Dear Friends,

 

Wow! Did the past four months whizz by for you as well? It’s been a fast-moving fall semester but a delightful time for me. As I’ve mentioned previously, I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with classics friends and colleagues at in-person conferences this fall. The weekend prior to Thanksgiving, for the first time in three years, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held its annual convention and exposition at the Boston Convention Center in the trendy seaport neighborhood.

ACTFL proved a delightful four days, exhibiting during the day and in the evenings catching up with folks—dinner with ACL Executive Director Sherwin Little, a New England Conservatory concert and late dinner with my ninth-grade social studies teacher, Rev. Richard Gross, SJ, and my husband Ray and I catching up with my sister Andrea over dinner on Saturday. It was a special joy to congratulate ACTFL Teacher of the Year William Lee, whose work I’ve admired over the years and whose AP Latin Teacher Workshop this past summer B-C was happy to support with access to Lumina: Caesar and Vergil Selections for participants. And, it was also a joy to congratulate B-C novella author Emma Vanderpool as the recipient of 2022 Massachusetts Classical Association’s Teacher of the Year Award.

 

 

 

In addition to regular features, this issue of eLitterae includes a report on ACTFL 2022, a teaching tip from regular contributor master Latin teacher Lynne West, and a new feature providing FAQs to help illuminate Lumina for teachers.

As the winter solstice draws nigh, know that all of us at Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers wish you and your families, your students, and their families, a happy holiday season and grand new year!

All best,

 

It is almost the end of the period and the bell will ring in two minutes. What are my students doing at this precise moment? They may be packing up their materials and migrating towards the door. Or perhaps they are intently listening to me as I try to squeeze in a couple more important points. It could be that they are working in groups or pairs to finish an activity. And the truth is that it is probably all of the above over the span of a week. We often plan more activities than we can complete in a single lesson. As the end of the instructional period grows near, we are forced to cut out the last learning activities of the lesson and, often in a flurry, make the required announcements and reminders. Rather than this abrupt end to a lesson, let’s try to offer a conclusion. What techniques can we intentionally use to provide closure at the end of a lesson to ensure that our students have the greatest gains in learning?

Consider establishing a routine to check in with yourself toward the end of the class period to determine what will be most beneficial for students as the last learning activities. If it is clear that there is not enough time to do everything planned, revise on the spot so that you have enough time to do the closure activity that will be most valuable.

There are many ways that we can provide an impactful closure activity at the end of a lesson. Giving students the opportunity to actively use the new knowledge and skills they have developed over the course of the class is particularly powerful. Here are some suggestions:

The last moments of a lesson offer an important opportunity for students to reflect on, process, and synthesize what they have learned as well as consider where they still have gaps or questions. Protecting these minutes and using them intentionally will have a positive impact on student learning. Consider making this one of your New Year’s resolutions for the classroom!

 

Lynne West
Sunodia Educational Consulting

When Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers developed Lumina, we provided basic FAQs about using the online content. Since Lumina’s debut in 2018, we have enabled more advanced functionality—teachers can now select from a number of customized grading options! In this eLitterae column, we will share some tips about new Lumina features. FAQs will continue to be added based on teacher feedback.

 

Every Lumina exercise has grading options, which are found in the “Actions” drop-down menu available in the Teacher’s View of the Lumina exercise. Options include: “Change Scoring Method,” “Change Maximum Attempts,” and “Complete All Attempts.” The FAQs below explain how you can customize grading using the options from the “Actions” menu.

 

 

 

The first in-person national gathering of ACTFL proved a smashing success as 6,700 attendees far exceeded expectations! The Boston Convention Center in the city’s seaport drew waves of enthusiastic teachers chatting exuberantly in a variety of languages taught in the nation’s schools. They eagerly attended presentations, caught up with colleagues, and sought out new learning and teaching resources. Their collective energy jubilantly affirmed the value of meeting in-person!

The number of classicists, always impressive when ACTFL is in Boston (a tribute to the strength of Latin instruction in New England schools), also exceeded expectations! The American Classical League and National Latin Exam booth adjacent to the Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers exhibit enjoyed a steady flow of teachers, many of whom also visited B-C. Indeed, most of the ACL and NLE handouts were eagerly snatched up and B-C’s stock of titles was readily diminished, with most sold out! Teachers especially enjoyed checking out B-C’s novella series and its newest titles—Explore Latin: Ludi Scaenici and Encounter Latin: We’re Going to the Show, Adimus ad Ludos—as well as the I am Reading Latin series and the I am Reading Latin Stories series.

 

 

ACTFL 2022 was a particularly joyous occasion for classicists as master Latin teacher William Lee, from San Antonio, Texas, was honored as ACTFL’s Teacher of the Year! This fabulous news sparked a chorus of Latin teacher praise affirming that William is so deserving of such recognition. Of course, William met all the fanfare with characteristic modesty. To learn more, read this profile about honoree Lee.

 

 

 

Classics teacher Maureen Gassert Lamb was also honored—as the 2022 recipient of the ACTFL/IALLT Award for Excellence in World Language Instruction Using Technology (K–12).

 

At 4:00 pm on the Saturday of the convention, several attendees gathered to await the B-C book drawing for ACTFL attendees. Over forty teachers had submitted their names in the hopes of winning a set of B-C novella titles. One teacher was so hopeful that Sprague promised to refund her purchase if she won the drawing! And . . . the winner . . . was Joshua Thomas of the Ellis School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

 

The 2022 ACTFL Convention and Expo reaffirmed the many values of in-person conferences, from being able to view learning and teaching materials to learning from colleagues presenting and conversing with colleagues to celebrating the joys and delights of teaching! Folks certainly look forward to ACTFL 2023 in the beautiful lakeside city of Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, January 8, 2023
8:00–11:00 am
SCS-55
“Martha Graham, Isamu Noguchi, and the Translation of Greek Myth into the Visual” Ronnie Ancona, see above.

 

2:30–5:00 pm
SCS-73
“Teaching Students to Read Latin: What Does That Mean? (Organized by the American Classical League), Introduction, Ronnie Ancona, see above.

 

SCS-78
Leda and the Swan in the Work of Three African American Women Poets: June Jordan (1936-2002), Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) and Lyrae Van Clief-Stephanon (1971- ) Michele Valerie Ronnick, editor and introduction author, William Sanders Scarborough's First Lessons in Greek
A Facsimile of the 1881 First Edition

  

A Tiered Approach to Roman Culture—Entirely in Latin!
		Explore and encounter ancient Roman comedy like never before! These immersive beginning readers use simple Latin and copious illustrations to introduce the world of ancient theater, Roman daily life, and more.

Both titles by author: Christopher Bungard

 

 

 

This offer is valid for one (1) copy per title, prepaid, no returns.

Bolchazy-Carducci's New Novella Series:
Great Gifts for the Young Latin Learner
in Your Life