Splitting Priorities
the Productive Way

Ginny T. Lindzey (Dripping Springs High School, TX)

Teachers trained in grammar-based texts generally come from programs where stages of learning are clearly separated. First year students may not even know second year students, and so forth. Yet small Latin programs often struggle with minimal numbers at the upper levels resulting in the inevitable split-level class. The problems of split-level classes are vert challenging, and the teacher facing such a class for the first time will find that inductive textbooks, such as the Cambridge Latin Course, lend themselves to a more productive split-level class.

This paper will explore two aspects of a productive reading-based split-level class: 1) the development of classroom and textbook routines that promote learning independent from the teacher (and not just task completion), and 2) the development and use of "accountable talk" (good peer questioning and answering techniques) that allow students to help each other explore the Latin and solidify their understanding of syntax and grammar even when they are working at different levels.