IB Course Outline
Classical Languages - Latin
Standard Level (SL)
Course Description:
This IB Latin course is a two-year (four semester) course of 150 hours that will conclude
with the Language B exams given in May of the second year. The prerequisite for this course is the
successful completion of Latin III at Brockton High School in accordance with the school’s grade
achievement policy.
The three core objectives for this course are: (1) enable students to gain an understanding
and appreciation of the language, literature and culture of the classical age;
(2) to develop critical thinking skills with which students will examine, analyze and critique
authentic Latin texts and authors while gaining an understanding and appreciation of the different
perspectives and people from ancient cultures; (3) to grow in awareness and understanding of how
culture, history, literature and language of the classical era form the context for modern cultures,
languages, literature and other disciplines throughout the world.
In this course selected passages (or entire books) from prescribed authors and topics in Latin
will be read. Through this study students will develop strong linguistic skills that will enable them to
become participants in a conversation with the past where students will gain insight into the lives
and thoughts of this people, and in so doing, will gain an awareness of the relationship between the
classical era and the modern world, thus, growing in a broad understanding of internationalism.
Although a majority of assessments for this class will be written, students will be expected to
speak and/or read orally with appropriate expression and emphasis. Written assessments will
include externally assessed translations of particular passages from Ovid’s writings demonstrating an
understanding of the author’s intent and style, as well as student-chosen topics (essays, etc.) that
reflect an awareness of context and connections within and with other literature and cultures.
Internal assessment (formal and informal) will include successful completion of assignments.
Topics to be addressed:
Listening and Speaking:
Students will demonstrate an appreciation for the Latin language by listening to and speaking the
Latin of several Latin writers. Not only will they read the Latin aloud with proper pronunciation but
with suitable emphasis and expression. Students will also demonstrate an understanding of how the
past itself speaks to them through its literature. They will learn to discern its voice and give evidence
of understanding what is said by becoming articulate speakers about the ancient world and its
influence on history and culture.
Reading:
Students will read and study both in Latin and English a cross-section of Latin authors and their
writings, paying particular attention to linguistic understanding of the various genres studied. Ovid
will be the prescribed author for this course and his works will be carefully examined. In particular,
Semester I, students will read in Latin (some passages in English) selections from his Metamorphoses, a
collection of stories drawn from classical legend. Students will examine Ovid’s epic style used in the
Metamorphoses, and as well, gain an understanding of the metrical notation and poetic devises
employed.
Semester II will include two works, Vergil’s epic tale the Aeneid and Ovid’s Heroides. A portion of
the Aeneid, Book II (in which Aeneas gives Dido a first hand account of the Trojan War), will be
read in Latin, the remaining in English. This study will allow students to gain an understanding of
the Roman epic and an opportunity to compare it to Ovid’s works. The second piece this semester
will be a return to Ovid and his Heroides, which are a collection of fictitious letters written by famous
women in mythology. Two of the letters, one by Dido, and the other, Penelope, will be read in
Latin. Not only will this bring students back to our prescribed author, but will be a natural
connection to Vergil’s Aeneid.
Semester III will begin by turning to prose rather than poetry. Students will first read Tacitus’Annals
(XV, chapters 38-65). In the Annals Tacitus gives insight into the reigns of several Roman emperors.
Here students will consider such topics as imperial power and policy. Next, they will read in Latin
Cicero’s famous speech the Pro Caelio, sections 1-30; the rest in English. In this students will
consider the life and works of Cicero and the Roman society during the late Republic in which he
lived. Many topics will be discussed including politics, education, the role of women, and certain
literary themes. Semester III will conclude with a return to poetry as students read 15 of Catullus’
love poems which deal with the same segment of society about which Cicero himself had written.
Students will recognize individuals and topics referenced in both.
In Semester IV the students will continue looking at love poetry but that written by Horace. Here
they will read from his Odes, and compare these with the poetry of Catullus. An English reading and
discussion of Ovid’s Amores, a collection of love elegies, will follow. The course will conclude with
the translating of Juvenal’s Satires IV and V and an English reading of I and II. Here Juvenal living
in the last half of the first century A.D. identifies and denounces the vices he sees among the rich
and expresses them in his Satires.
Through the reading of diverse writers, genres, themes and styles, students will grow in critical
thinking skills as they process information and draw conclusions about the classical world and its
influence on the modern world.
Writing:
Through understanding and applying good translating techniques students will write an accurate,
fluid translation of the passages assigned. They will recognize poetic devises used in the original text
and employ them in their own writing. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by
constructing a clear argument or demonstrating insight of topics through products such as essays,
journal keeping, poetry, creative writing assignments, illuminated manuscripts, epitaphs, speeches, etc.
Assessments:
Quarter Marks
Quarter marks for Brockton High School students participating in this course will be based on
student completion of and success in a combination of formal and informal assessments. These will
comprise several basic categories of both oral and written work: homework; class work; essays;
quizzes and tests.
Internal Assessment
No internal assessment is required for the Standard Level IB program.
External Assessment
Also required for this Classical Language IB course is one externally assessed (graded by IB) paper
totaling 40% of the grade. This paper (1 hour) consists of two compulsory sections; a translation of
a specified part or parts (up to 70 words) of one unprepared passage from the prescribed author.
The use of dictionaries is permitted. The second paper (2 hours) also consists of two compulsory
sections based on the prescribed topics. These sections are:
(1) Questions based on extracts from 5 prescribed topics – 2 extracts from each topic. Students
will answer questions on three extracts covering two topics (45% of the grade).
(2) One short essay question set on each of the 5 prescribed topics . Students will answer one
question covering one topic. (15 % of the grade).
It is important to note here that every student enrolled in this class must complete all IB
requirements.
Teaching Strategies:
A variety of teaching strategies ranging from individual instruction, cooperative groups, pairs and
whole class discussion will be used. Modeling new material and allowing for guided practice will be
essential for developing strong translating skills. Self-discovery will be encouraged so that students
might learn how to ask essential questions and find appropriate answers. Also, whole class and
small group discussion will enable students to voice and clearly support a point of view about many
cultural and linguistic topics, thus becoming effective communicators. Students will also work in
pairs or groups in order to practice oral skills so that they might grow in pronunciation, expression
and understanding. On the whole, this class will be a student-centered class driven by inquiry, desire
for knowledge and a love of learning.
Resources:
Resources the school is able to provide now:
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Ecce Romani I A – IIB
A Song of War: Readings from Vergil’s Aeneid
Latin – English Dictionaries
Copies
Prentice Hall
30
1
10
Resources that the school would need to provide:
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Love and Betrayal: A Catullus Reader
Carpe Diem: A Horace Reader
Love and Transformation: An Ovid Reader
A Song Of War: Readings from Vergil’s Aeneid
Catullus Supplement
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Ovid’s Heroides I
($5.00)
Ovid’s Heroides VII
($5.50)
Ovid’s Heroides X
($5.00)
Juvenal: Satires
Cicero: Pro Caelio
The Annals of Tacitus
Latin – English Dictionaries
Prentice Hall
30
Prentice Hall
30
Prentice Hall
30
Prentice Hall
29
CANE Instructional
30
Materials
CANE
30
CANE
30
CANE
30
Latin Texts Series
30
Loeb Classical Library 30
Cambridge Text Series 30
20
Internationalism:
A significant part of this Latin course will be recognizing and understanding the connections and
contributions of the classical world that form the context of the modern era. Students will explore
the wider cultural achievements of Rome whose political, religious and legal principles as well as
technology, art and architecture still inform the thinking of many peoples around the world.
Common literary themes will be examined that would include topics such as Heroic literature,
mythology, poetic devises, and metrical patterns employed in poetry. Again, students will be able to
identify and explain the origins of cultural, literary, linguistic and historical elements in the modern
era and in many cultures as well as other academic disciplines that find their roots in the classical
world. Thus, internationalism will be fully embraced as students inquire, research, compare,
contrast, analyze, examine and discuss these elements as they appear in our world today.