Embedded Files
latin ii
Updates / Announcements
Dear parents of Latin students,
My name is Mr. Albrittain and it is my great pleasure to start this fall at Ascent Classical Academy with groups of ninth, 10th and 11th grade Latin students. I bring to this position a longstanding love of both Latin literature, and the broader humanities traditions represented in our school’s curriculum. I also look forward to working with Ms. Lind in the literature department on advising seniors working on their thesis projects. In 2019, I graduated from Williams College with a double major in classics and history, and received my MA in classics from UCLA in 2022 with a focus on Archaic Greek literature.
My Latin colleagues—Mr. Dalton Sala and Ms. Kate Newell—and I are committed to a multilayered approach to Latin pedagogy. This means that we are not partisans of any particular methodology, and prefer to use a wide variety of media and materials in addition to our textbook. My aim is for your students to come away from Ascent’s Latin curriculum with a sensitivity to the broad scope of Latin literature, particularly in terms of its inexhaustible use and re-use of vocabulary, and its many areas of influence on Western literary and historical traditions.
Although Latin is a ‘dead’ language in the sense that it is no longer harnessed for daily or banal communications, the vast majority of its words and structures will remain recognizable to modern English speakers with the right instruction. It is for this reason that Mr. Sala, Ms. Newell and I are incorporating some oral use of the language during class, in order to familiarize the students with the grammar and rhythms of the language through repetition, games and recitations.
Given that the Latin language has been recopied over the course of several centuries, studying it gives students an opportunity to contemplate the historical contingency of the past’s survival and endurance. In other words, while one of my goals is literary in nature (and I will draw connections to material in their English literature classes as frequently as possible), teaching Latin is also fundamentally a historical project, and necessarily involves an encounter with primary documents. Insofar as Latin both draws from and is related to many other disciplines, one way or another, it has the potential to enrich every other topic your children encounter over the course of a given day at Ascent. To be sure, this enrichment will not always be obvious, nor will it happen all at once. With patience and determination, however, their study of Latin will help students peer below the surface of our own language and history. I look forward to embarking on a year of classical education and Latin with our students!
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
September 12th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
The first two weeks of school have proven to be a stimulating and productive review for the 10th grade class. Thus far we have aimed high in filling out our knowledge of Latin verb systems, as well as looking at Roman diction in context. I appreciate our students' acumen and readiness to see Latin as an historical artifact. This coming week, we will refine our knowledge of case usages and passive verbs by discussing short excerpts from the Roman historian, Sallust. The 10th graders have already exhibited excellent participation and curiosity, and I look forward to aiding in their continued discovery of Latin's complexities over the course of the year. Some students struggled on last Friday's (9/9) weekly quiz: I encourage all students to seek one-on-one help by getting in touch with me via email (lalbrittain@ascentclassical.org), and scheduling a time to work together either before the school day begins or during lunch. Now is an important time in your academic career to practice advocating for yourself!
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
September 12th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students,
I apologize for the confusion in describing the homework in the last few minutes of class. What I would like you all to do is the following:
1) Read in Wheelock's Latin on p.125, about the "Ablative of Time When or Within Which," p.116-17, "Ablative of Accompaniment," and p.493, "Ablative of Cause"
2) Read sentence number 27 , "The historian begins a brief survey of Roman history," on the photocopied page entitled "Short Readings."
September 13th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
I have distributed a sheet with a rough map of the homework assignments for this week. The majority of these assignments is subject to change based on how much progress we make in class. I will communicate any changes here and in PowerSchool as necessary.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
September 16th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students,
I have made a slight change in the homework for this weekend. I distributed the most current version of the homework in class today, and it is outlined below:
On p.109, convert ex. 2 from active voice to passive voice using either an ablative of agent or means, and repeat this process for ex. 5, p.109: the verbs in ex. 2 are in the perfect, but treat them as though they are in the present. Thus the sentence would look like this in the active:
Totus populus Romanus libertatem amittit. (amitto, amittere, amisi, amisum–3rd conjugation, see p.100).
Ex. 5 has verbs in the present tense, and thus will stay the same as it is in the textbook:
Di animos creant et eos in corpora hominum e caelo mittunt. (mitto, mittere, misi, missum–3rd conjugation, see p.91)
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Albrittain
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
Given that some students will be out of town this weekend and into next week, and others have requested assignments further in advance, a draft of the homework assignments for Mon.-Thurs. of next week is listed below to help such students with their time management. This list is subject to change:
Mon. 9/26
Carefully study the Ch. 8 vocabulary on p. 65-66, and make sure to read any explanatory notes next to prepositions and conjunctions. Translate on p.68 Sententia Antiqua number 10 and 12.
Tues. 9/27
Review the suffix -ne in the vocabulary list on p.43 (Ch. 5). Translate Exercitatio 11 on p.67 (Ch. 8) into Latin (duco ad+acc., NOT used with the dative). Read the first sentence of “Cicero on the Ethics of Waging War” on p.69. For propter and tum see Ch. 5 vocabulary on p.43.
Wed. 9/28
Complete practice verbs quiz for verbs from Ch. 8, open note, open flashcard, etc. You should know the present tense for 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs, the principal parts for the verbs from Ch. 8, and be able to recognize and translate imperfect forms.
Thurs. 9/29
No homework except preparing for quiz. See above. Familiarize yourself with Ch. 10 nouns on p.82.
Fri. 9/30
Read the “Grammatica” and “Vocabula” sections of Ch. 10 carefully, “Fourth Conjugation and -io Verbs of the Third.” Review in Ch. 9 p.72-74, “Usage, Translation and Word Order,” and “Special -ius Adjectives.” Complete on p.76 Sententia Antiqua number 9, and on p.84 Exercitatio no. 9.
Homework 10/3-10/7
Looking ahead to the test on Friday (for more details, see the test study guide): The test will include material from Wheelock’s Latin Ch. 5-9. There will be masculine, feminine and neuter nouns of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd declensions (*no neuter i-stems), 1st, 2nd, and 3rd conjugation verbs in the present, future and imperfect tenses, with special emphasis on the four principal parts of the 3rd conjugation. The vocabulary section will emphasize the third declension, and demonstrative adjectives. Although our test is not lengthy enough to ask about every single word in these chapters, you are still responsible for keeping track of all the vocabulary words. The format of the test will resemble most of the quizzes, but with more questions; thus there will be Part I: Vocabulary, Part II: Verbs, Part III: Sentences.
Mon. 10/3
Complete on p.75-76, Ch IX, Ex. 2 (for igitur see Vocabula on p.43) , 5, 7 (for ullius see special “-ius” adjectives on p.73-4), and bring your translations to class. Gratias agere+dat. Is an idiom meaning “to give thanks (to someone/something).
Tues. 10/4
Choose
1) any first conjugation verb from Ch. 1-10
2) any second conjugation verb from Ch. 1-10
3) any third conjugation verb from Ch. 8-10
4) any fourth conjugation verb from Ch. 10
Conjugate each of these verbs in the present active indicative–use the textbook if you need to do so at first, then try to do so from memory. Write one sentence in Latin with using one of the above verbs, and include any third declension noun in the nominative or accusative from Ch.7-8 in the sentence. Do not write nonsense.
Wed. 10/5-Thursday 10/6
Use tonight and tomorrow night to review for the test with all the resources at your disposal. These include, but are not limited to reading the “Grammatica” sections of chapters in Wheelock’s Latin, using the glossaries in the back of the book (Vocabula: Latin-English, and English-Latin), quizzing yourself with existing flashcards, making new flashcards, reviewing corrections I have made on old homework assignments, and correcting mistakes on old quizzes.
*Please come to class on Thursday with at least two thoughtful questions written down about the material. We will spend the class going through as many of these as possible.
Dear parents of 10th grade Latin students,
Please click on the SignUpGenius link here if you would like to schedule a meeting on parent-teacher conference day (Wednesday, October 19th). I look forward to speaking with you!
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Albrittain
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
As we begun the second quarter today, I distributed our usual weekly homework sheet with some reminders about absences and missing homework. The text of that sheet is listed below. As always, students should feel free to drop me an email to schedule a time for tutoring, either before school, during a conference period or after school. I also welcome "walk-ins" during those times provided that other students have not made an appointment.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Homework Reminders
It is always your responsibility to find out what you have missed during an absence, including homework assignments and quizzes. In the event that you miss a quiz, you must either schedule a time to make it up via email, or take it in a neighboring classroom the following school day. You are permitted to place late assignments (or any extra credit submissions) on the bottom shelf of the black paper holder on my desk in room 303 even if I am not there.
For excused absences, you will have one extra school day to complete the assignment you missed; for instance, if you were to miss class on Wednesday, you would have until the end of the day on Thursday to hand in the work in question.
In accordance with our school’s policy, late assignments automatically receive 50% of their original final grade for the first week that they are late. After that week, it will receive a zero.
If you hand in a paper without your name on it, but on time, I will tape it to the right-hand door of room 303 (aligned with my desk) after I have graded it. I will allow you to claim the assignment for full credit until the end of the week in which it is due.
This week's assignments
Mon. 10/24-Tues.10/25 (30 points)
Re-do your in-class translation without looking at your first version. If you just copy down what you already did, you’ll learn nothing. See if you can take yourself through the process of translating the sentence again from memory. Use the “Steps” sheet if you would like.
If you did Ex. 1 and 6 in class, then do Ex. 4 and 9 from scratch. If you did 4 and 9 in class, then do Ex. 1 and 6 from scratch.
Wed. 10/26 (20 points)
Complete on p. 92 Ex. 10, 12 and 16 (English-to-Latin).
Thurs. 10/27
Prepare for quiz on Ch. 10–personal pronouns is/ea/id, idem/eadem/idem, principal parts of Ch. 10 verbs, a sentence using Ch. 10 vocabulary.
Fri. 10/28 (20 points)
Homework: In Ch. 10, complete Sententiae Antiquae 1, 2, 4, 10 and 12. Read Ch. 12 pp.96-99.
October 28th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
I would like to clarify any confusion about the homework grading in recent days. I add the scores together for each assignment at the end of the week; usually, there are 50 possible points, and a low score at the beginning of the week typically reflects that a given student has only completed one out of two or three assignments so far (rather than a precipitous drop in the student's overall grade). The scores out of 50 are adjusted appropriately by Friday or Saturday at the latest.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Albrittain
October 31st, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
The weekly assignments for this week are listed below.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 10/31-Tues. 11/1 (30 points)
Review the “Grammatica” section of Ch. 12 on pp.96-99, and complete Exercitationes 2, 4, 6 and 10.
Wed. 11/2 (20 points)
Complete on p.101 Sententiae Antiquae 4, 7 and 8.
Thurs. 11/3
Prepare for the weekly quiz–topics to focus on: principal parts of new verbs, verbs in the perfect tense, sentences with verbs in the perfect tense (besides the first person singular).
Fri. 11/4
Translate the four sentences below on a separate sheet of paper:
Idem consul, autem, tum fuit verum caput patriae nostrae.
Ea medica de morbis senectutis et remediis eorum scripserat.
Studium litterarum nobis multas voluptates dedit.
Nimis multi adulescentes pro patria ceciderunt et vitas amiserunt.
November 8th, 2022
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
The weekly assignments for 11/7-11/11 are listed below.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 11/7-Tues. 11/8 (30 points)
Write a translation of “Pliny Writes to Marcellinus about the Death of Fundanus’ Daughter” on p.102.
*For up to 20 homework extra credit points, try translating the first two paragraphs of the unadapted version of this passage on p.406 of the textbook, “A Sweet, Brave Girl.” You may turn this translation in any time between now and Friday.
Wed. 11/9 (20 points)
If you do not finish it in class, make sure to complete on pp.109-110, Ex. 1, 4, 8 and Sententia Antiqua 5. For SA 5, think about which noun you may have to write down twice in the English translation, even though it does not occur twice in the Latin.
Thurs. 11/10
Prepare for quiz–topics to focus on: Ch. 13 principal parts, one sentence from something we’ve read this week, and one sentence we haven’t seen, but using grammatical concepts from Ch. 12-13. Pluperfect (and perfect) stems and endings.
Fri. 11/11 (20 points)
Translate on p.112, “The Authority of a Teacher’s Opinion”
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
I am looking forward to seeing our students again after a restful Thanksgiving break! The weekly assignments are listed below. As always, students should feel free to request extra help outside of class--before school, during a conference period, at lunch (Mondays and Wednesdays excepted), or after school.
This week's assignments:
Mon. 11/28-Tues. 11/29
Review the principal parts of the day.
Read Ch. 14 (pp.113-16), “Third Declension i-Stem Nouns,” and “Ablative Case Uses.”
Translate on p.184 (Ch. 8) of Keller and Russell, Learn to Read Latin, short reading number 35, “The Philosopher Gives a Definition.” Feel free to consult Ch. 17 (pp.139-141) on the relative pronoun (30 points). I have reproduced the passage from Keller and Russell below:
Philosophia studium virtutis est, sed per ipsam virtutem: nec virtus autem esse sine studio sui potest nec virtutis studium sine ipsa. Non enim quemadmodum in iis qui aliquid ex distanti loco ferire conantur, alibi est qui petit, alibi quod petitur, nec quemadmodum itinera quae ad urbes perducunt, sic viae ad virtutem sunt extra ipsam: ad virtutem venitur per ipsam, cohaerent inter se philosophia virtusque.
Wed. 11/30-Thurs. 12/1
Review the principal parts of the day.
Complete on p.119 of Wheelock’s Latin Sententiae Antiquae 4, 5, 7 and 11 (20 points).
*At the beginning of class on Friday we will have a review session discussing topics from throughout the week. I would like everyone to come to class with at least one question.
Fri. 12/2
Study for Principal Parts of the Day Quiz (20 points): you will be quizzed on three of each of the four principal parts of the day. There will be two sentences drawn from this week’s homework.
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
The assignments for this week are listed below. If students miss a class, they should feel free to consult their classmates or myself about the principal parts of the day.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
This week's assignments:
Mon.-Tues. 12/4-12/5
Review principal parts of the day.
Read and translate in Fabulae Faciles on p.2, sec. 1, “The Ark” (20 points)
Wed. 12/6-Thurs. 12/7
Review principal parts of the day.
Read and translate in Fabulae Faciles on p.2, sec. 2, “Jupiter Saves His Son” (30 points)
*We will have another review session on Thursday–come to class with at least one question prepared about any of the material from the week so far.
Fri. 12/8
Study for Principal Parts of the Day Quiz (20 points): you will be quizzed on three of each of the four principal parts of the day. There will be two sentences drawn from this week’s homework.
Start reading section 3 in Fabulae, “Perseus is Sent on His Travels”--this will make your life easier next week!
January 17th, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
Please see the revised, 'snow day' assignment list below.
Wed. 1/10
Read and translate on p.8 of Fabulae sec. 9, “The Reward of Valor” (20 points).
Thurs. 1/11
Begin reading sec., 10 on pp.8-9 of Fabulae, “Polydectes Is Turned to Stone.”
Fri. 1/12
Complete your translation of “Polydectes Is Turned to Stone” (20 points).
Prepare for quiz on principal parts of the day from this week (Now Tuesday, 1/24) (20 points). There will be one sentence on the quiz selected from either “The Rescue” or “The Reward of Valor.”
February 6th, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon.-Tues. 2/6-2/7
Read and translate on pp.13-14 of Fabulae sec. 15, “Hercules Escapes Sacrifice.”
Wed. 2/8-Thurs. 2/9
Continue working on etymology report, or prepare to present.
Prepare for quiz (20 points) on last week’s principal parts, and two sentences excerpted from “The Music Lesson.”
Fri. 2/10
Work on etymology report.
Read and translate on p.14 of Fabulae sec. 16, “A Cruel Deed” by Tuesday, 2/14.
February 21st, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Tues. 2/21-Wed. 2/22
Read and translate sec. 17 in Fabulae, “The Defeat of the Minyae.”
Thurs. 2/23
Read pp.201-204 in Wheelock’s on indirect statement.
Fri. 2/24
Prepare for a quiz Tuesday, February 28th on this week’s principal parts of the day. Under each regular set of principal parts you must also produce
The perfect active infinitive.
The future active infinitive.
The present passive infinitive.
*Note: the principal parts of proficiscor will not be on the quiz.
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 2/27
Continue preparing for principal parts and infinitives quiz.
Tues. 2/28-Wed. 3/1
Read and translate in Fabulae p.16, sec. 18, “Madness and Murder.”
Thurs. 3/2
Write the verb dicitur at the beginning of the paragraph, and from “Post hoc” to “sua manu occidit,” convert the sentences into indirect statements.
Fri. 3/3
Read and translate in Fabulae p.16, sec. 19, “Hercules Consults the Oracle.”
March 6th, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 3/6-Tues. 3/7
Read and translate in Fabulae sec. 20, “The Oracle’s Reply.” Turn in at the end of class Wednesday.
Wed. 3/8
Read in Ch. 17 of Wheelock’s pp.139-141 on the relative pronoun.
Complete on pp.142-43 Ex. 4, and Sententiae Antiquae 1-2. Turn in at the end of class Thursday.
Thurs. 3/9
Prepare for quiz on last week’s principal parts of the day, their infinitives (three sets of principal parts, two different infinitives each), and two sentences from “Hercules Consults the Oracle.”
March 20th, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon.-Tues. 3/20-3/21
Read and translate on p.18 of Fabulae sec. 21, “1st Labor: The Nemean Lion.”
Wed. 3/22
Read in Ch. 39 of Wheelock’s pp.332-334 on the gerundive and gerund, and study each of the examples.
Thurs. 3/23
Prepare for a brief quiz on the principal parts of conor, fateor, and sequor. Be prepared to conjugate one of these verbs in the present tense.
Friday 3/24
Read and translate on p.18 of Fabulae sec. 22, “2nd Labor: The Lernean Hydra.”
March 27th, 2023
Dear 10th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 3/27
Finish translating in Fabulae on pp.19-20 sec. 22, “2nd Labor: The Lernean Hydra.”
Tues. 3/28-Wed. 3/29
Read and translate in Fabulae on p.20 sec. 23, “3rd Labor: The Cerynean Stag”
Thurs. 3/30
Prepare for quiz on three of last week’s PPD (mordeo, haurio, exorior, uro and repleo) and two sentences from “The Lernean Hydra.”
Fri. 3/31
Gerund, gerundive and deponent verb practice, TBD.
COURSE MATERIALS:
Frederic M. Wheelock and Richard A. LaFleur, Wheelock's Latin (7th ed.), New York: Harper Collins, 2011.
Andrew Keller and Stephanie Russell, Learn to Read Latin (2nd ed.), Yale University Press, 2015.
Andrew Keller and Stephanie Russell, Learn to Read Latin Workbook (2nd ed.), Yale University Press, 2015.
Pens, pencils, notebooks, loose leaf paper, folders.
Three-ring binders are neither required nor preferred, but students should feel free to use them or share them with another subject.
Page updated
Report abuse