2018 Year in Review

2018 has (almost) gone, so I'd like to reflect briefly on some of the highlights of my year. 

2017 was a year of life-changing highs and lows. I passed the edTPA, got and accepted my job in Georgia, completed student teaching and my Masters, moved to Georgia, and finished my first semester in my new job. All these helped me through 2017, my most painful year personally. 2018 has had its ups and downs too, but I am grateful to be in an even better place now.

2018 was my first calendar year as a Latin teacher at Parkview and as a 100% CI teacher, so it's overwhelming to narrow down a list of highlights. 

Teaching:

• TPR - I first used TPR in 2017, but I did not feel that I was as successful as I wished to be. This past August, I really felt successful doing it again. See my post about it here.
• Brain Breaks - I first used Brain Breaks in 2017, but did not implement them consistently. Starting in August, I have made them a routine. See my post about it here.
• Writing my own novice-level Latin texts - Most of these have been translated and adapted from primary sources like Hesiod's Theogony (Saturn's overthrow of Uranus, the Titanomachy) and Homer's Iliad (Jupiter, Neptune, and Hades drawing lots) for Latin I students.
• Modifications for special ed. students - Miriam Patrick and I have been working closely to create activities and supports for our special education students, especially in Latin I. More details to come in a future post!
• Acting in the faculty play - Students invited several of us faculty to star in Check, Please, a play about a series of blind dates gone horribly-yet-humorously wrong. I played the role of Tod, a little boy who fools a woman into a date. 

  

  At 29 I could still pass for a kid. Yes, I am wearing a Mickey Mouse hat. Thanks for the youthful genes, Mom and Dad!

• Dressing up as Luigi for Halloween!

  

  Luigi forgoes Italian for the day because of half-off burritos at Chipotle on Halloween!

Greek & Latin:

• Biduum Georgianum - I had so much fun! I would love to do the longer immersion programs for both Latin AND Ancient Greek! See my post about it here. 
• Batrachomyomachia - I read two Greek texts this past year. First was the Batrachomyomachia, an epic poem that parodies Homer's Iliad. Instead of Greeks vs. Trojans, it's mice vs. frogs. I loved it - especially the deus ex machina ending!
• Digenes Akrites - The second Greek text I read was Digenes Akrites, a Byzantine poem about the life and adventures of Digenes Akrites ('Biracial Frontiersman'), a half-Arab, half-Roman hero who lives on the nearly-lawless eastern frontier of the empire (eastern Turkey today) and fights wild beasts, a dragon, and guerrillas. I graciously consulted Elizabeth Jeffrey's editions and translations of the Grottaferrata and Escorial manuscripts. This experience was a fun introduction to demotic Byzantine Greek and I'd love to learn more Modern Greek!

Travel: 

• The Midwest - In May and June, I enjoyed a nice roadtrip through the Midwest (Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio) with my girlfriend. It was great to see my family and best friends again in the Chicago area. Cedar Point was AMAZING! The best amusement park I've ever been to!
• Egypt - Also in June, my lifelong dream of going to Egypt came true and it was everything I had hoped for and more. Let me travel geek right now - I stayed in Cairo (just blocks from Tahrir Square!), Aswan (on Elephantine Island!), Luxor (steps from the Nile!), and Alexandria (right across from the Mediterranean!). I saw and did so much and I can't wait to go back!

  

  The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza! I went inside too!

• Istanbul - Coming back home, I had a long layover in Istanbul thanks to flying Turkish Airlines, one of my favorite airlines. Since it is Istanbul - AKA my favorite place in the world - I had to go see it even for those brief hours I was there. I got on the metro shortly after it starts at 6:00 AM and explored the city on foot. I checked out some Byzantine churches, walked along the Sea of Marmara, and visited Hagia Sophia (my eleventh visit - yes, I'm shamelessly obsessed!) - all with more than enough time to hop back on to the metro and return to the airport to fly home. 

  

  Under Hagia Sophia's legendary dome for the eleventh time, but just as excited as ever!

Annum novum faustum felicem tibi, lector!

Latin 1 First Story of the Year

Many teachers who are new to CI, especially Latin teachers, ask the question, "How do you start level one?" The traditional way of teaching Latin typically jumps right into conjugating verbs. That's at least how my first few days of Latin went (to be fair, it was also at the college level). Our modern world language colleagues at least can start the year with the old standbys of greetings and simple expressions for interpersonal communication (e.g. talking about family, interests, and likes/dislikes). 

In my Latin 1 class, we do all of these (minus conjugating verbs), but I also like to get my students moving and engaging with one another via Total Physical Response (TPR). With TPR, I deliver simple messages in Latin to my students to perform simple actions with high-frequency verbs. To make it more engaging, we use stuffed animals.

"I ad ianuam!" "Go to the door!"

"Cape animal ex sacco!" "Take an animal out of the bag!"

"Fer leonem ad Amandam!" "Bring the animal to Amanda!"

"Marcus dat felem Liviae!" "Marcus gives the cat to Livia!"

All of this involves me narrating and ordering various actions while pausing to point at the words on the board with their accompanying English meaning.

This year, inspired by my colleagues Rachel Ash, Miriam Patrick, and Keith Toda, I decided to make my own story using the vocabulary words from our TPR activities. This way, my students can see and hear (as we read aloud the story) these high-frequency words, get as much exposure to and repetition of said words, and acquire words that will serve them for as long as they study Latin.

The story I wrote, titled Ubi est telephonum Mirandae? (Where Is Miranda's Phone?), was a surprise hit with my students! The story draws not only from our TPR word base, but also from our class cell phone procedure and rejoinders. I used Latin names (Miranda and Iulius - Julius in English) that are familiar in English to help my students see that many of us have Latin names and that the Latin-speaking past is not so distant. Here is what it looks like:

Hodie puella (girl) est in Lilburn. Nomen ei est Miranda. Miranda est discipula. Miranda intrat conclave (classroom). Miranda videt in tabulā: “Ubi sunt telephona?”

Ubi est telephonum Mirandae? Scilicet est in sacculō! Miranda videt in sacculō. Telephonum non est in sacculō! Miranda non habet telephonum! Ubi est telephonum Mirandae?! Miranda vult telephonum!

Miranda it ad armarium. Telephonum non est in armariō. Miranda it ad excipulum. Telephonum non est in excipulō. Miranda it ad mensam. Telephonum non est in mensā. Ubi est telephonum Mirandae? Miranda non habet telephonum. Miranda vult telephonum!

Miranda it ad ianuam. Iulius intrat conclave. Miranda inquit (said), “Ubi est meum (my) telephonum?”

Iulius inquit, “Visne telephonum? Da mihi (to me) stylum.” Miranda capit stylum. Miranda fert stylum. Miranda dat stylum Iuliō. Iulius habet stylum.

Iulius inquit, “Da mihi chartam.” Miranda capit chartam. Miranda fert chartam. Miranda dat chartam Iuliō. Iulius habet chartam.

Iulius scribit in chartā, “Te amo (I love you).” Iulius dat chartam Mirandae. Miranda capit chartam.

Miranda inquit, “Fufae!” Miranda ponit (puts) chartam in sacculum. Miranda videt aliquid (something) in sacculō sub (under) libellō. Miranda videt telephonum! Euge! Miranda habet telephonum!

Why was this simple story such a hit? The reference to our cell phone procedure was a nice inside joke (and a great way for me to remind my classes of my policy 😈). My students ate up the almost love story. Some felt bad for Iulius and his failed attempt to woo Miranda. Some commended him for his audacity. Some found his flirtations creepy. Some students made predictions about the location of Miranda's phone (one was correct!). One class wanted to know more about Miranda and Iulius' relationship and wondered if they had a past, which I will keep in mind in case I decide to write a continuation of this story.

Before I wrote this story, I felt overwhelmed at the thought of writing a narrative that both engaged my students and gave them sufficient exposure to and repetition of high-frequency words in Latin. I'm sure many new CI teachers share the same apprehension. After all, when I was a student - and later a teacher - in traditional Latin programs, I relied on textbook exercises (however absurd they may be - I'm looking at you, Dominus iacet in via!) and on adapted readings from classical literature for practice. I now plan to write more stories for my classes in the future. I can only hope that they will be just as fabulous.