Grammar Songs for the New School Year!

Latin teachers always seem to be in search of ways to help their students remember all those declensions and conjugations.

David Pelligrino has a collection of Latin Teaching Songs, covering noun declensions, prepositions, personal endings, intransitive verbs, a plethora of pronouns and question words. Especially noteworthy is the Preposition Song (sung to the melody of Ode to Joy by Beethoven), but they are all fun!

Magistra Mattingly has her students Sing Their Way Through Latin Grammar with a songs set to the tunes of the opening themes to Gilligan's Island and the Beverly Hillbillies.

Nota bene: The aforementioned sites include lyrics only.

Don't forget about the Endless Noun Ending Song, which is available in MP3 format, for listening to online.

Mt. Vesuvius in September's National Geographic Magazine

The September '07 National Geographic Magazine includes a feature story on Pompeii -- Vesuvius, Asleep for Now. The article is accompanied by an impressive photo gallery, field notes, interesting facts, an interactive animation of the explosion and a map of the world's active volcanoes.

A Review of the Anima Altera Website

Ginny Lindzey is a Latin teacher who, over the years, has done a great deal to promote the Classics. She's also a talented desktop publishing and webpage designer. Some time ago, she set up the Anima Altera shop on Cafe' Press. It has been some time since I visited her Cafe Press site, but it is obvious that she's done a great deal of work this summer creating new lines. I used to think that all Cafe Press did was t-shirts, but they've apparently added a lot of other items too! Ginny has created loads of cool baseball caps sporting all sorts of Latin mottoes including "Carpe Diem," "Salve," "Crede Mihi," etc. There are also dozens of buttons and mini-buttons. I think these would be perfect for a fund raiser or as incentives for learning. Ginny can also create custom items for Latin clubs and classes as well.

Latinum - The Latin Language Learning Podcast from London

Want to become fluent in Latin? Evan Millner, who lives in London, has set up an amazing new website, Latinum, which hosts an online Latin course via podcast. Listeners can download free conversational Latin lessons -- recorded using the Restored Classical Pronunciation --to their MP3 players (such as an Ipod) and immerse themselves in the language.

The list of individuals and organizations who have contributed to the Latinum project is quite impressive and includes many respected scholars and institutions. To name only a few: Stephen Daitz, Robert Sonkowsky, Lorna Robinson, Cambridge University Press, the University of Canterbury (NZ), the University of Californa at Los Angeles, and Swarthmore College.

Topics in the Latinum Podcast archive include poetry, grammar, songs, jokes and readings, contemporary Latin, fluency practice, dictations and more.

What are you waiting for? It's time to get more fluent in Latin!

New IB Discussion Forum

A new blog for discussing the IB Latin curriculum has been set up.

There's an IB Latin email list on Yahoo, but it looks like it has been very quiet since March.

What in the world does IB stand for, many of you may be asking? IB stands for the International Baccalaureate.

The International Baccalaureate program is a international curriculum run by the International Baccalaureate Organization, based in Geneva Switzerland. There are three levels: elementary, middle and diploma level. There is an IB Latin curriculum at the senior high or diploma level. The IB Latin blog and email list have been set up for teachers to discuss the diploma level Latin curriculum.

Technology in Rome -- in Situ and in the Lab!

The American Classical League and its Committee on Educational Computer Applications have just announced an exciting 2 week study tour and workshop in Rome and Campania to be held at the American University of Rome from July 20-August 3, 2008.

Entitled Rome: In Situ & In the Lab, this course (which may be taken for college or continuing education credit) is for teachers of Latin, Greek, the Classics and related disciplines. Participants will visit significant archaeological and museum sites and, in a computer laboratory, learn how to digitally record and use the resulting materials in the classroom and on the web. If you've always wanted to incorporate technology into your classroom, this sounds like a fabulous opportunity!

The instructors are Rob Latousek (Centaur Systems), Julian Morgan (J-PROGS) , Paul Gwynne (American University of Rome), and Cindy Caltagirone (Webmaster of the National Latin Exam and American Classical League websites).

Visit the American Classical League to find out more about the course, view an itinerary or download a registration form. You can also write roblatousek@yahoo.com or contact the American Classical League at 422 Wells Mill Dr., Oxford OH, 45056.

The deadline to register is January 15, 2008!

Minimus - The Mouse That Made Latin Cool!

K.C. Kless has started a new Minimus email discussion list and community on Yahoo for Latin teachers who are using Barbara Bell's extraordinary Latin curriculum in a school setting. There are already homeschool e-mail loops for Minimus, but until now, there hasn't been one for classroom teachers. K.C.'s list will undoubtedly be welcomed by elementary teachers of Latin as a wonderful new resource, alongside the Official Minimus Site and the Official Minimus Blog.

Latin Games and Quizzes

It's August and many of you are preparing for the fall and the new school year. Many Latin teachers incorporate games and technology into their curriculum.

Robert Patrick's Learning Site includes links to games, drills, exercises and quizzes that he has found useful and he's grouped them according by textbook series. You'll find materials keyed to Cambridge, Oerberg, and Oxford as well as Mythology, the National Latin Exam and Certamen. (There's also a link here to his summary notes and handouts from his ACL 2007 workshop Induite Latinam, Pars Prima, which focused on conversational Latin in the classroom.)

If you teach from the Ecce Romani series, you'll definitely be interested in the Quia Class Pages maintained by Pat Kessler and also Gail Cooper! Both have a huge number of online Latin games covering vocabulary, culture, and syntax. Both have had to subdivide their pages because they've created so many games and quizzes!

You can also find many, many more activities listed at the Latinteach Games and Quizzes Resource page.

Latin is a Language Verse 2

Last week there was some discussion on the Latinteach list about this famous little poem:

Latin is a Language,
As dead as dead can be.
First it killed the Romans
Now it's killing me.

Grace de Majewski's mother taught her this second verse:

A little bit of Caesar
And a touch of Cicero
Help to make the place
Where the crazy people go.

Study Latin at the Base of Pikes Peak

Colorado College sponsors a yearly Summer Latin Institute, which has the purpose of "facilitating the growth of Latin as widely as possible." Experienced Latin teachers from both in and out of Colorado can take courses in order to complete a Masters of Arts in Teaching or simply to continue their education. Half tuition is offered to teachers with an active contract.

The Institute also welcomes those who wish to earn teaching certification in Latin, including new teachers or experienced teachers of other world languages who wish to add an endorsement in Latin.

Visit the Colorado College Summer Latin Institute webpage to see an overview of the 2007 course offerings and find out how to contact the Institute directly to find out about the 2008 curriculum.