IB Course Outline

Classical Languages - Latin

Standard Level (SL)

Course Description:

This IB Latin course is a two-year (four semester) course of 150 hours that will conclude with the Language B exams given in May of the second year. The prerequisite for this course is the successful completion of Latin III at BrocktonHigh School in accordance with the school’s grade achievement policy.

The three core objectives for this course are: (1) enable students to gain an understanding and appreciation of the language, literature and culture of the classical age;

(2) to develop critical thinking skills with which students will examine, analyze and critique authentic Latin texts and authors while gaining an understanding and appreciation of the different perspectives and people from ancient cultures; (3) to grow in awareness and understanding of how culture, history, literature and language of the classical era form the context for modern cultures, languages, literature and other disciplines throughout the world.

In this course selected passages (or entire books) from prescribed authors and topics in Latin will be read. Through this study students will develop strong linguistic skills that will enable them to become participants in a conversation with the past where students will gain insight into the lives and thoughts of this people, and in so doing, will gain an awareness of the relationship between the classical era and the modern world, thus, growing in a broad understanding of internationalism.

Although a majority of assessments for this class will be written, students will be expected to speak and/or read orally with appropriate expression and emphasis. Written assessments will include externally assessed translations of particular passages from Ovid’s writings demonstrating an understanding of the author’s intent and style, as well as student-chosen topics (essays, etc.) that reflect an awareness of context and connections within and with other literature and cultures. Internal assessment (formal and informal) will include successful completion of assignments.

Topics to be addressed:

Listening and Speaking:

Students will demonstrate an appreciation for the Latin language by listening to and speaking the Latin of several Latin writers. Not only will they read the Latin aloud with proper pronunciation but with suitable emphasis and expression. Students will also demonstrate an understanding of how the past itself speaks to them through its literature. They will learn to discern its voice and give evidence of understanding what is said by becoming articulate speakers about the ancient world and its influence on history and culture.

Reading:

Students will read and study both in Latin and English a cross-section of Latin authors and their writings, paying particular attention to linguistic understanding of the various genres studied. Ovid will be the prescribed author for this course and his works will be carefully examined. In particular, Semester I, students will read in Latin (some passages in English) selections from his Metamorphoses, a collection of stories drawn from classical legend. Students will examine Ovid’s epic style used in the Metamorphoses, and as well, gain an understanding of the metrical notation and poetic devises employed.

Semester II will include two works, Vergil’s epic tale the Aeneid and Ovid’s Heroides. A portion of the Aeneid, Book II (in which Aeneas gives Dido a first hand account of the Trojan War), will be read in Latin, the remaining in English. This study will allow students to gain an understanding of the Roman epic and an opportunity to compare it to Ovid’s works. The second piece this semester will be a return to Ovid and his Heroides, which are a collection of fictitious letters written by famous women in mythology. Two of the letters, one by Dido, and the other, Penelope, will be read in Latin. Not only will this bring students back to our prescribed author, but will be a natural connection to Vergil’s Aeneid.

Semester III will begin by turning to prose rather than poetry. Students will first read Tacitus’Annals (XV, chapters 38-65). In the Annals Tacitus gives insight into the reigns of several Roman emperors. Here students will consider such topics as imperial power and policy. Next, they will read in Latin Cicero’s famous speech the Pro Caelio, sections 1-30; the rest in English. In this students will consider the life and works of Cicero and the Roman society during the late Republic in which he lived. Many topics will be discussed including politics, education, the role of women, and certain literary themes. Semester III will conclude with a return to poetry as students read 15 of Catullus’ love poems which deal with the same segment of society about which Cicero himself had written. Students will recognize individuals and topics referenced in both.

In Semester IV the students will continue looking at love poetry but that written by Horace. Here they will read from his Odes, and compare these with the poetry of Catullus. An English reading and discussion of Ovid’s Amores, a collection of love elegies, will follow. The course will conclude with the translating of Juvenal’s Satires IV and V and an English reading of I and II. Here Juvenal living in the last half of the first century A.D. identifies and denounces the vices he sees among the rich and expresses them in his Satires.

Through the reading of diverse writers, genres, themes and styles, students will grow in critical thinking skills as they process information and draw conclusions about the classical world and its influence on the modern world.

Writing:

Through understanding and applying good translating techniques students will write an accurate, fluid translation of the passages assigned. They will recognize poetic devises used in the original text and employ them in their own writing. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by constructing a clear argument or demonstrating insight of topics through products such as essays, journal keeping, poetry, creative writing assignments, illuminated manuscripts, epitaphs, speeches, etc.

Assessments:

Quarter Marks

Quarter marks for BrocktonHigh School students participating in this course will be based on student completion of and success in a combination of formal and informal assessments. These will comprise several basic categories of both oral and written work: homework; class work; essays; quizzes and tests.

Internal Assessment

No internal assessment is required for the Standard Level IB program.

External Assessment

Also required for this Classical Language IB course is one externally assessed (graded by IB) paper totaling 40% of the grade. This paper (1 hour) consists of two compulsory sections; a translation of a specified part or parts (up to 70 words) of one unprepared passage from the prescribed author. The use of dictionaries is permitted. The second paper (2 hours) also consists of two compulsory sections based on the prescribed topics. These sections are:

(1)Questions based on extracts from 5 prescribed topics – 2 extracts from each topic. Students will answer questions on three extracts covering two topics (45% of the grade).

(2)One short essay question set on each of the 5 prescribed topics . Students will answer one question covering one topic. (15 % of the grade).

It is important to note here that every student enrolled in this class must complete all IB requirements.

Teaching Strategies:

A variety of teaching strategies ranging from individual instruction, cooperative groups, pairs and whole class discussion will be used. Modeling new material and allowing for guided practice will be essential for developing strong translating skills. Self-discovery will be encouraged so that students might learn how to ask essential questions and find appropriate answers. Also, whole class and small group discussion will enable students to voice and clearly support a point of view about many cultural and linguistic topics, thus becoming effective communicators. Students will also work in pairs or groups in order to practice oral skills so that they might grow in pronunciation, expression and understanding. On the whole, this class will be a student-centered class driven by inquiry, desire for knowledge and a love of learning.

Resources:

Resources the school is able to provide now:Copies

  • Ecce Romani I A – IIB 30
  • A Song of War: Readings from Vergil’s AeneidPrentice Hall 1
  • Latin – English Dictionaries 10

Resources that the school would need to provide:

  • Love and Betrayal: A Catullus ReaderPrentice Hall 30
  • Carpe Diem: A Horace ReaderPrentice Hall 30
  • Love and Transformation: An Ovid ReaderPrentice Hall 30
  • A Song Of War: Readings from Vergil’s AeneidPrentice Hall 29
  • Catullus SupplementCANE Instructional 30

Materials

  • Ovid’s Heroides I($5.00)CANE 30
  • Ovid’s Heroides VII ($5.50)CANE 30
  • Ovid’s Heroides X($5.00)CANE 30
  • Juvenal: SatiresLatin Texts Series 30
  • Cicero: Pro CaelioLoeb Classical Library 30
  • The Annals of TacitusCambridge Text Series 30
  • Latin – English Dictionaries 20

Internationalism:

A significant part of this Latin course will be recognizing and understanding the connections and contributions of the classical world that form the context of the modern era. Students will explore the wider cultural achievements of Rome whose political, religious and legal principles as well as technology, art and architecture still inform the thinking of many peoples around the world. Common literary themes will be examined that would include topics such as Heroic literature, mythology, poetic devises, and metrical patterns employed in poetry. Again, students will be able to identify and explain the origins of cultural, literary, linguistic and historical elements in the modern era and in many cultures as well as other academic disciplines that find their roots in the classical world. Thus, internationalism will be fully embraced as students inquire, research, compare, contrast, analyze, examine and discuss these elements as they appear in our world today.