3 Down, More to Go
Today concludes the third meeting of the Junior Levels Latin Club! This summer, every Thursday, Great Neck Public Library is offering a free Latin program for 4th to 6th graders! Run by Dani, she uses the Aequora curriculum to teach the basics of Latin vocabulary and grammar, Roman culture and mythology, and connections between Latin, English, and Spanish, all through games and activities designed to show students that learning Latin is fun! Hopefully, the program will generate interest for students to take Latin in middle school!
At the first meeting, Dani prepared a lesson to introduce the Romans. Students formed groups of three to play a map game, exploring the geographical bounds of the Roman Empire in the present-day context. Next, Dani began to teach the first set of vocabulary, which included greetings such as “Quid ago?” meaning “How are you?” Finally, the class compared English, Latin, and Spanish words, highlighting similarities because of derivatives. It was wonderful to see the engagement of the kids, with many of them able already able to answer a plethora of questions about the Romans.
For the second meeting, it was encouraging to see most of the students return, including some new faces. Starting off with making a Roman bulla (amulet/locket), the children enjoyed the hands-on arts and crafts while learning about Roman clothing. Afterward, Dani introduced more vocabulary, this week about the Roman family and some words from the story of Romulus and Remus. This review transitioned into a heated game of Pictionary, in which the girls' team narrowly won by correctly guessing the term “soror,” sister. Overall, everyone enjoyed the day’s activities and was excited for mythology week.
Mythology week did not disappoint! At the students’ request, we covered myths including Hercules’ labors, Hades and Persephone, Pandora’s box, Perseus and Medusa, Pegasus, Kronos, and Arachne. It was impressive how much everyone knew! Students had the opportunity to act out these myths in a game of charades. Team Hermes the Hamburger won in our final tiebreaker round, but everyone had lots of fun!
It has been wonderful to see such a great turnout! If you are in the Great Neck area and interested in attending future classes, email latinforall@gmail.com or bweil@greatnecklibrary.org
