Ms. Kubichek
E-mail: krystal.kubichek@pennsauken.net
Phone Number: (856)662-8500 xtn. 2037
Syllabus
AP Latin
Salve, discipule or discipula! Welcome to AP Latin. Now that summer is over, it’s time to clean
out the cobwebs and remember your declensions and conjugations! This year we will be studying Julius
Caesar’s writings on the Gallic Wars, and Vergil’s Aeneid, the great Roman epic. Let’s start with a brief
overview of this year:
Curriculum
In AP Latin, we will:
 translate over 1,800 lines of De Bello Gallico and the Aeneid (determined by the AP Syllabus)
 strengthen your knowledge of Latin grammar and vocabulary
 learn about Latin poetic devices and meters
 improve your sight-translation skills
 learn about Caesar, Vergil, and their times
 study the characteristics of both prose and epic poetry
 discuss related works, including Caesar’s De Bello Civili, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Euripides’
Medea, and Ovid’s Amores (Dido to Aeneas)
 discover how the Aeneid & the story of the Trojan War has influenced literature and art
 discuss Roman warfare and views of other cultures
 deepen your knowledge of Roman culture, including history, geography, mythology & daily life
 write essays based on passages of De Bello Gallico and the Aeneid
 prepare for the AP Latin exam
This course will focus on De Bello Gallico and the Aeneid in preparation for the Advanced
Placement Vergil exam. During this year, you should develop proficiency in translating Latin literally.
You will also be responsible for reading “On the Gallic War” and the “Aeneid” in their entirety in
English. This class will be challenging: an AP Latin course is considered equivalent to a 5th semester
college level Latin course.
Tests and essays in this class will be graded according to the AP standards. We will also take at
least one timed practice AP Exam in class to prepare for the May exam.
We will also have a class website this year. Tests and important due dates will be posted on the
website. Homework will also be posted online, though it will be announced during class. You can also
find links to useful sites for your Latin studies, as well as links to pages you may find interesting, on the
website.
Class Website: __________________________________________________________
I strongly encourage you to take the Advanced Placement examination. It provides a great
opportunity to place out of language courses at the college level. Additionally, many colleges and
universities will award you college credit for taking the exam, depending upon your score. The College
Board also offers AP Scholar Awards, which are academic distinctions that strengthen your college
applications and resume. Merely taking and passing the test will help you to stand out on your college
applications. Colleges know that by taking this class and passing the exam, you should be successful in
college. Finally, taking the AP exam allows you to develop a deeper understanding of Latin and of the
poem. Pennsauken typically offers aid to students who plan to take the AP exam. This means the cost
of the AP exam to you may be either discounted or free, depending upon financial need and/or your
GPA. To learn more about this, please see your guidance counselor. For more information regarding
the AP exam in general, please go to the Collegeboard’s website: http://www.collegeboard.com.
As a student in AP Latin, you are again eligible for the dual credit program at Camden County
College. This program allows to receive college credit for this course through Camden County College
(for a fee) if you maintain a “B” or better in this course. You must sign up for the program at the
beginning of the school year. Forms and information about this will be sent home within the next few
weeks. I encourage you to sign up for the program as no additional work is needed, and you can earn 3
college credits for a small fee.
If you choose to join the Latin Club this year, you will be inducted into the Junior Classical
League (JCL), if you were not a member last year. The JCL is a national organization for Latin
students. It offers many competitions and activities for its members, and I will make as many of these
open to you as possible. Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors who maintain an “A” average in Latin class,
are members of the JCL, and exemplify good citizenship are eligible to be inducted in the Latin Honor
Society. If you were a member of the club last year, you must join the club again this year in order to be
eligible for the Latin Honor Society. If you were already inducted into the Latin Honor Society, you
must join the Latin Club again this year in order to maintain your membership in the Honor Society.
Both the JCL and the Latin Honor Society offer many opportunities for students, including small
scholarships and grants for college.
While we will be looking at several works relating to De Bello Gallico and the Aeneid this year,
below are the main texts we will be using:
Vergil’s Aeneid: Selections from Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 & 12 (2nd Edition) by Barbara Weiden Boyd.
A Vergil Workbook by Barbara Weiden Boyd & Katherine Bradley.
The Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles.
A Call to Conquest: Readings from Caesar's Gallic Wars by David Perry.
The Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, translated by Jane P. Gardner and S.A. Handford
Each of you will also be issued a copy of:
The Bantam New College Latin & English Dictionary, revised ed. by John Traupman.
Wheelock’s Latin (6th Edition) by Frederick M. Wheelock, revised by Richard A. Lafleur