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Latina Christiana and Prima Latina

Publisher: Memoria Press Author: Cheryl Lowe Review last updated: 2009 This is one of my 100 Top Picks!

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Cheryl Lowe believes that Latin is the ideal foundation for a classical education for children in grades three through eight. Ideally, Latin study replaces some English language study (particularly grammar and vocabulary) through these years. It also serves as the focus for study of history and geography to a minor extent. Cheryl explains how to integrate your studies in her Teacher Manuals, correlating history questions based on Famous Men of Rome (another Memoria Press publication) throughout both volumes.

Parents with no Latin background should find these courses very easy to use. Lesson preparation is minimal unless you choose to develop some of the optional activity ideas Cheryl suggests. These are not independent study workbooks; you really need to use the Teacher Manuals for lesson presentations.

She advocates using Latina ChristianaI and II, for grades 3 to 5, then using a first year high school Latin text in grades 6 to 8 to complete the foundation. Students are then prepared for further language study and for reading Latin literature in high school. They should also find study of English and any of the Romance languages much easier.

Latina Christiana uses medieval or "church" Latin pronunciation rather than the "classical." You should find the companion CD very helpful for learning pronunciation. Words and phrases relating to Christianity are included; content should be appropriate for both Protestants and Catholics.

Lessons need to be taught following instructions in the Teacher Manuals. The Teacher Manuals are very nicely designed both in appearance and functionality. Reduced student pages are surrounded by lesson information. Answers are overprinted so you do not have to go to a separate answer key.

Lessons are learned through repetition, memorization, and drill, but Cheryl presents a number of ideas for making this interesting: vocabulary flash cards, games (e.g. Latin "Pictionary"), songs, and an audio CD.

The student books are less intimidating than most other foreign language workbooks since they were written for young students. Students do oral work with new vocabulary, study words and phrases, learn a well-known Latin proverb or phrase, and complete exercises in their books (or on blank paper if you wish to reuse the books). Students also listen to the CD that comes with each level and complete a Tape Exercise Form that helps them review vocabulary, conjugations, and declensions. Most lessons include memorization of Latin prayers (e.g., the "Pater Noster" or "Our Father") or songs (e.g., "Adeste Fideles").

The courses were developed with small classes of homeschoolers, so Cheryl suggests gathering a small group for class. However, the courses should work well for a single student and parent.

Book I covers first and second declension noun and adjective forms, first and second conjugations and three tenses, subject/verb agreement, personal pronouns, gender, and use of the nominative case. Book II covers the third through fifth declensions, third and fourth conjugations, present and imperfect tenses, use of accusative and ablative cases, third person personal pronouns, and principal parts of selected verbs. Both levels include lists of English words derived from Latin vocabulary words in each lesson.

Helpful appendices include lists of all the vocabulary words and their meanings, charts of declensions and conjugations, and other helpful reference material.

Memoria Press also publishes Prima Latina, an easier course that can be used prior to Latina Christiana. It covers some of the same vocabulary, but more slowly and in a different format. Prima Latina provides a "gentler" introduction to Latin, since Latina Christiana is likely to be quite challenging for most students in the elementary grades. While Memoria Press says it can be used by children in grades one through four, they qualify this by saying that it is "for students who are still becoming familiar with English grammar but are competent readers." I would add that students need to be fairly competent writers since there is quite a bit of writing in the course.

The Teacher Manual for Prima Latina has general teaching guidelines and reproducible vocabulary drill forms and tests. Other than that it has only overprinted answers on pages identical to those in the student text rather than expanded lesson plans. The companion CD helps with pronunciation and includes beautiful Latin hymns from another Memoria Press product, Lingua Angelica.

Optional DVD's with lesson presentations are available for both Latina Christiana and Prima Latina. The video presentations teach the content of the books, but you still need the course books for student exercises, practice, and review. Parents worried about their ability to teach Latin as well as those short on time should really appreciate this option. Check the website for price and availability information.

To make the study of Latin using Latina Christiana a bit more fun, you might use Memoria Press's books of crossword, word search, and hangman puzzles, Ludere Lantine, written by Paul O'Brien. Ludere Latine I correlates with Latina Christiana I, and Ludere Latine II correlates with Latina Christiana II. The puzzles provide valuable practice on vocabulary, declensions, and conjugations. For example, to solve one of the crosswords, students must come up with the nominative case, plural, masculine form of the Latin word for "third." Instructions for five more group games are included at the end of the student pages. Answer keys for all the puzzles are at the back of each book. The first book has 110 pages while the second has 210.

Bright students working through Latina Christiana might also benefit from another optional supplement by Paul O'Brien: The Book of Roots. This is a workbook that also includes a complete answer key and extensive reference guide. Selected Latin words taught in Latina Christiana are used to create individual lessons teaching numerous English derivatives of each word. Students study the words, complete a written drill page, and do the matching and fill-in-the-blanks workbook exercises. Four or five words might be selected from one Latina Christiana lesson, while only two might be selected from another. That means that you might be pacing The Book of Roots a bit differently than Latina Christiana, possibly studying words in The Book of Roots that are from a textbook chapter completed a week previously. This should not pose a significant problem. I suspect TheBook of Roots might be overwhelming for many elementary grade students. You could just as easily use it on its own at a later date, even at high school level.

Lingua Angelica is a supplemental study of Latin hymns. It consists of a single CD with 24 hymns, two levels of student books with teacher manuals, and a songbook. The same songbook and CD are used with both levels. While you can purchase the CD alone just for the beautiful music by a six-voice Gregorian chant choir, the workbooks do not function as a stand-alone course but must be used alongside a beginning Latin course.

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