Latin for Children A
Scholé Academy Placement Process
Placement Process
One critical factor for restful learning is the proper placement of students. If you are unsure which level is the best fit for your student, reach out to the instructor you are considering. Once registered, anticipate contact regarding placement evaluations from instructors by May 15th and throughout the summer. Students must be registered to enter the placement process. Early placement exams may allow time for tutoring or additional review based on the outcomes. See more about placement evaluations in our Student-Parent Handbook.
Latin Placement Process
For registered students, please anticipate contact regarding placement evaluations from instructors by May 15th and throughout the summer. Students must be registered in a Latin course to receive a placement assessment. Latin classes have a detailed and specific placement process.
Students in this course will enjoy a clear introduction to Latin grammar and reading that will also delight them and cultivate in them the wonder of language. Students study the first 2 noun declensions; the first 2 verb conjugations; the present, imperfect, and future tenses; other parts of speech (adjectives, prepositions, and adverbs); and learn to read and translate basic Latin sentences. They also acquire a Latin vocabulary of 240 words and learn many English words derived from Latin. As a step beyond just an exposure to the language, this course trains students in grammar, vocabulary, and English derivatives.
Watch Lower School Latin Lead Teacher, Amanda Reeves Explain Latin for Children at Scholé Academy!
This course is designed to:
- model a discipline of mind that focuses on how the Latin language works
- model pronunciation of Latin words and give students pronunciation practice through imitation
- model for students how to analyze grammatical structure, interpret word form and use, and translate Latin both orally and in writing
- strengthen working memory by “seeing, hearing, and doing” through the use of mnemonic aids (songs, chants), illustrating vocabulary and creating vocabulary flashcards, and writing sentences and short stories using English derivatives, thus improving storage and manipulation of information, and increasing students’ problem-solving skills
- model for students how to use mnemonic aids (songs, chants) and give them practice using these aids
- demonstrate to students the etymology of Latin words and how they are transformed into English derivatives
- give students practice copying texts accurately and reciting text from memory
- expose students to beautiful illustrations as well as images and paintings of ancient Roman culture, and provide exposure to Roman history, culture, and historical figures
This course utilizes Latin for Children Primer A (please note that this course uses the NEW Revised Edition), the first of 3 texts in the Latin for Children series.
Since 2001, the award-winning Latin for Children curriculum has been and continues to be a strong, inviting, and creative program designed to introduce grammar school students to Latin. It incorporates elements that will engage students of every learning style. As a step beyond just an exposure to the language, this course trains students in grammar, vocabulary, and English derivatives in a lively, interactive way. For a closer look at the texts used in this course, please follow these links and click “Look Inside”: Latin for Children Primer A and Latin for Children Primer A History Reader.
Note: Classical pronunciation is used in this class.
While the primary text will be Latin for Children Primer A and History Reader, the instructor will be adapting and augmenting the curriculum as she sees best for the learning objectives of the course. Additional materials may include worksheets, in-class games the students will prepare for, and spoken Latin activities. As such, students should be prepared to regularly print PDF files supplied by their teacher well in advance of the class in which they will be used.
Schedule: This course is designed with young learners’ brains in mind! The course meets 3 times per week for 45–60 minutes, affording adequate instructional time while keeping on-screen sessions to a healthy duration for our youngest learners.
Placement: Please read about our new process above.
- This course is designed as an introductory Latin course; no prior Latin instruction is required or expected.
- The course is geared toward rising 4th–5th graders. Rising 6th graders are welcome; we encourage rising 7th graders to consider our upper-school Latin 1 course. When considering whether this course is a good fit for your student, please keep in mind that in addition to readiness for the course content, students should be developmentally prepared to engage in a 4th- to 5th-grade corporate learning environment as well as the online classroom dynamic.
- Students should be comfortable reading fluently and writing independently (and legibly!) by hand.
- It is recommended (though not required) that students have at least a preliminary understanding of the basics of English grammar. This entails knowing how to recognize the following parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, preposition. Familiarity with the basic functionality of the following parts of a sentence is also helpful: subject, direct object, object of the preposition.
- Students should be prepared to study 2–3 times per week outside of class time.
- If your student is outside the target grade range for this class, or if you have further questions about placement, please contact us.
“I am blown away by how well this course has been conducted and how well my kids are staying on top of their work AND they love it!” —Scholé Academy Latin for Children A Parent
Syllabus
For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.
- With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
- Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
- Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.
Canvas
- With Parent Support
- Be able to manage Canvas assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Canvas notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
- Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
- Developing
- Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
Writing
- Developing
- Spelling at grade-level
- Mastered
- Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.
- Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).
Reading
- Developing
- Be able to mark, underline or highlight important words, definitions or concepts within a text being read.
- Mastered
- Be able to read to learn not merely learn to read.
Typing
- Developing
- Be able to type short answers in complete sentences.
In-Class
- Developing
- Follow along with teacher-led note-taking and record notes during class.
- Follow along with teacher-led workbook completion and record answers during class.
- Be prepared to answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
- Be prepared to volunteer comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.
- Latin for Children Primer A (student edition) NEW Revised Edition, Version 4.0**
- Latin for Children Primer A History Reader NEW Revised Edition, Version 5.0**
Please note: MP3 versions of the Latin for Children Primer A chants will be provided to the students enrolled in this course at no charge.
*Required texts are not included in the purchase of the course.
**The new revised edition is required for this course. Older versions of the student edition, answer key, and history reader are not compatible with the course.
While the primary text will be Latin for Children Primer A and History Reader, the instructor will be adapting and augmenting the curriculum as she sees best for the learning objectives of the course. Additional materials may include worksheets, in-class games the students will prepare for, and spoken Latin activities. Students should be prepared to regularly print PDF files supplied by their teacher well in advance of the class in which they will be used.
Optional Resources:
- Latin for Children Primer A Activity Book
This activity book accompanies Latin for Children Primer A, following the textbook chapter by chapter to supplement and enhance the practice of Latin vocabulary and grammar. With the activities, students will sail around the world, find their way out of dungeon mazes, rescue captive Latin words from an evil wizard, “week out” the wrong crossword puzzle questions . . . and more! The activity book is optional for this online class. - Latin for Children Primer A Answer Key
The Latin for Children Primer A Answer Key features actual, full-size pages from Latin for Children Primer A, with answers to quizzes, exercises, and worksheets in bold print. The answer key is optional for this online class.
Amanda Reeves, Lower School Lead Latin Instructor, has a BA in Greek and Latin from Stanford University, where she received recognition in her department for both her enthusiasm for the classical world as well as her excellence in scholarship. After finishing her degree, she spent a year living abroad in Rome, Italy, designing and facilitating short-term study-abroad programs for students studying Latin through the Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study. She currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut, but as an avid traveler, can more times than not be found in Italy, Brazil, or anywhere else she thinks would be interesting to get to know. It is one of the great joys of her life to pass along her enthusiasm for Latin to her elementary, middle, and high school students. Having learned Latin online herself, Amanda is passionate about distance learning and enjoys integrating traditional grammar and translation methods with spoken Latin to produce the best educational experience for her students. She has taught and tutored Latin online for over a decade and particularly enjoys seeing how each unique student’s personality shapes the learning environment. When she is not exploring the world, she spends her time waxing poetic about the Parthenon Marbles and Stanford football, always with a strong cup of coffee in hand. magistrareeves@gmail.com
Leigh Ann Rowlands, MPA is an experienced classical Christian homeschool and private school teacher, with over 16 years’ experience teaching Latin to all ages. Besides teaching Latin, other educational experience includes general homeschooling (all subjects, including classical subjects such as logic and rhetoric); teaching in a homeschool co-op; teaching elementary Sunday School; as well as having the amazing opportunity to teach Latin (4th – 12th grade), literature (7th-12th grade) and Church history (9th-12th grade) at Midland Christian School in Michigan. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Public Administration from Texas A&M University and has always been involved in education. She conducted Business English classes for international Fortune 500 companies in Stockholm, Sweden; managed the Berkeley Center for Executive Development (University of California) and coordinated the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Center for Preventive Health with a focus on children’s injury prevention.
She has a passion for teaching and a particular love of Latin and all things classical. She currently lives in Central Texas where the winters are mild, and the food is spectacular. When not studying Latin she may be playing the piano, gardening or playing with her fluffy cat, Pippin.
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use.
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Make sure they don't conflict with other activities in your schedule or other courses you are purchasing. Our system will not catch double-bookings!
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.