Analyze figures from Roman history and literature to identify their influence on American history.
Example: The influence of Cincinnatus on George Washington.
Analyze the style of selections from Roman prose to investigate its influence on today’s world of diverse cultures.
Example: Phrases such as O tempora O mores“ in a modern context.“
Comparisons
Investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons between Latin and their own language.
Compare the style of Roman prose authors to that used in contemporary history and politics.
Example: Compare one of Pliny’s letters to a current piece or writing, such as an open letter published in a newspaper.
Analyze the structure of Roman rhetoric and its influence on contemporary rhetorical styles.
Example: Compare one of Cicero’s orations to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream“ speech.“
Investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the culture of the Greco-Roman world and their own.
Compare issues that reveal cultural similarities between the ancient world and modern cultures.
Examples: Sallust’s account of the 63 B.C.E. senate debate on capital punishment and the modern debate on capital punishment, Cicero’s consternation regarding the appropriate punishment of insurgent citizens and the current debate on what to do about domestic terrorism.
Communities
Use knowledge of Latin and Greco-Roman culture in a multilingual world of diverse cultures.
Investigate important and influential works written in Latin.
Example: Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
Identify and correctly use English derivatives of Latin words commonly used in Latin prose.
Examples: Avarice, vulgar, suspicion, and perdition.
Set goals and reflect on the progress made in using Latin for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.
Examples: Read Latin translations of literature at the appropriate proficiency level such as Ubi Fera Sunt (Where the Wild Things Are) or Winnie Ille Pu (Winnie the Pooh).
Level IV
Communication
Interpersonal Mode
Communicate and exchange information using Latin phrases and simple sentences.
Answer questions consistently using properly formulated Latin sentences.
Formulate questions and responses relevant to a topic of conversation or academic interest using properly formulated Latin sentences.
Engage with others in simple conversational situations.
Interpretive Mode
Read, translate, and understand Latin poetry at an Intermediate High level.
Analyze the style of Latin poets to comprehend content.
Example: Describe how the meter of a poem affects its meaning.
Identify metrical patterns by scanning selected Latin poetry.
Example: Dactylic hexameter in Vergil’s Aeneid –Ä€rmă vÄ/rÅ«mqÅe că/nÅ TrÅ/iÄe quÄ«/prÄ«mÅs ăb/ÅrÄ«s“ (DDSSDS).“
Answer questions in Latin or English to demonstrate understanding of adapted or unadapted Latin poetry.
Examples of grammar appropriate to Level IV: See the Latin Grammar Addendum (Appendix A, page 67).
Examples: Vergil, Ovid, Horace, and Catullus.
Presentational Mode
Produce Latin sentences and phrases at an Intermediate Low level.
Write short messages and notes using a series of properly phrased Latin sentences.
Example: Prepare a short Latin paragraph about the characters in a story read in class.
Read or recite from memory authentic Latin poetry with proper inflection and attention to meter.
Examples: Catullus’ 5 (Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus“) Horace’s Odes 1.11 (“Carpe Diem”)“
Cultures
Relate Roman cultural products to perspectives.
Explain the significance of Roman poets and their poetry.
Example: Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Catullus, Martial, the patron Maecenas.
Investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between Roman cultural practices and perspectives.
Compare the actions and character traits of figures in Roman poetry to actions and character traits of figures in other periods of history and literature.
Example: Vergil’s Aeneas and George Washington, Ovid’s Daedalus and Leonardo da Vinci.
Analyze Roman values and perspectives in poetry.
Example: Critique Horace’s use of Epicurean and Stoic philosophies.
