Leo Senex et Vulpes: A Fable fable tells the story of an old lion who pretends to be sick so that animals will come to him (so he doesn’t have to hunt). A fox, though, sees through the old king’s ruse. Teaching materials are available, including tiered readings and visuals, to support the reading of the fable.
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Latin Texts for Teaching the Gladiator Riot of Pompeii
This collection of Latin texts describes the gladiator riot at Pompeii in 59 C.E. They include an intermediate-level reading about the riot as well as tiers preparing students to read Tacitus’ account of the riot in Book XIV of his Annals. My latest novella, Atrox Caedes, is set on the day of this riot in Pompeii, and I first read Tacitus’ description of the riot while I was preparing for and researching the novella.
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Teaching Martha Marchina’s “De Puero Jesu”
Martha Marchina (1600-1646) wrote Latin poetry, and her work was published posthumously by the Spada family, a powerful family in Rome. Her poetry often had deeply religious and symbolic themes that placed women, particularly Mary, in positions of power. She also tended to describe Jesus when he was an infant, juxtaposing Jesus’s infancy with his death. In “De Puero Jesu,” though, she focuses on Jesus as a boy and the role that his parents had in raising him. She plays with two meanings of the word regere in this poem, which makes for rather delightful reading. Although I personally tend to dislike religious poetry, Martha is different. I particularly enjoyed…
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Grief in Martial’s Epigram 1.101 and a Mother’s Funerary Inscription
Teaching Martial’s epigram 1.101 in conjunction with Salvidiena Hilara’s funerary inscription showcases Roman attitudes toward death, slavery, and women’s writing. This teacher’s guide provides tiered readings and various activities to allow students to explore the nuances of Martial’s epigram and the depth of feeling in Hilara’s monument to her daughter.
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Mures et Cattus Horribilis: An Audabula
Mures et Cattus Horribilis is an audabula retelling a fable about a council of mice trying to solve the problem a cat that kept eating all of them. The moral of the fable is that it is far quicker and easier to come up with a solution than to implement, especially if it relies on individual sacrifice or risk. Here’s the link to Mures et Cattus: Pars Prima. If you enjoy this audabula, please consider supporting my website and writing endeavors by purchasing a teaching set of materials associated with this audabula here for three dollars. In the digital download, you will receive the first and second part of the…
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Leana et Ursa: An Audabula
What exactly is an audabula? Well, it’s a short fabula that is an audio recording, thus, an audabula. My husband thought it was time to do more audio recordings, so he is again urging me to do something a little different and a little out of my comfort zone. He is also the one who is a big fan of the sound effects. Leana et Ursa is an adapted fable. I have occasionally been reading fables with an eye to eventually making tiered readings or simpler retellings. Fables can be delightful, engaging, moralistic, or silly, and his request seemed the perfect opportunity to take some of the fables I’ve enjoyed…
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Tiered Reading of Catullus 13
In Catullus 13, Catullus invites a friend to come to dinner–and bring the dinner. This tiered reading of Catullus 13 breaks the poem into successive tiers of difficulty to aid in reading comprehension before reading the unadapted poem. These tiered readings can be used in conjunction with this teaching activity about parasites, which can be used when teaching the Mostellaria. A translation of the poem can also be found here.
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The Asynchronous Pictatio with Body Parts and Clothing
I wrote last year about the spin on the Dictatio: the Pictatio. This year, as I’m sure it is for all of you, school just looks different. Everything is different just about everywhere, and it’s not going to look normal anytime soon. So, a pictatio should look a little different too. And it ever so slightly does! Behold: The asynchronous pictatio! At my school, electives are taught asynchronously, so we are creating curricular materials that, well, are asynchronous. I had the idea last week that it was time to reuse the pictatio for our unit on clothing that is segueing into body parts and monsters. I found out this week…
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Adapting the Mostellaria
Adapting the Mostellaria is a decision that has led to me repeatedly questioning my sanity and worrying incessantly about vocabulary and difficulty. Yet, that decision remains the right one (I think!). When I decide what I want to write next, those decisions are a combination of what appeals to me as well as where holes might be in the novellas currently available. When I was reflecting on what was available, I realized that we have a dearth of theatrical content. So, I decided it was time for me to adapt a play. I thought that it may be useful for teachers and other writers to understand my approach in adapting…
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Fabula: Achilles Gerens Stolam
Achilles Gerens Stolam is a story about Ulysses tricking Achilles. Achilles had been hiding on Skyros dressed as a woman to avoid an oracle stating he would die at Troy. Much as Ulysses had been tricked by Palamedes, Ulysses tricks Achilles into revealing the truth about his identity and committing to war with the Trojans.
