Latín para niños, clase semestral: niveles combinados de latín 3 y 4 (de 7 a 8 años)

This is far from a typical Latin class! The kids welcome learning at a natural, gradual, comfortable pace. They make the Latin language relevant to their daily lives and make numerous connections with English. They use puppets and stuffed animals to facilitate speaking in another language and acting. Options exist to incorporate writing and art as well. And they enjoy age-appropriate humor to help make Latin grammar and vocabulary their own.

In this highly interactive semester class, learners will continue speaking using classical pronunciation and writing the ancient language of Latin. This course combines Latin Level 3 for Kids (Ages 7 to 8), and Latin Level 4 for Kids (Ages 7 to 8) into a fourteen-week class that meets twice per week. It provides a slower-pace, in-depth experience than my 5-week versions of those two Latin classes. 

Through speaking with puppets and plush characters, dramatic activity, lively discussions, vocabulary lists I will provide, visuals, optional note taking, and imitating my speaking, students will create and translate sentences relevant to their everyday world—many of them funny. Because about 60% of English has Latin in it, the kids will also see how roots from Latin words in class connect with many English words they already know, plus they will increase their English vocabularies. 

The material will include nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, four noun cases, three noun declensions, imperatives (commands), verbs in the present tense plus an introduction to the imperfect past tense, and a few high-frequency words. Each day, the learners will have ongoing opportunities to speak and write Latin sentences, as well as to demonstrate learning through optional product or project possibilities according to interest and learning styles! 

I will provide each learner printable material consisting of vocabulary, some in flashcard format for optional independent review. In addition, after some of the class meetings, I will provide summaries of what we cover, in a format similar to how we experience it during class.

In addition to increasing Latin vocabulary and working with Latin roots in English, here are specifics on what students will do each week (depending on overall learner readiness and the flow of class from week to week). They also will have an ongoing opportunity to create examples of their growing mastery in the form of optional oral, written, visual, and/or kinesthetic products:

Week 1 (class meetings 1 and 2): Students will speak in fun sentences, plus ask and answer questions, to review and strengthen their mastery of the four regular verb lists (conjugations) in the present tense. They will use some adjectives and three noun cases: The subject (nominative case), the direct object (accusative case), and the object of the preposition (ablative case).

Week 2 (class meetings 3 and 4): Students will receive an introduction to the imperative form (commands) of all four regular verb conjugations and begin using it in practical and fun ways. 

Week 3 (class meetings 5 and 6): Students will continue learning how to apply their learning of imperatives in practical and fun situations. Students will continue practicing and strengthening 1st, 2nd, and 3rd noun declensions (singular forms), adjectives, simple prepositional phrases and the nominative, accusative, and ablative cases.

Week 4 (class meetings 7 and 8): Students will discover when to use the (prepositional) ablative case with prepositions and when to use the (also used for the direct object) accusative case. They will learn new prepositions in both categories and use them in fun prepositional phrases.

Week 5 (class meetings 9 and 10): Students will continue to learn new prepositions and deepen their understanding of when to use the (prepositional) ablative case with prepositions and when to use the (also used for the direct object) accusative case.

Week 6 (class meetings 11 and 12): Students will use their increasing repertoire of prepositional phrases to create fun sentences. 

Week 7 (class meetings 13 and 14): Students will learn the plural forms of the accusative case for 1st and 2nd declension nouns and use them in fun sentences they create in speaking and writing.

Week 8 (class meetings 15 and 16): Students will learn the plural forms of the direct object (accusative case), for 3rd declension nouns, and use them in fun sentences they create in speaking and writing.

Week 9 (class meetings 17 and 18): Students will receive an introduction to the possessive form of nouns (genitive case) for 1st and 2nd declension nouns and use it in speaking and writing fun sentences.  

Week 10 (class meetings 19 and 20): Students will receive an introduction to the possessive form of nouns (genitive case) for 3rd noun declensions and use it in speaking and writing fun sentences. They will begin combining it with imperatives (commands) in useful and fun ways. 

Week 11 (class meetings 21 and 22): Students will strengthen their mastery of the three noun declensions, four noun cases, and four verb conjugations. They will incorporate adjectives, prepositional phrases, and imperatives into their speaking and writing of Latin.

Week 12 (class meetings 23 and 24): Students will receive a detailed introduction to a past tense (the imperfect) and begin using it. Students will strengthen their mastery of three noun declensions, four noun cases, four verb conjugations, adjectives, prepositional phrases, and imperatives.

Week 13 (class meetings 25 and 26): Students add an irregular verb or two to their Latin repertoires. Students will strengthen their mastery of three noun declensions, four noun cases, four verb conjugations, adjectives, prepositional phrases, and imperatives.

Week 14 (class meetings 27 and 28): Students will apply their learning of the past 13 weeks in creating a variety of products of their choice, from fun sentences to oral, written, art, and acting activities. 

I look forward to seeing you!