Required Texts (available in the Skidmore Shop):
- Wheelock & LaFleur, Wheelock’s Latin (6th rev. ed.;
New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2005)
- Groton & May, 38 Latin Stories (5th ed.; Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci,
1998)
Suggested Study Aid (available on amazon.com and
elsewhere):
- LaFleur and Tillery, Vocabulary Cards and Grammatical Forms
Summary for Wheelock’s Latin (Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci,
2003)
Course Objectives:
Along with Classics 210 (Intermediate Latin), Classics 110 aims
to develop (1) a thorough acquaintance with the fundamentals of
Latin grammar, (2) a good basic Latin vocabulary, and (3) beginner’s-level
proficiency in reading Classical Latin. Students who have successfully
completed both Elementary and Intermediate Latin will be able to
begin reading Latin texts independently with the aid of a dictionary.
Program of Study:
Classics 110 will cover the material in the first twenty-seven
chapters of Wheelock’s Latin. This includes the conjugational
systems of all regular Latin verbs in the indicative mood; the declensional
systems of all nouns, pronouns and adjectives; formation of participles
and infinitives; and vocabulary consisting of several hundred essential
words and phrases. Most importantly, regular written exercises and
readings will develop the student’s ability to read, comprehend,
and compose Latin sentences.
There will be daily homework assignments and weekly quizzes. Achievement
of the course objectives requires continuous application. Failure
to constantly practice reading Latin while reviewing vocabulary
and grammatical forms will lead to disaster. Consistent attendance
is vital.
We will pause each week in our study of the Latin to look briefly
at aspects of the society and culture of Ancient Rome; these will
include names, the calendar, houses, the City, the family, religion,
slavery, law, government, war, and the Empire.
Schedule:
During a typical week, we will cover the material in one chapter
of Wheelock’s Latin on Tuesday and another on Thursday, with
homework from each chapter due at the beginning of the following
class period (i.e., Thursday for the material covered in Tuesday’s
class and Monday for the material covered on Thursday). Monday will
usually consist of a review of the previous week’s material,
and there will usually be no homework for Tuesday except to prepare
for that week’s quiz. There will be some deviations from this
schedule around the time of the midterm and the Thanksgiving vacation.
See the last page of this syllabus for assignments through 9/20.
Additional assignment schedules will be handed out in class and
posted on the Classics 110 web site over the course of the semester.
Dates of the midterm and the final are given in the grading section
on the next page.
Course Requirements:
Homework on a typical night will include the following:
- Read the next chapter in Wheelock’s Latin. (This will
be mostly review since much of the material will already have
been introduced in class.) Memorize all chapter vocabulary.
- Translate the assigned Sententiae Antiquae (S.A.) and Practice
& Review exercises (P&R) from Wheelock’s Latin.
All translations must be typed. Late homework will not be graded.
We will go over the homework on the day it is due and the assignments
will be returned to students at the start of the following class
period.
- Prepare readings from Wheelock’s Latin and Groton &
May’s 38 Latin Stories (G&M). We will read these texts
together in class. Do not write out a translation of the readings.
Translations must represent the student’s individual work
but students are encouraged to cooperate in preparing the in-class
readings.
Class participation includes readings, in-class drills and games,
etc. Your grade for class participation will be based on your apparent
level of effort and preparation, not on whether you always have
the right answer. Mastering a language, even a dead one, is often
a process of learning from one’s inevitable mistakes. Shyness
is discouraged.
Quizzes will focus mainly on vocabulary and paradigms covered since
the last quiz, although each quiz will also include a small amount
of older material. Speed will be important on these quizzes, so
vocabulary and paradigms should be learned thoroughly. You will
not be asked to translate complete sentences on the quizzes.
The midterm will cover material from the first half of the course.
The final will be cumulative, covering material from the entire
semester. Optional review sessions for the final will be scheduled
during the reading period.
Grading:
- Homework: 30% (2 lowest homework grades dropped)
- Class participation: 20%
- 10 Quizzes: 20% (lowest quiz grade dropped)
- Midterm (October 22nd or 23rd): 10%
- Final exam (Dec 19th for Section 1 and Dec 20th for Section
2): 20%
- Attendance: The semester includes 40 days of class (excluding
the midterm). Each student will be allowed 2 free absences.
Each additional unexcused absence will result in deduction of
1 percentage point from the student’s final grade.
Notify me in advance if you need to be excused from a class. I
reserve the right to treat unexcused lateness as an unexcused
absence: do not be late!
General Advice:
-
There is no better way to learn vocabulary quickly than with
flash cards. Make your own or order the suggested LaFleur and
Tillery set. Ideally, you should carry them with you and practice
with them during small chunks of time that open up during your
day.
-
Contrary to popular belief, Latin is not an especially difficult
language. It can be learned by any Skidmore student who is willing
to work at it. However, Latin isn’t easy either, and sometimes
the class will seem to move very fast. Some of the grammatical
terms and concepts encountered in learning Latin may be new
to some students. If you find yourself getting behind or having
difficulty with any aspect of the material, it’s important
to address this at once. Don’t hesitate to email me or
see me outside of class with any questions or issues you may
have. I am happy to schedule meetings with students individually
or in groups to provide additional instruction or practice on
particular topics.
-
Don’t wait until Monday night to begin memorizing vocabulary
and paradigms for the next day’s quiz. Start memorizing
as soon as a particular chapter is assigned. Continue to review
old material throughout the semester. Likewise, try to not to
wait until the night before a homework assignment is due to
begin working on it.
-
Learn vocabulary and paradigms by saying the words out loud
as well as by reading them on the page. This will not only help
with pronunciation but will also make the words easier to remember.
-
It will be very useful to practice Latin on your own and there
are plenty of available ways in which to do so. When you’re
having trouble with the concepts in a new chapter, you may wish
to try the Optional Self-Tutorial Exercises in the back of your
textbook (pp. 356-395; answers on pp.396-434). There are also
a number of on-line Latin exercises designed specifically for
Wheelock’s Latin. You can find some of these in the Web
Resources section of the Classics 110 web site.
- For most people, the memorization involved in learning a new
language can easily lead to boredom and frustration. One of the
easiest ways to minimize these problems is to work with other
students – quizzing each other on vocabulary and paradigms,
working on the readings together, etc. All exercise translations
must be your own work, but otherwise collaboration in encouraged!
