Beginning Latin Grammar Using Your History and Science Texts, Lesson 1: Latin Nouns

"I would make them all learn English;

and then I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honour, and Greek as a treat." --Sir Winston Churchill

(If your student needs work on what nouns are and how they work in a sentence, go here.)

In Latin, all nouns are divided into five groups called Declensions. Each declension has a certain set of endings for its nouns, to tell you how the noun is used in the sentence. The last few letter on Latin nouns are called case endings and each one means something.

The first case of each declension is called the Nominative, and there are two possible Nominative case endings for each declension; Nominative Singular and Nominative Plural. All nouns have Nominative case endings when they are used as subject(s) in a sentence.

The two Nominative case endings (singular and plural) on Latin nouns show that they are used as subjects of sentences.

Latin Exercises: Look at a paragraph in your history or science texts. If you were to put this paragraph into Latin, what words would have the Nominative case endings? State which ones would be Nominative Singular, and which would be Nominative Plural. (Remember words used as subjects take the Nominative Case in Latin.)

Curriculum: Foreign Languages, 2013-14

Now, in order to deal with words rightly, this is the habit you must form. Nearly every word in your language has been first a word of some other language - of Saxon, German, French, Latin, or Greek; (not to speak of eastern and primitive dialects). And many words have been all these - that is to say, have been Greek first, Latin next, French or German next, and English last: undergoing a certain change of sense and use on the lips of each nation; but retaining a deep vital meaning, which all good scholars feel in employing them, even at this day. If you do not know the Greek alphabet, learn it; young or old - girl or boy - whoever you may be, if you think of reading seriously (which, of course, implies that you have some leisure at command), learn your Greek alphabet; then get good dictionaries of all these languages, and whenever you are in doubt about a word, hunt it down patiently. Read Max Muller's lectures thoroughly, to begin with; and, after that, never let a word escape you that looks suspicious. It is severe work; but you will find it, even at first, interesting, and at last endlessly amusing. And the general gain to your character, in power and precision, will be quite incalculable.

Mind, this does not imply knowing, or trying to know, Greek or Latin, or French. It takes a whole life to learn any language perfectly. But you can easily ascertain the meanings through which the English word has passed; and those which in a good writer's work it must still bear. -John Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, a YR10 AmblesideOnline Book via Living Charlotte Mason in California 

• For James and Quentin:
• (Greek) Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, Greek, Level 1: Recognize and write the twenty-four Greek letters, both in and out of order.
• (Latin) Lingua Angelica, Basic Language Principles with Latin Background, Ruth Wilson
• (Greek and Latin Roots) English from the Roots Up, Joegil Lundquist
• (Hebrew) Remembering God's Chosen Children, Susan Mortimer

• For Sam:
•  (Greek) Elementary Koine Greek, Athenaze
• (Latin) Visual Latin
• (Modern Language) Easy French Step-by-Step, Myrna Rochester, Easy French Reader, R.de Roussy de Sales

Highhill Education's Lesson Planning Link-Up Schedule

July 11 - Writing

July 18 - Math
July 25 - Science
August 1 - History
August 8 - Music
August 15 - Art and Handicrafts
August 22 - Geography
August 29 - Foreign Language
September 5 - Reading
September 12 - Organization your Classroom/Schedule

Choosing a Foreign Language Program

So, your child is going into fourth grade and you are ready to add a foreign language to his studies. Or, you have an older child and you never got around to adding a foreign language because you are not familiar with one. Or, perhaps you want to add a second or third language to your child's platter of education. There are so many foreign language programs out there it is hard to choose which one would be the best fit for your family.

Before you shop, you will need to have in mind what you want from a curriculum (or rather why you want your student to study the language) and what type of student you have. Thinking about how it might fit in your overall curriculum philosophy might be important as well. I have used one time or another all of the curriculum listed below, so if you have any questions about any of them that I have not covered, please leave it in the comments and I will answer as best as I can. After each title I have reproduced the write-up given by the company that publishes it (this is in italics) as well as the name of some of their other publications. Afterwards I give comments on my experiences with the programs, how they compare with other programs and for what types of students or teachers they are most suited.

Latin for Children (Classical Academic Press) As a step beyond just an exposure to the language, it trains students in grammar, vocabulary and English derivatives in a lively, interactive way that is perfectly suited to students in the grammar stage. They also sell Song School Latin (An introduction to Latin, designed for the youngest of students; is full of songs, stories, and activities.), Latin Alive (Learn how Latin still affects so many aspects of our culture today; is full of translation and reading, Roman history and mythology. It is both an introduction for the upper school student who has not yet studied the language, and an excellent, deeper, continuation of grammar school study.) as well as programs for Spanish, Greek and French. This program is laid out in a chapter format that has a "memory" page, a "grammar" page, a "worksheet" and a "pre-quiz" page. The memory page has a saying or maxim to memorize a new chant, which is the forms of a vocabulary word and the like, and vocabulary to memorize. The grammar page goes over some grammatical point, which is usually then practiced on the worksheet page, which also includes translation and fill in the blanks that corresponds to the chant and derivatives in English. The pre-quiz page includes all the material on the chapter. This program is designed to cover one chapter a week. This program is from the Classical mindset of a third grader being in the grammar stage, or the stage most fond of and most suited to memorization and so is pretty rigorous, especially in terms of memorization. In the first chapter, for example, in addition to the maxim "In principio erat verbam," you are to memorize 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular and plural forms of amo and 30 additional words. There are no paragraphs of Latin to read and only sentences to read at the very end of Book A, so the words that are memorized are not put to use. If your child enjoys memorizing and chanting and you would like your child to learn Latin words and forms quickly, then this would be a good pick for you.

Prima Latina (Memoria Press) uses a clear and systematic format to introduce Latin to young students. It teaches important English and Latin grammar concepts, as well as vocabulary, sayings, prayers, hymns, and constellation, Latina Christiana Exercises reinforce memory work, teach systematic grammar, and provide simple translation. Prayers, songs, conversational Latin, history lessons, maps, and games add interest and motivation. and Lingua Angelica (Lingua Angelica is a Christian Latin reading and translation course. The CD contains 4 Latin prayers and 24 Latin hymns beautifully sung by a six-voice a capella choir. The student book provides facing vocabulary, space for interlinear translation, and grammar word study exercises.) They also sell French and more advanced work in Latin (Henle). This is also a Classical curriculum. Prima Latina is supposed to be for grades K-3 and Latina Christiana is for grades 4-8. They both use a lot of vocabulary memorization and the chanting of forms. For each lesson, Prima Latina has a Latin Saying, The Lesson, Vocabulary (5-10 words), part of a Latin prayer and some derivatives that relate to the vocabulary. For each lesson of Latina Christiana consists of ten vocabulary words, a set of grammar forms, and a Latin saying. Of the two, for a fourth grader, I would say that Latin for Children is a bit more interesting in that it varies more visually from page to page than Latina Christiana. If your child, however, feels comfort from sameness, than he might prefer this program. I have not used their French program, but I understand that it is written in the same format.

Oxford Latin Course (Oxford University Press) Each chapter opens with a set of cartoons with Latin captions that illustrate new grammar points. A Latin reading follows, with new vocabulary highlighted in the margins and follow-up exercises that focus on reading comprehension and grammatical analysis. A background essay in English concludes each chapter. Covering a variety of topics--from history to food, from slavery to travel, these engaging essays present a well-rounded picture of Augustan Rome. There is also an Oxford Greek Course. This program is for the student who wants to jump in the middle and learn as you go along. You are reading and translating from the first lesson. The readings are carefully constructed by using primarily the vocabulary that is introduced in that chapter or in previous lessons. I say this primarily because there are words that must be either looked up or assumed in context so that the paragraphs won't be trite from limited vocabulary. The topics are interesting and informative. If your child loves a mystery an a challenge, than this is the curriculum for him. It is a rich and wonderful curriculum, but not for the easily frustrated.

The Easy Spanish and The Easy French teaches you to understand the Spanish people, their culture, and their expressions. Every lesson includes Spanish Cultural Notes and Trivia. Spanish idioms (an English idiom would be "Six of one, half a dozen of another") are used in the stories, explained, and kept in your students notebook. The aim of ¡El Español Fácil! is to turn you into a truly bilingual person. The author is very accessible and there is a Yahoo group for support and to answer questions you might have. A detailed description of this program, with examples from student work is here. They also sell a Spanish Kids Songs CD By popular request we've put together a CD of extra songs with beautiful illustrations for every song (Great for coloring!) and activities for every song and even laid out the history of, and actions to, many of them. The lyrics are included in both Spanish and English. This is a Charlotte Mason friendly curriculum, and the author frequently refers to Miss Mason. Where it departs from Miss Mason's recommendations is that it begins in day one with written work (as almost all, if not all curriculums do) and Miss Mason specifically states,"The child should never see French words in print until he has learned to say them with as much ease and readiness as if they were English. The desire to give printed combinations of letters the sounds they would bear in English words is the real cause of our national difficulty in pronouncing French. Again, the child's vocabulary should increase steadily, say, at the rate of half a dozen words a day. Think of fifteen hundred words in a year! The child who has that number of words, and knows how to apply them, can speak French." (Volume 1, page 302) If you start with the Spanish Kids Songs first before going into the regular program or if you put off doing the written portion of the program, which can be easily done, I can truly recommend it as a Charlotte Mason foreign language program.

Greek 'n Stuff's Greek and Latin (from Rainbow Resource's description) This series of workbooks teaches koine Greek using a combination of deductive, inductive, and interactive methodology. Its main goal is to equip students to study the Greek New Testament for themselves and in the last level of this series students work on translating the first two chapters of I John. According the the author, completing all seven levels of the program is roughly equivalent to three credits of high school Greek. This program suffers from a horrible name. Even the company has a horrible name. I think it probably turns a number of people off because it seems like a little kid's program. But, if you notice, if you complete the program, it equals three credits of Latin or Greek. I have used both the Greek and the Latin and I love them both. We use this and take our time with it, picking up the next book when we finish the one we are on, even if that is mid-year. I have my students go at the pace they feel comfortable and they have finished before they finished high school, with all six credits. I believe this is the most enjoyable way, if you want to take a slow pace. If a slow pace would annoy you or your student has started later (high school) then I would go with one of the more faster paced programs. Since they are both dead languages, the emphasis is on translation and other written work. If you were to buy all the books at the same time, they would equal the price of one of the complete curriculums, but the nice part about this curriculum is that you can buy it one book at a time, for a lot less out-of-pocket at once, and a lot less of a risk to try.

PowerGlide Spanish and French Children's Course Designed to help children understand and communicate. Children's Course was designed for children Pre K - 3rd grade. Course activities are designed specifically with these learners in mind and include matching games, story telling, speaking, drawing, creative thinking, acting, and guessing--all things which children do for fun. They also make Latin and German courses, and also have upper level courses which, when completed, are equal to two years of high school foreign language. I have used the Spanish with my boys and they liked it. My older son was in sixth grade, so it was a bit childish for him, but he was able to read and write some in Spanish. Because I was following Miss Mason's advise I tended to avoid showing the words to the younger boys, and still felt it was a good program. I am not sure, however, it was worth the hefty price. Nevertheless I bought the French program, hoping the introduce them to French as well, and was disappointed to find that the French was just a slightly modified version of the Spanish program. You cannot use them both if you want to teach your children both French and Spanish.

Getting Started with Latin by William Linney teaches beginning Latin gradually yet systematically. In each lesson, after learning something new, you can immediately apply what you've learned by translating the fun practice sentence. Every once in a while, you will learn about a commonly used Latin expression such as et cetera or non sequitur. This has a free downloads of either classical or ecclesiastical style from their website. He also sells Getting Started with Spanish in which you can download the free MP3 files that accompany the book and listen to a native speaker (co-author Antonio Orta) pronounce all the exercises. This is my newest find and my 7th grader opted to go with this program for his Latin instead of the Greek 'n Stuff's program even though he loves their Greek program because he wanted to have the program to be completely different. This is a very easy program; probably the easiest one listed here. The exercises are all done verbally, which is good if your child already has enough writing to do. It's pace might be too slow for some, but would be a great start for a child (and/or parent) that is unsure of learning a foreign language. I plan to use the Spanish program verbally only with my younger boys next year, and in this way, I think it will be very Charlotte Mason friendly.

Basic Greek in 30 Minutes a Day subtitled New Testament Greek Workbook for Laymen will teach you the Greek alphabet and have you pronouncing Greek words fluently in just a short time. You'll learn the basic outlines of Greek grammar as well as hundreds of New Testament words. The material is presented so simply that you'll begin reading Greek on the very first day! The emphasis on this program is translating the Bible, and if that is your goal either this or the Greek 'n Stuff's program would be your best bet. This has a tendency to be a little dry at times.

Barron's Spanish The Easy Way (Out of print, but you can get used copies.) Here is a fundamental introduction to speaking, understanding, and writing in Spanish, with emphasis on oral proficiency. Over the years, Barron’s popular and widely used Easy Way books have proven themselves to be accessible self-teaching manuals. They have many other titles including Spanish Grammar and French The Easy Way. My daughter used this text at a homeschool Co-op. There is a lot of writing involved with this course. It does have a variety of exercises to keep interest up and does expect you to write a paragraph in Spanish from time to time.

Spanish in 10 minutes a Day (Out of print, but you can get used copies.) A fun, engaging, 132-page complete language learning workbook. Includes 150 sticky labels, flash cards, a cut out menu, a crossword puzzle and more. We found this to be very disappointing and is not a curriculum at all. It is a crash course in case you want to visit a Spanish speaking country and teaches you the words you would need to know to get along traveling. I didn't expect it to be high school credit quality but I thought it would be a fun introduction to the language. It was not.

If you have used a program I have not mentioned, I would love to hear what you have used that worked or didn't work. I am particularly interested to hear from anyone using The Latin Road to English Grammar or Rosetta Stone. If you have used one I have mentioned, I would love to hear your opinions as well -agree or disagree?

Learning English From the Roots Up

Today we started learning some Greek words that have made their way into the English language. I started with four words today, so we could mix and match to make new words. I put the meanings on the back. They really enjoyed seeing how the meanings worked together. For example, photos has to do with light and graph has to do with writing or drawing. They enjoyed thinking of photographs and light-drawings. Sam wrote the words in Greek under the English words.

links: We Don't Need No Education's Language Linky

What One of Our Mornings Looks Like...

For picture study today we looked at a couple of versions of The Fowling Scene from Egyptian tomb walls. We looked at a copy of one and talked about all the things we noticed. They really enjoyed finding something new that no one else had noticed yet. Then I gave them a version to color. I told them they could color just as long as they wanted to; that they did not have to finish it. They worked a surprisingly long time at it.

We took a look at other civilizations that were occurring around the same time as the Egyptian Empire. They worked on a map that showed the relationship between Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilizations in terms of the geography. We then looked at information about the Indus Valley and discussed it.

We read from the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History.

We talked about the lizard-hipped dinosaurs are divided into two groups -the sauropods and the theropods. We focused on the sauropods today, looking at the Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, Camarasaurss and Cetiosaurus. They glued a picture of a Diplodocus to represent the sauropods to their lapbooks.

I taught them the first two lines of a Spanish song, "Naranja dulce" (Sweet orange). They already knew the word naranja from when we learned colors. The first line is the name of the song and the second line is "Limon partido" (A sliced lemon.) We talked about how we put the adjective first and the noun last, but in Spanish the noun comes first and the adjective after it. They colored a picture that goes with the song, adding oranges and lemons to the tree. I guess it was some sort of grafting. We then listened to the whole song. We will learn lines every day until we have the whole song.

"Head and Shoulders..." in Spanish

Cabeza, hombros, tronco, pies.

tronco, pies. tronco, pies.

Cabeza, hombros, tronco, pies.

ojos, orejas, boca y nariz.

Can you remember body parts in Spanish?

We reviewed body parts vocabulary in Spanish by having them draw a figure step-by-step with the directions all in Spanish.

Then they were allowed to eat cookie men if they could tell me what part they were eating -in Spanish, of course.

Have the Eating Up a Foreign Language!

A fun way to teach body parts in another language is to use cookie men. First teach the names of the body parts. You can use a white board, or you can do it verbally, if you follow the Charlotte Mason method. Then instruct them how to eat their cookie men; "Eat the cabeza first." or "Next eat the manos." You can also ask them to pick which part to eat next and they have to say the part in the language you are working on.

I got this idea from Powerglide Spanish, but they only had pictures of cookie men with body parts missing that the kids had to name. Having the real thing really heightened the interest for my boys.

To the Spanish Market to Buy Fruit

We learned the Spanish words for fruits today. The boys colored and cut out cardstock pictures of fruit

and put them in a cardstock basket. Then I asked them what color they were and what fruit they were, all in Spanish. This reviewed the previous question syntax (Que eso es?) and I was able to expand on this with other similar questions. They were able to review colors and add fruit names to their growing Spanish vocabulary.

This project, Mexican Fruit Crate Art Project at Deep Space Sparkle, would be a great way to follow-up and review these Spanish words.

Learning a Foreign Language

"The daily French lesson is that which should not be omitted. That children should learn French orally, by listening to and repeating French words and phrases...that they should learn a few -two or three, five or six -new French words daily, and that , at the same time, the old words should be kept in use -aree points to be considered more fully..."

-Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Vol. 1, p. 80

Using the Montessori method (which, interestingly enough, is just like the discrete trials of ABA) can be a very effective way of teaching foreign language to young learners because it keeps the stress low and insures success. Miss Montessori encouraged the use of something she called the "Three-period lesson." During the first period the child was taught some piece of information. Often this method was used to teach phonics, so, in this case, the child would be shown a letter and told its sound. The student would be taught three or four letter sounds this way. During the second period, the child would be required to tell back what each of the letter sounds were by responding to the requests from the teacher, "Which is the ___?" or "Point to the ___." The third period consisted of the child being able to say what each letter sound was when the teacher pointed to it.

Charlotte Mason began teaching a foreign language with vocabulary, adding about six words a day until the child could begin to read some simple books in the foreign language. They memorized verbs but they were learned in the context of sentences. Then grammar and new vocabulary were learned just as they were in English.

Powerglide's Foreign Language program seems to combine these approaches. Its goal is to simulate natural language immersion, enabling students to pick up the new language in much the same way they picked up their primary language. "Like a puzzle, learners fit together unfamiliar words and phrases with those that are familiar. In this way, they begin to think in the foreign language by understanding the underlying rules for composing sentences." (Powerglide)

How does this work in a practical sense? Beginning with one vocabulary word, place a picture of it on the table. Then ask the child to point to this word. (For example, if the vocabulary word is roca or rock, put a picture of a rock on the table (or a real rock) and say, "point to roca.") Obviously, since there is no possibility of error, he answers this first request correctly. Now, building on this, teach a second word, and place pictures of both words on the table. There is a small margin for error now, and will most likely get this one right as well. You can teach the six vocabulary words in this way, always going back to what they have already gotten correctly or eliminating choices if you begin getting incorrect answers. The goal is having them memorize the words by the excitement of success. You then can begin incorporating them into tiny little stories, substituting the new vocabulary words for the English equivalents. If the story has some words that they have not learned yet, those remain in English. The stories then are a weaving of English and Spanish, building on previously learned vocabulary with each story.

Eso es...

This week I introduced some common Spanish words using English alphabet letters whose names sound like those words. The familiar English letter helps even the youngest to remember the words and is non-intimidating for them all. Then I began using these words by asking them, "Que es eso?" (What is that?) and pointing to the bowl of oranges on the table. I guided them through answering ("Eso es...") and then moved on to the vocabulary cards from previous lessons. ("Si, y que eso es?") This helps to review the previous vocabulary while practicing new syntax. (The idea for this lesson is taken from Powerglide Spanish.)

Reading in Spanish

Remember the story we have been working on in Spanish? Here is Sam reading it in Spanish. His pronunciation is not perfect, but he is working on it and enjoying learning a second language.

The Girl and the Rat; a Spanish Lesson

Remember our story and vocabulary words from last week's Spanish lesson? They were all nouns. This week we learned the verbs that can be logically used with these nouns and made sentences using these words: sees (ve), runs (corre), squeaks (chirria), cries (llora), escapes (escapa), laughs (se rie) We had fun building sentences using the new vocabulary. You can imagine the sentences we made! Soon they will be able to tell a whole small story entirely in Spanish.

Learning Spanish, 6 Words at a Time

"That children should learn (foreign languages) orally by listening to and repeating...words and phrases...that they should learn a few -two or three, five or six -new...words daily and that at the same time the old words should be kept in use..." -Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Vol.1, p. 80.

Using the Montessori method (which, interestingly enough, is just like the discrete trials of ABA) can be a very effective way of teaching foreign language to young learners because it keeps the stress low and insures success. (Powerglide Spanish Junior uses this method.) Charlotte Mason began teaching a foreign language with vocabulary, adding about six words a day until the child could begin to read some simple books in the foreign language. They memorized verbs but they were learned in the context of sentences. Then grammar and new vocabulary were learned just as they were in English.

Beginning with one vocabulary word, place a picture of it on the table. Then ask the child to point to this word. (For example, if the vocabulary word is roca or rock, put a picture of a rock on the table (or a real rock) and say, "point to roca.") Obviously, since there is no possibility of error, he answers this first request correctly. Now, building on this, teach a second word, and place pictures of both words on the table. There is a small margin for error now, and will most likely get this one right as well. You can teach the six vocabulary words in this way, always going back to what they have already gotten correctly or eliminating choices if you begin getting incorrect answers. The goal is having them memorize the words by the excitement of success.

You then can begin incorporating them into tiny little stories, substituting the new vocabulary words for the English equivalents. Using the vocabulary not only helps to cement it into the child's mind but also helps them to remember them, even if they temporarily forget them, because they can figure them out in context. (This is how we learn our native language as small children.) We practiced our new vocabulary words in a small story about getting rocas in zapatos (shoes) after a walk in las montañas.

Puerto Rico and Frogs in Spanish

After leaving Cuba, we traveled over to Puerto Rico in our imaginary trip around the world. After adding stamps to their passports and locating Puerto Rico on the map, we learned about the frogs that live in the rainforest there. The Caribbean National Forest contains thousands of acres of rain forest and receives more than 100 billion gallons of rainfall each year. Living in the forest is the tiny coqui frog, which receives its name from its cricket-like chirp. This small creature is considered the national mascot. We made Coqui Frog puppets and listened to the song La Rana (The Frog).

Coqui, cantaba la rana.
(Coqui, sang the frog.)
Coqui, debajo del agua.
(Coqui, under the water.)
Coqui,paso un caballero.
(Coqui, a gentleman passed by.)
Coqui, con capa y sombrero.
(Coqui, wearing a cape and a hat.)
Coqui, paso una senora.
(Coqui, a lady passed by.)
Coqui, con traje de cola.
(Coqui, wearing a long dress.)
Coqui, paso un marinero.
(Coqui, a sailor passed by.)
Coqui, vendiendo romero.
(Coqui, selling rosemary.)
Coqui le pidio un ramito.
(Coqui, it asked him for a bunch.)
Coqui, no le quiso dar.
(Coqui, but he didn't want to give it to her.)
Coqui, uy se eho a l'orar.
(Coqui, it began to cry.)

Then we played a game called Rama en el mar. We changed rama (frog) to Coqui. One child is the Coqui and sits in the middle (preferably crouched like a frog!) and the rest of the children form a circle around the Coqui by holding hands. The children in the circle sing, "La coqui. Esta en la mar. No puedes cogerme." (The frog. You are in the sea. You can't catch me.") As soon as this is said the frog can get up and try to catch the children in the circle while the children that formed the circle can run to try and get away. As soon as one is caught, that child becomes the frog.

Next the boys put on a puppet show with the frog puppets they had made.

How we study geography.

Spanish Songs: Learning Colors Through Song

Spanish

We began our lessons in Spanish today by learning the Spanish song entitled "De colores" (or "Dressed in Colors"). This song came to the Americas from central Spain in the sixteenth century and is now sung all over the Spanish-speaking world on special occasions and celebrations.

De colores,
Painted in colors,
de colores se visten los campos
the fields are dressed in colors
en la primavera.
in the spring.
De colores,
Painted in colors,
de colores son los pajaritos
painted in colors are the little birds
que vienen de afuera.
which come from the outside.
De colores,
Painted with colors,
de colores es el arcoiris que
painted with colors is the rainbow that
vemos lucir.
we see shining brilliantly above.


Coro:
Chorus:
Y por eso los grandes amores
And that is why great loves
de muchos colores
of many colors
me gustan a mi.
are what I like.