
(verb) _____________________ (1 st declension accusative) quod ____________________ (2 nd declension nominative) mē vult __________________________ (complementary infinitive) meum vīlicum. Mox, meus vīlicus mē vult
_______________________ (verb) in nocte.
“Cavē!” inquit ____________________ (3 rd declension nominative), “_______________________ (nominative) sunt _________________________ (nominative).” “Tu mē ___________________ (verb)!” exclāmō.
Iam, volō vidēre tuam _________________________ (1 st declension accusative). Tuam ___________________
(1 st declension accusative) volō videre, quod scīs amō __________________________ (infinitive) tuam/um
_________________ (accusative).
________________________________ (accusative) conspiciō et ___________________________ (accusative) volō
____________________________ (complementary infinitive).
Amō tē, cārissime ____________________ (nomen). Cura ut valeas,
_________________________________ (your name)