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Will You Be Interviewed for a Teaching Position Anytime Soon?
Nov. 9th, 2009 | 09:54 pm
I started typing this up a couple of weeks ago. I could probably ramble on and on with regards to this because, well, I can. At first, this was just some sort of brainstorming on what I think *I* would ask if I were interviewing a new teacher. Then part of it became, I dunno, a little therapeutic for me. Perhaps a reminder of why I do what I do.
Anyway, this is merely keeping me from grading. But to get it posted will mean one more think I can check off my to-do list. And now on to my grading. So, here are my questions, some answers, some musings, some ravings, and perhaps some incomplete thoughts. Make of it what you will.
****
What I’m looking for in a teacher. The teacher interview.
What is your philosophy of teaching?
Boy, I used to hate this question. I thought it was all about methodology, I guess. I’m not even sure what I put. I remember I had to write a paragraph in the target language for one application, which I thought at the time was pretty amusing because WHO IN THE WORLD was going to read it?
My philosophy now seems to circle around these things:
· teaching reading skills and not decoding skills; developing those skills from day one
o What do you know about reading methodologies?
o Have you read Dexter Hoyos’s Latin: How to Read it Fluently?
o How have you applied reading methodologies to improve your own reading skills?
o Have you ever tried to explain these skills to a colleague or student?
· finding a way to reach all students; teaching in a supportive way that allows ample opportunities for all students who at least try to succeed at least to a certain degree.
o Have you ever tutored students?
o Have you ever worked with students or even peers who clearly learn things differently from the way you learned things?
o Have you ever thought about how you would explain how you learn things—what tricks you use for memorizing endings, etc.?
o Where do you picture yourself teaching? What sort of students?
· emphasizing the importance of good pronunciation, use of oral Latin, reading out loud, etc.
o How often do you read out loud?
o How careful are you with your pronunciation?
o If the text has macrons, can you read with correct accentuation without much of an effort?
o When you write Latin, do you write with macrons (without looking)?
o Are you comfortable asking and answering simple questions in Latin (quis, quem, cui, ubi, quō, quid facit, etc.)?
o Have you ever attended a Rusticātiō or Conventiculum?
· gaining insight into second language acquisition
o Have you ever read any material about second language acquisition?
o Have you ever attended any conferences that addressed issues related to second language acquisition?
I suppose my philosophy also encompasses these other considerations. I decided that on these, it might be worth my answering too.
· Things about being a teacher.
o Why did you want to become a teacher?
§ Teachers were and still are an important part of my life. I was not well liked in middle school and high school and I don’t think I could have survived if I didn’t feel like their rooms were safe places to be in.
o What teachers inspired you?
§ I was inspired by many good teachers, but primarily my Latin teachers, Doris Kays and Bob Hicks, and my biology teacher, Roger Robison. But I suppose I also think about my wonderfully patient and talented ballet instructor, Amory Oliver, as well as several of my professors, Gareth Morgan and Bill Nethercut among them. Come to think of it, I regularly employ the sudden loud outburst to wake up students like Gwyn Morgan would use in my Roman history classes.
§ Perhaps the truth is that I’ve taken a little bit away from every teacher that touched me, even fictional ones. Mr Keating (Robin William’s character in “Dead Poets Society”) greatly influenced me, perhaps more than any other if that is possible. I have been known to stand on chairs and desks, ding a bell and say “thanks for playing” and go overboard dramatically with anything I’m reading. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I know that this character, fictional though it may be, has influence me. Keating had that amazing ability to engage students. The teacher/administrator that followed him taught English as a cold subject that could be dissected with formulas. (The Pritchard Scale for judging a sonnet.) I don’t want my classes to ever be dominated by Latin grammar or the need to scan lines of poetry with absolute perfection. Does it matter what type of dative something is? After all we can dissect the Latin to death, but only if we read it in context, in word order, out loud like a Roman, staying in Latin and trying to THINK like a Roman. Who cares if we can write good English translations! It isn’t an English class.
§ So, like Keating, I refuse to let literature—that passionate stuff written to move our hearts and souls—be reduced to carefully parsed passages.
o When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
§ I know I wanted to be a teacher the moment I stepped onto a college campus. However, I first wanted to be a theatre major. I knew I was not the stuff that Broadway actors were made of but I loved acting classes. Now I worry about how I could ever memorize enough lines (ha, and yet I have an iPod’s memory of songs in my brain). I didn’t get on with the chair of the theatre department and I was totally inspired by my first Latin professor, Bill Nethercut, as well as my first semester in Latin, so I switched to Latin as my main teaching field with English as my second.
o What do you think you have to offer students?
§ First, my empathy. I remember what it was like to not fit in, what it was like to be bright but clearly not the smartest or the best read of my peers. Second, my total enthusiasm and zany if not outlandish approach to teaching. I dance and prance around the room, I stand on desks, I will act out readings, I will do whatever it takes to hold their attention. I would rather a class that’s a bit rowdy but engaged over one that is quietly compliant but hardly engaged.
o Why did you choose Latin?
§ I’ve thought about this question for many years, and finally decided I must have been influence by BBC’s “I, Claudius.” I watched “I, Claudius” with students after school last year and found it every bit as enjoyable as it was in the late 1970s. That’s why I took Latin to begin with. I stayed with Latin because of my high school Latin teacher, Doris Kays, and her colleague at another high school, Bob Hicks, and my first professor in college, Bill Nethercut.
· Things about being a Latinist.
o What authors have you read outside of coursework?
§ I am partial to Martial. Admittedly I like to thumb through a Loeb, glancing more at the English until a particular topic catches my eye, and then I read the Latin (occasionally disagreeing with the translator!) I don’t teach Catullus, but have been known to read him from time to time. I like to practice my reading fluency with Eutropius. And I’ll look at any book that comes along from publishers. I just don’t have enough time to indulge my interests.
o Do you ever write in Latin?
§ I enjoy writing simple stories in Latin for my students. I have also been known to rewrite Martial epigrams to suit my own topic plus the occasional haiku. I email in Latin sometimes as well as post in Latin on Facebook.
o Do you ever play games in Latin?
§ I play cards in Latin; have played Twister in Latin and try to do other things.
· Things about being in the classics profession.
o Have you ever attended an American Classical League Institute?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Classical Association of the Middle West and South annual meeting?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Texas Classical Association conference?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Junior Classical League convention as a student? As an adult/teacher?
§ Several as a student; only local ones as a teacher. My family life keeps me from spending even more hours with my students. One day I hope to.
o Have you ever served on committees in any organization?
§ National Committee for Latin and Greek; CAMWS Committee for the Promotion of Latin; various ad hoc committees for TCA
o Have you ever written articles or presented papers?
§ Numerous; many are online via my curriculum vitae. I’m currently planning one regarding growing a program/developing Latin students in Latin 1 who will be well prepared for AP Latin, no matter what their abilities are to start with.
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about programs folding vs programs thriving
Nov. 3rd, 2009 | 01:13 pm
This thread on Latinteach originally started with the posting of this article "Will the Classics Department Survive?" (Hope I posted that right.)
Immediately someone's comment about the need for more modern methodologies spiked an angry comment. Too often debates about how to teach turn into traditional grammar vs reading or more modern oral methodologies. This is what I wrote in reply:
***
I have been very fortunate this year to have received several compliments when I was least expecting them. It's been a tough year at home, and my schedule at school is not ideal, and these compliments were what I really needed to hear. And what were they? Most of all that I *ENGAGE* students. That if they (the administration) want to give others an example of who knows how to engage students, they list my name first. (Wow.)
I don't teach all in Latin. I teach mainly in English, in all honesty. I do teach from Cambridge, but I've been known this year to give some grammar notes (experimenting with having a composition book dedicated to notes that get added in each year). And the people coming to observe my classes or do a walk-through do not know Latin. But they know what engaged teaching looks like as opposed to compliant. Compliant teaching is when students are sitting quietly; engaged is when they are involved in the lesson, focused, actively learning, etc.
Methodology, here, doesn't have to be about traditional vs modern, grammar vs reading/oral. This is about engaged and accessible vs disengaged and inaccessible.
I use a variety of ways to engage students. One thing I can guarantee--if I look out across my class and see those glossy-eyed stares, I know they aren't interested and thus aren't learning. Time for a different approach. I have walked into college classes in recent years, mostly those taught by TA's (no offense), and seen students who were just there. Take turns, translate the next line, no instructions on how to learn to read larger quantities, how to improve on the bigger picture of learning read Latin and access the ancient authors directly.
I am constantly thinking about better ways to *teach* my most problematic students or most problematic grammatical structures. CONSTANTLY. Maybe this is because I hate grading poorly done quizzes and hate giving F's. I dunno.
And some university settings unfortunately don't encourage this. I sat in on a grad student seminar at CAMWS a couple of years ago where a professor presenting on the panel was offering advice to those hoping to eventually get a tenure-track job. The advice? WORK ON YOUR TEACHING SKILLS. I doubt you'll hear that at APA (though I could be wrong); most likely just the importance of research and publication there. Teaching is often just considered one of those things you have to do, not something your should thoroughly enjoy doing and learn to do well.
Plus let's add in one other thing regarding programs that shrink and close (something I used to deal with when I was chair for the Committee for the Promotion of Latin): marketing.
We'd all like to think that you don't need to market quality education. But the truth is that we are elective subject teachers and not only does our product have to be good, but we have to sell it. Some people can't sell Latin, even though they love Latin. It does sound like they are marketing their Greek in this article, but is it effective marketing? I understand the hours of demanding work--I never took a second year of Greek because I didn't think I could manage enough hours in the day to translate my Latin AND Greek. HOWEVER, if I had had Dexter Hoyos's book, Latin: How to Read it Fluently_, I could have seen how to shorten my time spent "translating" and instead to develop better, more efficient, more enjoyable reading skills. In other words, if they are selling a product that comes with a kind of detailed print-out like a prescription insert instead of easy to follow operating instructions for enjoyable use of the product, you can see why people aren't staying. !
That is, Dexter's book makes Latin--at least to me--something that is far more enjoyable than I even thought it was when I was in school studying it, decoding it word for word. But if no one ever offers you that information, you are left with thinking that the ancient languages are just a mass of charts and rules--detailed, awful stuff like a prescription insert.
Today's students aren't easy to teach; you have to really WANT to get your information across. It's gotta be important to you that the students see your passion and enthusiasm. If you leave it to them to sink or swim, most are happy enough to sink. Takes less effort. I don't shout SWIM at my students, but I do show them a variety of ways how to swim, breaking down each stroke if I need to. And this runs totally opposite of another Latin teacher I met at a conference a couple of summers back who was bragging about how many students she failed--she thought that demonstrated academic rigor.
Getting numbers isn't about advertising. I don't advertise. Word of mouth is enough for me--and what the students say is not only that I'm fun, but that I really try to teach every person in the room. Whatever it takes.
Immediately someone's comment about the need for more modern methodologies spiked an angry comment. Too often debates about how to teach turn into traditional grammar vs reading or more modern oral methodologies. This is what I wrote in reply:
***
I have been very fortunate this year to have received several compliments when I was least expecting them. It's been a tough year at home, and my schedule at school is not ideal, and these compliments were what I really needed to hear. And what were they? Most of all that I *ENGAGE* students. That if they (the administration) want to give others an example of who knows how to engage students, they list my name first. (Wow.)
I don't teach all in Latin. I teach mainly in English, in all honesty. I do teach from Cambridge, but I've been known this year to give some grammar notes (experimenting with having a composition book dedicated to notes that get added in each year). And the people coming to observe my classes or do a walk-through do not know Latin. But they know what engaged teaching looks like as opposed to compliant. Compliant teaching is when students are sitting quietly; engaged is when they are involved in the lesson, focused, actively learning, etc.
Methodology, here, doesn't have to be about traditional vs modern, grammar vs reading/oral. This is about engaged and accessible vs disengaged and inaccessible.
I use a variety of ways to engage students. One thing I can guarantee--if I look out across my class and see those glossy-eyed stares, I know they aren't interested and thus aren't learning. Time for a different approach. I have walked into college classes in recent years, mostly those taught by TA's (no offense), and seen students who were just there. Take turns, translate the next line, no instructions on how to learn to read larger quantities, how to improve on the bigger picture of learning read Latin and access the ancient authors directly.
I am constantly thinking about better ways to *teach* my most problematic students or most problematic grammatical structures. CONSTANTLY. Maybe this is because I hate grading poorly done quizzes and hate giving F's. I dunno.
And some university settings unfortunately don't encourage this. I sat in on a grad student seminar at CAMWS a couple of years ago where a professor presenting on the panel was offering advice to those hoping to eventually get a tenure-track job. The advice? WORK ON YOUR TEACHING SKILLS. I doubt you'll hear that at APA (though I could be wrong); most likely just the importance of research and publication there. Teaching is often just considered one of those things you have to do, not something your should thoroughly enjoy doing and learn to do well.
Plus let's add in one other thing regarding programs that shrink and close (something I used to deal with when I was chair for the Committee for the Promotion of Latin): marketing.
We'd all like to think that you don't need to market quality education. But the truth is that we are elective subject teachers and not only does our product have to be good, but we have to sell it. Some people can't sell Latin, even though they love Latin. It does sound like they are marketing their Greek in this article, but is it effective marketing? I understand the hours of demanding work--I never took a second year of Greek because I didn't think I could manage enough hours in the day to translate my Latin AND Greek. HOWEVER, if I had had Dexter Hoyos's book, Latin: How to Read it Fluently_, I could have seen how to shorten my time spent "translating" and instead to develop better, more efficient, more enjoyable reading skills. In other words, if they are selling a product that comes with a kind of detailed print-out like a prescription insert instead of easy to follow operating instructions for enjoyable use of the product, you can see why people aren't staying. !
That is, Dexter's book makes Latin--at least to me--something that is far more enjoyable than I even thought it was when I was in school studying it, decoding it word for word. But if no one ever offers you that information, you are left with thinking that the ancient languages are just a mass of charts and rules--detailed, awful stuff like a prescription insert.
Today's students aren't easy to teach; you have to really WANT to get your information across. It's gotta be important to you that the students see your passion and enthusiasm. If you leave it to them to sink or swim, most are happy enough to sink. Takes less effort. I don't shout SWIM at my students, but I do show them a variety of ways how to swim, breaking down each stroke if I need to. And this runs totally opposite of another Latin teacher I met at a conference a couple of summers back who was bragging about how many students she failed--she thought that demonstrated academic rigor.
Getting numbers isn't about advertising. I don't advertise. Word of mouth is enough for me--and what the students say is not only that I'm fun, but that I really try to teach every person in the room. Whatever it takes.
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Question about Conjugating and Declining
Oct. 30th, 2009 | 06:34 pm
So, I noticed a query on Latin Best Practices, and felt inspired to answer it earlier this afternoon instead of going to the pep rally. Then I thought I'd include it here.
(original query)
>>I'd be interested to know what the majority out there are doing...I always quiz on charts, declining nouns, conjugating in various tenses/voices, but when it comes to the test, I want to see if they can USE that knowledge, so I ask that type of grammar question in the context of a sentence or reading passage. My colleagues, on the other hand, insist that the knowledge of the charts is so important that it always must be on the test. What do others think? Am I totally off base? I'm also teaching middle school, using Cambridge, if that matters.
****
OK, so I'm late on this thread, but since I don't feel like going to the pep rally, I thought I'd talk about what I do.
First and foremost, I would not be surprised if each of us is a little self-conscious of the skills we are developing in our students and why, and what would happen to one of our students if they moved or if we moved and a new teacher was brought in. Would my students seem like the know what they SHOULD know, and what should they know?
My focus is on teaching true reading skills, getting students to read in word order, etc. I do a fair amount of oral work, but not nearly what Bob does (though perhaps one day when I feel a bit saner I might shift that way).
I never ask for conjugating or declining or principal parts on TESTS. Tests are for showing me you get the big picture and the details in context. However, I do spot test conjugating and declining on quizzes and principal parts of verbs (but NOT genitives of nouns or genders).
For instance, right now in Latin 1 we're at the end of stage 5 and about to have our "B" quiz. (I split the list into words that appear early in the chapter and those that appear late.) Vocabulary is tested in context, so if SPECTANT is in all caps in the sentence, the student must put THEY WATCH. If PUELLAE is in all caps, the student must put THE GIRLS--if it isn't plural it's half wrong. That is, from the very beginning I'm trying to teach them that they cannot learn vocabulary in isolation from context.
While warm-ups (praeparatiOnEs) may consist of conjugation practice, more often it's teaching them various strategies to *see* the details. I might list verbs like these and ask them to circle the endings and then translate:
1) coquO
2) spectAs
3) quaerit
etc
So, they would circle the -O and translate "I cook," the -s and translate "you watch," the -t and translate "he looks at." Many students, particularly younger students have difficulties in making what we think are obvious connections. They think that answers just POP into one's head, not that answer can be arrived at with thought and reason. And this same circling can earn them a point of extra credit on quizzes. One point isn't worth much, but if it slows them down enough to actually THINK about the details, then I'm helping them making a higher grade over all.
AFTER the words in context comes the target grammar--conjugating a verb. This next quiz will be a 3rd conjugation verb, a "fish hook" verb (because the vowels--o i i i i u--when lined up vertically look like a fish hook!). And we did conjugate a 3rd conjugation verb today for the warm-up.
But I don't demand that absolute perfection of being able to conjugate or decline everything in Latin 1. Most of them are still learning how to think about a language. My focus is on developing sharper recognition skills, not composition skills.
In Latin 2, I'm starting to be a bit more demanding. The first 3 declensions must be down cold by this time of year. Of course, I'm dreaming with a lot of my Latin 2's, but while we work on the participles, they are also fine-tuning their understanding of declensions and cases. But once again, my warm-ups do not focus on declining. I have quia exercises for that which they use the day before vocab quizzes (we're in the computer lab once a week prepping for what becomes my more complex vocab quizzes). Often for warm-ups I'll pull out target grammar from the passage we'll be reading. Today it was Vilbia in Stage 22, the new grammar being perfect active participles. So students had these to copy and translate:
1) puellae, pocula sordida lavantes, ...
2) vir, culinam tabernae ingressus,...
3) pater, haec verba locutus,...
etc
I'm working on getting them to see PHRASES when they read and not isolated words. (This also means that the idea of translations being graded via "chunking" on AP exams does not bother them at all because they have been studying chunking of sorts all along). Yesterday's warm-up had been similar with perfect passive participle and ablative of agents, followed by a discussion of these PASSIVE participles showing up with ablative of agents. With today's warm-up, we discussed the nature of present ACTIVE and perfect ACTIVE participles, how the action carries over to direct objects/accusatives, etc. And with that knowledge, we were able to realize that OF COURSE pocula wasn't 1st declension because we absolutely could not have a nominative there! It must be a neuter acc plural! Same with haec verba. I also have students circle the endings like the -ae of puellae and draw an arch to the -es of lavantes. We talk a lot about this nesting or arching of phrases in Latin.
And while we're working on stretching our minds to doing more sophisticated analysis and synthesis stet by step on warm-ups, we're doing simpler declining on the quizzes.
My Latin 3 class is pre-AP for the first time, and I'm actually giving them homework Mon, Tues, & Weds, plus Thurs for quiz or test on Fridays. They have all been in Latin long enough that I feel it's time to fine tune their skills. So, yes, conjugating, declining, and right now I'm teaching them about synopses. Quick checks are done via PowerPoints so I can move through them quickly and they can mark their mistakes to LEARN from them, and then on most days they will still have a warm-up, similar to the sorts of things that I demonstrated above for Latin 2--focus on seeing word groups, understanding how to disambiguate endings that could be multiple cases, and anything else I can think of to help them be solid readers of Latin. But if I'm asking them to conjugate or decline or write a synopsis of anything in particular on the quiz, there will be quia exercise to drill it home that has immediate feedback and correction. (I hate the possibility of studying the wrong thing and then having to unlearn something!)
My TESTS are structured in this manner for all levels (except AP, which look more like an AP test):
1) Sight Passage with reading comprehension questions in both Latin and English requiring short answers.
2) Translation of about 20-25 words from seen passage(s). I give them four choices and let them choose, which works out well actually and has that feeling of "fairness" to strugglers because there's never that chance of it being the one passage you didn't study.
3) grammar questions (mult choice) on the sight passage--asking case, tense, voice, mood, etc.
4) multiple choice sections targetting specific new grammar/structures (quia review available)
5) culture questions (objective) (quia review available).
But no conjugating, no declining, no synopses, no straight vocab, etc. Everything's in context.
My tests, admittedly, are a pain to grade. I can't just run everything through the scantron machine, only part. I can tell how their sight reading skills are coming along by how they answer the questions, and the spot translations make them responsible for rereading stories we read in class. And in the end, I feel like I'm developing skills that would make them successful in a variety of environments in the future. For instance, if I didn't demand at least a little translating on my tests, won't it come as a slap in the face to suddenly have to provide literally accurate Latin translations for AP? (I might add, that I do NOT ever require my Latin students to write out translations in prepping lines for class for AP. I want them to read and hopefully REREAD lines to internalize the Latin, not waste time writing out strained English translations.)
A student of mine in a college class with nothing but "go home and read the next 80 lines for class" should be successful and undaunted by the number of lines because of the reading skills I believe I'm imparting. For the class where the professor asks for a complete synposis of a particular verb in a passage, my students (post Latin 3) should be able to succeed. And if I were to be hit by a car tomorrow or suddenly have to move to San Antonio and a new grammar-first teacher came in, at least my lower level kids should be familiar enough with conjugating and declining to be able to comply without total embarrassment.
And, should a student of mine ever be lucky enough to study with Nancy Llewellyn at Wyoming Catholic College or Terrence Tunberg in Kentucky, the amount of reading aloud and simple oral questions on stories should put them in a position of at least willingness if not eagerness to go to an all-Latin environment.
(This was probably far more than you wanted, right?!)
But you asked what we do, and this is what I do.
(original query)
>>I'd be interested to know what the majority out there are doing...I always quiz on charts, declining nouns, conjugating in various tenses/voices, but when it comes to the test, I want to see if they can USE that knowledge, so I ask that type of grammar question in the context of a sentence or reading passage. My colleagues, on the other hand, insist that the knowledge of the charts is so important that it always must be on the test. What do others think? Am I totally off base? I'm also teaching middle school, using Cambridge, if that matters.
****
OK, so I'm late on this thread, but since I don't feel like going to the pep rally, I thought I'd talk about what I do.
First and foremost, I would not be surprised if each of us is a little self-conscious of the skills we are developing in our students and why, and what would happen to one of our students if they moved or if we moved and a new teacher was brought in. Would my students seem like the know what they SHOULD know, and what should they know?
My focus is on teaching true reading skills, getting students to read in word order, etc. I do a fair amount of oral work, but not nearly what Bob does (though perhaps one day when I feel a bit saner I might shift that way).
I never ask for conjugating or declining or principal parts on TESTS. Tests are for showing me you get the big picture and the details in context. However, I do spot test conjugating and declining on quizzes and principal parts of verbs (but NOT genitives of nouns or genders).
For instance, right now in Latin 1 we're at the end of stage 5 and about to have our "B" quiz. (I split the list into words that appear early in the chapter and those that appear late.) Vocabulary is tested in context, so if SPECTANT is in all caps in the sentence, the student must put THEY WATCH. If PUELLAE is in all caps, the student must put THE GIRLS--if it isn't plural it's half wrong. That is, from the very beginning I'm trying to teach them that they cannot learn vocabulary in isolation from context.
While warm-ups (praeparatiOnEs) may consist of conjugation practice, more often it's teaching them various strategies to *see* the details. I might list verbs like these and ask them to circle the endings and then translate:
1) coquO
2) spectAs
3) quaerit
etc
So, they would circle the -O and translate "I cook," the -s and translate "you watch," the -t and translate "he looks at." Many students, particularly younger students have difficulties in making what we think are obvious connections. They think that answers just POP into one's head, not that answer can be arrived at with thought and reason. And this same circling can earn them a point of extra credit on quizzes. One point isn't worth much, but if it slows them down enough to actually THINK about the details, then I'm helping them making a higher grade over all.
AFTER the words in context comes the target grammar--conjugating a verb. This next quiz will be a 3rd conjugation verb, a "fish hook" verb (because the vowels--o i i i i u--when lined up vertically look like a fish hook!). And we did conjugate a 3rd conjugation verb today for the warm-up.
But I don't demand that absolute perfection of being able to conjugate or decline everything in Latin 1. Most of them are still learning how to think about a language. My focus is on developing sharper recognition skills, not composition skills.
In Latin 2, I'm starting to be a bit more demanding. The first 3 declensions must be down cold by this time of year. Of course, I'm dreaming with a lot of my Latin 2's, but while we work on the participles, they are also fine-tuning their understanding of declensions and cases. But once again, my warm-ups do not focus on declining. I have quia exercises for that which they use the day before vocab quizzes (we're in the computer lab once a week prepping for what becomes my more complex vocab quizzes). Often for warm-ups I'll pull out target grammar from the passage we'll be reading. Today it was Vilbia in Stage 22, the new grammar being perfect active participles. So students had these to copy and translate:
1) puellae, pocula sordida lavantes, ...
2) vir, culinam tabernae ingressus,...
3) pater, haec verba locutus,...
etc
I'm working on getting them to see PHRASES when they read and not isolated words. (This also means that the idea of translations being graded via "chunking" on AP exams does not bother them at all because they have been studying chunking of sorts all along). Yesterday's warm-up had been similar with perfect passive participle and ablative of agents, followed by a discussion of these PASSIVE participles showing up with ablative of agents. With today's warm-up, we discussed the nature of present ACTIVE and perfect ACTIVE participles, how the action carries over to direct objects/accusatives, etc. And with that knowledge, we were able to realize that OF COURSE pocula wasn't 1st declension because we absolutely could not have a nominative there! It must be a neuter acc plural! Same with haec verba. I also have students circle the endings like the -ae of puellae and draw an arch to the -es of lavantes. We talk a lot about this nesting or arching of phrases in Latin.
And while we're working on stretching our minds to doing more sophisticated analysis and synthesis stet by step on warm-ups, we're doing simpler declining on the quizzes.
My Latin 3 class is pre-AP for the first time, and I'm actually giving them homework Mon, Tues, & Weds, plus Thurs for quiz or test on Fridays. They have all been in Latin long enough that I feel it's time to fine tune their skills. So, yes, conjugating, declining, and right now I'm teaching them about synopses. Quick checks are done via PowerPoints so I can move through them quickly and they can mark their mistakes to LEARN from them, and then on most days they will still have a warm-up, similar to the sorts of things that I demonstrated above for Latin 2--focus on seeing word groups, understanding how to disambiguate endings that could be multiple cases, and anything else I can think of to help them be solid readers of Latin. But if I'm asking them to conjugate or decline or write a synopsis of anything in particular on the quiz, there will be quia exercise to drill it home that has immediate feedback and correction. (I hate the possibility of studying the wrong thing and then having to unlearn something!)
My TESTS are structured in this manner for all levels (except AP, which look more like an AP test):
1) Sight Passage with reading comprehension questions in both Latin and English requiring short answers.
2) Translation of about 20-25 words from seen passage(s). I give them four choices and let them choose, which works out well actually and has that feeling of "fairness" to strugglers because there's never that chance of it being the one passage you didn't study.
3) grammar questions (mult choice) on the sight passage--asking case, tense, voice, mood, etc.
4) multiple choice sections targetting specific new grammar/structures (quia review available)
5) culture questions (objective) (quia review available).
But no conjugating, no declining, no synopses, no straight vocab, etc. Everything's in context.
My tests, admittedly, are a pain to grade. I can't just run everything through the scantron machine, only part. I can tell how their sight reading skills are coming along by how they answer the questions, and the spot translations make them responsible for rereading stories we read in class. And in the end, I feel like I'm developing skills that would make them successful in a variety of environments in the future. For instance, if I didn't demand at least a little translating on my tests, won't it come as a slap in the face to suddenly have to provide literally accurate Latin translations for AP? (I might add, that I do NOT ever require my Latin students to write out translations in prepping lines for class for AP. I want them to read and hopefully REREAD lines to internalize the Latin, not waste time writing out strained English translations.)
A student of mine in a college class with nothing but "go home and read the next 80 lines for class" should be successful and undaunted by the number of lines because of the reading skills I believe I'm imparting. For the class where the professor asks for a complete synposis of a particular verb in a passage, my students (post Latin 3) should be able to succeed. And if I were to be hit by a car tomorrow or suddenly have to move to San Antonio and a new grammar-first teacher came in, at least my lower level kids should be familiar enough with conjugating and declining to be able to comply without total embarrassment.
And, should a student of mine ever be lucky enough to study with Nancy Llewellyn at Wyoming Catholic College or Terrence Tunberg in Kentucky, the amount of reading aloud and simple oral questions on stories should put them in a position of at least willingness if not eagerness to go to an all-Latin environment.
(This was probably far more than you wanted, right?!)
But you asked what we do, and this is what I do.
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Assessment
Sep. 24th, 2009 | 06:21 pm
I'm on Facebook these days (Magistra Ginny Lindzey) and if nothing else, students, parents, friends and colleagues are seeing how hard I work. Ok, admittedly that's a bit narcissistic to say (as if I need some sort of recognition or approval), but I guess there are times that teachers are trash-talked so much I *do* want recognition for how hard I work. Because I know I work too hard... it's obsessive, in a way, and I cannot help myself. <sigh>
So let's talk about some of my obsessiveness.
The first thing I do that I know a lot of other teachers don't do is have written portions on my tests. Most teachers just make total multiple choice tests these days. And I don't blame them. I spent two nights working on Latin 1 tests, and that was the first "easy" test, though clearly I have a lot of strugglers this year. I'll just have to work with them somehow. But here's how my tests are structured, and I'm sure I've talked about this in previous years. (I guess I'm just trying to justify what I do an convince myself that it's worth all the grading--and I'm personally sure it is, but I'm tired too!!!)
My tests are broken up this way:
I. Reading Comprehension questions of an unseen story. (Many written or adapted by myself. I love writing funny stories about the characters in CLC.) The questions are both in Latin and English, and I demand specific answers. That is, for UBI it must be the complete prepositional phrase (in triclinio, for example). And I'm training them to not give any extra information so I can see that they truly understand the question and are not just guessing at what sentence it comes from.
II. General grammar questions (multiple choice) on items from the story.
III. Spot translation from stories we've read in the book. These are snippets of 3 or 4 stories and I let them choose which one. For instance, on the stage 1-2 test, I had a snippet from Cerberus, one from Mercator, and one from In Triclinio. About 20 words for each of them. I count this to be the equivalent of 5 questions. What's interesting about this is that students often think they are picking the easier story when they aren't.
IV. Targetted grammar drills on whatever is the new grammar in the chapter. Multiple choice. (I have quia.com drills to preview the information and help reinforce the details I'm after.)
V. Culture. (Multiple choice) I keep this section small, but I think it is important to include culture on the tests. On this test, for instance, there was a map of the house and information about Caecilius's typical day. This information is also previewed in quia.com, targeting information I think is important.
So, what's good about the way I test? I can tell you what's bad--takes a long time to grade!!
But what's good is this:
I. Reading Comprehension: I can see if they are tracking a new story accurately, and if they understand how the questions can guide them through a story, etc. It is application of learned information, but not relying on a cold translation. Just comprehension.
II. General Grammar: I can see if they are keeping up with their comprehension of grammar--for instance, in later tests there will be tense and case questions, etc, as we keep adding information. It also shows me if they take the time to check the word in question in the context of the sentence or allows me to teach them the importance of checking the word in the context of a sentence (that words do not just exist in isolation, so to speak).
III. Translation of known passages: part of this is to see whether they can translate fluently and accurately. I'm also trying to teach them and reinforce the importance of rereading stories. Plus a lot of students can recognize the correct answer in multiple choice; at some point I need to see what they can do totally on their own.
IV. Targetted grammar with quia.com support: although questions are generally previewed via quia.com, this can still be a tricky section for students. And often it is when students are doing the quia that I am able to walk up behind, figure out where the student is going wrong and give them one-on-one feedback besides the feedback from the computer. Sometimes this is exactly when the information clicks for students too.
V. Culture. Well, there are probably better ways to emphasize culture. I just don't want a test without culture because it is so important in understanding how the Romans thought.
Anyway.
I also think that if I don't start getting them to do questions and write out translations on tests now, how can I possibly prepare them for the likes of the AP exam? I mean, if everything is multiple choice up until that time, how is a student prepared for that??
MY QUIZZES....
Mainly vocab, always in context, but also includes a little target declining and conjugating. Total quia preparation to see/understand what I'm targetting and why. My good students really understand why I do things the way I do, and do internalize the details. And as the level of Latin increases, so do the amount of words for each blank. That is, I require whole phrases to be defined--chunking. Yeah, it ends up being like chunking so that when I explain that the Vergil translations are graded via chunking, they have no problem with it. It's how the vocab quizzes have been all along.
And this year I'm adding back....
ORAL RECITATIONS.
This is so simple and so worthwhile. I just have a couple of sentences or so pretyped from the first story of each stage. We practice saying it in class together and then I go around and just have them read it to me. I grade it on a rubric, and it makes them work a tiny bit harder on pronunciation. I heard a lot of good Latin today... I was really pleased.
Anyway, this all takes so much time and work to do right. But I want to make sure that each successive group of students I graduate is better prepared than the last. I have to teach them better, somehow, and make them more able to be successful in future Latin courses.
Ok, part of me just doesn't want them to seem ill-prepared for future Latin courses. I don't think my first group of graduates from Dripping were as well equipped as I would have liked. So each year I try to figure out how to produce a better prepared student. This year I'm using the fact that my Latin 3 class is pre-AP to torture them with drill and kill conjugating and declining, and in some ways I'm glad I waited to pile on this stuff until they were juniors and seniors--so much more mature, and so much more appreciative of WHY I'm making them do it.
Right. I need to get back to grading. I guess I just needed to justify what I do. Remind myself that I am not just being obsessive.
One thing I feel I am doing right is trying at all times to take into consideration what will happen to the student AFTER he/she leaves my classroom, whether he/she goes on to another teacher or on to college. I'm not just preparing them to pass AP; I'm trying to prepare them to be SOLID READERS (*not* decoders!) of Latin so that they can succeed in any Latin class that comes in front of them.
<sigh>
So let's talk about some of my obsessiveness.
The first thing I do that I know a lot of other teachers don't do is have written portions on my tests. Most teachers just make total multiple choice tests these days. And I don't blame them. I spent two nights working on Latin 1 tests, and that was the first "easy" test, though clearly I have a lot of strugglers this year. I'll just have to work with them somehow. But here's how my tests are structured, and I'm sure I've talked about this in previous years. (I guess I'm just trying to justify what I do an convince myself that it's worth all the grading--and I'm personally sure it is, but I'm tired too!!!)
My tests are broken up this way:
I. Reading Comprehension questions of an unseen story. (Many written or adapted by myself. I love writing funny stories about the characters in CLC.) The questions are both in Latin and English, and I demand specific answers. That is, for UBI it must be the complete prepositional phrase (in triclinio, for example). And I'm training them to not give any extra information so I can see that they truly understand the question and are not just guessing at what sentence it comes from.
II. General grammar questions (multiple choice) on items from the story.
III. Spot translation from stories we've read in the book. These are snippets of 3 or 4 stories and I let them choose which one. For instance, on the stage 1-2 test, I had a snippet from Cerberus, one from Mercator, and one from In Triclinio. About 20 words for each of them. I count this to be the equivalent of 5 questions. What's interesting about this is that students often think they are picking the easier story when they aren't.
IV. Targetted grammar drills on whatever is the new grammar in the chapter. Multiple choice. (I have quia.com drills to preview the information and help reinforce the details I'm after.)
V. Culture. (Multiple choice) I keep this section small, but I think it is important to include culture on the tests. On this test, for instance, there was a map of the house and information about Caecilius's typical day. This information is also previewed in quia.com, targeting information I think is important.
So, what's good about the way I test? I can tell you what's bad--takes a long time to grade!!
But what's good is this:
I. Reading Comprehension: I can see if they are tracking a new story accurately, and if they understand how the questions can guide them through a story, etc. It is application of learned information, but not relying on a cold translation. Just comprehension.
II. General Grammar: I can see if they are keeping up with their comprehension of grammar--for instance, in later tests there will be tense and case questions, etc, as we keep adding information. It also shows me if they take the time to check the word in question in the context of the sentence or allows me to teach them the importance of checking the word in the context of a sentence (that words do not just exist in isolation, so to speak).
III. Translation of known passages: part of this is to see whether they can translate fluently and accurately. I'm also trying to teach them and reinforce the importance of rereading stories. Plus a lot of students can recognize the correct answer in multiple choice; at some point I need to see what they can do totally on their own.
IV. Targetted grammar with quia.com support: although questions are generally previewed via quia.com, this can still be a tricky section for students. And often it is when students are doing the quia that I am able to walk up behind, figure out where the student is going wrong and give them one-on-one feedback besides the feedback from the computer. Sometimes this is exactly when the information clicks for students too.
V. Culture. Well, there are probably better ways to emphasize culture. I just don't want a test without culture because it is so important in understanding how the Romans thought.
Anyway.
I also think that if I don't start getting them to do questions and write out translations on tests now, how can I possibly prepare them for the likes of the AP exam? I mean, if everything is multiple choice up until that time, how is a student prepared for that??
MY QUIZZES....
Mainly vocab, always in context, but also includes a little target declining and conjugating. Total quia preparation to see/understand what I'm targetting and why. My good students really understand why I do things the way I do, and do internalize the details. And as the level of Latin increases, so do the amount of words for each blank. That is, I require whole phrases to be defined--chunking. Yeah, it ends up being like chunking so that when I explain that the Vergil translations are graded via chunking, they have no problem with it. It's how the vocab quizzes have been all along.
And this year I'm adding back....
ORAL RECITATIONS.
This is so simple and so worthwhile. I just have a couple of sentences or so pretyped from the first story of each stage. We practice saying it in class together and then I go around and just have them read it to me. I grade it on a rubric, and it makes them work a tiny bit harder on pronunciation. I heard a lot of good Latin today... I was really pleased.
Anyway, this all takes so much time and work to do right. But I want to make sure that each successive group of students I graduate is better prepared than the last. I have to teach them better, somehow, and make them more able to be successful in future Latin courses.
Ok, part of me just doesn't want them to seem ill-prepared for future Latin courses. I don't think my first group of graduates from Dripping were as well equipped as I would have liked. So each year I try to figure out how to produce a better prepared student. This year I'm using the fact that my Latin 3 class is pre-AP to torture them with drill and kill conjugating and declining, and in some ways I'm glad I waited to pile on this stuff until they were juniors and seniors--so much more mature, and so much more appreciative of WHY I'm making them do it.
Right. I need to get back to grading. I guess I just needed to justify what I do. Remind myself that I am not just being obsessive.
One thing I feel I am doing right is trying at all times to take into consideration what will happen to the student AFTER he/she leaves my classroom, whether he/she goes on to another teacher or on to college. I'm not just preparing them to pass AP; I'm trying to prepare them to be SOLID READERS (*not* decoders!) of Latin so that they can succeed in any Latin class that comes in front of them.
<sigh>
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Questioning What I Do
Aug. 27th, 2009 | 12:24 pm
It's the beginning of the year. Nothing has really gone as planned. I'm not good with beginnings of the year. It's really the Latin 2 and 3 reviews (or lack thereof) that's bothering me, because I kept thinking I could get computer lab time. But that just hasn't happened. Problems with scheduling. And construction in the building. And new personnel wanting to do things differently.
But really I'm posting about what I do in Latin 1. I know so many people that just dive into the book on day 1 or day 2. I do other things. The end result though is I'm always a bit behind other people/teachers. We do some conversational Latin stuff (what's your name, how are you, thank you, etc etc), practice these by doing a skit that I wrote, then learn formal pronunciation, do numbers, then finally start the book. The good thing about this is that it gives a chance for students to switch in and out of class and settle their schedules. But then I'm always questioning whether I should do these things.
I do a pronunciation/syllabification worksheet at the beginning of every year. My goal is that when they are finally in AP Vergil, that learning scansion should be easier. Should be. Well... I like my worksheet; I like what I do... but am I wasting time on something no one else seems to bother with?
And yet, I must be doing something right. I had a decent number of medals for NLE last year and my program is bursting at the seams. In fact I'm overwhelmed because this year student schedules really didn't work well and I have too many doing independent study. I can't plan well. This is becoming very frustrating.
But I've learned not to let it get to me. Just to take each day as it comes. The students are reacting well to the start of the year, so that seems ok to me....maybe I'm just over thinking it.
But really I'm posting about what I do in Latin 1. I know so many people that just dive into the book on day 1 or day 2. I do other things. The end result though is I'm always a bit behind other people/teachers. We do some conversational Latin stuff (what's your name, how are you, thank you, etc etc), practice these by doing a skit that I wrote, then learn formal pronunciation, do numbers, then finally start the book. The good thing about this is that it gives a chance for students to switch in and out of class and settle their schedules. But then I'm always questioning whether I should do these things.
I do a pronunciation/syllabification worksheet at the beginning of every year. My goal is that when they are finally in AP Vergil, that learning scansion should be easier. Should be. Well... I like my worksheet; I like what I do... but am I wasting time on something no one else seems to bother with?
And yet, I must be doing something right. I had a decent number of medals for NLE last year and my program is bursting at the seams. In fact I'm overwhelmed because this year student schedules really didn't work well and I have too many doing independent study. I can't plan well. This is becoming very frustrating.
But I've learned not to let it get to me. Just to take each day as it comes. The students are reacting well to the start of the year, so that seems ok to me....maybe I'm just over thinking it.
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Sponge Activities for Latin
Aug. 5th, 2009 | 02:45 pm
This was a reply I posted just a little while ago on Latinteach. Thought it might be worth posting here.
***
With regard to sponge activities, for me it's about WHEN I need them.
In a crunch, I always have my vocab flashcards, which I regularly use as part of the early segment of class. But sometimes I will use those at the end. I also have some games that can soak up that tiny bit of time.
BUT I have to admit that at the end of last year, my favorite sponge activity was turning on my projector which is connected to my computer, and reading a Tar Heel Reader or two with my students. With the lights off and often amusing or delightful pictures on the big screen, students stayed relatively calm and in their seats--and engaged in Latin.
I know that a bunch more Tar Heel readers have been added this summer, which I haven't yet had a chance to look at, so there are PLENTY to have ready in a pinch.
ALSO, at Rusticatio, Nancy "Annula" Llewellyn had some great little flyswatter grids of large numbers, like 80, 88, 808, 18 (just four at a time), and then she'd say the number in Latin. Great way to develop more careful listening skills and to work those numbers that rarely come up in the textbook, but which are more useful orally. I made up a few of these grids for PowerPoints, also with the idea that I might put them up in a flash. No reason why you can't review your favorite mottoes that way, either.
Oral games like Simon Dicit can be used in a flash, building vocabulary for body parts and such as well as reviewing imperatives.
Having a few interesting pictures ready to put up on a transparency or a PowerPoint that you can ask Latin questions about are always useful. (quid vides/videtis? est mons, ningit, multi populi sunt in pictura, etc) Better than any old picture, keep handy images from, say, the Ara Pacis. Nancy used a picture from that to discuss in Latin not only the imperial family but who was primus vir, secundus vir, prima femina, secunda filia, tertius filius, etc. One other nice thing about having such pictures (note to self: make a folder with easy access to such pictures to project!) is that you can have them projected for the person who finishes the quiz/test first and ask students to write down as many things in Latin as you can about the picture--or, in fact, as many questions as you can. If a student doesn't know who or what is in the picture, why not write "quis est? cur est in turba? quot liberi sunt in pictura? quot viri? quot femina?" etc.
One thing that is ALWAYS important to make clear in class is that YOUR class is not for doing OTHER homework in. There is not a race to get done with the Latin assignment so that algebra can be done. Finished with the Latin assignment? Great. Look at this picture and tell me what you see.....
Remember to learn to think beyond your textbook. Consider what students want to learn too, and fit those things into sponge activities. Academic Rigor isn't about how much homework you pile on; it's about how much you challenge a student to think and grow in his/her higher level thinking. Sponge activities can be simple low level knowledge stuff, like vocab flashcards or mottoes, but it can be more. It is also one of those places where you can differentiate instruction, challenging the more advanced students to write in complete sentences using relative clauses or something. For other students it will be enough to formulate what they see in Latin.
***
With regard to sponge activities, for me it's about WHEN I need them.
In a crunch, I always have my vocab flashcards, which I regularly use as part of the early segment of class. But sometimes I will use those at the end. I also have some games that can soak up that tiny bit of time.
BUT I have to admit that at the end of last year, my favorite sponge activity was turning on my projector which is connected to my computer, and reading a Tar Heel Reader or two with my students. With the lights off and often amusing or delightful pictures on the big screen, students stayed relatively calm and in their seats--and engaged in Latin.
I know that a bunch more Tar Heel readers have been added this summer, which I haven't yet had a chance to look at, so there are PLENTY to have ready in a pinch.
ALSO, at Rusticatio, Nancy "Annula" Llewellyn had some great little flyswatter grids of large numbers, like 80, 88, 808, 18 (just four at a time), and then she'd say the number in Latin. Great way to develop more careful listening skills and to work those numbers that rarely come up in the textbook, but which are more useful orally. I made up a few of these grids for PowerPoints, also with the idea that I might put them up in a flash. No reason why you can't review your favorite mottoes that way, either.
Oral games like Simon Dicit can be used in a flash, building vocabulary for body parts and such as well as reviewing imperatives.
Having a few interesting pictures ready to put up on a transparency or a PowerPoint that you can ask Latin questions about are always useful. (quid vides/videtis? est mons, ningit, multi populi sunt in pictura, etc) Better than any old picture, keep handy images from, say, the Ara Pacis. Nancy used a picture from that to discuss in Latin not only the imperial family but who was primus vir, secundus vir, prima femina, secunda filia, tertius filius, etc. One other nice thing about having such pictures (note to self: make a folder with easy access to such pictures to project!) is that you can have them projected for the person who finishes the quiz/test first and ask students to write down as many things in Latin as you can about the picture--or, in fact, as many questions as you can. If a student doesn't know who or what is in the picture, why not write "quis est? cur est in turba? quot liberi sunt in pictura? quot viri? quot femina?" etc.
One thing that is ALWAYS important to make clear in class is that YOUR class is not for doing OTHER homework in. There is not a race to get done with the Latin assignment so that algebra can be done. Finished with the Latin assignment? Great. Look at this picture and tell me what you see.....
Remember to learn to think beyond your textbook. Consider what students want to learn too, and fit those things into sponge activities. Academic Rigor isn't about how much homework you pile on; it's about how much you challenge a student to think and grow in his/her higher level thinking. Sponge activities can be simple low level knowledge stuff, like vocab flashcards or mottoes, but it can be more. It is also one of those places where you can differentiate instruction, challenging the more advanced students to write in complete sentences using relative clauses or something. For other students it will be enough to formulate what they see in Latin.
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school approaches... (are you thinking about teaching?)
Aug. 4th, 2009 | 08:35 pm
It's August. I'm not sure how it got here. Last I looked it was mid/late June and I was working on AP materials. Then it was mid July and I was at Rusticatio Virginiana, speaking Latin 24/7 and learning how to run more effective oral drills in class (gosh, Nancy Llewellyn is such a master!) at a week long retreat. Then it was home to work feverishly on a massive overhaul on Lindsey Davis's website (www.lindseydavis.co.uk - it seems to have problems with the browser Firefox for some reason). I just posted the new design today.
And now, my gosh, I have to start getting ready for school! My family is supposed to go on vacation at the end of this week (still discussing the length of the vacation) and the week before school starts I'm going to London for a friend's 60th birthday. So, omigosh, it's time to start thinking about school.
One thing I'm doing is diving into the "moodles" that have been set up to cover some of the topics usually addressed during in-service. Most teachers really want time to work in their rooms, organizing it physically, getting up posters and whatnot. Ok, it doesn't sound like much, but we have to pack up EVERYTHING at the end of the year so each room can be emptied, floors waxed, etc. So, I have bookshelves to fill and organize. Decide on the arrangement of desks, which really is important in a language classroom. Determine where the AP/Latin 4's will work if there's really going to be 28 Latin 3's. (I usually only keep 28 desks in my room.) Setting up worthwhile bulletin boards takes time. Deciding the most effective place for posters--because my posters are important pictures of Rome or Pompeii, etc. If I have time, I've labeled the room in Latin.
I like to also put post it notes on the desks of who sits where. It is important that you, as a teacher, set the stage from the very beginning of who is in charge of the room, and that includes who decides where the students sit. This isn't college; students aren't necessarily in your room because they really want to be there. But who knows whether I'll even have my rosters in time to decide that. (That is, if I'm in London when the rosters are finally set and posted! But maybe I can get mine online while I'm there....)
Then there are all the first day papers and such that must be done, including syllabus, procedures, any late passes and whatnot, etc. We're also supposed to write out our first 3 weeks of lesson plans. (Ideally, ok, yeah this should be done... do I get this done? I'd like it if I did, but the only detailed syllabus I have written out is for AP because no matter what those 1800 lines have to be covered. I like being more flexible with Latin 1 and 2, to meet the needs of students. And, ok, I'm just not that organized. No time to be that organized, mainly because there's just so many things to do.
And what about those "moodles"? Well, these are the topics--many of which would be topics covered during in-service. Schools districts are required by law to cover many of these. Some will seem like just more education classes, many of which people didn't like the first time. I'm open-minded and like to think about things seriously to consider why certain philsophies (or whatever you want to call them) keep coming back. Maybe there's something to them. Tell you what; let's look at the list. I would actually post the moodle link so people could explore these topics and the information provided, but it's password protected. I respect that. If you aren't currently teaching and are only thinking of teaching Latin, you may be surprised at these things and even at first think that some don't have anything to do with what you do in your classroom. But if you want to teach Latin, you can't just love Latin; you have to love teaching to--all of it. Ok, maybe not every single bit, but you have to understand that it's like having a baby. Babies are cute (esp when asleep or laughing), but you still have to change diapers....
Topics covered:
1) Professional Development Appraisal System annual update: This is the appraisal system that I believe is used throughout the state of Texas. The update/review is to remind teachers of the procedures with regard to evaluations, plus how to appropriately appeal an evaluation, protections under the law, etc. Having once been on the unfair end of an evaluation that was hijacked from my appraiser by a principal who was retaliating against me for desperately trying to get the district to understand the dangerous situations at our school (I had broken up a gang fight in a girl's restroom--pretty scarry), I wish I had known then all of my rights, in particular the nature of the time-table for appeals. For instance, if you feel your principal is being unfair, you can request another evaluation which would be done by the principal at the middle school. It is sooooo easy to get complacent about these things if you already feel you are a solid if not truly good teacher; but if you value and respect your own work, you need to value and respect how this works.
2) Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Fair Use: Teachers are often assuming anything they do in the classroom can be considered "fair use" (that is, photocopying and distributing materials from a variety of sources, etc), but more and more court cases are teaching teachers that they need a better understanding of the law. Oh so true.
3) Sexual Harassment: Always a good topic to clarify, even if you think it is dirt obvious.
4) Pest Management: Truly this is about pests such as insects or mice, etc. The problem: teachers might want to spray or set their own traps, but you just cannot do this in a school where you must consider the health of the students who could react to pesticides. So, yes, this has to be addressed. (And better in a moodle than wasting time that could be better spent in your classroom.)
5) Crisis Response Procedure: This of course covers everything from tornados to gunmen, chemical spills, etc. Also good to have in a moodle and not repeated in in-service. It's important information but we have this information. It should be reviewed every year but it doesn't need to take up prep time.
6) Response-to-Intervention: Program, Monitoring, & Documentation: This is the one I'm on now. I'm finding it interesting but it raises a lot of questions in my mind. Here's a related link: http://www.rtinetwork.org. This is addressing the issue of kids falling through the cracks. We simply can't afford it anymore and this provides a, what, management system to address the problem and use various types of interventions. As always, there seems to be a lot of pressure on the classroom teacher to do the majority of the interventions and different instructional strategies, which some will seem as onerous. Others will, I'm sure, simply ignore this. But it raises in my mind numerous questions on teaching style to begin with. I haven't finished the moodle and this is a new topic for me, but I'm not writing it off until I truly ponder it and think about how it might apply in my Latin classes--specifically who could have benefitted from these interventions last year, how it could have made different outcomes (or not), etc.
I haven't gone through any of the following but can provide some information:
7) Basic info on the software we use for grades, attendance; copier, phones, etc: just how to get the most out of our equipment.
8) Standards, TEKS, College Readiness, and ELPS (English Limited Proficienct Standards, I believe): These are all the different instruments and issues that govern how a school is viewed and specifically how a teacher's performance (or rather, student's performance) is viewed. Are we addressing the standards for our discipline and are we covering the TEKS, are my students ready for College Latin and college in general, and have I done my best by my English limited students--all things I really do think about.
9) Sheltered Instruction and Peer Coaching (ok, I honestly don't remember sheltered instruction but it has to do with either ELP students or low SES students) and I can guess about peer coaching, but I definitely want to review this moodle.
10) Student Friendly Learning Objectives: That is, you as a teacher may have written your objective on the board, but do your students understand it? (I think that's what this is.) Students learn best if they know why they are reading something and what you want them to get out of it. It's common sense, but not always done.
11) Student Level of Thinking (Bloom's Taxonomy): Some people hate Bloom's Taxonomy, but some years back I started really thinking about Blooms and how it applied to Latin and came to the realization of why there is often such a disconnect with a student's knowledge of Latin vocab and endings and their ability to read a sentence of Latin. Knowledge level information is easy; application and synthesis is more difficult. Therefore one of the things I am constantly striving to do is to help students make that transition to higher level thinking.
12) How are we Assessing Student Learning? Another one I'm looking forward to going through, because I know that grades just aren't enough, esp grades on only quizzes and tests. And yet, that's the majority of the grades I give. But that's for another discussion. (This one is getting long enough.
13) Student Engagement: This is something I excel in. I must or I wouldn't have 150+ students signed up this year. And frankly, if I couldn't engage the students, I couldn't teach them. If they start getting a glazed look, I know I'm lecturing. that's not active learning.
14) LEarning Environment: This gets back to why it truly IS important to set up your room in a way that truly fosters learning and students wanting to be there.
15) Academic Vocabulary: Not sure about this one; will let you knwo when I know.
16) Marzano's Instrucitonal Strategies: Same with this one.
17) How to Communicate with Parents: probably about learning how to diffuse angry or offensive parents. Or perhaps defensive parents. :)
18) Academic Dishonesty: Something our school takes very seriously, esp with research papers.
19) Failure is not an Option: And what is your first reaction as a Latin teacher? I was at a workshop summer before last when one person was bragging that she had failed something like 20 students, arguing that that demonstrated academic rigor in her course. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to upset her, but it demonstrated to me that she believes there is only one way to learn: "my way or the highway". I'm sure she loves Latin, but does she truly love students, or only the students who were brainiacs like most assuredly she was? I just wonder. The only students who end up failing my class are students who just totally shut down and don't try and sleep through class. A couple a year.
20) Understanding by Design: Not sure, though I've heard of it.
21) Differentiated Instruction: This is about recognizing that some students can handle more challenging versions of the assignment and some need a more watered-down version (because of, for instance, a learning disability). I've seen/heard of really brilliant examples in a colleague's Latin class, but I admit I rarely do this--not because I don't want to, but because it takes planning and I already have 4 preps. But this year I don't have any "new to me" classes so maybe, just maybe....
22) Classroom Management: just when you think you've got it under control you get a new group of students that confound what you used to do.... yeah, one of my weaknesses. Usually just the pace of what we do can drive my classes, but every now and then one or two students will undermine what I had in mind, often not meaning any harm but still causing damage none the less. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to doing this moodle. maybe I'll do it after the R-T-I one.
It is very easy to think that Education courses or even some or much of the above has little to do with what we do in a Latin classroom. But I think this is wrong. I think more than ever we should NOT be using Latin as a weed-out course but teaching it in a way that reaches more students and transports more students through the various levels of Latin to AP in a meaningful way. I don't mean passing them on paper. I truly mean teaching them, but also understanding that not every single AP student needs to be able to conjugate every irregular verb met.
But more on that another time. This is enough for tonight and for getting my head back into the game. Kick-off is soon. Time to return to practice!
And now, my gosh, I have to start getting ready for school! My family is supposed to go on vacation at the end of this week (still discussing the length of the vacation) and the week before school starts I'm going to London for a friend's 60th birthday. So, omigosh, it's time to start thinking about school.
One thing I'm doing is diving into the "moodles" that have been set up to cover some of the topics usually addressed during in-service. Most teachers really want time to work in their rooms, organizing it physically, getting up posters and whatnot. Ok, it doesn't sound like much, but we have to pack up EVERYTHING at the end of the year so each room can be emptied, floors waxed, etc. So, I have bookshelves to fill and organize. Decide on the arrangement of desks, which really is important in a language classroom. Determine where the AP/Latin 4's will work if there's really going to be 28 Latin 3's. (I usually only keep 28 desks in my room.) Setting up worthwhile bulletin boards takes time. Deciding the most effective place for posters--because my posters are important pictures of Rome or Pompeii, etc. If I have time, I've labeled the room in Latin.
I like to also put post it notes on the desks of who sits where. It is important that you, as a teacher, set the stage from the very beginning of who is in charge of the room, and that includes who decides where the students sit. This isn't college; students aren't necessarily in your room because they really want to be there. But who knows whether I'll even have my rosters in time to decide that. (That is, if I'm in London when the rosters are finally set and posted! But maybe I can get mine online while I'm there....)
Then there are all the first day papers and such that must be done, including syllabus, procedures, any late passes and whatnot, etc. We're also supposed to write out our first 3 weeks of lesson plans. (Ideally, ok, yeah this should be done... do I get this done? I'd like it if I did, but the only detailed syllabus I have written out is for AP because no matter what those 1800 lines have to be covered. I like being more flexible with Latin 1 and 2, to meet the needs of students. And, ok, I'm just not that organized. No time to be that organized, mainly because there's just so many things to do.
And what about those "moodles"? Well, these are the topics--many of which would be topics covered during in-service. Schools districts are required by law to cover many of these. Some will seem like just more education classes, many of which people didn't like the first time. I'm open-minded and like to think about things seriously to consider why certain philsophies (or whatever you want to call them) keep coming back. Maybe there's something to them. Tell you what; let's look at the list. I would actually post the moodle link so people could explore these topics and the information provided, but it's password protected. I respect that. If you aren't currently teaching and are only thinking of teaching Latin, you may be surprised at these things and even at first think that some don't have anything to do with what you do in your classroom. But if you want to teach Latin, you can't just love Latin; you have to love teaching to--all of it. Ok, maybe not every single bit, but you have to understand that it's like having a baby. Babies are cute (esp when asleep or laughing), but you still have to change diapers....
Topics covered:
1) Professional Development Appraisal System annual update: This is the appraisal system that I believe is used throughout the state of Texas. The update/review is to remind teachers of the procedures with regard to evaluations, plus how to appropriately appeal an evaluation, protections under the law, etc. Having once been on the unfair end of an evaluation that was hijacked from my appraiser by a principal who was retaliating against me for desperately trying to get the district to understand the dangerous situations at our school (I had broken up a gang fight in a girl's restroom--pretty scarry), I wish I had known then all of my rights, in particular the nature of the time-table for appeals. For instance, if you feel your principal is being unfair, you can request another evaluation which would be done by the principal at the middle school. It is sooooo easy to get complacent about these things if you already feel you are a solid if not truly good teacher; but if you value and respect your own work, you need to value and respect how this works.
2) Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Fair Use: Teachers are often assuming anything they do in the classroom can be considered "fair use" (that is, photocopying and distributing materials from a variety of sources, etc), but more and more court cases are teaching teachers that they need a better understanding of the law. Oh so true.
3) Sexual Harassment: Always a good topic to clarify, even if you think it is dirt obvious.
4) Pest Management: Truly this is about pests such as insects or mice, etc. The problem: teachers might want to spray or set their own traps, but you just cannot do this in a school where you must consider the health of the students who could react to pesticides. So, yes, this has to be addressed. (And better in a moodle than wasting time that could be better spent in your classroom.)
5) Crisis Response Procedure: This of course covers everything from tornados to gunmen, chemical spills, etc. Also good to have in a moodle and not repeated in in-service. It's important information but we have this information. It should be reviewed every year but it doesn't need to take up prep time.
6) Response-to-Intervention: Program, Monitoring, & Documentation: This is the one I'm on now. I'm finding it interesting but it raises a lot of questions in my mind. Here's a related link: http://www.rtinetwork.org. This is addressing the issue of kids falling through the cracks. We simply can't afford it anymore and this provides a, what, management system to address the problem and use various types of interventions. As always, there seems to be a lot of pressure on the classroom teacher to do the majority of the interventions and different instructional strategies, which some will seem as onerous. Others will, I'm sure, simply ignore this. But it raises in my mind numerous questions on teaching style to begin with. I haven't finished the moodle and this is a new topic for me, but I'm not writing it off until I truly ponder it and think about how it might apply in my Latin classes--specifically who could have benefitted from these interventions last year, how it could have made different outcomes (or not), etc.
I haven't gone through any of the following but can provide some information:
7) Basic info on the software we use for grades, attendance; copier, phones, etc: just how to get the most out of our equipment.
8) Standards, TEKS, College Readiness, and ELPS (English Limited Proficienct Standards, I believe): These are all the different instruments and issues that govern how a school is viewed and specifically how a teacher's performance (or rather, student's performance) is viewed. Are we addressing the standards for our discipline and are we covering the TEKS, are my students ready for College Latin and college in general, and have I done my best by my English limited students--all things I really do think about.
9) Sheltered Instruction and Peer Coaching (ok, I honestly don't remember sheltered instruction but it has to do with either ELP students or low SES students) and I can guess about peer coaching, but I definitely want to review this moodle.
10) Student Friendly Learning Objectives: That is, you as a teacher may have written your objective on the board, but do your students understand it? (I think that's what this is.) Students learn best if they know why they are reading something and what you want them to get out of it. It's common sense, but not always done.
11) Student Level of Thinking (Bloom's Taxonomy): Some people hate Bloom's Taxonomy, but some years back I started really thinking about Blooms and how it applied to Latin and came to the realization of why there is often such a disconnect with a student's knowledge of Latin vocab and endings and their ability to read a sentence of Latin. Knowledge level information is easy; application and synthesis is more difficult. Therefore one of the things I am constantly striving to do is to help students make that transition to higher level thinking.
12) How are we Assessing Student Learning? Another one I'm looking forward to going through, because I know that grades just aren't enough, esp grades on only quizzes and tests. And yet, that's the majority of the grades I give. But that's for another discussion. (This one is getting long enough.
13) Student Engagement: This is something I excel in. I must or I wouldn't have 150+ students signed up this year. And frankly, if I couldn't engage the students, I couldn't teach them. If they start getting a glazed look, I know I'm lecturing. that's not active learning.
14) LEarning Environment: This gets back to why it truly IS important to set up your room in a way that truly fosters learning and students wanting to be there.
15) Academic Vocabulary: Not sure about this one; will let you knwo when I know.
16) Marzano's Instrucitonal Strategies: Same with this one.
17) How to Communicate with Parents: probably about learning how to diffuse angry or offensive parents. Or perhaps defensive parents. :)
18) Academic Dishonesty: Something our school takes very seriously, esp with research papers.
19) Failure is not an Option: And what is your first reaction as a Latin teacher? I was at a workshop summer before last when one person was bragging that she had failed something like 20 students, arguing that that demonstrated academic rigor in her course. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to upset her, but it demonstrated to me that she believes there is only one way to learn: "my way or the highway". I'm sure she loves Latin, but does she truly love students, or only the students who were brainiacs like most assuredly she was? I just wonder. The only students who end up failing my class are students who just totally shut down and don't try and sleep through class. A couple a year.
20) Understanding by Design: Not sure, though I've heard of it.
21) Differentiated Instruction: This is about recognizing that some students can handle more challenging versions of the assignment and some need a more watered-down version (because of, for instance, a learning disability). I've seen/heard of really brilliant examples in a colleague's Latin class, but I admit I rarely do this--not because I don't want to, but because it takes planning and I already have 4 preps. But this year I don't have any "new to me" classes so maybe, just maybe....
22) Classroom Management: just when you think you've got it under control you get a new group of students that confound what you used to do.... yeah, one of my weaknesses. Usually just the pace of what we do can drive my classes, but every now and then one or two students will undermine what I had in mind, often not meaning any harm but still causing damage none the less. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to doing this moodle. maybe I'll do it after the R-T-I one.
It is very easy to think that Education courses or even some or much of the above has little to do with what we do in a Latin classroom. But I think this is wrong. I think more than ever we should NOT be using Latin as a weed-out course but teaching it in a way that reaches more students and transports more students through the various levels of Latin to AP in a meaningful way. I don't mean passing them on paper. I truly mean teaching them, but also understanding that not every single AP student needs to be able to conjugate every irregular verb met.
But more on that another time. This is enough for tonight and for getting my head back into the game. Kick-off is soon. Time to return to practice!
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working on Aeneid stuff
Jun. 30th, 2009 | 09:27 pm
So, I've spent most of the summer so far working on my Aeneid syllabus and making materials I want to use for this year.
Basically I'm creating a lot of work for myself. In some ways. But I have two aims in mind: 1) have LESS work to do for AP during the year so that it will be almost all pleasure to teach, and 2) create ways to help all of my AP students be successful. And, yes, I could just blow off this summer, and just kick it all into high gear next school year, but I want to be able to go to my Tae Kwon Do class this year (I didn't all of last year, and I really missed it).
The first thing I've done is revised my syllabus to fit with next year's calendar and to switch the assignments from being weekly to daily. That is, I've gone through and broken down the lines by day, scheduled quizzes, review, and enrichment activities. If we can't do everything, so be it. It's not set in stone. What my students need will really guide me. I even added topics covered for each week so that I can see at a glance when we get to X doing Y in the story.
Of course, revising my schedule in this kind of detail has been time consuming, but if you don't have to cheat (that is, because you are new and really need to use someone else's syllabus to get you off the ground and running), it is so worthwhile. I'd like to think that if I were doing a masters of teaching in Latin that this might a sort of project that I would do. (I have no idea what projects MAT programs do, outside of the CANE resource materials.) And I don't just mean revising my syllabus. I'm thinking about the whole student.
High school students, unlike college students, in general don't own their textbooks thus they cannot write in them. I know there are some people that would never write in any book. I know there are some that would cram English above every line of Latin. I do not do the latter nor would I ever advocate that. HOWEVER, I would definitely advocate marking phrasing and whatnot, and for particularly difficult lines make notes in the margins. This past year I really wanted my Latin 3 students to see phrasing and therefore typed out all the stories we read in Unit 4 (but only Unit 4 of CLC), double-spaced it, and gave it to the students to write on. The idea was that we'd use ONLY the book in class (clean text) but that they could study from their notes. It worked ok.
So, one of the things I'm doing is copying and pasting the lines of Vergil from www.thelatinlibrary.com into assignment sheets that would last for each week. (Of course, this will probably need tweeking each year; will this be worth it?) What I want is for students NOT to TRANSLATE every damn word onto paper. This is NOT a class on turning Latin into English. I want to promote READING. I want to help students develop READING skills and to do so help them learn to see phrases and clauses and THE BIG PICTURE while keeping mindful of all the details. I'm also creating a reading log that they will need to maintain for a homework grade. If I punch holes in these sheets and continuously encourage careful storage of them, then students will have created their own review materials to cram from before the exam. My students this last year had, well, nothing but quizzes and tests to look at. Not good enough.
I'm also including on the print-outs small sections in bold to be translated into good English PLUS prepared for oral recitation. Oh, and scanned. Weekly. I'm going through a website that has all the old AP questions in order to target passages that have been asked and may well be targetted again. So the passages that will be key passages for review come exam time should be the passages that they are the most familiar with. Sounds good in theory, at least.
Finally, I'm working in at least essay prep (if not full essay writing) in some compare/contrast stuff--previous AP questions that asked for students to look at two passages. I'm also going to do this with comparing a passage and a work of art or some famous person's translation. I want to mark these passages too (in italics or something) on the sheets of text I'm working on.
I know I can't do it all this summer, and in fact I really need to turn my attention to something else I want to do with my level 1-3 classes this year (more in another post), but to me it's all about finding a way to teach successfully. One might say that I'm doing half the work for the students, that other teachers would just make the students write out or type out the lines themselves (I know of one teacher who does). But these are students that also are in extracurricular activities and other AP classes. This isn't like college where students are in classes for a few hours each day and have the rest of the day off to study and prepare. I poured HOURS AND HOURS into preparing my lines for my Latin classes in college. HOURS AND HOURS.
I'm into reality. I don't want my students saying to me that they like Latin until AP because AP was soooo much hard work. I want them to think of it as challenging, but not impossible. I want them to feel like they've accomplished something grand, you know?
Anyway. That's what I'm doing this summer.
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and another year is done / thoughts on teaching The Aeneid
Jun. 9th, 2009 | 07:11 pm
Some things strike me the same. That is, what was my biggest problem this year? As always, classroom management. I had a couple of years where I felt totally on charge, but not lately. Not in Dripping. For the most part, I don't need much out in Drip; the kids are for the most parat well-behaved.
But my own sheer exhaustion and inability to keep up with the work meant that I couldn't keep up with my own classroom management scheme, which only works well if I you are CONSISTENT every day. Anyway. Something to rethink, again, this summer. I swear, that is the hardest part of teaching. Or at least it is for me because I like an interactive class, but one that stays on task. I like it relaxed; I don't like it so rigid that people feel uncomfortable. You can't learn that way. Equally, students were pissed at me--as I knew they would be--that I didn't have 3rd period under better control.
Whatever.
I've looked at evaluations from Latin 1's and Latin 3/4. I haven't looked at Latin 2.
There was the inevitable "AP is tedious because all we do is read." Once again, if I can't make reading (Latin or English) interesting and exciting, no one can. OK, yes, this first time through Vergil we didn't do much but read. The Illuminated manuscript project at the end was both fun and interesting. I'm thinking that maybe, somehow, I need to work in some projects of some kind. In fact, I really liked what I was doing with Ovid and the Latin 3's, in trying to get them to analyse a work of art (Daedalus and Icarus) for the quality of the interpretation of the Latin.
If we say that Vergil is to Latin as Homer is to Ancient Greek and Shakespeare is to English, then it is important to keep the focus on Vergil as a work of literature. And my emphasis on trying to teach students HOW TO READ in word order because we are all about READING is not out of line. BUT...but this isn't college, yet. So what that our college courses were "read the next XX lines" plus "one paper" and a "final exam". Some would find that tedious too. But that's a college level Latin class. For the most part.
Yet, does that need to be what we are about? If we are to demonstrate the profound impact Vergil has had on literature AND the arts, we need to bring in the arts and discuss it. We did watch a one-hour production (?) of the opera Dido and Aeneas after the AP test. But should this stuff have come before?
After all, if the projects are designed well (and executed well?), they should provide the student an opportunity to review the text in depth and to write about it.
I know I wasn't demanding enough with my AP students; it was hard to be when I was barely keeping up. This too I can change.
And perhaps instead of just "going over lines" which I definitely slipped into with my upper division classes this year (kind of hard not to in some ways), why not have a thematic question for each assignment of lines? (Hey, not a bad idea.) That is, if they are working on their own for X days while I work with Latin 3 (because it will be split level again), why not say that on the day we go over they need to be able to answer whatever the thematic question, and be ready to support the answers with Latin from the text. Then, we'd go to the text to look again which would then lead into going over the lines.
Sounds good. But since they will be struggling with the Latin, how good is this really?
One can dream.
But my own sheer exhaustion and inability to keep up with the work meant that I couldn't keep up with my own classroom management scheme, which only works well if I you are CONSISTENT every day. Anyway. Something to rethink, again, this summer. I swear, that is the hardest part of teaching. Or at least it is for me because I like an interactive class, but one that stays on task. I like it relaxed; I don't like it so rigid that people feel uncomfortable. You can't learn that way. Equally, students were pissed at me--as I knew they would be--that I didn't have 3rd period under better control.
Whatever.
I've looked at evaluations from Latin 1's and Latin 3/4. I haven't looked at Latin 2.
There was the inevitable "AP is tedious because all we do is read." Once again, if I can't make reading (Latin or English) interesting and exciting, no one can. OK, yes, this first time through Vergil we didn't do much but read. The Illuminated manuscript project at the end was both fun and interesting. I'm thinking that maybe, somehow, I need to work in some projects of some kind. In fact, I really liked what I was doing with Ovid and the Latin 3's, in trying to get them to analyse a work of art (Daedalus and Icarus) for the quality of the interpretation of the Latin.
If we say that Vergil is to Latin as Homer is to Ancient Greek and Shakespeare is to English, then it is important to keep the focus on Vergil as a work of literature. And my emphasis on trying to teach students HOW TO READ in word order because we are all about READING is not out of line. BUT...but this isn't college, yet. So what that our college courses were "read the next XX lines" plus "one paper" and a "final exam". Some would find that tedious too. But that's a college level Latin class. For the most part.
Yet, does that need to be what we are about? If we are to demonstrate the profound impact Vergil has had on literature AND the arts, we need to bring in the arts and discuss it. We did watch a one-hour production (?) of the opera Dido and Aeneas after the AP test. But should this stuff have come before?
After all, if the projects are designed well (and executed well?), they should provide the student an opportunity to review the text in depth and to write about it.
I know I wasn't demanding enough with my AP students; it was hard to be when I was barely keeping up. This too I can change.
And perhaps instead of just "going over lines" which I definitely slipped into with my upper division classes this year (kind of hard not to in some ways), why not have a thematic question for each assignment of lines? (Hey, not a bad idea.) That is, if they are working on their own for X days while I work with Latin 3 (because it will be split level again), why not say that on the day we go over they need to be able to answer whatever the thematic question, and be ready to support the answers with Latin from the text. Then, we'd go to the text to look again which would then lead into going over the lines.
Sounds good. But since they will be struggling with the Latin, how good is this really?
One can dream.
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projects...ugh
May. 24th, 2009 | 01:43 pm
Boy, I thought I had written a great, detailed rubric. Hard to not give me what I wanted because not only was it all explained in detail but I had EXAMPLES.
But still....not the quality I wanted. And so I'm looking at my rubric again, trying to decide HOW to make it better for next year.
The project was on the Daedalus and Icarus from Ovid (CLC Stage 44) which I had Latin 3s working on while I madly reviewed AP's on Vergil. The project was for 3 weeks--week one reading the passages and going over them together, week two assigning each student 2 sections (different sections) to make a commentary out of for a student (not unlike themselves) totally new to Ovid, with vocabulary to the right of the passage and notes beneath. I even provided the table for the passages and vocab and notes set up as a template so it was hard to get the arrangement of text wrong on the page.
I provided details of how I wanted vocab--bold, plus proper dictionary entries (nouns with genitives, verbs with 4 principle parts, etc).
I gave examples for the kind of notes I wanted. The notes were where all went wrong. Some didn't do much with them--identified tenses and such. Only one tried to give me the kind of explanations I was after--types of subjunctive clauses, etc. His weren't perfect--but I could at least see that he was THINKING ABOUT THE LATIN IN THE RIGHT WA
So, I could bitch and moan about it, or consider how I can make my instructions even CLEARER for next year. Plus, if I want this to count as a quiz grade, I shouldn't leave our first time doing this for the last thing I do with them before finals. So for starters I'm going to do something similar with Martial next year (stage 36). They can LEARN from that one--the easier, shorter one--so that the major one (the Ovid) is both beautiful and high quality (and NOT the crap I've just waded through).
I'm thinking of also doing similar things somehow with my AP classes next year. Something to ponder this summer. I'd like to think it makes the student think about how firm their grasp is on the Latin and where it is lacking. Not surprisingly, my top two students both did the best on the project, with my top student showing the greatest understanding for what I wanted with the grammar/notes section. Even still....
There was actually a 2nd part to this project--an analysis and synthesis part for either creating an artistic interpretation or translation or analyzing an interpretation/work or art. Admittedly my rubric for this one was less detailed than my VERY detailed commentary one and thus the projects were definitely lacking. I have to refine this next year.
I just don't want to be one of those teachers whose projects are so whimpy that they CAN be done the night before or the class before with a bit of glue or tape borrowed from another teacher. I'm tired of crap projects. Sadly, I know my son has done a bunch of projects like that this year AND gotten good grades on them. And as teachers, it's our own fault. We allow it.
Part of the trick is creating a project that does require quality, that we work it into our rubric, that we demand the quality. And that we aren't wimps feeling sorry for students at the end. That's my other problem. Half the time I feel like their crappy work is the fault of my inadequate instructions because I know that otherwise good students would have done better if my instructions had been clearer. I mean, I can tell the difference between a drawing that took several hours to create vs a posterboard glued up during the last period, and the latter will only pass if it provides the information needed and will certainly not get an A. But the artwork, beautiful as it might be, may not also get an A because it was missing criteria that I wasn't clear enough on. Or so I think, because I know the student is otherwise consciencious.
So I'm a wimp. Or, I'm trying to be fair. (I guess I hated all those teachers I had who were UNCLEAR and thus cost me the grade I was after...)
Right. Back to grading.
But still....not the quality I wanted. And so I'm looking at my rubric again, trying to decide HOW to make it better for next year.
The project was on the Daedalus and Icarus from Ovid (CLC Stage 44) which I had Latin 3s working on while I madly reviewed AP's on Vergil. The project was for 3 weeks--week one reading the passages and going over them together, week two assigning each student 2 sections (different sections) to make a commentary out of for a student (not unlike themselves) totally new to Ovid, with vocabulary to the right of the passage and notes beneath. I even provided the table for the passages and vocab and notes set up as a template so it was hard to get the arrangement of text wrong on the page.
I provided details of how I wanted vocab--bold, plus proper dictionary entries (nouns with genitives, verbs with 4 principle parts, etc).
I gave examples for the kind of notes I wanted. The notes were where all went wrong. Some didn't do much with them--identified tenses and such. Only one tried to give me the kind of explanations I was after--types of subjunctive clauses, etc. His weren't perfect--but I could at least see that he was THINKING ABOUT THE LATIN IN THE RIGHT WA
So, I could bitch and moan about it, or consider how I can make my instructions even CLEARER for next year. Plus, if I want this to count as a quiz grade, I shouldn't leave our first time doing this for the last thing I do with them before finals. So for starters I'm going to do something similar with Martial next year (stage 36). They can LEARN from that one--the easier, shorter one--so that the major one (the Ovid) is both beautiful and high quality (and NOT the crap I've just waded through).
I'm thinking of also doing similar things somehow with my AP classes next year. Something to ponder this summer. I'd like to think it makes the student think about how firm their grasp is on the Latin and where it is lacking. Not surprisingly, my top two students both did the best on the project, with my top student showing the greatest understanding for what I wanted with the grammar/notes section. Even still....
There was actually a 2nd part to this project--an analysis and synthesis part for either creating an artistic interpretation or translation or analyzing an interpretation/work or art. Admittedly my rubric for this one was less detailed than my VERY detailed commentary one and thus the projects were definitely lacking. I have to refine this next year.
I just don't want to be one of those teachers whose projects are so whimpy that they CAN be done the night before or the class before with a bit of glue or tape borrowed from another teacher. I'm tired of crap projects. Sadly, I know my son has done a bunch of projects like that this year AND gotten good grades on them. And as teachers, it's our own fault. We allow it.
Part of the trick is creating a project that does require quality, that we work it into our rubric, that we demand the quality. And that we aren't wimps feeling sorry for students at the end. That's my other problem. Half the time I feel like their crappy work is the fault of my inadequate instructions because I know that otherwise good students would have done better if my instructions had been clearer. I mean, I can tell the difference between a drawing that took several hours to create vs a posterboard glued up during the last period, and the latter will only pass if it provides the information needed and will certainly not get an A. But the artwork, beautiful as it might be, may not also get an A because it was missing criteria that I wasn't clear enough on. Or so I think, because I know the student is otherwise consciencious.
So I'm a wimp. Or, I'm trying to be fair. (I guess I hated all those teachers I had who were UNCLEAR and thus cost me the grade I was after...)
Right. Back to grading.
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improving, always improving
May. 22nd, 2009 | 09:55 pm
music: GOMEZ
Do other teachers think this way?
I'm always about how to do it better next year. NEXT year. I guess that's an improvement from beating myself up over having only done so much THIS year.
Next year.... dum spiro spero, ya know.
But first, what did I accomplish this year? It's good to remind yourself, especially if you are a new teacher or a teacher at a new school building a new program of what you DID do! Go ahead, take a bow! The Romans weren't shy. They definitely tooted their own horns!
So, what did I do?
1) had my first year in Drip' with a FULL LATIN PROGRAM! My 3rd year and I had 100 more students than my first year there.
2) had my first AP VERGIL class. And my gosh was it enjoyable. Ok, it wasn't as rigorous as it could have been but I think the girls (2 of them) enjoyed it. I could have had them work harder, do more, but I couldn't keep up with the work myself! They survived, and learned. And now, they are enjoying learning a bit about calligraphy. So cool!
3) taught Latin 3 for the first time out of Cambridge. My goal was to get to stage 40 and we made it there handily. I didn't get a chance to teach conditional clauses, but there are worse things. After all, when did you ever meet one in context that followed the pattern of the textbooks?!?!
4) created quia material for Latin 3 and AP Vergil, though I still need to make some more for Vergil. For every 100 lines assigned, I probably only got 60-80 lines of online quia quizzes done. But it was ok. It was good. That stuff is *there* for next year, and it will be good enough if I have another year from hell as a parent. Wow. It is all there. That's something. You wanna see?
www.quia.com/pages/drippinglatin3.html
www.quia.com/pages/drippingvergil.html
5) I think my illumination project is going ok.
6) I think my Ovid project was ok, though I need to finish grading it.
7) I SURVIVED THE YEAR--with the work of 4 preps, 2 of them "new", as well as my special needs son's transition (such as it was) to middle school, and my elder son's transition (such as it was, ha) to high school. Let's just say there's a reason why I have a double scotch on ice sitting next to me as I type this.
Students did well enough on NLE, though only one got a gold. The principal complimented me on the accomplishments of my students today (after this week's underclassmen awards assembly). Nice. And she knows it's been a hard year.
So that's where I've been.
FUTURE PLANS:
1) interactive grammar notebook, good for all four years with me. That is, I want to plan it out this summer so that I have pages left for ALL the grammar a student could possibly accumulate in four years of Latin with me. Perhaps more on this later.
2) quia.com exercises that are *challenges* in composition and transformation, for the students that want more. I have enough there to train up a student to do well on one of my tests or quizzes, but why not MORE? Maybe there won't be too many students using the *challenge* materials, but maybe there will.
3) making some tar heel readers. :) Here's a good one:
http://tarheelreader.org/2009/05/22/cani
and another good one
http://tarheelreader.org/2009/05/08/de-l
These are soooo cool! Oh oh oh, I cannot WAIT to make one! But how can I make one truly *brilliant*? :) No matter; I will think up one.
4) More projects for AP. Of course, this means finding TIME to grade such beasts and I will have at least 10 more students next year than this year, and I've barely survived this year. CRAZY! EEK.
And I just *have* to find a way to get the Latin 3's to reread more. And AP for that matter. I never reread in college; but then no one suggested I do so either. I do remember that it was all such incredibly hard WORK then--but now, it seems so much easier. Well, I guess 10 years of teaching it and 15 years of thinking about how to be a better reader will do that. I've had 10 years of getting to know the basics INSIDE OUT. A student doesn't have that. Back in college I remember a prof telling me that the way to become better at reading Latin was to read more Latin--yet that was such a slow and painful process! I couldn't imagine reading MORE! But he never said this: you should read for pleasure at a lower, easier rate. After all, isn't this what we do with English? I can read technical journals in educationese or even something detailed about Latin pedagogy or archaeology, etc. But for pleasure I'm reading something that my brain can coast through.
I got those readers-but only 15 (eheu!)-Lingua Latina. The question is, HOW will I use them next year? HOW can I possibly find time to incorporate them INTO my classes without losing precious class time needed to get through the text? BUT I *must* use them; I must show students HOW to develop reading skills. Should I wait and just do them with the Latin 3's?
That's another thing. I intend to boost homework a bit in Latin 3 next year (ha...will she really do it?!?!?!) . The 2 year credit to pass kids will be gone, and if they want 3rd year credit, they can damn well work for it. Conjugating and declining all vocabulary. All degress of nouns and adjectives. I better have a couple of aides to help me grade such stuff. God knows *I* won't keep up with it! hahahhaha. Too busy grading tests and quizzes.
The ultimate goal is to make a student that's better prepared for Vergil. A student that is ready to cope with details of case or tense or voice or mood. This year I've done a MUCH better job of teaching passive voice. That will be a BIG help with next year. I think I've also been better at teaching perfect passive as opposed to perfect active participles, ablative of agent vs ablative of means, ablative time when vs accusative duration of time.
I'm still to slack about some things. This will cost me in the end, I realize. But I always develop 5 year or 10 year plans--because we aren't teachers 24/7. We're also wives and mothers and human beings with lives. Or wanting to have lives.
But if you are a teacher and it's May, like it is now, and you aren't actively taking stock of what you did well and need to improve on, then you just have a job. You don't have a vocation. I am called to teaching. odi et amo--I hate it and I love it. I know my sleep deprivation is ruining my health (not to mention the stress of my family situation), but I think I'm good at what I do and I enjoy the students. I'm doing something right, and that feels good. And the thought that I can improve upon what I do feels even better!
Here's to noble causes!
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tests, projects, and AP Vocab
May. 6th, 2009 | 03:52 pm
Right now my Latin 2's are taking a test. I felt pleased with the test and the test review. Some aspects, perhaps, could have been harder. Maybe. I guess the things I'm pleased about, because they mean I won't feel there was something MORE I could have done, are focused on review material I had online.
One of the things I added was a "little words" section. Those words REALLY trip students up. I've decided I'm going to make a "little words" section to prep for every test. I'm tired of the translation portion of the test having all the little adverbs dropped!!!
In fact, this is such an easy, doable fix, adding such a section as a review. PLUS it's something that will help them infinitely in AP.
Anyway. Each year I feel I get a little closer to meeting everyone's needs. There are some students you could say, "just go home and study" but we know that's not most students, certainly not these days. And I want to have a larger Latin program. I keep saying that (because of the fear of teaching ENGLISH!) but I don't suppose I should really want a much larger program. I'm not sure how we're going to schedule next year at this rate.
But back to the tests, and from the tests to the quizzes and to AP. Vocabulary. Everyone is always talking about how to get students to acquire more or internalize more vocabulary. Well, ideally we'd like them to constantly work at it. But we have to prod them to do so; very, very few will do this on their own. This is why in the past (or currently) most AP classes are very small. I don't want my AP classes to be small (and self-selecting/full of brainiacs). Why can't I find a way to get more students there??
My Latin 3 quizzes, which I may have mentioned previously, have vocab in context (as do all my quizzes) PLUS the last quiz's vocab in matching. I like this. I'm not sure how well it's really getting them to remember vocab over the long haul, but it makes them responsible for a little while longer.
What I'd like to do is have the time to make a list of what Vergilian words are in CLC and have a special section for those, maybe. I dunno. CLC is certainly good with Vergilian vocab. I've been really impressed this year to realize how early on it will stick in hard to remember words in the stories.
And as for the projects I mentioned in the title... While I'm reviewing the APs (panic panic test next week!), the Latin 3's are doing this intensive project based on the Ovid in stage 44 (Daedalus and Icarus). Last week it was going through the lines/reading them the first time. I know they don't read with the level of attention to detail that I'd like (well, some of them), so they are doing this project that is kind of like annotation or making a commentary where they have 2 of the 5 passages to type up and have glossed vocab (as much as a true novice might need--I tell them if they had to look it up for themselves, they should include it in the vocab list!), and notes on all grammar, really (or at least one thing per line!). I'm going to distribute copies after I grade them (so I say!), and then NEXT WEEK they will be making something CREATIVE based on one of the passages. Picture, mosaic, poetic translation (with rhymes at least--not just free verse as an excuse for lazy writing), etc. I'm thinking I might include for the less creative and more analytical, the option of creating a powerpoint of art based on the text and explaining why or why not the art is a good interpretation of the Latin.
Yea, well, if this works out well (the rubric and project description were detailed), I'm going to do it again, maybe (probably) with the Vergil class next year. Maybe once a 9 weeks.
It's the first project I've felt good about. Time to grade.
One of the things I added was a "little words" section. Those words REALLY trip students up. I've decided I'm going to make a "little words" section to prep for every test. I'm tired of the translation portion of the test having all the little adverbs dropped!!!
In fact, this is such an easy, doable fix, adding such a section as a review. PLUS it's something that will help them infinitely in AP.
Anyway. Each year I feel I get a little closer to meeting everyone's needs. There are some students you could say, "just go home and study" but we know that's not most students, certainly not these days. And I want to have a larger Latin program. I keep saying that (because of the fear of teaching ENGLISH!) but I don't suppose I should really want a much larger program. I'm not sure how we're going to schedule next year at this rate.
But back to the tests, and from the tests to the quizzes and to AP. Vocabulary. Everyone is always talking about how to get students to acquire more or internalize more vocabulary. Well, ideally we'd like them to constantly work at it. But we have to prod them to do so; very, very few will do this on their own. This is why in the past (or currently) most AP classes are very small. I don't want my AP classes to be small (and self-selecting/full of brainiacs). Why can't I find a way to get more students there??
My Latin 3 quizzes, which I may have mentioned previously, have vocab in context (as do all my quizzes) PLUS the last quiz's vocab in matching. I like this. I'm not sure how well it's really getting them to remember vocab over the long haul, but it makes them responsible for a little while longer.
What I'd like to do is have the time to make a list of what Vergilian words are in CLC and have a special section for those, maybe. I dunno. CLC is certainly good with Vergilian vocab. I've been really impressed this year to realize how early on it will stick in hard to remember words in the stories.
And as for the projects I mentioned in the title... While I'm reviewing the APs (panic panic test next week!), the Latin 3's are doing this intensive project based on the Ovid in stage 44 (Daedalus and Icarus). Last week it was going through the lines/reading them the first time. I know they don't read with the level of attention to detail that I'd like (well, some of them), so they are doing this project that is kind of like annotation or making a commentary where they have 2 of the 5 passages to type up and have glossed vocab (as much as a true novice might need--I tell them if they had to look it up for themselves, they should include it in the vocab list!), and notes on all grammar, really (or at least one thing per line!). I'm going to distribute copies after I grade them (so I say!), and then NEXT WEEK they will be making something CREATIVE based on one of the passages. Picture, mosaic, poetic translation (with rhymes at least--not just free verse as an excuse for lazy writing), etc. I'm thinking I might include for the less creative and more analytical, the option of creating a powerpoint of art based on the text and explaining why or why not the art is a good interpretation of the Latin.
Yea, well, if this works out well (the rubric and project description were detailed), I'm going to do it again, maybe (probably) with the Vergil class next year. Maybe once a 9 weeks.
It's the first project I've felt good about. Time to grade.
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assessment
Apr. 24th, 2009 | 05:30 pm
music: Gomez: A New Tide
I am bad at assessment.
Ok, that's not entirely true. I'm boring at assessment.
We've been studying these curriculum outlines that the core subjects put together at school. We're supposed to be...well, I dunno, analyzing them, looking for areas where we overlap, anything. We were looking at Math this morning and realizing, among other things, that we in foreign language/LOTE were glad we didn't have ours posted yet. First of all, when we all started putting our stuff together, there was no idea that everyone else would be looking at them nor what for. We're supposed to, for instance, look for technology being used. Sometimes there's nothing written down, but it doesn't mean it isn't being used.
Anyway, someone made a comment today about how repetetive and unimaginative quizzes and tests were for assessment. Yup. I totally agree. And yet....and yet for the most part that's all I'm doing.
And I know that's bad. I know that's wrong. I just feel strapped. Trapped. Cornered. By time constraints, by conventions, by the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.
Ok, with that said, my quizzes and tests aren't ...hmmm...fluff. And I'm not trying to dis multiple choice quizzes and tests. You can make tough quizzes that way, but sometimes it's just not enough. I mean, if I wanted to make my life EASIER and didn't care--really care (perhaps too much?) about students learning, I'd make everything I do multiple choice scantron. Easy to grade, no mess. But I don't.
For instance, my current tests now follow this format:
1) unseen passage with short answer reading comp questions in Latin and English (hand written short answers)
2) grammar questions over the passage (multiple choice)
3) written translation of a small selection from stories we've read in the stages/chapters covered on the test. (about 25 words)
4) grammar questions in context (multiple choice)
5) culture questions (multiple choice or true false).
Numbers 1 and 3 take time to grade. HOW EASY my life would be if I did only scantron tests! But here's why I don't:
1) I need to see what they can do with an unseen passage where recognizing the right answer isn't an option
2) I need to train students to a) be able to write a good translation when needed (for AP!) and b) to reread stories.
I guess part of it isn't assessment; part of it is training the student to be a better student. <sigh> (but is it working?)
I wish I had time for more. I do. I would have essays or special translation assignments. More creative things. I would love to do something like once a grading period (or twice?) pick a story from the text and do something with it. In fact, at one point I did write up more or less and outline of what I'd like the project to be like, but I never had time to work up a rubric or anything and frankly I'm terrified to assign projects because I saw what happened with such beasts when I taught English. They became very little about learning what you were TRYING to get the student to learn and more about those who finish projects and those who don't. But, if memory serves, I had this idea that one 9 week students would do an oral performance--memorizing and reciting a story, another 9 weeks it would be an illustration of a story, another 9 weeks it would be a PowerPoint of a story, and another 9 weeks it would be writing a new ending to a story.
But those things take time, and guidance in class, etc.
But I digress.
You cannot tell on my tests what all I assess nor what I'm doing with them. But they are a major assessment grade. And vocab quizzes. And very little else.
I don't look like a good teacher on paper at all. Just average.
I have more rambling thoughts on this but I'm needed elsewhere. Maybe later.
Ok, that's not entirely true. I'm boring at assessment.
We've been studying these curriculum outlines that the core subjects put together at school. We're supposed to be...well, I dunno, analyzing them, looking for areas where we overlap, anything. We were looking at Math this morning and realizing, among other things, that we in foreign language/LOTE were glad we didn't have ours posted yet. First of all, when we all started putting our stuff together, there was no idea that everyone else would be looking at them nor what for. We're supposed to, for instance, look for technology being used. Sometimes there's nothing written down, but it doesn't mean it isn't being used.
Anyway, someone made a comment today about how repetetive and unimaginative quizzes and tests were for assessment. Yup. I totally agree. And yet....and yet for the most part that's all I'm doing.
And I know that's bad. I know that's wrong. I just feel strapped. Trapped. Cornered. By time constraints, by conventions, by the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.
Ok, with that said, my quizzes and tests aren't ...hmmm...fluff. And I'm not trying to dis multiple choice quizzes and tests. You can make tough quizzes that way, but sometimes it's just not enough. I mean, if I wanted to make my life EASIER and didn't care--really care (perhaps too much?) about students learning, I'd make everything I do multiple choice scantron. Easy to grade, no mess. But I don't.
For instance, my current tests now follow this format:
1) unseen passage with short answer reading comp questions in Latin and English (hand written short answers)
2) grammar questions over the passage (multiple choice)
3) written translation of a small selection from stories we've read in the stages/chapters covered on the test. (about 25 words)
4) grammar questions in context (multiple choice)
5) culture questions (multiple choice or true false).
Numbers 1 and 3 take time to grade. HOW EASY my life would be if I did only scantron tests! But here's why I don't:
1) I need to see what they can do with an unseen passage where recognizing the right answer isn't an option
2) I need to train students to a) be able to write a good translation when needed (for AP!) and b) to reread stories.
I guess part of it isn't assessment; part of it is training the student to be a better student. <sigh> (but is it working?)
I wish I had time for more. I do. I would have essays or special translation assignments. More creative things. I would love to do something like once a grading period (or twice?) pick a story from the text and do something with it. In fact, at one point I did write up more or less and outline of what I'd like the project to be like, but I never had time to work up a rubric or anything and frankly I'm terrified to assign projects because I saw what happened with such beasts when I taught English. They became very little about learning what you were TRYING to get the student to learn and more about those who finish projects and those who don't. But, if memory serves, I had this idea that one 9 week students would do an oral performance--memorizing and reciting a story, another 9 weeks it would be an illustration of a story, another 9 weeks it would be a PowerPoint of a story, and another 9 weeks it would be writing a new ending to a story.
But those things take time, and guidance in class, etc.
But I digress.
You cannot tell on my tests what all I assess nor what I'm doing with them. But they are a major assessment grade. And vocab quizzes. And very little else.
I don't look like a good teacher on paper at all. Just average.
I have more rambling thoughts on this but I'm needed elsewhere. Maybe later.
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Why No Macrons?
Apr. 11th, 2009 | 05:39 pm
I sent this to Latin Best Practices earlier today. And, yes, the purse has been found, so no worries there. I felt the need to vent. If I ever quit teaching I want to get on with a publisher precisely to be the one to include the damned macrons! This is so stupid when it is so easy to typeset with macrons in this day and age! ARG!
***
Ok, I know I'm warped about this, but I'm grading tests, depressed over my missing/stolen purse, and had a random idea about writing a Latin story, looked up to my bookshelf, and grabbed a new text off the shelf to look at/consult regarding the idea. I won't go into what new text this is. And it probably is really good.
I opened it and immediately put it down. No macrons. There's lots of new vocab on the page, words I won't know how to pronounce naturally because my mommy wasn't an ancient Roman so I have never heard these words before. Oh, sure, there are macrons in the back in the glossary, but that would mean actually LOOKING UP every single new word if I want to be sure.
I *want* to learn new vocab in context. I want to learn new vocab by NOT looking up every damn word. I want to read it and HEAR IT and FIX it in my head. I WANT TO *ENJOY* THIS.
But there are no macrons.
Having macrons is like having an ancient Roman read to you. It's immersion. I don't need them on a test. I don't need them to scan lines. I don't need them to tell short -is from long -is. I need them for the new vocab.
And I am soooo tired of most new books NOT having macrons (do any of them?). But my time is limited--what few spare minutes I might be able to give to pleasurable reading of Latin shouldn't be work looking up words. It should be pleasure.
PLEASURE.
Or is it too much to hope that one could read a little Latin for pleasure?
And, yeah, I know that I should be talking to the publisher. And I have tried in the past. Frankly, I'm sure it's a lot of nitpicky editing. But I know it can be done. (Maybe they should hire me as an editor? I could quit teaching...might do me good to quit teaching and be an editor...) Rick LaFleur wouldn't publish a text without them. It can be done. WHY DON'T OTHERS DO THIS?
And surely I'm not alone in this? Don't some of you read out loud? Don't you want to be able to fix a new word in your head at a glance? Sheesh....
***
Ok, I know I'm warped about this, but I'm grading tests, depressed over my missing/stolen purse, and had a random idea about writing a Latin story, looked up to my bookshelf, and grabbed a new text off the shelf to look at/consult regarding the idea. I won't go into what new text this is. And it probably is really good.
I opened it and immediately put it down. No macrons. There's lots of new vocab on the page, words I won't know how to pronounce naturally because my mommy wasn't an ancient Roman so I have never heard these words before. Oh, sure, there are macrons in the back in the glossary, but that would mean actually LOOKING UP every single new word if I want to be sure.
I *want* to learn new vocab in context. I want to learn new vocab by NOT looking up every damn word. I want to read it and HEAR IT and FIX it in my head. I WANT TO *ENJOY* THIS.
But there are no macrons.
Having macrons is like having an ancient Roman read to you. It's immersion. I don't need them on a test. I don't need them to scan lines. I don't need them to tell short -is from long -is. I need them for the new vocab.
And I am soooo tired of most new books NOT having macrons (do any of them?). But my time is limited--what few spare minutes I might be able to give to pleasurable reading of Latin shouldn't be work looking up words. It should be pleasure.
PLEASURE.
Or is it too much to hope that one could read a little Latin for pleasure?
And, yeah, I know that I should be talking to the publisher. And I have tried in the past. Frankly, I'm sure it's a lot of nitpicky editing. But I know it can be done. (Maybe they should hire me as an editor? I could quit teaching...might do me good to quit teaching and be an editor...) Rick LaFleur wouldn't publish a text without them. It can be done. WHY DON'T OTHERS DO THIS?
And surely I'm not alone in this? Don't some of you read out loud? Don't you want to be able to fix a new word in your head at a glance? Sheesh....
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Right/Left Brain and Language Acquisition?
Mar. 18th, 2009 | 09:10 pm
Ok, so I'm spending spring break reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I've always wanted to read this book, and it's really fascinating. Much of it discusses research from the last 15 years ago regarding the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
And it's led me to wonder, is there research regarding language acquisition and the hemispheres of the brain? I know that language is primarily left side, but is language acquisition all on the left? When you consider one side is more analytical and the other synthesizes.... well, I'm just wondering if that's part of the trick to letting go of feeling the need to look up every darn word and realizing that the WHOLE sentence is the key and each phrase as it comes, not each little word and each little ending.
They say the analytical processing that the left brain does is slower than a computer, but that the ability to synthesize whole information--like a face and all its details--is something that the right side does with great efficiency. And I'm wondering whether this is part of the learning process--students try to be nothing but analytical, and we teach them to be highly analytical because of the inflectional nature of the language--when speed of reading as well as comprehension can be increased if we could develop, I dunno, a more wholistic approach to a passage.
I try to do this, I try to model the importance of reading the whole sentence if not paragraph, of seeing the bigger picture and using metaphrasing/placeholding for the missing info. This has clearly been more of an intuitive thing with me, and something that I've been very passionate about, but now I'm wondering whether there is any hard data on this from a scientific point of view.
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left brain/right brain & NLTRW & the Aeneid
Feb. 28th, 2009 | 08:57 am
music: Robert Downy Jr: The Futurist
I'm reading a book called _A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future_ by Daniel H. Pink. My former h.s. theatre teacher suggested it and while I'm not too far into it, I'm finding it really good. Ok, admittedly there's something about the writer's style that bothers me (can't say what--possibly that it's too "light"? who knows), but I'm past that.
It has been discussing how abundance, Asia (cheaper outsourcing), and automation have made it so that knowledge workers (those driven by left-brained activities) no longer can corner the market on salaries; that the future will be governed by those that can offer more than just mastery of left-brained activities: those that are creators and empathizers. I'm waiting, frankly, for him to talk about how apple has realized already that beauty with functionality can steal the market. (In other words, I love my iPod and admire iPhones, and I think my son now has an iTouch).
And what does this have to do with Latin? Well, next week is National Latin Teacher Recruitment Week--the week where I stand up in front of my classroom, sleep-deprived and stressed, and (foolishly?) try to convince students that teaching is a worthwhile job, and that there is something magical about teaching Latin.
And here I am, on a morning where the house actually is quiet (ok, but it wasn't a couple of hours ago), a morning where I could sleep in (perhaps if I didn't wake with muscle aches and a mind full of to-do's), and here I am writing on my blog. I was, at least, trying to force myself to accept some relaxation time by reading but it drew me back here. Why?
There's so many why's here.... why do I love Latin? I do. I'm constantly thinking of Latin-related projects. I don't remember when I thought of a project not related to Latin in some way--even the "I wish I had time for this" projects, like wanting to design and make a mosaic. I love mosaics. I cannot even begin to tell you why... or can I? Maybe it's the same as why I like Latin, something that just came to me while reading this book.
True lovers of Latin are whole-brain users.
The left side of the brain is the side that likes order, the side that loves all the endings and the secret-code aspect of Latin, the precision, the beauty of the mathematical equation perfectly solved and balanced. There are people that cannot begin to enjoy textbooks like the Cambridge Latin Course because what they loved about Latin class was changing singulars to plurals, nominatives to accusatives. There was something very satisfying in the mastering of forms. These are often the same people/students who love the language, so they say, but hate translating stories. And perhaps there was a time that I was part of that group. I remember hating translation day. Most of the chapters in my high school text involved the back and forth of transformations of the new grammar structure. Putting it all together was difficult. You ended up writing stupid sounding sentences but then, that was Latin for you, right?
Last summer I was at a Vergil workshop for people who were about to teach Vergil AP for the first time. I watched and listened while most ever single teacher there (or at least the ones who were working in groups and thus I could listen in to what they were doing) treated the beautiful words of Vergl *still* as an exercise of endings and decoding. I'm not trying to be critical; this is just an observation.
What was I doing? I was reading WHOLE PASSAGES in the Latin--or at least a complete sentence!--before beginning to make meaning. My brain was already beginning to make meaning because it had seen the whole picture, it had seen not each and ever tree but had recognized the clusters of trees here and there and saw the beauty of the whole forest. Things that the other teachers were struggling to see because they were merely looking at endings were flowing in my brain. Oh, I wasn't perfect. There were lines here and there I didn't quite get. And instead of wasting time determined to solve the equation, I moved on because the whole picture was too beautiful to miss. I read considerably faster than the other students.
Do I think my Latin is better than theirs? No. I bet their command of conditional clauses and their ability to form future imperatives and other such things is better than mine. But I was enjoying Latin as a LANGUAGE, a real, read-it-left-to-right language. I credit my ability to do this to Dexter Hoyos and his book _Latin: How to Read it Fluently_. I still think this is a MUST READ for anyone majoring in Latin. If I had read it as a freshman in college, I might have a masters or PhD today. But no matter... I'm doing good things with my little BA.
Right brain thinkers consider context, consider the big picture, have creative solutions, and can empathize. What I wish this workshop had focused on now are things I understand to be right-brain issues, things I try to teach to my own students--how to teach/learn the right brain stuff.
How do you get your mind to let go of not knowing what a word means and going for the big picture? After all, Latin students like that precision. They like knowing what every little thing means. There's order in knowing everything, it's a puzzle to be solved. But it isn't. It's a LANGUAGE--expressive and beautiful. There is absolutely no reason at all to keep Latin studies alive if we don't move past the morphology to the beauty of expression and the bigger context. And we as teachers often wait too long to do this.
I have heard far too many times in my life that "at some point it will all just start clicking." Or, when I complained to a prof one time that I didn't know HOW to improve my reading and he just said that I needed to read more.....oh yeah, like that was a solution!
We *can* and must start teaching HOW to see the bigger picture, HOW to get beyond the word for word. If we don't model reading whole passages to the students, if we don't model getting beyond unknown vocabulary to see the shape of the sentence (and thus figuring out the vocab without having to look it up), we will never move them beyond left-brain thinking.
And here's the thing--if they don't think they can get beyond the morphology to really reading, they won't sign up for AP classes.
And I'm digressing. I was going to tie this into National Latin Teacher Recruitment Week stuff. When we talk to our students, we should point out how fortunate it is that teaching--truly good teaching--is a job that has demanding use of both sides of the brain for so long. And right now, even if future teachers don't make it a life-long career, but teach to provide a service for this country--a few years service--it truly will prepare them for the kinds of jobs that will be out there, because those jobs are going to need people that can not only handle the data and the details but can provide creative solutions and can empathize with their clients.
I mouthed off in my Latin 2 class this week, muttering something like "you should try to teach this class." They are actually a fun bunch of kids, but at the end of the day they are swinging from the ceiling. One piped up and said, OK! So, with National Latin Exam approaching (March 11th for us) and an odd week with TAKS testing in the middle, I decided they can teach some cultural topics. Here's the thing: I told them I didn't want crappy posters with crappy internet graphics cut and pasted together 20 minutes before class. I pointed out that I rarely make displays (if ever!), but will often grab a book that has some good pictures and walk it around the room. Or, perhaps, use some slides (YES, I still have slides and I love them). Occasionally I'll even use PowerPoint. We'll see what they do. I told them it has to be an effective mini-lesson where more than half the class should be able to retain the information. ha. A little taste of teaching. This will either be great or a bomb.
Sadly here is what I've found in the last few years of teaching: students aren't as creative as they used to be. It's too easy to download pictures and make posters for class. It's too easy to get a cool looking font off of the computer than to do your own lettering. Even we teachers perhaps aren't modeling enough creativity. I try....
And I suppose I should stop rambling. I'm looking forward to this afternoon when I'm working on Aeneid stuff. I'll just be putting together quia.com review material and grading some quizzes I've almost forgotten about, but I'll be looking at the WHOLE thing--the whole passage, the whole artistry, not just this word and that word.
And I get it now. For me, it's whole brain stimulation. Whole brain.
It has been discussing how abundance, Asia (cheaper outsourcing), and automation have made it so that knowledge workers (those driven by left-brained activities) no longer can corner the market on salaries; that the future will be governed by those that can offer more than just mastery of left-brained activities: those that are creators and empathizers. I'm waiting, frankly, for him to talk about how apple has realized already that beauty with functionality can steal the market. (In other words, I love my iPod and admire iPhones, and I think my son now has an iTouch).
And what does this have to do with Latin? Well, next week is National Latin Teacher Recruitment Week--the week where I stand up in front of my classroom, sleep-deprived and stressed, and (foolishly?) try to convince students that teaching is a worthwhile job, and that there is something magical about teaching Latin.
And here I am, on a morning where the house actually is quiet (ok, but it wasn't a couple of hours ago), a morning where I could sleep in (perhaps if I didn't wake with muscle aches and a mind full of to-do's), and here I am writing on my blog. I was, at least, trying to force myself to accept some relaxation time by reading but it drew me back here. Why?
There's so many why's here.... why do I love Latin? I do. I'm constantly thinking of Latin-related projects. I don't remember when I thought of a project not related to Latin in some way--even the "I wish I had time for this" projects, like wanting to design and make a mosaic. I love mosaics. I cannot even begin to tell you why... or can I? Maybe it's the same as why I like Latin, something that just came to me while reading this book.
True lovers of Latin are whole-brain users.
The left side of the brain is the side that likes order, the side that loves all the endings and the secret-code aspect of Latin, the precision, the beauty of the mathematical equation perfectly solved and balanced. There are people that cannot begin to enjoy textbooks like the Cambridge Latin Course because what they loved about Latin class was changing singulars to plurals, nominatives to accusatives. There was something very satisfying in the mastering of forms. These are often the same people/students who love the language, so they say, but hate translating stories. And perhaps there was a time that I was part of that group. I remember hating translation day. Most of the chapters in my high school text involved the back and forth of transformations of the new grammar structure. Putting it all together was difficult. You ended up writing stupid sounding sentences but then, that was Latin for you, right?
Last summer I was at a Vergil workshop for people who were about to teach Vergil AP for the first time. I watched and listened while most ever single teacher there (or at least the ones who were working in groups and thus I could listen in to what they were doing) treated the beautiful words of Vergl *still* as an exercise of endings and decoding. I'm not trying to be critical; this is just an observation.
What was I doing? I was reading WHOLE PASSAGES in the Latin--or at least a complete sentence!--before beginning to make meaning. My brain was already beginning to make meaning because it had seen the whole picture, it had seen not each and ever tree but had recognized the clusters of trees here and there and saw the beauty of the whole forest. Things that the other teachers were struggling to see because they were merely looking at endings were flowing in my brain. Oh, I wasn't perfect. There were lines here and there I didn't quite get. And instead of wasting time determined to solve the equation, I moved on because the whole picture was too beautiful to miss. I read considerably faster than the other students.
Do I think my Latin is better than theirs? No. I bet their command of conditional clauses and their ability to form future imperatives and other such things is better than mine. But I was enjoying Latin as a LANGUAGE, a real, read-it-left-to-right language. I credit my ability to do this to Dexter Hoyos and his book _Latin: How to Read it Fluently_. I still think this is a MUST READ for anyone majoring in Latin. If I had read it as a freshman in college, I might have a masters or PhD today. But no matter... I'm doing good things with my little BA.
Right brain thinkers consider context, consider the big picture, have creative solutions, and can empathize. What I wish this workshop had focused on now are things I understand to be right-brain issues, things I try to teach to my own students--how to teach/learn the right brain stuff.
How do you get your mind to let go of not knowing what a word means and going for the big picture? After all, Latin students like that precision. They like knowing what every little thing means. There's order in knowing everything, it's a puzzle to be solved. But it isn't. It's a LANGUAGE--expressive and beautiful. There is absolutely no reason at all to keep Latin studies alive if we don't move past the morphology to the beauty of expression and the bigger context. And we as teachers often wait too long to do this.
I have heard far too many times in my life that "at some point it will all just start clicking." Or, when I complained to a prof one time that I didn't know HOW to improve my reading and he just said that I needed to read more.....oh yeah, like that was a solution!
We *can* and must start teaching HOW to see the bigger picture, HOW to get beyond the word for word. If we don't model reading whole passages to the students, if we don't model getting beyond unknown vocabulary to see the shape of the sentence (and thus figuring out the vocab without having to look it up), we will never move them beyond left-brain thinking.
And here's the thing--if they don't think they can get beyond the morphology to really reading, they won't sign up for AP classes.
And I'm digressing. I was going to tie this into National Latin Teacher Recruitment Week stuff. When we talk to our students, we should point out how fortunate it is that teaching--truly good teaching--is a job that has demanding use of both sides of the brain for so long. And right now, even if future teachers don't make it a life-long career, but teach to provide a service for this country--a few years service--it truly will prepare them for the kinds of jobs that will be out there, because those jobs are going to need people that can not only handle the data and the details but can provide creative solutions and can empathize with their clients.
I mouthed off in my Latin 2 class this week, muttering something like "you should try to teach this class." They are actually a fun bunch of kids, but at the end of the day they are swinging from the ceiling. One piped up and said, OK! So, with National Latin Exam approaching (March 11th for us) and an odd week with TAKS testing in the middle, I decided they can teach some cultural topics. Here's the thing: I told them I didn't want crappy posters with crappy internet graphics cut and pasted together 20 minutes before class. I pointed out that I rarely make displays (if ever!), but will often grab a book that has some good pictures and walk it around the room. Or, perhaps, use some slides (YES, I still have slides and I love them). Occasionally I'll even use PowerPoint. We'll see what they do. I told them it has to be an effective mini-lesson where more than half the class should be able to retain the information. ha. A little taste of teaching. This will either be great or a bomb.
Sadly here is what I've found in the last few years of teaching: students aren't as creative as they used to be. It's too easy to download pictures and make posters for class. It's too easy to get a cool looking font off of the computer than to do your own lettering. Even we teachers perhaps aren't modeling enough creativity. I try....
And I suppose I should stop rambling. I'm looking forward to this afternoon when I'm working on Aeneid stuff. I'll just be putting together quia.com review material and grading some quizzes I've almost forgotten about, but I'll be looking at the WHOLE thing--the whole passage, the whole artistry, not just this word and that word.
And I get it now. For me, it's whole brain stimulation. Whole brain.
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teaching phrasing/chunking in AP--or seeing what you're reading
Feb. 16th, 2009 | 06:18 pm
music: POLICE: Every Move You Make
I just posted this to the AP list (below). I started the thread with this comment yesterday:
***
I have been working hard to get my Latin 3's to work more on seeing phrasing than rushing to look up words, because I know my two AP students rush to look up words before seeing the phrasing. However, not much effort is going into this on their part.
I can see it's more critical than vocab and can lead to better guessing of unknown words from proper context, but I'm not convincing them of that.
Is there any particular exercise that any of you do to promote better chunking, better seeing of phrasing? I'm thinking I should come up with an exercise for midweek to give to both groups (same class time/split level).
I feel it's like magic for me now that I see phrasing so easily, and in word order. I only know of 1 student out of the 3's and AP's (mind you, that's only a total of 9 students) who actively incorporates my reading methodologies and things I've been trying to teach them. This year (but not the last 2) he is the top student. (I think he just finally looked around and decided he was smarter than everyone else and it was time to prove it, ya know...)
I want the rest to get it, esp the two AP students. Because it isn't just about seeing the endings and matching stuff up like a secret code. It's seeing the phrasing and the pictures as they unfold and worrying about the English second, which you can then translate better anyway for having taken time to see the phrasing and the pictures.
> Metaphrasing has been somewhat unsuccessful with poetry (at
> least for me), because in many instances, the sentences are a
> bit long and grammar a bit scattered that students lose track
> of everything nor do they make connections.
Hmmmm.... I have found it helped me out of quite a few jams when I realized my own understanding was going off track. But what I find I can do (most likely because of been working on the whole concept of READING versus DECODING for the last decade both with students and my own personal reading habits) is see whole phrases and clauses or, if need be, eliminate them to see the basic skeleton underneath as well. I gave my APs the Dido wandering as a wounded doe passage to translate on their last test, thinking I had made a big deal out of it and knowing that it is an important passage, but didn't really think about how tricky it is to put into good English. I can *read* it, see the phrases and clauses as they flow over the page, see the pictures painted, understand the nuances of the word order, and love the Latin for the Latin. And even though I know *exactly* what it means, the English is so less graceful. (Hmmm...suddenly I feel the urge to try some creative writing myself with the passage....)
>
> I have been trying to get students to rewrite the poetry into
> a more prose word order
And my gut tells me that this is exactly the wrong direction to go. Please, please don't take offense, Keith! This is the sort of thing I probably would have done when I first started teaching in the late 80s. But all that I've read by Dexter Hoyos about reading in word order makes me think that this is just not the way to go. It reinforces that idea that Latin is in mixed up word order.
There's an incredible beauty to the word order and the phrasing. And if we weren't marching at such a horrific clip through these dactylic hexameters, we could slow down long enough to talk about it.
Sometimes one way to deal with what seems odd word order to us is to read it outloud, to think about how a Roman might have emphasized the words as they flowed along in the story. Here's the passage I was talking about (thank you,www.thelatinlibrary.com, I love you):
uritur infelix Dido totaque uagatur
urbe furens, qualis coniecta cerua sagitta,
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit
pastor agens telis liquitque uolatile ferrum
nescius: illa fuga siluas saltusque peragrat
Dictaeos; haeret lateri letalis harundo.
Students really botched up the relative clause. No surprise. But think of it from the point of view of the storytelling. First that the shot/spent arrow visually has pierced the doe--from front to back. And then there's the clause describing the doe: far away, unknowing, just wandering among the Cretan woods; pierced (by whom?), then the shepherd hunting with weapons; who himself unwittingly leaves behind the swift/flying shaft/weapon--with that emphasis in the enjambment of not knowing. The story is told BEAUTIFULLY in word order. Makes you wonder what the shepherd was doing, just shooting arrows in the air? Aiming at squirrels up close and not noticing where the arrow ended up? Perhaps the point is that a hunter who knew he shot a doe would have tracked it and finished the job of killing it.
But here's our Dido, shot by Cupid, lethal weapon clinging to her side, so to speak.
There are a couple of things I would want my students to be able to do (which they don't/can't yet), which is to be able to see how to simplify to make sure they have the right *shape* of the thing. Look again at this relative clause:
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit
pastor agens telis liquitque uolatile ferrum
nescius:
This can be divided into two parts:
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit
pastor agens telis
and
liquitque uolatile ferrum
nescius:
This second part is easier than the first, so let's ignore it. Now to just the first part:
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit
pastor agens telis
We know that a relative clause will have a basic shape: subject verb object--right? But can you see it yet? How about now, taking out the prep phrase?
quam procul incautam ... fixit
pastor agens telis
How about now, taking out the adverb?
quam ... incautam ... fixit
pastor agens telis
How about now, taking out the participial phrase modifying pastor?
quam ... incautam ... fixit
pastor
How about now, taking out the adjective, which at least we can now see goes with quam?
quam ... fixit / pastor
And there it is: whom/which the shepherd pierced (with that shot arrow that's already sticking through either side of the doe!)
I don't want to *change* the word order; I want, now, I suppose, to build it back up.
The thing is, I *immediately* see that nemora inter Cresia is a prep phrase. I *immediately* see that agens telis goes with pastor. I don't think word for word when I read; I think chunk for chunk, phrase for phrase, clause for clause.
***
Maybe I should print this for my students....
***
That was the original post. There was a reply, but the other teacher was talking about possibly getting students to rewrite poetry as prose. That defeats the purpose. So here are my comments:
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What I can't not do
Feb. 16th, 2009 | 10:42 am
music: Bob Seger
Saw the doc today; he's seriously concerned about my sleep deprivation. No joke; me too. He kept asking how I could lighten my load. He kept saying he knew other teachers that didn't work as hard, surely.
Yeah... well....
Would my tests be easier to grade if I made them all scantron? Sure. Done in 5 minutes in the workroom with the scantron machine. But is that truly best practices?
How come living well means not teaching well if you have a full load?
Sure. I could switch. Might take some time to change over the tests but I could switch. But....
How would all multiple choice prepare students for AP?
How would all multiple choice encourage students to reread their stories?
How would I really see true mastery of the material?
Because I can tell you what, just because a person can decline a noun doesn't mean he can read a sentence of Latin. Just because a person can recognize the right answer doesn't mean he could have come up with that answer on his own.
Backwards design, right? They say that's the best way to design what you are doing--thinking about where you want to be and design backwards. OK, my end result is supposed to be, what, a 5 on the AP exam. So what skills do you need?
How wonderful it would be if all AP Vergil students, instead of freaking out at the number of lines in the current assignment and diving in, actually took the time to reread the previous selection before starting the current one? It would certainly develop the bigger picture--plus Vergil seems to repeat specialized vocabulary relatively near each other. But this habit is almost too late to form if you wait until the students are seniors. Better to start it sooner.
The other thing that I do to encourage rereading of stories is including seen passages on the tests. I (foolishly?) provide a choice of 4 passages, so if they reread at least one or two stories they should be able to find something they are comfortable doing. I always hope that the knowledge of those selections being on the test encourages students to continue to reread the stories, even if only the night before the test.
And it's this presentation of seen passages that helps me to see whether they can translate or not. If they mess it up in class when it was homework, fine. That's ok by me -- if they learn from it. On the last test I gave to the Latin 3 class I included a passage we had a "pop" quiz on (that I didn't count--it was that bad!) that was over an extended indirect statement. Two students chose that passage to demonstrate that if nothing else they HAD paid attention. Fine. Great even. They gave me the details they hadn't given me before, the kind of details and literal precision that AP is after.
SO THAT'S ALL GOOD. But if I could find a way to keep up with the reading log, that would be better.
The ability to read a sight passage and answer questions... well, I guess I could turn that into multiple choice/objective. Currently I have short answer -- both Latin and English -- to make sure students truly are understanding the Latin and not just guessing randomly. From the style of question I can see whether they get concepts of case or even subject/verb agreement, not to mention general comprehension. On my last Latin one class I could easily tell who had general comprehension because they laughed at the story. (I had written a great one, I admit. Luck, most assuredly!) Admittedly the sight passage will be multiple choice on the AP test, but I feel that I can determine a lot about how a student is doing by the kinds of answers the student writes down. Did they get the write word for a Latin answer but just not put it in the right case? Did they not understand the question altogether, or did they understand the question but not the passage? All sorts of things.
But I guess if something had to go, I could rewrite the tests to have multiple choice for those sections... that would save some time in grading.
As for developing an expanded vocabulary geared towards Vergil, well, there's still LOTS of room to go here. I'm only beginning to ponder the situation. The more Vergil I read with the AP girls this year, the more I realize that CLC really has LOTS of Vergil vocab built in. Some scene we were reading in Latin 1--LATIN 1--had some words that were just in the Vergil we're read recently, words that the girls stumbled on.
I'm starting in Latin 3 (but have been inconsistent--and this will all need redoing on quizzes next year) to have a section on the vocab quizzes for old vocab they should still know. It's strictly a matching section, and I really only began this when we began Unit 4. Perhaps a little late to be doing this. Even the Latin 2's have noticed that they aren't retaining vocab. So this is something that perhaps I need to start including on their vocab quizzes. The question in my mind's eye is usually WHICH WORDS?
I have toyed with words that show up in the current story. But would it be more efficient (surely it would?) to just simply state that there will be matching vocab that will pull from X stage and Y stage? Yes, most likely. I do have a master vocab list for Unit 1 and Unit 2, though I haven't handed them out in recent years. But perhaps these would be good lists to give to Latin 2 and 3 students at the beginning of the year? And I wish I had a list for Unit 3, one done like *I* would do it--with macrons and all. (Hmmm.... I suppose this could always be a standby project for my aide when I don't have her typing up Vergil vocab....). Ideally what I would do is mark all the vocabulary that is on the Vergil high frequency list and target those words, whether they showed up in the current reading or not. And if I pulled on two stages, I could do one from a more recent stage for reinforcement and one from an old stage for review. Yes? Not a bad idea.
(Of course, I'm always full of good ideas that I can hardly find time to put into practice. And this note was about how to cut back on what I do so I can get more sleep and find time for exercise before I literally kill myself from stress.)
(And now I'm thinking I have the topic for a paper for presentation next year regarding vocabulary acquisition, which is always a hot topic for conversations among Latin teachers.)
Grammar. That's where I'm falling down, I think. I don't do enough hardcore drill and kill. I focus a lot on being able to see the phrasing and that seeing the phrasing is far more important than knowing all the words. Clearly students don't believe me. One girl, bless her because she tries hard but gets easily discouraged, had written vocab all over a sheet of the Latin story (printed out for marking phrasing with notes for vocab on the side), demonstrating that she had looked up ever single damn word. She did. She had worked HARD. She was virtually in tears when she (as well as most everyone else) had bombed the little pop quiz that focused on the indirect statement because she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She sees the trees but not the forest. Lots and lots of tall, scary trees. And I do have a grammar section (multiple choice) on my standard tests at all levels; I have noticed that this is the section where people are dropping the ball, especially on things they really shouldn't be blowing. I no longer drill the neverending noun song with the Latin 3's. If they don't know their noun endings then they know what to do. They have the link to the song, there are drills, etc. They can practice on their own.
I have conjugating and declining drills online. I don't require declining and conjugating for homework because, honestly, WHEN would I have time to grade them? But this is a problem I think I have to figure out. I think that Latin 3--that stepping stone to AP Latin--must be where we refine all knowledge of declining and conjugating and such. I tried to teach the Latin 3's (only 7 of them) how to do a synposis earlier this year but finally gave up because only 2 seemed to get it and in a split level class I started to think that it wasn't the best use of my time. But that was a cop-out.
I'm thinking that next year--and I have to find a way (find some more time? ahahahahhaha) to grade these THE WHOLE YEAR--all vocab items must be declined, conjugated, or put in a synopsis (where applicable). Little details keep slipping by the AP girls--and that's my fault for not having reinforced the detail work in the past. But they've been in split-level Latin for 3 of four years. All three with me, at least.
So, not a place to cut, but one to expand. One to find MORE time for.
I know one thing that eats up a bunch of my time is the creation of the quia.com materials. But I think they are critical for mastery in some cases, can act as a private tutor for students, is a resource that's available 24/7/365, and once made is still there.
I confess that there are times... times when I worry about ALL THE TIME I've invested in quia.com and what will eventually happen to it if something happens to it. I've come to rely on it entirely too much in my teaching and my review of material for students. It's probably why I have as many students move from level 1 to level 2 Latin. We'll see how many Latin 2 go to Latin 3 next year. And God Almighty what will I do next year?
They'll have to have a cut off. 3 Latin 1s, 2 Latin 2s, 1 Latin 3 split with AP again. I doubt that they will be getting another Latin teacher, or if they do, will it be one I can convince to do things my way? What levels to give? Lower levels while I develop upper? Give up upper and relax, so to speak, with lower?
And what about my doc? HOW can I do less than I do now? What's the result? Will students learn the Latin if I didn't do what I do? Wouldn't more fail? Wouldn't my classes be smaller?
I don't know how to not do what I do. I can only think of more to do. More that needs tweaking. Today is an inservice day and I had no one to meet with for vertical teaming this morning. This, I suppose, is my vertical teaming. With personal commentary. Probably TMI.
If I gave up anything it would be doing JCL.
In a heartbeat.
Yeah... well....
Would my tests be easier to grade if I made them all scantron? Sure. Done in 5 minutes in the workroom with the scantron machine. But is that truly best practices?
How come living well means not teaching well if you have a full load?
Sure. I could switch. Might take some time to change over the tests but I could switch. But....
How would all multiple choice prepare students for AP?
How would all multiple choice encourage students to reread their stories?
How would I really see true mastery of the material?
Because I can tell you what, just because a person can decline a noun doesn't mean he can read a sentence of Latin. Just because a person can recognize the right answer doesn't mean he could have come up with that answer on his own.
Backwards design, right? They say that's the best way to design what you are doing--thinking about where you want to be and design backwards. OK, my end result is supposed to be, what, a 5 on the AP exam. So what skills do you need?
- an ability to translate accurately and literally a seen passage of Latin
- an ability to read and reread a large quantity of Latin, and then reread it again--because the exams requires that you have a serious grasp of all the literature read
- an ability to comprehend an unfamiliar passage of Latin that is not related to Vergil
- an expanded vocabulary keyed towards Vergil
- a solid grammar base that would allow you to differentiate, for instance, tenses and cases quickly and easily
- an ability to write essays (but frankly I let the English department develop those skills; I just fine-tune them for the needs of the exam)
How wonderful it would be if all AP Vergil students, instead of freaking out at the number of lines in the current assignment and diving in, actually took the time to reread the previous selection before starting the current one? It would certainly develop the bigger picture--plus Vergil seems to repeat specialized vocabulary relatively near each other. But this habit is almost too late to form if you wait until the students are seniors. Better to start it sooner.
The other thing that I do to encourage rereading of stories is including seen passages on the tests. I (foolishly?) provide a choice of 4 passages, so if they reread at least one or two stories they should be able to find something they are comfortable doing. I always hope that the knowledge of those selections being on the test encourages students to continue to reread the stories, even if only the night before the test.
And it's this presentation of seen passages that helps me to see whether they can translate or not. If they mess it up in class when it was homework, fine. That's ok by me -- if they learn from it. On the last test I gave to the Latin 3 class I included a passage we had a "pop" quiz on (that I didn't count--it was that bad!) that was over an extended indirect statement. Two students chose that passage to demonstrate that if nothing else they HAD paid attention. Fine. Great even. They gave me the details they hadn't given me before, the kind of details and literal precision that AP is after.
SO THAT'S ALL GOOD. But if I could find a way to keep up with the reading log, that would be better.
The ability to read a sight passage and answer questions... well, I guess I could turn that into multiple choice/objective. Currently I have short answer -- both Latin and English -- to make sure students truly are understanding the Latin and not just guessing randomly. From the style of question I can see whether they get concepts of case or even subject/verb agreement, not to mention general comprehension. On my last Latin one class I could easily tell who had general comprehension because they laughed at the story. (I had written a great one, I admit. Luck, most assuredly!) Admittedly the sight passage will be multiple choice on the AP test, but I feel that I can determine a lot about how a student is doing by the kinds of answers the student writes down. Did they get the write word for a Latin answer but just not put it in the right case? Did they not understand the question altogether, or did they understand the question but not the passage? All sorts of things.
But I guess if something had to go, I could rewrite the tests to have multiple choice for those sections... that would save some time in grading.
As for developing an expanded vocabulary geared towards Vergil, well, there's still LOTS of room to go here. I'm only beginning to ponder the situation. The more Vergil I read with the AP girls this year, the more I realize that CLC really has LOTS of Vergil vocab built in. Some scene we were reading in Latin 1--LATIN 1--had some words that were just in the Vergil we're read recently, words that the girls stumbled on.
I'm starting in Latin 3 (but have been inconsistent--and this will all need redoing on quizzes next year) to have a section on the vocab quizzes for old vocab they should still know. It's strictly a matching section, and I really only began this when we began Unit 4. Perhaps a little late to be doing this. Even the Latin 2's have noticed that they aren't retaining vocab. So this is something that perhaps I need to start including on their vocab quizzes. The question in my mind's eye is usually WHICH WORDS?
I have toyed with words that show up in the current story. But would it be more efficient (surely it would?) to just simply state that there will be matching vocab that will pull from X stage and Y stage? Yes, most likely. I do have a master vocab list for Unit 1 and Unit 2, though I haven't handed them out in recent years. But perhaps these would be good lists to give to Latin 2 and 3 students at the beginning of the year? And I wish I had a list for Unit 3, one done like *I* would do it--with macrons and all. (Hmmm.... I suppose this could always be a standby project for my aide when I don't have her typing up Vergil vocab....). Ideally what I would do is mark all the vocabulary that is on the Vergil high frequency list and target those words, whether they showed up in the current reading or not. And if I pulled on two stages, I could do one from a more recent stage for reinforcement and one from an old stage for review. Yes? Not a bad idea.
(Of course, I'm always full of good ideas that I can hardly find time to put into practice. And this note was about how to cut back on what I do so I can get more sleep and find time for exercise before I literally kill myself from stress.)
(And now I'm thinking I have the topic for a paper for presentation next year regarding vocabulary acquisition, which is always a hot topic for conversations among Latin teachers.)
Grammar. That's where I'm falling down, I think. I don't do enough hardcore drill and kill. I focus a lot on being able to see the phrasing and that seeing the phrasing is far more important than knowing all the words. Clearly students don't believe me. One girl, bless her because she tries hard but gets easily discouraged, had written vocab all over a sheet of the Latin story (printed out for marking phrasing with notes for vocab on the side), demonstrating that she had looked up ever single damn word. She did. She had worked HARD. She was virtually in tears when she (as well as most everyone else) had bombed the little pop quiz that focused on the indirect statement because she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She sees the trees but not the forest. Lots and lots of tall, scary trees. And I do have a grammar section (multiple choice) on my standard tests at all levels; I have noticed that this is the section where people are dropping the ball, especially on things they really shouldn't be blowing. I no longer drill the neverending noun song with the Latin 3's. If they don't know their noun endings then they know what to do. They have the link to the song, there are drills, etc. They can practice on their own.
I have conjugating and declining drills online. I don't require declining and conjugating for homework because, honestly, WHEN would I have time to grade them? But this is a problem I think I have to figure out. I think that Latin 3--that stepping stone to AP Latin--must be where we refine all knowledge of declining and conjugating and such. I tried to teach the Latin 3's (only 7 of them) how to do a synposis earlier this year but finally gave up because only 2 seemed to get it and in a split level class I started to think that it wasn't the best use of my time. But that was a cop-out.
I'm thinking that next year--and I have to find a way (find some more time? ahahahahhaha) to grade these THE WHOLE YEAR--all vocab items must be declined, conjugated, or put in a synopsis (where applicable). Little details keep slipping by the AP girls--and that's my fault for not having reinforced the detail work in the past. But they've been in split-level Latin for 3 of four years. All three with me, at least.
So, not a place to cut, but one to expand. One to find MORE time for.
I know one thing that eats up a bunch of my time is the creation of the quia.com materials. But I think they are critical for mastery in some cases, can act as a private tutor for students, is a resource that's available 24/7/365, and once made is still there.
I confess that there are times... times when I worry about ALL THE TIME I've invested in quia.com and what will eventually happen to it if something happens to it. I've come to rely on it entirely too much in my teaching and my review of material for students. It's probably why I have as many students move from level 1 to level 2 Latin. We'll see how many Latin 2 go to Latin 3 next year. And God Almighty what will I do next year?
They'll have to have a cut off. 3 Latin 1s, 2 Latin 2s, 1 Latin 3 split with AP again. I doubt that they will be getting another Latin teacher, or if they do, will it be one I can convince to do things my way? What levels to give? Lower levels while I develop upper? Give up upper and relax, so to speak, with lower?
And what about my doc? HOW can I do less than I do now? What's the result? Will students learn the Latin if I didn't do what I do? Wouldn't more fail? Wouldn't my classes be smaller?
I don't know how to not do what I do. I can only think of more to do. More that needs tweaking. Today is an inservice day and I had no one to meet with for vertical teaming this morning. This, I suppose, is my vertical teaming. With personal commentary. Probably TMI.
If I gave up anything it would be doing JCL.
In a heartbeat.
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Are educational theories bad?
Feb. 8th, 2009 | 10:32 am
music: just the clock ticking
Ok, I just had a little rant on Latinteach. I"ll probably pay for it later but it really got me. The original post went like this:
***
Low Level: memorizing the role of Hamlet, or the text of any other lead
actor in a serious play; memorizing - yes- irregular verbs, principal parts,
etc.; the Greek gods, the basic stories of mythology; Bible verses; a
Rhapsode memorizing the epic; etc.
High Level: synthesis - writing a poem
I really have no regard at all for Bloom's taxonomy. When I first saw it, I
showed it to a friend, a graduate of Yale who is a filmmaker. "Whose
criteria are these?!?" he shrieked in horror. I trust it is little known
outside of USA, and probably little known outside California. I do
understand, from a friend who studied with Bloom, that she was very
personable.
***
Here's my reply (which hasn't been posted yet):
Yes, I'll grant you, but that's not what Bloom was talking about. And I think you know that.
How many people have students who can memorize vocab for a quiz? Can decline puella? But can't put it together to translate?
Memorizing lines of Shakespeare and ACTING THEM WELL/INTERPRETTING THEM are two different things. Plenty of people our age (middle age) memorized the preamble to the constitution because of the School House Rock song, and even though plenty of kids can sing it, how many of them can take it apart and truly understand it or explain the grammar of it?
What people hate are educational theories because they think they are a waste of time. But if they were a waste of time and if they have no bearing on why students who can memorize vocab and sing back the Endless Noun Ending song, what is your explanation for why little Johnny can't make heads or tales of a Latin sentence?
***
You know, you can find ANYTHING wrong with ANYTHING if you look hard enough. Is memorizing Shakespeare difficult? It can be, if the language is unfamiliar. But I certainly have strands of Shakespeare floating through my head, mainly from Hamlet, that have lasted all these years. I also have tons of commercials and lyrics and other nonsense. All memorized. I'm sure at one time I could recited the periodic table. And if you told me I had to memorize a passage of Greek for tomorrow I could do it. But don't ask me to UNDERSTAND it. I know some Greek Christmas carols that I've memorized that I couldn't tell you exactly what they mean.
But what Bloom was saying is that memorizing straight facts is easiest. And if you think about what Latin teachers have been WHINING about their students for generation after generation is mainly along the lines of why can't these kids take what they know and translate? They've got the vocab, they know their endings, why can't they take the time to apply everything and create MEANING?
Because it is a different kind of thinking. All education stuff isn't crap. A lot of it isn't in fact, it is just usually poorly presented in classes because it is't applied to anything. And in our methods classes everything is crammed in to one semester when some of the stuff could be a class on its own. There are theories and philosophies out there that I haven't begun to explore because I don't have the time--Krashen, Rassias, others who write about language acquisition.
To say, for instance, esp for a modern language, that immersion is the way to go is too general. How is it supported? What order is material presented? How does it build upon what the learner has been exposed to? Or is it sink or swim?
I know people who think immersion is utter crap. I say that probably their teacher was utter crap and didn't know what they were doing.
I think that if you have students who can memorize vocabulary and can decline a noun who are still failing major concepts and can't translate that there's probably something your missing. And, yes, some kids automatically do higher level thinking and can apply all the rules and generate, after treating Latin like a secret code, something close to a literate translation, albeit strained. Translating Latin shouldn't be like having constipation. It shouldn't be work. (You know, I could continue with this metaphor but nothing good will come of it.)
I've been utterly exhausted lately, exhausted beyond my means and over the edge and looking at crazyville. Too much to do both for classes and for home and other stuff. And the one thing I keep thinking during my frustration is that I wish I had more time to devote to THINKING about the problems my Latin 2's are having as well as ADDRESSING them. Because when they want to, they can all ace a vocab quiz (even one of mine in context) and they can decline the required noun or conjugate the required verb. But they aren't applying the information when they need to and I need to figure out why. What can I do to help build these skills? It's not about whether they are lazy, though some are, or they spend too much time online, though some do, or even what previous teachers did or did not do to build skills that these kids should have.
They don't have them.
It would be like me looking to blame vaccinations or computer use or whatever for why my younger son has pervasive developmental delays. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHY SKILLS ARE LACKING.
And until something better than Blooms can help me think about what's missing, I'm going to support understanding and using Blooms. If you think it's utter crap, fine. But don't expect you can just weed out your Latin classes so that you only get the good kids. Real life isn't like that. ANd if you do weed out your classes, they will be small classes. Your AP won't make. You'll have to teach other subjects. And then one day the school board will decide that Latin is unnecessary and being treated as an elitist subject anyway. Then you'll be looking for a job.
If you don't like students as much as Latin if not, maybe, a little more even, this isn't the job for you. Don't waste your time with student teaching. Go look at editing positions or something. Computer programming. Marketing. Good teaching isn't easy. This isn't a fallback position if you don't have what it takes to finish your PhD.
I better end my rant there. I'm sorry if I offended people. I don't know why the comment on Blooms taxonomy so pissed me off. Then again I don't believe anyone on Latinteach even made a comment about my suggestions to the problems of group work that teacher was having. Is it because, quite honestly, the grammar teacher really only wanted a certain type of answer? Was that it? And mine wasn't that kind of answer? They wanted to hear how someone else parsed information? You know, whatever. I have a lot of work to do, time to go do it and stop my ranting.
***
Low Level: memorizing the role of Hamlet, or the text of any other lead
actor in a serious play; memorizing - yes- irregular verbs, principal parts,
etc.; the Greek gods, the basic stories of mythology; Bible verses; a
Rhapsode memorizing the epic; etc.
High Level: synthesis - writing a poem
I really have no regard at all for Bloom's taxonomy. When I first saw it, I
showed it to a friend, a graduate of Yale who is a filmmaker. "Whose
criteria are these?!?" he shrieked in horror. I trust it is little known
outside of USA, and probably little known outside California. I do
understand, from a friend who studied with Bloom, that she was very
personable.
***
Here's my reply (which hasn't been posted yet):
Yes, I'll grant you, but that's not what Bloom was talking about. And I think you know that.
How many people have students who can memorize vocab for a quiz? Can decline puella? But can't put it together to translate?
Memorizing lines of Shakespeare and ACTING THEM WELL/INTERPRETTING THEM are two different things. Plenty of people our age (middle age) memorized the preamble to the constitution because of the School House Rock song, and even though plenty of kids can sing it, how many of them can take it apart and truly understand it or explain the grammar of it?
What people hate are educational theories because they think they are a waste of time. But if they were a waste of time and if they have no bearing on why students who can memorize vocab and sing back the Endless Noun Ending song, what is your explanation for why little Johnny can't make heads or tales of a Latin sentence?
***
You know, you can find ANYTHING wrong with ANYTHING if you look hard enough. Is memorizing Shakespeare difficult? It can be, if the language is unfamiliar. But I certainly have strands of Shakespeare floating through my head, mainly from Hamlet, that have lasted all these years. I also have tons of commercials and lyrics and other nonsense. All memorized. I'm sure at one time I could recited the periodic table. And if you told me I had to memorize a passage of Greek for tomorrow I could do it. But don't ask me to UNDERSTAND it. I know some Greek Christmas carols that I've memorized that I couldn't tell you exactly what they mean.
But what Bloom was saying is that memorizing straight facts is easiest. And if you think about what Latin teachers have been WHINING about their students for generation after generation is mainly along the lines of why can't these kids take what they know and translate? They've got the vocab, they know their endings, why can't they take the time to apply everything and create MEANING?
Because it is a different kind of thinking. All education stuff isn't crap. A lot of it isn't in fact, it is just usually poorly presented in classes because it is't applied to anything. And in our methods classes everything is crammed in to one semester when some of the stuff could be a class on its own. There are theories and philosophies out there that I haven't begun to explore because I don't have the time--Krashen, Rassias, others who write about language acquisition.
To say, for instance, esp for a modern language, that immersion is the way to go is too general. How is it supported? What order is material presented? How does it build upon what the learner has been exposed to? Or is it sink or swim?
I know people who think immersion is utter crap. I say that probably their teacher was utter crap and didn't know what they were doing.
I think that if you have students who can memorize vocabulary and can decline a noun who are still failing major concepts and can't translate that there's probably something your missing. And, yes, some kids automatically do higher level thinking and can apply all the rules and generate, after treating Latin like a secret code, something close to a literate translation, albeit strained. Translating Latin shouldn't be like having constipation. It shouldn't be work. (You know, I could continue with this metaphor but nothing good will come of it.)
I've been utterly exhausted lately, exhausted beyond my means and over the edge and looking at crazyville. Too much to do both for classes and for home and other stuff. And the one thing I keep thinking during my frustration is that I wish I had more time to devote to THINKING about the problems my Latin 2's are having as well as ADDRESSING them. Because when they want to, they can all ace a vocab quiz (even one of mine in context) and they can decline the required noun or conjugate the required verb. But they aren't applying the information when they need to and I need to figure out why. What can I do to help build these skills? It's not about whether they are lazy, though some are, or they spend too much time online, though some do, or even what previous teachers did or did not do to build skills that these kids should have.
They don't have them.
It would be like me looking to blame vaccinations or computer use or whatever for why my younger son has pervasive developmental delays. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHY SKILLS ARE LACKING.
And until something better than Blooms can help me think about what's missing, I'm going to support understanding and using Blooms. If you think it's utter crap, fine. But don't expect you can just weed out your Latin classes so that you only get the good kids. Real life isn't like that. ANd if you do weed out your classes, they will be small classes. Your AP won't make. You'll have to teach other subjects. And then one day the school board will decide that Latin is unnecessary and being treated as an elitist subject anyway. Then you'll be looking for a job.
If you don't like students as much as Latin if not, maybe, a little more even, this isn't the job for you. Don't waste your time with student teaching. Go look at editing positions or something. Computer programming. Marketing. Good teaching isn't easy. This isn't a fallback position if you don't have what it takes to finish your PhD.
I better end my rant there. I'm sorry if I offended people. I don't know why the comment on Blooms taxonomy so pissed me off. Then again I don't believe anyone on Latinteach even made a comment about my suggestions to the problems of group work that teacher was having. Is it because, quite honestly, the grammar teacher really only wanted a certain type of answer? Was that it? And mine wasn't that kind of answer? They wanted to hear how someone else parsed information? You know, whatever. I have a lot of work to do, time to go do it and stop my ranting.
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To Parse or Not to Parse? Strugglers in group reading
Feb. 6th, 2009 | 07:08 pm
music: www.pandora.com
This was in response to a note on Latinteach. A teacher was discussing what to do when group translating (grammar/translation class set-up) and a kid totally botches a sentence creating a real howler and such. Most people were suggesting some form of parsing. this is what I suggested.
***
This thread has interested me, in great measure because I don't think the heart of the problem has been identified. (Then again, I haven't had much sleep in weeks so who knows what I'm rambling on about.)
I've taught middle school (inner city) and at that time read a lot about teaching this age group.
I hope everyone here is familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy. Some of you may hate it because it's been shoved down your throat, but it really does help to understand where are students go wrong.
Memorizing declension and conjugation endings is just simple rote memory. It is a low-level skill. Just simple knowledge. Simple recall. However, when we are translating, we are using high level skills of synthesis and analysis. So we may have a student who can decline a noun just fine, or go from singular to plural, nominative to accusative, but can't make a thing out of an actual sentence of Latin. I have heard Latin teachers say to students that, gosh, if they know their endings they *should* be able to figure out the sentence. Just *apply* the endings.
But it's not that simple. The brain at that age does not function at those higher levels naturally. Physical and mental development varies from person to person at that age, and thus is a tricky age to teach. Anyone who has taught Latin 1 to seniors knows that they grasp details and how things go together far more quickly than freshmen.
Parsing, sure, can be done, but I find that it interferes with the flow of reading. I try to teach my students some different techniques to build reading skills.
My most used item in my bag of tricks is metaphrasing. A basic metaphrasing place-holding sentence is "someone verbed something to someone." Of course, sentences will vary and this doesn't cover genitives, for instance, or prepositional phrases, but it does provide a good place to start and allows one to analyze the sentence as it develops without resorting to "hunt the verb."
Since you teach from LFA, let me grab a copy and pull a random sentence from it to apply. Ok. How about this:
p 112. Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam pugnaverunt.
So, I would treat this sentence this way if we were metaphrasing the whole sentence.
Graeci: The Greeks verbed something.
Graeci et: The Greeks and someone (parallel construction) verbsed something.
Graeci et Troiani: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something.
Graeci et Troiani ad: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something to something (we expect an acc. with AD).
Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something to Troy.
Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam pugnaverunt. The Greeks and Trojans fought AT Troy (making an adjustment to AD to complete the proper structure of the sentence).
Ok. Simple enough. Let's look at another sentence that doesn't start with a nominative.
Barbaris praemium novum donabimus.
Barbaris: Someone verbed something to/for the barbarians. (would probably need a preposition to be ablative, so we can rule that out)
Barbaris praemium: The reward verbed something to/for the barbarians OR Someone verbed the reward to/for the barbarians. (Discussion of which one is more likely, and the knowledge that we have to hold both possibilities, until we have something tell us for sure.)
Barbaris praemium novum: The new reward verbed something to/for the barbarians (seems more unlikely) OR Someone verbed a new reward to/for the barbarians.
Barbaris praemium novum donabimus. AH! WE WILL GIVE a new reward to/for the barbarians.
The joy of metaphrasing is you are providing students a framework to hold information on, one that works with English word order, without needing to treat the Latin like an impossible jigsaw puzzle.
I often use metaphrasing for warm-ups. I just throw up a list of words in different cases and they have to put the English meaning into the right slot in the metaphrasing sentence.
Of course, we discuss cases and such too. I don't want you to think we don't. But grammatical cases and names of functions often do not connect with MEANING. We need to help build skills that stretch between Bloom's knowledge skills to the higher analytical skills.
Here's another sentence where understanding metaphrasing and Latin phrasing will help. I like to teach the importance in seeing what ET connects.
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum viderunt.
Barbari: The barbarians verbed something.
Barbari equum: The barbarians verbed the horse.
Barbari equum et : The barbarians verbed the horse and something (parallel construction therefore we EXPECT an accusative).
Barbari equum et castra: The barbarians verbed the horse and the camp
Barbari equum et castra deserta: The barbarians verbed the horse and the deserted camp
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum: The barbarians verbed the horse and the deserted camp of the Greeks
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum viderunt: The barbarians saw the horse and the deserted Greek camp.
Using a reading card (with a notch cut out of the left corner, thus the right side of the card covers up the rest of the sentence) keeps students from skipping around and hunting the verb or stringing together just the words they know.
Reading in word order cures a lot of ills with bad translations. I hope that helps.
***
This thread has interested me, in great measure because I don't think the heart of the problem has been identified. (Then again, I haven't had much sleep in weeks so who knows what I'm rambling on about.)
I've taught middle school (inner city) and at that time read a lot about teaching this age group.
I hope everyone here is familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy. Some of you may hate it because it's been shoved down your throat, but it really does help to understand where are students go wrong.
Memorizing declension and conjugation endings is just simple rote memory. It is a low-level skill. Just simple knowledge. Simple recall. However, when we are translating, we are using high level skills of synthesis and analysis. So we may have a student who can decline a noun just fine, or go from singular to plural, nominative to accusative, but can't make a thing out of an actual sentence of Latin. I have heard Latin teachers say to students that, gosh, if they know their endings they *should* be able to figure out the sentence. Just *apply* the endings.
But it's not that simple. The brain at that age does not function at those higher levels naturally. Physical and mental development varies from person to person at that age, and thus is a tricky age to teach. Anyone who has taught Latin 1 to seniors knows that they grasp details and how things go together far more quickly than freshmen.
Parsing, sure, can be done, but I find that it interferes with the flow of reading. I try to teach my students some different techniques to build reading skills.
My most used item in my bag of tricks is metaphrasing. A basic metaphrasing place-holding sentence is "someone verbed something to someone." Of course, sentences will vary and this doesn't cover genitives, for instance, or prepositional phrases, but it does provide a good place to start and allows one to analyze the sentence as it develops without resorting to "hunt the verb."
Since you teach from LFA, let me grab a copy and pull a random sentence from it to apply. Ok. How about this:
p 112. Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam pugnaverunt.
So, I would treat this sentence this way if we were metaphrasing the whole sentence.
Graeci: The Greeks verbed something.
Graeci et: The Greeks and someone (parallel construction) verbsed something.
Graeci et Troiani: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something.
Graeci et Troiani ad: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something to something (we expect an acc. with AD).
Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam: The Greeks and Trojans verbed something to Troy.
Graeci et Troiani ad Troiam pugnaverunt. The Greeks and Trojans fought AT Troy (making an adjustment to AD to complete the proper structure of the sentence).
Ok. Simple enough. Let's look at another sentence that doesn't start with a nominative.
Barbaris praemium novum donabimus.
Barbaris: Someone verbed something to/for the barbarians. (would probably need a preposition to be ablative, so we can rule that out)
Barbaris praemium: The reward verbed something to/for the barbarians OR Someone verbed the reward to/for the barbarians. (Discussion of which one is more likely, and the knowledge that we have to hold both possibilities, until we have something tell us for sure.)
Barbaris praemium novum: The new reward verbed something to/for the barbarians (seems more unlikely) OR Someone verbed a new reward to/for the barbarians.
Barbaris praemium novum donabimus. AH! WE WILL GIVE a new reward to/for the barbarians.
The joy of metaphrasing is you are providing students a framework to hold information on, one that works with English word order, without needing to treat the Latin like an impossible jigsaw puzzle.
I often use metaphrasing for warm-ups. I just throw up a list of words in different cases and they have to put the English meaning into the right slot in the metaphrasing sentence.
Of course, we discuss cases and such too. I don't want you to think we don't. But grammatical cases and names of functions often do not connect with MEANING. We need to help build skills that stretch between Bloom's knowledge skills to the higher analytical skills.
Here's another sentence where understanding metaphrasing and Latin phrasing will help. I like to teach the importance in seeing what ET connects.
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum viderunt.
Barbari: The barbarians verbed something.
Barbari equum: The barbarians verbed the horse.
Barbari equum et : The barbarians verbed the horse and something (parallel construction therefore we EXPECT an accusative).
Barbari equum et castra: The barbarians verbed the horse and the camp
Barbari equum et castra deserta: The barbarians verbed the horse and the deserted camp
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum: The barbarians verbed the horse and the deserted camp of the Greeks
Barbari equum et castra deserta Graecorum viderunt: The barbarians saw the horse and the deserted Greek camp.
Using a reading card (with a notch cut out of the left corner, thus the right side of the card covers up the rest of the sentence) keeps students from skipping around and hunting the verb or stringing together just the words they know.
Reading in word order cures a lot of ills with bad translations. I hope that helps.