1 Latin IV/IB Latin Syllabus 2011-2012 • Blue Days, Period 2 • Room ...

Latin IV/IB Latin Syllabus
2011-2012 Blue Days, Period 2 Room 103
Teacher: Mr. Hosler Conference Hours: Blue Days, Period 4 and White Days, Period 1
E-mail: james.hosler@sjsd.k12.mo.us Website: sites.google.com/site/centralhighlatin
Course Goal: The goal of this course is to satisfy all of the requirements of the IB Latin
curriculum:
1) passing the “Study of the Language” external assessment
2) passing the “Genre Study” external assessment
3) passing the “Individual Study” internal assessment.
(Latin IV students will complete all of the same work as IB Latin students except for the external
assessments at the end of the year.)
Grade Distribution
Assignments/Participation 40%
Internal Assessment 20%
Quizzes 20%
Exams 20%
Assessments and Our Plan for Passing Them
1. “Study of the Language”
AKA: Unseen translation exam. Paper 1.
Subject Matter: Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Details: At the end of the year there will be an “unseen” translation exam on Ovid’s
Metamorphoses. This means that the test creators will choose a small passage from
somewhere among the thousands of lines of Ovid’s epic poem. Since there is no way for
us to tell which passage they will choose, the best preparation we can make is simply to
read as much of the work as possible. In doing so our hope is not to get lucky and study
the one passage the test creators will choose, but rather to acclimate ourselves to the
diction and style of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. If we prepare well enough, it will not matter
what passage is chosen for the exam: We will be ready even for passages we have never
seen. It will also be beneficial for us to read the entirety of the poem in English
translation and consider all of its parts both individually and as a whole. Lastly, a Latin
dictionary will be allowed on the exam at the end of the year; therefore we will develop
skills with the dictionary and frequently practice using those skills by translating in a
simulated testing environment.
Our Plan: 1) Read as much of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Latin as possible throughout the
year so as to acclimate ourselves to translating that particular work.
2) Read Ovid’s Metamorphoses in English translation.
3) Become as efficient as possible with the use of a Latin dictionary.
4) Practice translating frequently in a simulated testing environment.
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2. “Genre Study”
AKA: Seen translation/commentary exam. Paper 2.
Subject Matter: Catullus, poems 1, 4, 10, 12, 14, 42, 46, 70, 75, 87, 96, and 109
AND
Horace, Odes Book 3, poems 1, 9, 15, and 29
AND
Virgil’s Aeneid Book 6, lines 154-476
Details: At the end of the year there will be a “seen” exam involving translation of and
commentary on some passages taken from the above selections of Catullus, Virgil, and
Horace. Since we know what will appear on the exam, the best preparation for us will be
to complete a careful and thorough reading of the selections above. Ultimately, we are
expected to be able to 1) translate the lines they have indicated and 2) answer more
advanced questions concerning Catullus’s, Virgil’s, and Horace’s style and concerning
the content of whatever passages they choose for the exam; therefore we will frequently
practice answering the kinds of questions they will ask in a simulated testing
environment. NOTE: Horace has never once appeared on the exam as the only author to
choose from. For the past many years, one has always been able to ignore Horace on the
exam and choose to do Catullus instead. We will therefore work on Catullus intensively
and will only cover Horace if we move through Catullus quickly enough and there is
extra time toward the end of the year.
Our Plan: 1) To finish a careful, thorough reading of Catullus, poems 1, 4, 10, 12, 14, 42,
46, 70, 75, 87, 96, and 109 and Virgil Aeneid 6: 154-476.
2) Practice frequently in a simulated testing environment.
3) Extra time will be spent preparing for the unlikely appearance of Horace as
a required author on the exam.
3. “Individual Study”
AKA: Project. Internal Assessment.
Type of Project: Research Dossier
Details: Students must complete an individual project. The project must be what is called
a “research dossier,” which is an annotated collection of 10-12 primary sources. The
topic must be related to classical language, history, or civilization and will be chosen by
the student at the beginning of the year. Each annotation, though short, should explain its
source and also tie all of the sources together into a coherent, meaningful whole.
Our Plan: To work on the projects and improve them continually to perfection throughout
the first half of the year. My goal is that projects will be totally complete around the
beginning of the second semester.
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