teaching verbs in CLC

I was asked a question offlist regarding how I teach verb conjugations using CLC by a person who has just taken over a middle school Latin program.

My own take on language acquisition with middle school age kids is based on the kind of poor, unacademically prepared kids that attend my school. I have no doubt that some kids could be pushed along faster. In fact, I'm sure I could make greater demands regarding aspects of grammar acquisition earlier/sooner with some kids, but that would forever leave the rest behind and struggling to keep up. I'm not sure how to word what I'm trying to say.... I think part of it is that my students still acquire the grammar needed (I never overlook it or not teach it as some teachers using CLC might do), but I give them time to get really used to the language first so that formulating and cementing grammar comes more easily. Does that make sense? After all, when we learn our native tongue, we learn to speak it before we read it, and after we learn to read it, only then do we learn to write it.

What I'm copying below is what I wrote to this person earlier today.

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First, I agree with much of the Cambridge philosophy of not expressly learning a lot of grammar up front, but I think many people misunderstand the philosophy and think that it means do nothing at all. A strong CLC teacher needs to find a way to make sure that the students are looking and noticing all the things, all the details. Most students these days don't even notice if their shoes are untied. You have to show them and lead them through formulating rules to a great extent.

For instance, I don't make them learn the different conjugations cold as 7th graders. HOWEVER, one of the things that I DEFINITELY do with warm-ups, etc, is ask students to sort verbs by vowel. That is, I'll give them verbs like laudat, videt, sedet, scrIbit, dormit, labOrat and salUtat and have them make a table like this (I hope this comes out):

-a- (1st) | -e- (2nd) | -i- (3rd & 4th)
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laudat videt scrIbit
labOrat sedet dormit
salUtat

This starts them to think about the fact that we have verb families. I get them to start thinking about the fact that verb families have different vowel stems, and continue to mention this each time we meet them.

In stage 4 (it's 4, right?) when 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person are introduced, I go ahead and include the plural. We begin to fully conjugate then. My professor for methods, the late Gareth Morgan, demonstrated a way to conjugate with hand motions:

videO: thumb to chest
vidEs: index finger pointing straight forward to someone
videt: hitch-hiker thumb over the shoulder
vidEmus: two thumbs to chest (indicating plural)
vidEtis: two index fingers pointing out (indicating plural)
vident: hitch-hiker thumbs over shoulder (indicating plural)

We occasionally do other verbs. But I confess I stick to easy verbs: 1st & 2nd mainly, getting them used to the idea that different vowels are in play (but sometimes stick in 3rd & 4th). What they MUST learn are what the endings mean and I teach this mnemonic device: "most must isn't"

-m/o (depending on tense)
-s
-t
-mus
-tis
-nt

These are the critical things early on. You can't understand subject verb agreement without them, and this is a difficult concept for some of these kids to get. So focus on this critical element first. Continue to build on what you've learned.

When perfects are introduced I don't worry about 3rd principal parts, not until stage 12. I teach this acronym. Er, if you find it offensive, I apologize, but my kids seem to be ok with it: VLSUX -ed (pronounced V-L-sucks). L = long vowels, v/u/s/x are the other letters you see with perfects. I mention reduplicatives too, but outside of dO, tradO, and currO, you don't see too many in the first two books. For imperfect, I have them recognizing BA and teach them about the 3 legged imperfect sheep going baa baa baa. It's dumb, but it helps.

So I focus on just this for most of the 7th grade year. In fact, I've learned to back down and not really even focus on conjugating the imperfect tense, though we could because I've taught them all the endings. I always found myself very frustrated with their inability to conjugate well, to apply the rules consistently, etc. Then I began to realize that part of the problem was my lack of understanding of the cognitive level of the assignment. That is, copying a conjugation is simple, right? Bottom level of Blooms Taxonomy (if you don't know Blooms, google Blooms Taxonomy and study the chart of cognitive development/questioning levels). Applying it to a new verb of the same conjugation is more difficult, but discerning which conjugation a verb is and all the implications is a little more difficult. Perhaps I was jumping too many steps for these young students. (And remember, I have mainly poor kids who are NOT academically prepared at all.) So, I hammer the must most isn't endings and subj verb agreement and hold off a little longer.

Now, when stage 12 hits and you get ALL the perfect endings, I teach this song to the tune of 3 blind mice:

-I, -istI, -it
-I, -istI, -it
-imus, -istis, -Erunt
-imus, -istis, -Erunt
You take the 3rd principal part, you drop the -i and then you add
-I, -istI, -it
-imus, -istis, -Erunt

So then we get questions about what are principal parts. Now mind you, they aren't really introduced until 8th grade in stage 13, but I'm always thinking ahead to how I can prep them to be ready for the next thing they have to master.

Last year I created some conjugation sheets. Now I begin the task of building their skills at conjugating. Each sheet attached focuses on one conjugation. They practice the same verb on the front (nothing more than copying), and then you assign a verb of your choice for the back (application). I start putting great emphasis on principal parts but admittedly I don't start to require them on my vocab quizzes until stage 14. On the stage 13 vocab quizzes (I break the master vocab lists into two shorter lists), the principal parts are extra credit to try to get them used to the concept.

They don't particularly like the conjugation sheets, but they are getting better about them, and I now assign a couple per chapter since my initial major verb review at the beginning of this year.

This is the first year I'll be using them and I decided it was important to insure that they *master* conjugating this year because next year, when they hit the green Unit 3, it's all about verbs--the rest of the indicative and subjunctive. Unit 2 is about adjectives, agreement, pronouns, relative pronouns and participles--which is more about cases. So while I'm focusing more on understanding concepts of gender, number, and case as it relates to adjectives, pronouns and participles, I'm still perfecting their verb skills with these sheets. That way, next year should go smoothly for them.

Anyway, I think that sums up my approach to verbs.

I think Cambridge is absolutely right in focusing their philosophy on reading. Even as children we learn to read before we learn to write--our reading skills are always ahead of our writing skills. If we push the grammar and written skills up front, we will all too quickly separate our classes into the cans and the cannots. But if you hold out a bit, continue to strengthen their skills and focus their attention to the details but not require the hard core grammar until it's necessary, I believe (certainly with my poor kids) that you can actually keep more students in the CAN category.
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Besides, I'd rather have students that can read Latin than can conjugate perfectly.