Embedded Files
latin III
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,
Liam Albrittain
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
During the first couple of weeks with the 11th grade class, we have covered a wide variety of Latin language topics, and even courageously tackled an adapted passage about friendship from the work of the Roman writer, Cicero. Thus far, the 11th grade students have shown a great deal of patience with Latin's difficulties, and it is my sincere hope that they continue to harness such resilience as the school year continues. This coming week, we will strive to put together noun-adjective pairings and work through the challenges of reading clauses and sentences together. I will also introduce more historical context for the Latin language where appropriate. Some students struggled with last Friday's (9/9) weekly quiz, and in order to account for this, I have decided to score the quiz out of nine points, rather than the usual ten. 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
Dear 11th 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,
Liam Albrittain
September 16th, 2022
Dear 11th grade Latin students,
Below is your homework assignment for the weekend.
Carefully read Chapter VI, and glance at the vocabulary on p.50.
Memorize sum in the imperfect and future tenses, and possum in the present, imperfect and future.
The paradigm for the verb sum in the present tense can be found on p.34 (Ch. IV), in the future and imperfect tenses on p.48 (Ch. VI)
The paradigm for the verb possum in the present, future and imperfect tenses can be found on p.49 (Ch. VI).
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Albrittain
September 30th, 2022
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
Our 2nd period class is gaining a better grasp of Latin's fundamentals and now adding increasingly sophisticated adverbs and conjunctions to their Latin arsenal. Due to some of the absences and prolonged illnesses this week, the homework from Monday-Friday is posted below. This information may also aid students in reviewing for the upcoming test (Friday, October 7th) on Chapters 1-5 of Wheelock's Latin.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 9/26
Translate Exercitatio number 6 into English, Ch. IV p.37. Then translate Sententia Antiqua number 12, p.37, and bring your translations to class.
Tues. 9/27
Study Ch. V vocabulary closely, paying particular attention to prepositions and adverbs. Make sure to read the explanation of -ne on p.43. Translate Sententia Antiqua no. 10 (p.45), then complete Exercitatio number 13 on p.44 (English to Latin translation).
Wed. 9/28
Complete the practice quiz on forms of sum and possum, and adverbs prepositions and conjunctions–open note, open flashcard and bring to class tomorrow.
Thurs. 9/29
No homework except preparing for the quiz. Make sure you have sum and possum in the present and imperfect tense memorized. The future tense will not be on the quiz. There will be some vocabulary from Ch. V on the quiz including prepositions, conjunctions and adverbs. There will also be adverbs and conjunctions from previous chapters.
Fri. 9/30
Study the future and imperfect tenses in Ch. V, then complete on p.44 Ex. 3 and 5. Convert the forms maneo, habet, cenamus and culpatis into the future tense and bring to class on Monday.
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. 1-5. There will be masculine, feminine and neuter nouns from the first and second declensions, first and second conjugation verbs in the present and imperfect tenses, noun-adjective agreement in case, number and gender, substantive adjectives, and the irregular verbs sum and possum. Although our test is not lengthy enough to ask about every single word, you are still responsible for keeping track of all the vocabulary words in these chapters. The format of the test will resemble the quizzes, but with more questions; thus there will be Part I: Vocabulary, Part II: Verbs, Part III: Sentences.
*For this test, there will be an extra credit section (Part IV) worth 10 points at the end of the test as an opportunity for you to show what you know if you have some extra years of Latin under your belt.
Mon. 10/3
Make flashcards for the verb terreo (second conjugation) in the imperfect, and supero (1st conjugation) in the future tense.
*Completion only
Tues. 10/4
Complete on p.44 Ex. 8 (poenas dare: this is an idiomatic phrase meaning “to pay a penalty” in culpa esse–although Latin is using the preposition “in,” you can feel free to translate into English with the preposition “at”) and Ex. 15, paying special attention to putting the nouns and adjectives in the proper case.
*20 points possible
*For a possible 10 homework extra credit points, read and write an English translation of “The Historian Livy Laments the Decline of Roman Morals,” Ch. VI p.52 (This translation can be turned in at any point during the week until the end of the day Friday).
Wed. 10/5-Thurs. 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 11th 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 11th 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 (the one 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.
Weekly Assignments:
Mon. 10/24-Tues.10/26 (30 points)
Complete questions 1-10 under Grammatica in the Workbook, pp.52-55.
Wed. 10/26 (20 points)
Take these three English sentences and translate them into Latin again, without looking at your in-class notes. Go through the process of forming the Latin verbs, declining the nouns/adjectives, etc. If you just recopy it, you’ll learn nothing.
Thurs. 10/27
Prepare for the quiz on third declension nouns in cases besides the genitive. Study patterns in the principal parts of first conjugation verbs, and complementary infinitives with verbs other than possum.
Fri. 10/28 (20 points)
Complete on p.58 in Workbook under Lectiones numbers 1, 3, 4 and 7.
October 28th, 2022
Dear 11th 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
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
Because so many students struggled with both the homework assignments and quiz last week, rather than being graded out of 10, points gained on the quiz will be counted as homework extra credit. In addition to having their own homework score this week, students will have the opportunity to gain up to 18 points back on their homework score from last week (see under weekly assignments listed below).
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Weekly Assignments:
11th Grade Latin Homework 10/31-11/4: Make sure to bring the Workbook as well as the textbook to class every day this week.
A note about last week’s quiz: rather than being graded out of 10, points gained on last week’s quiz will be counted as homework extra credit.
Mon. 10/31-Tues. 11/1 (30 points)
Practice declining one masculine, one feminine and one neuter third declension noun of your choice from memory. Pay close attention to spelling, finding the correct stem, and adding the correct case endings onto that stem.
*For each correct declension, you will get 6 points back on your homework grade from last week.
Complete part C on p.56 of the Workbook on a separate sheet of paper.
Wed. 11/2 (20 points)
Complete part D (English-to-Latin) on pp.56-57 of the Workbook.
Thurs. 11/3
Prepare for the quiz–topics to focus on: correctly declining third declension nouns of all three genders (Ch. 7 vocabulary), Latin sentences which use those nouns in all five cases.
Fri. 11/4 (20 points)
Complete on pp.66-67 of Workbook, Lectiones 2, 3, 6 and 10.
November 8th, 2022
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
The weekly assigments for 11/7-11/8 are listed below.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 11/7-Tues. 11/8 (20 points)
Complete on p.67 of Wheelock’s (not the Workbook) Ex. 2, 8, and 12. The first two are Latin-to-English, the last one is English-to-Latin.
Wed. 11/9
Prepare for principal parts quiz on Ch. 8 verbs (8 points). You will need to fill in two missing principal parts from one first conjugation verb, one second conjugation verb and two (new) third conjugation verbs, and remember what these verbs mean.
The quiz questions will look something like this:
Fill in the missing principal parts and write a definition for the verb below:
_________, agere, _________ actum. The correct answer would be ago, agere, egi, actum, “drive/lead”
Thurs. 11/10
Prepare for third declension vocabulary/sentence quiz (15 points). You will be asked to decline in full (all five cases, singular and plural) one masculine, one feminine and one neuter noun of the third declension from either Ch. 7 or Ch. 8, and label each case, as well as singular and plural. Two sentences will come from the passage we have worked on in class this week, starting on Monday.
Fri. 11/11
Complete Part C on p.64 of the Workbook.
November 27th, 2022
Dear 11th 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 word of the day declensions, genders and definitions.
Decline the third declension noun lux–practice finding the genitive singular and the gender by looking up the nominative singular in the Vocabula: Latin-to-English section of our textbook.
From the in-class sentences, change the subjects, verbs and adjectives from singular to plural, making sure they agree in case, number and gender:
1) Lux solis est splendida.
2) Doctus vir neque bella neque proelia dura amat.
3) Ignis semper ardet.
For sentence number 2 (Doctus vir neque bella neque proelia dura amat), also change the direct objects from plural to singular, and make sure nouns and adjectives still agree (30 points).
Wed. 11/30
Review word of the day declension, gender and definition.
From the in-class sentence, decline each noun and adjective in the sentence, and then conjugate the verb (iaceo, “to lie,” as in the sentence, “Italy lies to the West of Greece.”) in the tense in which it appears: Corpora proborum hominum sub sepulcro iacent (20 points).
Thurs. 12/1
Review word of the day declension, gender and definition.
Complete or correct in-class sentence worksheet (20 points).
Fri. 12/2
Study for Word of the Day quiz (21 points)
For three out of the five words of the day from this week, you will be asked to give an English definition, label the grammatical gender, and decline the word in all five cases, singular and plural.
December 4th, 2022
Dear 11th 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 word of the day.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
This week's assignments:
Mon. 12/4-Tues. 12/5
Review word of the day declensions, genders and definitions.
Using the textbook, find a first conjugation verb of your choice and conjugate it in the present and imperfect tenses, then find a second conjugation verb of your choice and conjugate it in the present and imperfect tenses (30 points).
Wed. 12/6
Review word of the day declension, gender and definition.
Read Ch. 8 (pp.62-66) in Wheelock’s Latin. Decline, define and label the grammatical gender of two nouns of your choice from the vocabulary list on p.66, and conjugate a THIRD conjugation verb in the present tense (20 points).
Thurs. 12/6
Review word of the day declension, gender and definition.
Complete/correct in class sentence worksheet (20 points).
Fri. 12/6
Review word of the day declension, gender and definition.
Study for word of the day quiz (21 points).
January 17th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
Please see this week's Latin assignments (including the sentences of the day) below.
*The schedule has been adjusted due to Wednesday's snow day.
Tues. 1/17
Without looking at your in-class notes, retranslate the sentence of the day. Label the case of each noun and adjective. Decline in the singular only the proper name Cicero (20 points).
Tuesday's sentence:
Catullus Marco Tullio Ciceroni magnas gratias agit.
*Refer to the vocabulary list on Wheelock’s pp.65-66 throughout the week to help you with sentences of the day.
Thurs. 1/19
Retranslate the sentence of the day without looking at your notes. Label the case of each noun and adjective. Once you’ve done that, add after “Agamemnon” in Latin “et Menelaus (nom. sing.)” and change the verbs accordingly, so that the sentence is still correct (20 points).
Thursday's sentence:
Agamemnon magnas copias e terra Graeca ad Troiam ducet.
Fri. 1/20
Without looking at your notes, retranslate the sentence of the day, and label the case of each noun and adjective (20 points).
Prepare for sentence of the day quiz (Now Monday, 1/23). There will be a 16-point quiz on two out of the three sentences of the day.
Friday's Sentence:
Frater meus vitam in otio semper aget.
February 6th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
The assignments for this week are listed below. 11th grade students must also complete the assigned portion of the Latin reading entitled "Pecunia!" by Wednesday, Feb. 8th.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 2/6
Re-translate the sentence of the day from memory. Label the case of each noun and adjective.
Monday's sentence: Neuter scriptor de ullo remedio istius morbi dicebat.
Tues. 2/7
Re-translate the sentence of the day from memory. Label the case of each noun and adjective.
Tuesday's sentence: Tempus fugit, horae fugiunt, senectus venit, sed non me vincet.
Wed. 2/8
Re-translate the sentence of the day from memory. Label the case of each noun and adjective.
Wednesday's sentence: In patriam vestram cum sororibus fratribusque meis veniebant.
Thurs. 2/9
Prepare for quiz on two sentences of the day so far (Mon.-Wed.), Ch. 10 vocabulary, and the third -io conjugation.
Thursday's sentence: Filiam tuam in civitate utra non invenies.
Fri. 2/9
Re-translate the sentence of the day from memory. Label the case of each noun and adjective.
Complete verb ID sheet number two.
Friday's sentence: Victoria sola enim non semper libertatem facit.
February 15th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
Students will take a full-period test on Tuesday, February 21st. Below is an outline of the test format and brief summaries of what to study. The majority of the material is drawn from Chapters 8-10 of Wheelock's Latin.
Test format
Part 1: Demonstratives. Fill in partially filled out charts with forms of hic, ille and iste.
Part 2: Special -ius adjectives. Fill in the blanks with the definition, and genitive OR nominative singular of a selection of UNUS NAUTA adjectives.
Part 3: Verbs. Fill in partially filled out charts for 3rd and 3rd-io conjugation verbs (one present tense, one imperfect tense, one future tense), and provide the definition and infinitive for each.
Part 4: Sentences. Translate two sentences of the day and one unseen sentence which uses some of the concepts from part 1-3.
February 21st, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Tues. 2/21
Read in Ch. 11 of Wheelock’s Latin (textbook) pages 87-90.
Wed. 2/22-Thurs. 2/23
Read and translate the first paragraph of the in-class reading. Turn in at the end of class on Friday.
Fri. 2/24
Prepare for a brief vocabulary quiz on Ch. 11 Vocabula (pp.91-92). Study the principal parts of mitto and intellego, new third declension nouns, and the nominative and genitive forms of the personal pronouns ego, tu, is/ea/id, nos, and vos.
February 27th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 2/27-Tues. 2/28
Finish part C on p.87 of the Workbook. Tear out and turn in at the end of class Wednesday.
Begin working on the middle paragraph of the story of Davus (“Agricola, nomine Davus . . .”).
Wed. 3/1
Complete your translation of the middle paragraph and turn in at the end of class Thursday.
Thurs. 3/2-Fri. 3/3
Finish translating the story and turn in your final version at the end of class Monday 3/6.
March 6th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 3/6
Complete verb reference sheet and turn in at the end of class Tuesday.
Tues. 3/7
Read and translate “Miles Fortis Tamquam Orcus” up to “proficisci voluit” on p.8.
Wed. 3/8
Read and translate “Miles” from “subito” up to “ululavit” on p.10.
*Turn in your full translation at the end of class on Friday.
Thurs. 3/9
Prepare for quiz on the principal parts of amitto, habito, capio, creo, cado and augeo, and vocabulary from Tuesday’s translation assignment.
*I will select three of the above verbs and require you to fill in the blanks of three of the four principal parts, and write definition for the verb. The vocabulary section will have a nominative OR genitive fill in the blank, and a space for the English definition.
March 20th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Mon. 3/20
Read and translate Miles Fortis Tamquam Orcus from “Niceros” on p.10 to “vulneravit” on p.11. Turn in at the end of class Tuesday.
Tues. 3/21
Read and translate Miles Fortis Tamquam Orcus from “Per noctem” on p.11 to “viri an lupi” on p.12 (i.e., the end of the story). Turn in at the end of class Wednesday.
Wed. 3/22
Read and translate Lycaon, Versipellis Primus from “Olim erat vir” on p.14 to “secretum horribile erat” on p.15. Turn in at the end of class Thursday.
Thurs. 3/23
Prepare for a brief quiz on the principal parts of scire, vulnero and fallo, and vocabulary words from Monday and Tuesday’s translation assignments.
Friday 3/24
Read and translate Lycaon, Versipellis Primus from “apud cenam” on p.15 to “versipellis” on p.17.
March 27th, 2023
Dear 11th grade Latin students and parents,
This week's assignments are listed below by date.
Best wishes,
Mr. Albrittain
Quiz principal parts: Reddo, peto and vincio. Be prepared to conjugate one of these three verbs in the pluperfect tense.
Mon. 3/27-Tues. 3/28
Finish your translation of Lycaon, Versipellis Primus.
Read and translate on pp.18-19, Anthus, Versipellis from “post” to “natavit.”
Wed. 3/29-Thurs. 3/30
Prepare for quiz on the above principal parts, and vocabulary from pp.14-19 of the reading packet.
Fri. 3/31
Read and translate pp.20-21 of Anthus, Versipellis.
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