A Call to Conquest: Sense Unit Grids
Introduction
The idea of using sense unit grids is taken from Dexter Hoyos's book Latin: How to Read It
Fluently, published by the Classical Association of New England Press (1998). Students are
introduced to the concept of sense units on pages 13–15 of the SE of A Call to Conquest. It
would also be an excellent idea to make use of sense units prior to the AP* year, particularly as
students make the transition from the synthetic Latin found in basal texts to reading the works of
Roman authors. (See, e.g., the discussion of sense units found in the Introduction to Ecce
Romani Book III ©2009, and the sense units found on the CD-ROM accompanying the Ecce III
Teacher's Guide.) The general principles that are used when constructing sense unit grids are
given at the end of this document, for those who wish to make their own or modify the ones we
have provided.
Ways to use sense units
Sense units may be used in two ways.
1. To work through a text for the first time.
1. Supply students with a copy of the text already broken into sense units and use it
while you work through the text in class. This is most appropriate when students
are being introduced to the use of sense units or are beginning a new author,
although you may use it at any time when reading an extremely complex text.
2. Supply students with a partially filled-in grid and ask them to complete it at home
prior to working on the text in class. This is appropriate after students have had
some practice using sense units, and you would fill in quite a lot of the units for
them (all the Latin units, all the descriptions, or half of each, for instance). Doing
this kind of pre-reading also helps students learn to break down texts for
themselves, either on paper or in their heads, by providing models for them to
study carefully.
2. To reinforce or review a text previously studied.
1. In this situation you would supply students with a partially completed grid; you
would probably fill in a lower percentage of the blanks that you would on a grid
to be used when studying a passage for the first time.
2. You can also ask students to create sense units themselves. This is a more
advanced activity than asking them to complete a grid you provide; students must
be quite familiar with the use of sense units and probably should already have
some experience with the author being read. When students are ready for it,
though, it is an excellent activity because it forces them to look at the Latin text
very carefully. Breaking a text into sense units in pairs or small groups provides
an opportunity for students to reflect with each other about the text and is easier
than doing such work individually.
From David Perry – A Call to Conquest – Teacher Resources – Sense Units
http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix=jye&wcsuffix=0003&area=view
You may ask students to number the units using a narrow column at the left. See the files with
I.2 and I.7 arranged in sense units for examples. Use letters (1a, 1b, etc.) to indicate clauses that
are interrupted by nested elements.
Grids provided
The PDF files linked below contain sense unit grids for the following chapters of Caesar's De
bello Gallicō. Answer keys are given after each blank grid.
1.2: intended as a review/do now activity after students have worked through the text the day
before, for students who are already familiar with using sense units. You could make this easier
by filling in more elements. Answer key on the second page.
1.7: this file provides the long, complex sentence broken into sense units for reading the text
initially. There is also a review grid with all the English elements and numbers are filled in, so it
is easier.
4.24: This is formatted as a grid, with numbers.
4.27: This long, complex sentence is given as units and then as a grid.
4.30: Here is a grid with all English identifications and numbers filled in.
5.27: This long chapter in indirect speech is broken down into sense units to make things easier
for students, and the indirect statements dependent on locūtus est are marked in small capitals.
5.43: Another one in units for initial exploration and also as a review grid.
There are several grids for sentences in Book IV because this portion of the AP readings contains
several complex sentences, while Book I has only one really complicated sentence (§7).
The files
Two versions of the sense unit files are provided. Grids from the PDF files may be printed and
distributed to students, and the answer keys projected to let students check their work. If you
wish to modify the grids provided, you can use the RTF files. RTF (rich text format) is a format
that can be opened by many different word processing programs. All grids are formatted as
tables. If you do not know how to add or delete rows in a table, see your program's help system.
PDF Files
1.2 sense units (PDF, 30 KB)
1.7 sense units (PDF, 44 KB)
4.24 sense units (PDF, 54 KB)
4.27 sense units (PDF, 49 KB)
From David Perry – A Call to Conquest – Teacher Resources – Sense Units
http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix=jye&wcsuffix=0003&area=view
4.30 sense units (PDF, 41 KB)
5.27 sense units (PDF, 27 KB)
5.43 sense units (PDF, 26 KB)
RTF Files
1.2 sense units (RTF, 101 KB)
1.7 sense units (RTF, 180 KB)
4.24 sense units (RTF, 160 KB)
4.27 sense units (RTF, 168 KB)
4.30 sense units (RTF, 169 KB)
5.27 sense units (RTF, 53 KB)
5.43 sense units (RTF, 78 KB)
Making your own
If you wish to make additional sense unit grids of your own, you can modify any of the RTF files
provided; just delete the text given and replace it with your own, saving under a different name.
Principles for constructing sense units
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a main clause is always at the left margin
the main clauses of compound sentences are printed on separate lines (unless they are
extremely short)
the following subordinate units are indented and printed on separate lines:
o subordinate clauses
o participial phrases (participles with no objects or modifiers are kept with the
clause in which they are found)
o ablative absolutes
indirect statement is kept in the same clause as the head verb (since it functions as the
direct object of that verb)
within a sentence, each unit is printed with a small amount of space above and below,
which makes it easier to mark up the texts (e.g., to show agreement of nouns and
adjectives)
a unit that that ought to appear on a single line, but is too long to fit, is printed single
spaced
each sentence is separated by a blank line
Clauses, participial phrases, and ablative absolutes were selected for printing on separate lines
because we want to teach students to think in terms of structure as they work with the
complicated sentences of Latin literature. We have made a few exceptions to these rules when
needed for clarity; for instance, a unit such as indirect statement that would normally not be on
its own line might be separated because it, or the sentence around it, was unusually lengthy or
complicated.
From David Perry – A Call to Conquest – Teacher Resources – Sense Units
http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix=jye&wcsuffix=0003&area=view