Category: Course

Published Date

Written by Lorna Robinson

6: ECHO AND NARCISSUS.

You'll need... paper.

Firstly... Tell the story of the Echo / Narcissus myth, writing up a Latin sentence on the board to represent each stage of the story. Ask the children in pairs and threes to dramatise just one section of the story, so that the whole story can be performed in sequence by the class!

Secondly... Ask the children to write down the Latin on the board. Then ask each pair / group to draw a cartoon representing the part they were allocated, writing in the Latin sentence onto the cartoon. These can then be made into a cartoon strip for the classroom wall displays.

7: BODY PARTS IN LATIN

You'll need... paper, sticky labels.

Firstly... write up words for body parts onto the board, and ask each group / table of children to write one word onto one sticky label each. Also ask each table to draw a picture of a man or woman, so that you can clearly see the legs, arms, fingers, face parts (use example on board for this!), onto a large piece of paper (A3 or bigger).

Secondly... Explain how many words in English for body parts are derived from Latin. Ask the groups to work out which Latin words might mean which parts of the body, and to stick the appropriate name onto the appropriate part of the picture. After ten minutes or so, stop them, take in guesses, and write the correct answers up on the board.

8: COBWEBS AND LEECHES - ROMAN MEDICINE!

You'll need... vocabulary sheet.

Firstly... write up the word "caput". Ask them if they can remember what it means. Then write up "habeo dolorem capiti". Lead them into exploring what the sentence means, and why the word "caput" might have changed. Do the same with "manus". Explain that is is a new case called the genitive, which means "of".
Tell the children about some Roman medical techniques, such as:
the belief that fevers were causes by too much blood, so the use of leeches to drain the blood.
the use of cobwebs as bandages (and how they actually have useful medical properties!)
curing pains by getting a dog to lie on the affected part of the body, because dogs were considered to be caring animals who would take away the pain (they'll love that one!).
Or any others you think the children might enjoy! Compare and contrast with modern techniques, and see what ideas the children come up with before you tell them what the Romans did!

Secondly... get the children in pairs to come up with doctor-patient "skits", in Latin, using the sheets with vocabulary / phrases to help them. Then get each group to act out their skits to the class. Prize for the one voted best?

9: COME DINE WITH ME?

You'll need... paper cups and plates, coloured paper, glue, vocabulary sheets.

Firstly... Explain the eating habits of the Ancient Romans, the kinds of things they ate. How the poor ate things like fish, nuts, berries, eggs, vegetables, but the rich would throw lavish banquets where things such as peacock tongues or animals stuffed inside animals stuffed inside yet more animals would be served! Ask the children, using vocabulary sheets with the English and Latin, to prepare a meal by cutting out food shapes using coloured paper, writing the Latin name onto the food, and sticking them to the plates and cups. Get a few of them to present their meals to the class at the end. Ask them to write up their meal in their literacy book in English and Latin.
Telling tales... Tell them the story of Erysichthon, who ended up eating himself!

10: THE WEAKEST LINK...

You'll need... question cards (six questions on each card, three different colours for cards, depending on difficulty level: see example at back), sticky labels, dice. Whiteboards.

Firstly... put the children into teams. It's fun to make each team the Latin word for an animal – e.g. canes, apes, leones, dracones, ranae – and get each child to write on a sticky label the word for his team and stick it on him /herself! Write a grid on the board for scores. Winning table / group gets to roll the dice to choose which question on the card. You can play using Weakest Link style rules, or just a more straightforward quiz.
Prize for winning team.