Defining and Refining a High School Latin Curriculum

1
Bridging the Gap

• Defining and Refining a High School Latin
  Curriculum

2
Questions

• Where are the measurable objectives for the
  textbook?
• What are the district-mandated goals and
  objectives for this subject?
• How can the teacher best prepare students for the
  district-wide assessment?
• How does the teacher best prepare students for
  success in college-level Latin courses?

3
Research

• School district
• State and national standards
• Ecce Romani textbook
• Classics departments in Tennessee
• Student motivation
• Planning

4
School District

• County-wide Comprehensive Assessment
• No study guide
• No list of objectives covered
• No pacing guide for textbook

5
State and National Standards

• ACTFL The five Cs
• Communication, cultures, connections,
  comparisons, and communities
• They are not a curriculum guide (1996)
• Tennessee Department of Education Foreign
  languages curriculum framework (2006)
• ACL (1997)

6
Textbook

• Ecce Romani I II, 3rd ed. (2000)
• Correlated with ACTFL goals
• Objectives are listed in the teachers edition
  only
• What should the student be able to do at the end
  of each chapter?

7
Classics Departments

• Intermediate proficiency
• Focus is on language skills, not culture
• Fast pace
• Success in Latin ? Taking more courses

8
Student motivation

• Curriculum must be meaningful to high school
  students
• Culture, comparisons, connections
• Sandrock (2002) Language and vocabulary study
  alone cannot serve as intrinsic motivators
• VanTassel-Baska (2004) Benefits of studying
  Latin

9
Planning

• Rutherford (2002) One must plan with the end
  result in mind
• Pare down list of objectives
• Redefine ACTFL standards in terms students can
  understand

10
The Five Cs, redefined
11
Grammar Objectives

• Survey of classics departments
• Areas of deficiency
• Syllabi
• Correlate Ecce with Wheelock

12
Culture Objectives

• Needs differ
• Ways to customize
• Limitations

13
Fructus

• Measurable objectives for I II
• Correlations to state standards Wheelock
• Pacing guide for I, II, and II Honors
• Grammar
• Culture
• Semester Assessments for I II

14
Customizing the Curriculum

• Rutherford (2002) Questions to ask to aid
  planning (p. 173)
• Is this the right lesson for these students
  right now?
• Given the school-year time frame, is this
  learning experience worthy of the time it will
  cost?
• Decisions made county-by-county or within school
  (Virginia, Georgia)

15
References

• American Classical League. (1997). Standards for
  classical language learning. Retrieved July 25,
  2006, from http//department.monm.edu/classics/cpl
  /standards.pdf.
• American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
  Languages National Standards in Foreign Language
  Education Project. (1996). Standards for foreign
  language learning Preparing for the 21st
  century. Lawrence, KS Allen Press.
• Lawall, G. (ed.). (2000a). Ecce Romani I
  teachers guide (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River,
  NJ Prentice-Hall.

16
References

• Lawall, G. (ed.). (2000b). Ecce Romani II
  teachers guide (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River,
  NJ Prentice-Hall.
• Rutherford, P. (2002). Why didnt I learn this in
  college? Teaching and learning in the 21st
  century. Alexandria Just ASK.
• Sandrock, P. (2002). Creating intrinsic
  motivation to learn world languages Electronic
  version. Modern Language Journal, 86 (4),
  610-612.

17
References

• Tennessee Department of Education. Foreign
  languages curriculum framework. Retrieved July
  28, 2006, from http//www.state.tn.us/education/ci
  /ciforeignlang/index.htm.
• VanTassel-Baska, J. (2004). Quo vadis? Laboring
  in the classical vineyards An optimal challenge
  for gifted secondary students Electronic
  version. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education,
  15 (2), 56-60.
• Wheelock, F.M. (2005). Wheelocks Latin (6th ed.,
  revised by R.A. LaFleur). New York
  HarperResource.

18
Maximas Gratias Vobis Ago!

• Thank you to Dr. Chris Craig of the University of
  Tennessee Classics Department for approving,
  supervising, and evaluating this endeavor in the
  summer of 2006 as a graduate-level independent
  study course.
• Questions, comments, and suggestions
• http//www.wcs.edu/bhs - Faculty - Tomayko
  Course Documents