General Syllabus: Junior High Latin 1

2008-09 School Year

Instructor: Dave Spotts	IM or Talk: spottsinator@gmail.com
Office Hours: TBA	Skype: MrSpotts

PREREQUISITES:

Students entering this course must show a working knowledge of English grammar including parts of speech, functions of nouns in sentences, prepositional phrases, verb tenses, voices, persons and numbers. This course assumes no prior exposure to foreign languages. At the end of this general syllabus you will find a discussion of prerequisite evaluation.

DESCRIPTOR: This course introduces students to reading, writing, and speaking Latin as a living language. While we learn very basic grammar and vocabulary, we will begin to follow the adventures of an early 2^nd century Roman family in their country house, thus beginning our exposure to their life and culture. Students can progress from this course to Junior High Latin 2, followed by High School Latin 2, which will complete their survey of basic Latin grammar and vocabulary, as well as the most basic features of Roman life and culture. The continuing courses, High School Latin 3 and 4 move students into reading and interacting with ancient Roman authors whose work has not been edited for simplicity.

TEXTS: Students will need the Lingua Latina Set 1 which consists of five books, Familia Romana, Latin-English Vocabulary 1, Latine Disco, Exercitia Latina 1, and Grammatica Latina. The Grammatica Latina text is optional. Parents will need one copy per family of Lingua Latina Instructor’s Manual ISBN 1-58510-074-9.

Between Classes: Students will have a passage of their main text to read and understand. Repeated careful reading with complete understanding is a key to this program, so students will spend the bulk of their study time in this task. They will also have one or more exercises to complete. Parents will have an answer key to the exercises. Beginning in the 2008-09 school year we are testing some interactive Web-based materials with our students. These materials will walk students through most or all of the materials they will be experiencing in the textbook and workbook. As we test these materials I will ask parents and students to be giving me frequent feedback on how the system works for them. So there will be a variety of ways we will pursue learning through this course during this year. While most students who follow my instructions master the material relatively quickly, some take longer. You can expect TPS Junior High Latin classes to take about an hour a day, five days a week, outside of class time.

During Classes: Students are to arrive punctually with their equipment in good working order. Without a working microphone it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for the student to participate adequately in class. This is a course involving a great deal of material to cover each day in class. Everybody’s preparation and cooperation is necessary to make this a good course for everyone. Students are not to engage in off-topic chat in the classroom. I strongly encourage each parent to sit in on class at least a few times per semester to assist students in staying on task and to see how their students are interacting in the context of this class. In each class session, the instructor will have a review of material assigned for class, answering questions from students and asking students questions so as to assess their progress. Then the instructor will introduce and illustrate new material for the upcoming week's assignment. Participation is mandatory in order to do well. Students who are absent without a parental excuse or who do not to participate according to teacher expectations will not receive good participation scores. If possible, students should attempt to respond to instructor questions without reference to their notes, only using their unmarked textbook and exercise book. This provides real-time review of the material and assists students in bridging the gap between merely studying a language and becoming fluent in the language. Of course, students who need their notes should use their notes. Daily preparation scores cannot be made up.

Quizzes: There will be a quiz at the end of each chapter, as well as pop quizzes at various times throughout the year. Late quizzes without a parent request prior to the quiz due date will have a 10% grade deduction until they are 24 hours late. Items 24-48 hours late will have a 20% deduction. Items over 48 hours late will receive a zero. There may be a final quiz due in the week after the last class meeting.

Grading: While the parent is responsible for preparing student transcripts, for purposes of this class the instructor will count evidence of student preparedness, including homework scores and class interaction as 40% of the grade, quizzes as 60% of the grade. Cut-offs are as follows: 90% A, 80% B, 70% C, 65% or below F. I would like to set students up for success. I wish to follow progress on a weekly basis, allowing me to zero in quickly on areas of student difficulty. I think the exercises combined with in-class interaction facilitates this wonderfully. In any study of foreign language, consistency is a key to success. Parents are responsible to follow-up with the instructor if they have reason to believe there is anything in error in the gradebook, including scores reported but not posted. Please retain evidence of submission of and scores on all assignments until they have posted in the gradebook.

Discussion of Prerequisites: Students entering Mr. Spotts' beginning Latin or Greek classes at The Potter's School should show a certain level of understanding of English grammar in order to perform well in class. Because we wish to set students up for success and make sure parents and students know clearly what will be expected, and because Mr. Spotts would like to review the apparent abilities of his incoming students, all students wishing to participate in a first year Latin or Greek class at The Potter's School are to complete an evaluation which should assist us all in counting the cost of this class. In the evaluation, students will perform the following tasks:

identify parts of speech

identify function of nouns, adjectives and pronouns in sentences, i.e., subject, direct object, etc.

identify present, future and past tense sentences

identify active and passive voice sentences

Before completing the evaluation, please make sure you have signed up for the desired

class. This makes sure Mr. Spotts will be looking for your evaluation. It also makes sure

you have taken the preliminary steps necessary to be considered for a class at The Potter's

School.