your
students
Subduing the Subjunctive
ORAL, KINESTHETIC, AND GUIDED COMPOSITION PRACTICE ACTIVITIES
American Classical League Institute
Los Angeles, California | June 2009
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Matthew D. Webb
Moultonborough School District
Moultonborough, New Hampshire 03254
the
subjunctive
magister@magisterwebb.com
www.magisterwebb.com/acl/sts
Type of activity
listening & speaking:
teacher/student
listening & speaking: pairs
kinesthetic: board game
kinesthetic: other activities
guided composition
Use/tense(s) of the subjunctive
purpose clauses
indirect commands
indirect questions
indirect questions
purpose clauses
result clauses
purpose clauses
indirect commands
purpose clauses
indirect questions
imperfect and pluperfect
uses of the subjunctive
cum clauses
purpose clauses
cum clauses
cum clauses, purpose clauses
result clauses
uses of the subjunctive
Title of activity
1. Introduction to Purpose Clauses Story (PowerPoint)
2a. Introduction to Indirect Commands with Puppet Dialogue
2b. Deaf Grandfather Game with Indirect Questions
3a. Teacher Rephrases Student Direct Questions
3b. Students Finish the Purpose Clause
3c. Students Begin the Result Clause
4. aut … aut Situation
5. Rota Fortūnae Commands Transformations
6. Purpose Clause Questioning Dialogues
7. Snakes & Ladders
8. Quid est?
9. Subjunctive CandyLand
10. The Clock with cum Clauses
11. Sentence Arrangers with Purpose Clauses
12. Build-a-Skit with cum Clauses
13a-b. Make Your Own Latin Sentences (a. from the projector or b. with cutups)
14. Yo’ Mama Jokes Worksheet
15. Form a Subjunctive Sentence Ball Toss
Listening and Speaking: Teacher/Student Activities
1.Introduction to Purpose Clauses Story (PowerPoint)
- tell the story in Latin
- at conclusion of story:
- ask students what new elements they noticed: ut plus imperfect subjunctive
- tell students that these are called purpose clauses
Materials: Introduction to Purpose Clauses Story PowerPoint
2a. Introduction to Indirect Commands with Puppet Dialogue
- read introduction to the puppet dialogue
- conduct dialogue #1
- ask closing questions
- conduct dialogue #2
- ask closing questions
Materials: puppet dialogue, pig and cow puppets, rat, cheese, serpent
2b. Deaf Grandfather Game with Indirect Questions (adapted from K. Kitchell)
- teacher randomly selects who will be questioner, grandfather, rephraser
- project helper chart on overhead
- questioner draws a direct question card (clues nunc and heri are given for time relationships)
- grandfather asks “quid rogāvit?”
- rephraser uses helper chart to form indirect question
Materials: direct question cards, helper chart on overhead
3a. Teacher Rephrases Student Direct Questions
- put up principal parts of 5 key verbs on the board
- students ask teacher questions in Latin (must use semper or heri in questions)
- may use verbs on board if need inspiration
- teacher re-phrases as indirect questions
3b. Students Finish the Purpose Clause
- teacher begins a sentence, e.g. ad silvam ambulāvī…
- students finish it, e.g. …ut porcum dēvorāret.
3c. Students Begin the Result Clause (PowerPoint)
- show first slide which has ending of a result clause and a picture, e.g. …ut nōn per ianuam
īre posset.
- students come up with beginning of the result clause to fit the picture, e.g. porcus tam obēsus erat…
Materials: Result Clauses PowerPoint
4. aut … aut Situation
- teacher shows a scene on the overhead
- teacher makes two statements about the scene, e.g.
- A: fēmina in urbem intrāvit… ut aquam comparāret / ut cibum emeret.
- A: fēmina in tabernā stabat… ut panem vēnderet / ut vīnum vēnderet.
- A: mīlitēs in viīs ambulābant… ut hostēs necārent / ut urbem custōdīrent.
- B: puer in silvam intrāvit… ut dormīret / ut arborem ascenderet.
- B: canis in silvā currēbat… ut puerum mordēret / ut puellam dūceret.
- C: puella in culīnam festīnāvit… ut cibum dēvōrāret / ut mātrem salūtāret.
- students pick which one is correct
Materials: three scenes
5. Rota Fortūnae Commands Transformations (adapted from PowerPoint games website)
- teacher says simple indirect command
- students must transform it to another kind of command based on results of the spinning wheel
(imperative, necesse est + infinitive, dēbēre + infinitive, gerundive)
Materials: Rota Fortūnae Commands PowerPoint
Listening and Speaking: Pairs Activities
6. Purpose Clause Questioning Dialogues (adapted from T. McCarthy, god of conversational Latin games)
- divide the class into groups of two
- hand each group a set of dialogue cards; they should fold them in half on the line
- one group member is the questioner, one is the responder
- questioner asks the question in Latin to the partner; questioner may read the translation of the question
if the partner does not understand the question
- partner should use the picture itself as well as the Latin phrase, translation, and principal parts written
beneath the picture to respond in Latin
- questioner checks response for accuracy
- switch roles and move to the next dialogue card
Materials: Purpose Clause Questioning Dialogues Cards
Kinesthetic: Board Game Activities
7. Snakes and Ladders (adapted from T. McCarthy)
- divide the class into groups of two
- hand out sentences sheets to each group (I and II); they should fold them in half on the line;
one partner holds I, the other II
- partners take turns reading and translating sentences per the instructions on the sheet; opponent
checks answers
- if translation is correct, student rolls die (only rolls of 1, 2, or 3 are allowed) and advances…
if student lands ON a ladder, climbs up; if students lands ON a snakehead, slides down
Materials: sentences sheets, Snakes and Ladders board, dice, gumdrops for game pieces
8. Quid est? (adapted from K. Bortner) [notā benē: Quid est? is a game of recognition and elimination, very similar
to “Guess Who.” It is designed to review imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive, all persons.]
- Divide the class into groups of two.
- Each person in the group takes a gameboard (the group should have 2 gameboards total, an A and a B).
- Each person chooses a secret verb from the opponent’s board that the opponent will have to guess.
- Person A begins by asking Person B a yes or no question about Person B’s chosen secret verb. The
questions are at the bottom of the gameboard. Person B responds with either, minimē! or ita vērō!
Person A then uses their new knowledge to eliminate certain verbs on their board by crossing them out.
- Now Person B asks a question about Person A’s secret verb and then eliminates as many verbs as they
can.
5. Play continues until a person wants to guess the opponent’s secret verb. The guess must take place on
the turn of the guessing person. A person may guess the actual secret verb three times total (on three
different turns). If the person guesses incorrectly all three times, then the other team automatically wins.
Materials: Quid est game boards in plastic sheet covers, dry erase markers and erasers
9. Subjunctive CandyLand (adapted from K. Bortner)
- divide the class into groups of two
- hand out Subjunctive CandyLand boards, answer sheets, dice, and game pieces
- members of group take turns rolling to advance along the board … for each sentence that they land on,
they must identify the use of the subjunctive, the subjunctive tense, and then translate the sentence …
opponent checks with the answer sheet and records points on a mini whiteboard
- 1 point is given for each correct answer, so 3 possible points per turn
- winner of the game is the group member with the most points, not necessarily the group member who
has advanced the farthest
Materials: Subjunctive CandyLand boards, answer sheets, dice, game pieces, mini white boards and
markers and erasers
Kinesthetic: Other Activities
10. The Clock with cum Clauses (adapted from J. Connelly)
- divide class in half
- students stand in two concentric circles … members of one circle face the members of the other circle
- each student gets a double-sided sheet, shows partner (facing them) the Latin side
- partner identifies the tense of the subjunctive and translates the sentence, other student checks
- OUTER circle rotates clockwise, repeat above translation and checking steps
- continue rotating until all sentences have been translated, then facing students switch papers and
THEN switch places
- carry on as above, now we have new sentences!
Materials: Clock papers
Guided Composition Activities
11. Sentence Arrangers with Purpose Clauses (adapted from S. Davis)
- prepare: cut index cards in half, thirds, or quarters
- divide class in groups of two
- hand out Sentence Arrangers Sheets to each group (A and B); one partner has A, the other B
- each group member writes each individual word of sentence #1 on a separate index card piece,
scrambles them up, then hands the pieces to the partner
- challenge is to order the pieces into good, sensical Latin order and then translate the sentence
Materials: Sentence Arrangers Sentences, index cards, scissors
12. Build-a-Skit with cum Clauses
- state introduction to students: we will make mini-skits of 1 sentence each using cum
- divide students into groups of 3-4, then hand out cards
- tell students they will create skits that fit this pattern (write on board) 
cum _____ (subjunctive verb in blank), _____ (indicative verb in blank)
- put other reminders on board that students should think about when making their skit
- indicative vs. subjunctive (which goes in which blank)
- sg. vs. pl. (determines how many will act each part of the skit)
- time relationships
- groups act out skits: magnetize words to board, read aloud sentence as acting
- repeat!
Materials: cum Build-a-Skit cards, magnets
13a. Make Your Own Latin Sentences, from the projector (adapted from A. Yoder)
- divide class into groups of two
- project singular page on projector (in this case, the practice is for cum clauses)
- each student chooses one word/phrase per column, write on index cards, give to partner who
reads aloud then translates, do several times
- move on to project plural page, repeat process above
Materials: Make Your Own Latin Sentences pages
13b. Make Your Own Latin Sentences, with cutups
- divide class into groups of two
- hand out color-coded template and cards to each group (in this case, the practice is for purpose clauses)
- singular sentence first: each student chooses, from the color-coded cards, one word/phrase per column,
then places it on the appropriate spot on the template … shows complete sentence to partner who reads
aloud then translates, do several times, taking turns
- move on to plural sentence, repeat process above
Materials: Make Your Own Latin Sentences templates, cards
14.Yo Mama Jokes Worksheet (adapted from K. Kitchell)
- follow procedure on worksheet:
- translate a few Yo Mama Jokes
- write a few Yo Mama Jokes using pattern
- share your Yo Mama Jokes
Materials: Yo Mama Jokes Worksheet
15. Form a Subjunctive Sentence Ball Toss
- write up uses of the subjunctive on the board
- toss a fluffy ball to a student
- student begins a Latin sentence with 1 word (teacher write on board), tosses ball to another student
- new student continues Latin sentence with 1 words (teacher writes on board)
- carry on tossing until a full sentence is made … requirement: must use subjunctive!
Materials: fluffy ball