Teaching videos: Cambridge Latin Course Book 1
Here are some examples of me teaching Cambridge Latin Course Book 1 Stage 6 'Felix'. I did these as demonstrations for some mature students, and they aren't in front of school classes. All errors are my own...
Initial Stimulus material
The principle is to whet the appetite of students for the subject matter of the stage (in this case slaves and freedmen) and to provide them with the English / Latin technical terms to scaffold their thinking in the stories to follow.
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Model sentences
The principle is to acculturate students into the topic of slaves and freedmen a little further – to engage them in reading. Through the process of reading about something interesting we are consolidating old vocabulary, building new vocabulary by repetition with visual scaffolding, and introducing the new grammar feature – in this case, the imperfect and perfect tenses. Note how I try to elicit meaning of he Latin by reference to the pictures and well-known vocabulary and English derivations, where appropriate; and how I use tone of voice and gesture to emphasise the new grammar – foregrounding at this moment the visual appearance on the page of the new tenses – b and v.
Story: ‘Felix’
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The principle is to rapidly read the story for meaning – an engaging activity for the students – and to get to the end so that the full impact of the story – with its cliff-hanger – is realised. Note how grammar is picked up en route and with a light touch; further intensive grammar work will take place later, using the same storyline and vocabulary as are exhibited in this story.
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Grammar (Imperfect and Perfect tenses)
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The principle is to use comprehension to get students to understand how they should get the right answer, not just for the teacher to hear the right answer.