Revels + Caroling
On Monday, 8th grade Latin students treated the school to some Latin caroling. On Thursday night, we performed at Revels. YouTube clip below should start at the right spot (28:10). The rest of the week, we polished up participles and read Latin fairy tales -- somehow there are no pictures of that. Have a great break. Thanks, Rick Beyer
Annual Latin Insult ContestAfter learning comparatives and superlatives, we took a break from our next chapter on perfect passive verbs, and turned our grammatical skills to insulting each other. Here's a Friends Facebook post about it. The insults were the best part, so I posted a bunch of them below the Facebook post.
8th Grade Insults 2019:
Marcellus: Ecce, mythologia Romana vera est! Stans ante me est unus porcorum Circe! (Look, Roman mythology is true! Standing right in front of me is one of Circe’s pigs!) Stella You are so clumsy? that if you were posiden you would drown Tu es tam incomposite ut tu poseidon tu mergo. Livia Your so stupid that when ceaser said to charge you took out your credit card * (Tu es tam stultus ut caesar dixit, “impetus!” et tu extraxit tuam cartam creditam.) Nero Dormis fungus! In your dreams, mushroom! AdoraYou’re so dumb, you thought the romans were brought water from ducks ® tu es stultus, tu cogito romani ferunt aquam anibus Lucilia Don’t worry about becoming a gladiator. It would be easy for you because your opponents would run away when they saw your face. Tu sis gladiator magnus. Facilis sit quod inimici abcurrent postea tuam faciem viderint. Cleopatra Tua mater est tam vetera ut habuit proximam sellam in Caesaris caede. INCENSIT!! Your mom is so old that she had a front row seat at Caesar’s assassination. ROASTED Homer Yo mama so old that her first car was the Trojan Horse.” Tu mater tam vetera ut euis primus carrus erat Troianus Equus OctaviaYou can’t spell “stupid” without “u”. (Non lices dicere stullus sine tu.) Arria Tu es tam stultus tu cogitabas me maledicta esse bona (You are so stupid you thought my insults where good) Lucrio Your mother is so foolish that she thought Spartacus was a Spartan - Tua Mater est tam stulta ut ea sententia Spartacus est Spartanus. Latin Chalk GraffitiToday, in the classic Roman tradition, we chalked some Latin graffiti on the sidewalks, and took some fun class pictures while we were at it. See if you can figure out what the class is spelling in the pictures at the end.
Toga! Toga!
If interested, here is the "30 Things I Learned from Latin" card that I gave them the last class. References may be obscure, but I thought you might enjoy it anyway.
Believe it or not, we have reached the end of the year, and their FA careers. I thought you might like to know what they did the past 3 years, when not wearing bedsheets. So, what did they get out of devoting 3 years to this dead language? In strictly Latin terms:
More broadly: Other common side effects of studying Latin may include…
Thank you for your support throughout the past 3 years. Have a great summer. Best, Rick Beyer Cultural Bazaar 2019
RevelsSome pictures from our epic Revels performance.
Classical Holiday Present Ideas:
This week I've started brainstorming ideas for my own kids at home, and the thought crossed my mind, that someone might want to attempt feed their child's curiosity with a book related to Latin--so here are several I like: * Mythology: If your child finished the Lightning Thief series about Greek mythology, the first book in Rick Riordan's Roman series is "The Lost Hero." There is also "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods," an illustrated account of Greek mythology told in Percy Jackson's voice. * Language origins: “Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?” There are lots of great books about language origins; someone gave me this one when I was a kid, and I've been fascinated ever since by the stories behind familiar words and phrases. * History: There are many beautiful nonfiction books of ancient history, though sadly I do find that these tend to sit in the back of my classroom unread. The students do sometimes look at ones like Horrible Histories Ruthless Romans — a playful series that emphasizes the more disgusting and violent side of history — or Asterix the Gaul — the first in a classic comic book series set in Roman history. * Historical fiction: As a child, I only read straight nonfiction to write a report for school, but I loved historical fiction:
* Latin books: There are a lot of fun books published in Latin.
Always happy to chat about other ideas based on your child's particular tastes. Many thanks, Rick Beyer This week we read the Roman version of the Great Flood, the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha.
First 2 weeks of October:
The past couple weeks, we:
This week our phrases of the day included a palindrome graffiti riddle (left) and the inscription off a slave collar (right).
Week of Sept 24-28:
This week, we:
Here's one inscription from New York that we translated this week.
Week of Sept 17-21:
This week, we:
Pictures from our end of year toga party.
Week of May 29th - June 1st:
This week, we:
Believe it or not, we have reached the end of the year, and their FA careers. I thought you might like to know what they did the past 3 years, when not wearing bedsheets. So, what did they get out of devoting 3 years to this dead language? In strictly Latin terms:
More broadly: Other common side effects of studying Latin may include…
Thank you for your support throughout the past 3 years. Have a great summer. Best, Rick Beyer Some pictures from the Cultural Bazaar this Friday morning.
Week of May 14 - May 18:
This week, we:
Some pictures as we prepped for the Cultural Bazaar.
Week of May 7 - May 11:
This week, we:
We read the story of "Arion and the Dolphin" this week; not sure that this artist had ever seen a dolphin.
Week of April 30 - May 4:
This week, we:
A cartoon off of our Massive Test this week.
(Recall that Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf.) Week of April 23 to April 27:
This week, we:
Some fun pictures of National Latin Exam awards and the Annual Latin Insult Contest.
It was the most polite Insult Contest, including hugs and "thank yous."
Two very in-offensive students met in the final, and Clara (Sophie) defeated Terentia (Erin) in the final. "Es tam stulta quam ovis ambulavit super Mons Vesuvius die erumpit." (You are as foolish as a sheep that walked up Mount Vesuvius the day it erupted.) Afterwards, Mr. Lobato and Ms. Pink challenged each other, then discovered they had both Googled the identical 2 Latin insults. Week of April 17 to April 20:
This week, we:
This week we finished Cinderella. Ask your child about the original ending, which is just slightly more vengeful than the Disney version.
Week of April 9 to April 12:
This week, we:
Using the picture as a hint, can you guess the meaning of this advice,
which Emperor Augustus liked to give? (festina = hurry) Week of April 2 to April 6:
This week, we:
Trivia: Whose autubiography is this? He inspired a recent festive holiday in mid-March...
Week of March 26 to 29:
This week, we:
This week, when not dominating the National Latin Exam, we watched a Pompeii movie, and Friday read parts of this letter written at the time by Pliny to Tacitus (see its heading) -- a famous eyewitness account of the eruption.
Week of March 5 to 9:
This week, we:
Mar's month, March, was the first month of the year in which it thawed enough that the Romans could start military campaigning -- though not in weather like Friday's.
Week of Feb 26 to March 2:
This week, we:
We started a series of stories about Perseus and Medusa this week.
Week of Feb 19 to Feb 2:
This week, we:
I'm fascinated by the ancient origins of holidays.
Here's a clip the History Channel did on Valentine's Day: Week of Feb 12 to Feb 16:
Random Story from Thursday's class: Thursday morning, I ran across an online quiz based on a well-known list of the "1,000 Most Common Words" in Latin literature, and then asked the class to take it to start class, just out of curiosity to see how we would do -- bearing in mind the quiz would be scoring against high school and college students (the list was made by a college professor), and include many words we hadn't seen. I was intending on just spending 2 minutes on it, but had to drag them away from it 10-15 minutes later, as kids re-took it, trying to improve their scores. We were pleased to see we actually knew a lot of the words--I think there were only a couple in the top 100 we hadn't seen. Just sharing how knowledgeable, and highly motivated, your children are. A good group! This week, we:
We read Roman "curse tablets" in which Romans tried to protect a possession by invoking a curse on anyone who took it. Most students protected their own belongings; this enthusiastic student protected the homeroom microwave.
Week of Feb 5 to Feb 9:
This week, we:
We started watching a movie segment about the Hagia Sophia (a 1500 Christina church turned mosque) in Istanbul today.
Week of Jan 29 - Feb 2:
This week, we:
One day your brilliant children read the inscription (abridged a bit) from Trajan's column (in Rome) as our phrase of the day.
Week of Jan 22-26:
This week, we:
Trivia: This city, the 9th most populous in the world today, was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. We started watching a movie about it this week. (Answer below.)
Week of Jan 16-19:
This week, we:
We read a line from the original Magna Carta, which they are studying in Social Studies.
Trivia: What kind of animal skin was this written on? (Answer below.) Week of Jan 8 to Jan 12:
This week, we:
Answer: Sheep skin. We graced the school with our dulcet tones this morning, from the Farmhouse to the office.
(And took and aced a relative pronouns quiz --all in the same period.) Week of Dec 11 to Dec 15:
This week, we:
Quite a turnout (23 students) for Latin carols at Brown Monday night.
Thank you to those who drove, attended, adjusted schedules, or missed sleep. Week of Dec 4 to Dec 8:
This week, we:
First Baptist Church, near Brown, Providence--site of Latin celebration Monday night.
Week of Nov 27-Dec 1:
This week, we:
Since there was only a two-day week, I'm skipping the weekly summary, and instead brainstorming...
Classical Holiday Present Ideas: This week I've started brainstorming ideas for my own kids at home, and the thought crossed my mind, that someone might want to attempt feed their child's curiosity with a book related to Latin--so here are several I like: * Mythology: Percy Jackson: "The Lost Hero" -- If your child enjoyed Percy Jackson“The Lightning Thief,” Rick Riordan has Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology themed series. "The Lost Hero" is the first in the Roman one. If they have read all of one Riordan series, there are always new ones coming out. * Language origins: “Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?” There are lots of great books about language origins; someone gave me this one when I was a kid, and I've been fascinated ever since by the stories behind familiar words and phrases. * History: There are many beautiful nonfiction books of ancient history, though I do find that these tend to sit in the back of my classroom largely unread. The kids do sometimes look at ones like Horrible Histories Ruthless Romans — a playful series that emphasizes the more disgusting and violent side of history — or Asterix the Gaul — the first in a classic comic book series set in Roman history. * Historical fiction: As a child, I only read nonfiction to write a report for school, but I loved historical fiction: - Rosemary Sutcliff “The Eagle of the Ninth”--Rosemary Sutcliff has many outstanding books of Roman and Celtic historical fiction--this is just one; I've enjoyed all the ones I've read. - “Half a King” by Joe Abercrombie (more recently published) -- set in a Viking-inspired world -- with strong characters, lots of suspense, and plenty of action. The first in a trilogy. * Latin books: There are a lot of fun books published in Latin. Some are written as beginning readers for a current Latin student, like “Ursus et Porcus" ("The Bear and the Pig") -- An "I am reading Latin" story book. Some are actual well-known English books, translated into Latin, like “Where the Wild Things Are” or “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” or many more. While kids could not actually read “Harrius Potterus” or “Ille Hobbitus,” some I suspect would still enjoy getting a copy in Latin; they could actually read somewhat (depending on their age and the reading level of the book) the younger “Cat in the Hat” level ones. Always happy to chat about other ideas based on your child's particular tastes. Happy Thanksgiving. Rick Beyer Word trivia: What English word is a Latin noun ending?
(Hint: Originally, this British word meant this vehicle was "for all.") Week of Nov 13-17:
This week, we:
Answer: "Bus," which was originally "omnibus," "for all." People dropped the root omni- ("all") and kept only the ending ("for..."). In most words, endings get dropped and you keep the root word. A bus played a starring role in a silly Latin class story this week.
This week, we read this amusing graffito from the wall of a hotel in Pompeii. See if you can figure out what the guests are apologizing for, and what their excuse for it is.
Week of Nov 6-8:
This week, we:
We had a triple period on Thursday this week (because of a Spanish field trip), so for part of the time, we had a catapult contest. Three competitions: distance, accuracy, and catching. Pictures below.
Week of Oct 30-Nov 3:
This week, we:
We watched this Monty Python clip about the Roman empire.
Funny, but also telling--we briefly discussed why empires last. Week of Oct 23-27:
This week, we:
The Caesar bobblehead was the target of a Treasure Hunt this week.
Week of Oct 16-19:
This week, we:
Sidewalk chalk graffiti Thursday was great fun!
Graffiti were clever, humorous, obnoxious, and grammatically accurate. Hopefully the pictures capture some of the class's spirit. Week of Oct 10-13:
This week, we:
Here's the excellent gladiator movie we started this week.
Week of Oct 2-6:
This week, we:
This week while illustrating our "2 Truths and 1 Lie" from our summers, we listened to Latin covers of pop songs and tried to translate the lyrics. Here's one of the less-silly ones.
Week of Sept 25-29:
This week, we:
Gothic arches on the Brooklyn Bridge:
This week, we discussed / translated our classical pictures from New York City. Week of Sept 18-22:
This week, we:
Toga! Toga!
Thursday, we ended our Latin careers with a toga party. Several pictures... Week of May 30th - June 2nd:
This week, we:
Believe it or not, we have reached the end of the year, an of 3 years of Latin. I’ve enjoyed working with your children, and want you (and them) to have an appreciation of how much they have accomplished with their consistent hard work. So, what did they get out of devoting 3 years to this dead language? In strictly Latin terms:
More broadly: Other common side effects of studying Latin may include…
Thank you for your support throughout the past 3 years. Have a great summer. Best, Rick Beyer Some pictures from the Cultural Bazaar on Wednesday. The 8th graders rose to the occasion.
Great to see how they enjoy interacting with the younger kids. One 8th grade boy (not a demographic prone to gushing about school the next to last week) said afterward, "Hey, that was really fun." More pictures on Friends Facebook page as well. Week of May 22nd to 26th:
This week, we:
Week of May 15th to 19th:
This week, we:
Week of May 8th to 12th:
This week, we:
Answer: A Roman calendar. The month names are visible at top. Quid est? What is this? (Answer below.)
Week of May 1st to 5th:
This week, we:
Answer: A Roman calendar. The month names are visible at top. 21st century gladiators, below:
(students who earned awards on the National Latin Exam) Week of April 24th - 28th:
This week, we:
Class has been beginning with a "Quid est?" (What is it?)
Can you guess what these are? (Answer below.) Week of April 18th - 21st:
This week, we:
Above: Roman earrings. We finally finished watching the outstanding dramatization about Pompeii this week. I recommend it--except you might want to fast forward through the part about Herculaneum around 30 minutes in.
Week of April 10th - 13th:
This week, we:
Today we analyzed some imperial Roman propaganda--this statue of Augustus.
You can ask your child why he has a baby on his leg and why he is barefoot. Week of April 3rd - 7th:
This week, we:
This week we looked at one of the most famous ancient coins, commemorating Caesar's assassination (and today worth about $500,000).
Can you find Brutus' name on the front? Week of March 27th - 31st:
This week, we:
"Caesar, beware the Ides of March!" Happy 2,061st anniversary of Caesar's assassination this Wednesday. Below, my favorite knife holder:
Week of March 6th to March 10th:
This week, we:
Here's our current Pompeii movie.
Not the most up-beat movie, since almost all characters die, but well done nevertheless. Week of Feb 27th to March 3rd:
This week, we:
We explored 360cities this week, a website with spectacular 360 degree panoramic photos and videos from all over the world. Visit the Pantheon, below. You can scroll and zoom in all directions.
Week of Feb 21st to Feb 24th:
This week, we:
Valentine's Day: Yet another holiday we inherit from the Romans. The original St. Valentine was a priest executed by a Roman emperor for illegally helping Roman soldiers get married.
Week of Feb 13th to Feb 17th:
This week, we:
Rome doesn't get as much snow as New England, but here is some...
Week of Feb 6th to Feb 10th:
This week, we:
Roman numerals live on! Here is the logo for Super Bowl LI, which you may see this weekend. In case your Roman numerals are rusy, L = 50, I = 1, so LI = 51.
Week of Jan 30th to Feb 3rd:
This week, we:
We finally finished watching this movie about the Byzantine Empire this week.
Week of Jan 23rd to Jan 27th:
This week, we:
Inauguration
...was a "phrase of the day" this week. Below, a Roman augur reads the omens in bird-flight. Week of Jan 13th to Jan 20th:
This week, we:
Here is a TED talk about the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul / Constantinople, which we learned about this week.
Week of Jan 9th to Jan 13th:
This week, we:
A Monty Python clip about the benefits of the Roman Empire.
Week of Jan 4th to Jan 6th:
This week, we:
Latin caroling today! Complete with reindeer onesies! Happy Saturnalia to all.
You can view this YouTube video to prepare for our tour-de-force at Revels Tuesday night:
Week of Dec 12th to Dec 16th:
This week, we:
Friday we discussed how Roman and medieval swords reflected the cultures who used them.
Week of Dec 5th to Dec 9th:
This week, we:
The Magna Carta (1215 AD)--which the students are studying in Social Studies.
We read a few lines from it in the original Latin this week. Week of Nov 28th to Dec 2nd:
This week, we:
This week we read about Roman fortifications in Caesar's siege of a Gallic city, Alesia.
Week of Nov 14th to 18th:
This week, we:
One of the Phrases of the Day this week:
Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River and marches on Rome, saying: "Alea iacta est," "The die has been cast." Week of Oct 31st - Nov 4th:
This week, we:
We read a great Roman story about a werewolf this week.
Roman legends weren't always as clean-cut as the stories of Jupiter and Apollo in the mythology textbooks. Week of Oct 31st - Nov 4th:
This week, we:
This week we read the tale of "Echo and Narcissus,"
which gives up the words "echo" and "narcissistic." Week of October 24th - 28th:
This week, we:
Week of October 17th - 21st:
We had a full week this week with 5 class meetings. This week, we:
Next week:
Week of October 13th - 14th:What Roman writing survived for 2,000 years was either profound literature, philosophy, scripture...or graffiti. Next week, we'll look at graffiti. Below, some ancient graffiti honoring long-dead gladiators.
This week, 8th grade Latin met only 2 times because of the days off.
This week, we...
The gladiators' salute, which your child can (hopefully) translate for you...
"Ave, Caesar! Nos morituri te salutamus!"
Week of October 4th - 7th:
This week, 8th grade Latin met 4 times because of the Monday off. This week, we looked at...
Wrap up personal pronouns and begin graffiti in order to be ready to graffiti the school with sidewalk chalk the week after. Notā Bene! Students do have multiple moderately-sized homeworks to complete over the next week, in order to help them keep in [Latin] shape during the (almost) week off--a translation, a worksheet, and a Google Forms Review Drill/Quiz that I will send them Wednesday. Hello, parents of 8th grade Latin students!
We watched this thought-provoking Ted talk about the origins of English to start one class this week:
I enjoyed seeing some of you at Parents Night last night! 8th grade Latin had a busy week:
Week of September 26th to 30th:
Next week:
Latin students hard at work during a typical Latin class.
What we are doing in Latin:
Week of September 19th to 23rd: 8th grade Latin continued the Herculean task of reviewing everything they have ever learned, with special focus on those troublesome verbs. In our spare time, we made progress on our New York City projects--researching the connections between an item found in NYC, and a corresponding ancient item. Friday we discussed Roman architecture and our modern tendency to imitate Roman buildings to this day. Next week:
...and I'll see many of you on Parents Night. Many thanks. Best, Rick Beyer Left: Modern American graffiti (student picture from NYC)
Center: A Lego Atlas in the NYC Lego Store (student picture) Right: A Roman slave collar that we translated as a Phrase of the Day Week of September 6th - 9th:
8th grade Latin reviewed much of what they have ever learned in Latin--all of the 6th grade, and most of 7th grade, vocab and grammar. We read several translations, and listened to some as well, experimenting with a new translation web site. We also did the dirty work of making sure we had all the materials, our name on everything, etc. Week of September 12th - 16th: Outside the Classroom Week Week of September 19th - 23rd: Students will bring a picture back from New York City of something that they can relate to the classical world. We will research the item's connections, while also finishing reviewing for a daunting Review Test. Latina vivit!
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