Latin III
Mr. Lueck
Latin III Policy Sheet 2013-2014
Instructional Rationale
Since we meet in a rotating block schedule, students have 80-minute classes two
or three times per week. In the beginning, much review is necessary. However, the goal
of this class is to get each of you to be able to read and appreciate Latin literature in the
original Latin. Eventually, each of you might be able to read a line in two minutes and
from there possibly achieve fluency in texts with prior familiarity. A full 40 to 50 minutes
of class time reading with me to guide and answer questions per class and using
commentaries with the text that can help one decipher it is the best way to learn to
understand ancient Latin texts. That is the goal par excellence of this course if there is no
other. That is a skill you can have for life that no one can take from you. Spend a good
quiet hour every now and then and really, really, really try to understand an ancient
Latin text! It will take your mind places that are not possible in any other medium and
thus gain an uncommon insight into things like, the nature of wisdom, power, virtue, war,
peace, industry, leisure, beauty, and all its opposites--understand the magical thinking of
the ancients!
Materials
1.Handouts
It is of the utmost importance that you have a binder or folder that you can organize
handouts from the class since the "text" in this class will consist of these handouts or
from links to my TeacherWeb page.
2.Latin Dictionary
Sight Translations/Homework
A core vocabulary list will be provided for students to study throughout the year that will
help them prepare for their sight translations. Quite often, as the year progresses, a Latin
passage with supplementary vocabulary and commentary will be given out in class. 4050 minutes will be given for a sight translation of that passage in class. They will then be
collected in class and assessed as part of their grade. You will then have the opportunity
to do a more quality literal translation of the passage for homework that night to submit
for the next class. This might seem repetitive, but to truly read and understand Latin
literature is a very time consuming process, and to not do this both in class and in home
would make it more difficult, in the end, to achieve any fluency or appreciation for the
literature, which is the stated class goal. You will benefit most from reading all passages
at sight in class FIRST, and then rereading them at home. There is no substitute for time
spent actively trying to understand the text.
Students, beware!
DO NOT COPY THE TRANSLATION FROM A PRE-EXISTING
TRANSLATION!!! If you do that, you get a zero for that assignment. I can easily
tell and/or do a web search and know if you have copied it. Besides, we will review the
previous passage each day before going on to the new one. Stay engaged with the
material, and you should be well-prepared for any tests.
Student Responsibilities for At-home Preparation
Vocabulary: each of you will be given a core vocabulary list, many of which you already
know. It is important to study these words throughout the year. Morphology: each of
you should also develop a familiarity with a word's morphology from the passages they
read. "Morphology" means the different forms that each word has and what they mean.
E.g.,’do,dare,dedi,datus’= give, ‘dedit’=he/she/it gave, ‘datum est’= it was given,
‘da/date’=give!, or ‘dabimus’=we will/shall give’, and so forth…That means study noun
declension endings and what they mean, principal parts of verbs and which verbs forms
derive from them and how they all translate. Each of you will be given a Graphic Latin
Grammar to which you may refer as often as you need whenever you doubt the exact
morphology of a word form. Don’t kid yourself, and don’t be lazy--when in doubt, look
it up! Leave doubt behind. You will eventually start to remember it all and no longer
have to look up so much.
Tests
There will be tests based on the textbook in the beginning, and the sight translations later
on.
Grading
I use a total points system of grading, but this is a rough guideline of the relative
importance of each type of assessment
Class participation—15%
--Includes: Staying on task on assigned work in class, attempting to answer questions,
asking good questions, providing interesting topics for discussion related to the class
material, and not being disruptive. If I determine that a student is disruptive by say, not
stopping to talk about non-class related things after reminding her several times
throughout the year, she will lose class participation points.
Quizzes—20%
--Short quizzes involving vocabulary and/or grammar.
Tests—40%
--Will be based almost exclusively on sight translations from class.
Sight Translations/Homework/Projects—25%
See above under "Sight Translations/Homework".
Final Exam
The final examination for this class will be the FLACS Latin test. It is very similar in
format to what the New York State Latin Regents examination used to be like. You
should be overly prepared for this provided you stay on top of your preparation and daily
in-class work. Our class will be conducted at a level appropriate enough so that, if you
should choose, you may take the Latin SAT subject test in June.
Please make sure you and your parents have reviewed the information above thoroughly and sign
below.
Date:
Parent’s/Guardian’s signature:_____________________________________________
Student’s signature:______________________________________________________