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It's inservice time; time when we all work on writing curriculum.
A lot of people whine and moan and say it's a waste of time, that we'll just be asked to revise in a couple of years with regards to some new educational feature...so why bother?
It just occurred to me: it has less to do with what we have on paper (though that's needed sometimes, esp if a new teacher is suddenly required to fill a position), and more to do with the process of writing it.
Writing curriculum really makes you stop and reflect what you do, how you do it, what the time frame is that you're doing it in, and the justification for what you do. Are you addressing national standards? State standards? College readiness standards? What about English Language Learners--are you addressing their needs? And, for us Latin teachers, am I covering the National Latin Exam syllabus? (no, not enough!)
And while I have this feeling that I'm sinking deeper and deeper into standards and what not, I also have this keen awareness of the things I'm not doing or not doing well. How important is it that I cover the early history of Rome, knowing full well that they get basic coverage in their World Area Studies class? How important is it that I go over mythology, knowing full well that they cover basic myths and gods, not to mention parts of the Odyssey, in freshman English?
My goals are more solidly focused on teaching everyone to read Latin and to develop skills that will allow *all* of my students to succeed at higher levels of Latin, even if they come into my room with a rough set of academic skills (if any!).
I won't finish writing curriculum today; no chance--not detailed 3 week plans. The overviews for Latin 1-3 are done, but not the rest.
But I did formulate some implied standards for AP Latin, which will allow me to justify certain things that I do:
“In the course, as in the parallel courses at colleges, students are expected to be able to
translate accurately from Latin into English the poetry they are reading and to demonstrate
a grasp of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Since the appreciation of Latin
literature requires an understanding of the literary techniques of Latin writers and of
poetic meters when appropriate, stylistic analysis is an integral part of the advanced work
in the course. In addition, the AP Latin: Vergil course includes the study of the cultural,
social, and political context of the literature on the syllabus.” (AP Latin Course Description)
IMPLIED STANDARDS FOR AP LATIN: VERGIL
1. The student will read large quantities of Vergil’s Aeneid (authentic Latin) with comprehension.
a. The student will develop and utilize effective reading strategies when approaching new/unseen passages of Latin.
b. The student will develop and utilize effective rereading strategies, cycling back through old material and consolidating grammar, vocabulary, and stylistic features of Vergil’s Aeneid.
2. The student will be able to translate accurately from Latin into English.
a. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin grammar through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
i. The student will demonstrate a mastery of basic Latin morphology through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
ii. The student will demonstrate a mastery of phrasing, especially particular to poetry, through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
iii. The student will demonstrated a mastery of basic subordination in Latin through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
b. The student will demonstrate a broad understanding of Latin vocabulary.
i. The student will demonstrate an understanding of word families/related vocabulary particular to Vergil through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
ii. The student will demonstrate an understanding of idioms particular to Vergil through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
3. The student will be able to engage in stylistic analysis as related to understanding Vergil’s Aeneid as a great work of literature.
c. The student will be able to analyze lines of dactylic hexameter and scan the line to determine the meter.
i. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin pronunciation through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
ii. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin accentuation through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
iii. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin syllabification through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
(hope that displays ok)
***
My friends who do more oral Latin than I do and who dislike the AP test (because of its reliance on English and excessive syllabus length) will probably think little of this. However, I'll be using the last bit (section 3, mainly c.) to support more oral work in earlier classes.
Anyway, I suppose I'm rambling. Writing curriculum will do that to you.
I've been having big thoughts about my CAMWS paper.... I hope to start writing it soon.
A lot of people whine and moan and say it's a waste of time, that we'll just be asked to revise in a couple of years with regards to some new educational feature...so why bother?
It just occurred to me: it has less to do with what we have on paper (though that's needed sometimes, esp if a new teacher is suddenly required to fill a position), and more to do with the process of writing it.
Writing curriculum really makes you stop and reflect what you do, how you do it, what the time frame is that you're doing it in, and the justification for what you do. Are you addressing national standards? State standards? College readiness standards? What about English Language Learners--are you addressing their needs? And, for us Latin teachers, am I covering the National Latin Exam syllabus? (no, not enough!)
And while I have this feeling that I'm sinking deeper and deeper into standards and what not, I also have this keen awareness of the things I'm not doing or not doing well. How important is it that I cover the early history of Rome, knowing full well that they get basic coverage in their World Area Studies class? How important is it that I go over mythology, knowing full well that they cover basic myths and gods, not to mention parts of the Odyssey, in freshman English?
My goals are more solidly focused on teaching everyone to read Latin and to develop skills that will allow *all* of my students to succeed at higher levels of Latin, even if they come into my room with a rough set of academic skills (if any!).
I won't finish writing curriculum today; no chance--not detailed 3 week plans. The overviews for Latin 1-3 are done, but not the rest.
But I did formulate some implied standards for AP Latin, which will allow me to justify certain things that I do:
“In the course, as in the parallel courses at colleges, students are expected to be able to
translate accurately from Latin into English the poetry they are reading and to demonstrate
a grasp of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Since the appreciation of Latin
literature requires an understanding of the literary techniques of Latin writers and of
poetic meters when appropriate, stylistic analysis is an integral part of the advanced work
in the course. In addition, the AP Latin: Vergil course includes the study of the cultural,
social, and political context of the literature on the syllabus.” (AP Latin Course Description)
IMPLIED STANDARDS FOR AP LATIN: VERGIL
1. The student will read large quantities of Vergil’s Aeneid (authentic Latin) with comprehension.
a. The student will develop and utilize effective reading strategies when approaching new/unseen passages of Latin.
b. The student will develop and utilize effective rereading strategies, cycling back through old material and consolidating grammar, vocabulary, and stylistic features of Vergil’s Aeneid.
2. The student will be able to translate accurately from Latin into English.
a. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin grammar through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
i. The student will demonstrate a mastery of basic Latin morphology through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
ii. The student will demonstrate a mastery of phrasing, especially particular to poetry, through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
iii. The student will demonstrated a mastery of basic subordination in Latin through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
b. The student will demonstrate a broad understanding of Latin vocabulary.
i. The student will demonstrate an understanding of word families/related vocabulary particular to Vergil through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
ii. The student will demonstrate an understanding of idioms particular to Vergil through comprehension, discussion, translation, and direct questioning.
3. The student will be able to engage in stylistic analysis as related to understanding Vergil’s Aeneid as a great work of literature.
c. The student will be able to analyze lines of dactylic hexameter and scan the line to determine the meter.
i. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin pronunciation through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
ii. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin accentuation through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
iii. The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of Latin syllabification through oral readings, comprehension, and scansion.
(hope that displays ok)
***
My friends who do more oral Latin than I do and who dislike the AP test (because of its reliance on English and excessive syllabus length) will probably think little of this. However, I'll be using the last bit (section 3, mainly c.) to support more oral work in earlier classes.
Anyway, I suppose I'm rambling. Writing curriculum will do that to you.
I've been having big thoughts about my CAMWS paper.... I hope to start writing it soon.
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