LAT-102-001

Elementary Latin II
Spring 2013

Instructor: Prof. K. M. Quinn

Office: 434 Landrum Academic Center
Office Hours: MW 2:00-3:00 p.m., TR 10:45-11:45, and by appointment
Telephone: 859.572.5654
Email: quinnka@nku.edu

Classroom: 219 Founder’s Hall

Class Time: MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.

** Modification of this syllabus may occur due to unanticipated circumstances. **

Salvete, discipuli et discipulae! Welcome to ELEMENTARY LATIN I, a course designed to introduce

you to the basic grammar and mechanics of the Latin language as well as facets of ancient Roman cul-
ture.

Textbooks & Readings

Textbooks for this course are available at the NKU bookstore, the off-campus bookstore, and other re-
tailers or resellers (Amazon.com, Half.com, etc.). Required textbooks (which you should bring to class
each day):

Kitchell, Kenneth F., Jr. and Thomas J. Sienkewicz. Disce: An Introductory Latin Course.
Vol. 1. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. ISBN 0-13-158531-2. [DISCE]

Kitchell, Kenneth F., Jr. and Thomas J. Sienkewicz. Student Activities Manual for Disce:
An Introductory Latin Course. Vol. 1. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. ISBN 0-13-612626-
X. [SAM]

MyLatinLab Access Code. This will be provided to you free of charge. [MLL]

The abbreviations in brackets will be used on the daily syllabus to indicate readings and other assign-
ments. During the course there may be short readings, podcasts, maps, images, or other audio-video
work posted on our Blackboard site. Be sure to access any of these materials prior to the class for which
they are assigned, and you should come to class with a printed copy when applicable.

Learning Outcomes and Student Assessment

If you—the student—attend class regularly, participate in all class activities, and successfully complete
all assignments and tests, you can expect to:

 read, write, speak, and understand elements of Latin by studying grammar, vocabulary, and de-
rivatives both in class and through individual student work outside of the classroom setting;

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 produce both formal and informal written papers (in Latin or English) in response to homework
cues rooted in Latin grammar and vocabulary as well as Roman culture;
 explore the culture of the ancient Romans, including aspects of daily life, religion, and history,
through readings and short films;
 engage Latin source materials in a collaborative manner with peers in class;
 and employ computer skills that are relevant to your success in college and beyond;

Progress towards the above-stated learning outcomes will be measured in the following ways:

Class & Group Work: Attendance & Class Participation 25%

Written & Creative Homework & Drills 20%
Assignments: Culture Project 10%
Tests: Quizzes 15%
Exam #1 10%
Exam #2 10%
Final Exam 10%

Total: 100%

Letter grades will be applied in the following way: A (93-100%); A- (90-92.9%); B+ (87-89.9%); B (83-
86.9%); B- (80-82.9% points); C+ (77-79.9%); C (73-76.9%); C- (70-72.9%); D+ (67-69.9%); D (60-66.9%);
and F (59.9% or below). I will make every effort to return all assignments to you by the next class period,
and you will be able to keep track of your progress in this way. I am also happy to discuss your grade
during office hours.

Assessment Details for Attendance & Class Participation.

(1) Attendance: Attendance is expected, and you are encouraged to be in the classroom promptly
each day. Your attendance grade will drop the points equivalent of one letter grade for each
three (3) absences of excessive numbers of late arrivals; thus, you can earn an A+ for perfect at-
tendance, an A for one or two misses, an A- for three misses, a B+ for four misses, a B for five
misses, a B- for six misses. To protect your privacy, I do not make any distinction between ex-
cused and unexcused absences; if you are not in class, you are absent. If you miss class, it is your
responsibility to check Blackboard for any missed assignments, contact me about missed work,
borrow notes from a colleague, and read through the relevant sections in the text. Please keep
in mind that language acquisition is an on-going and intensive process, so missing more than six
class days (= three weeks of class) will result in an automatic failure for the course.

(2) Class Participation: At the university level students should be attentive, cooperative, respectful,
and willing to learn. You should arrive each day ready to participate in class activities (i.e., do
any readings or written assignments before class). Surliness or other classroom-inappropriate
behaviors (e.g., texting, snickering when others are talking) will not be tolerated, and I expect
that you will not only treat me with respect, but you will also listen to your colleagues and re-
spect their right to express an opinion—even if you disagree. In the university setting, disagree-
ment and discussion are expected and welcomed, and you should feel free to speak up at any
time to contribute to our discussions.

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Class participation will take many forms (including but not limited to): class discussions, group
work in class, board work, etc. Positive points will be earned each day based on how often you:
(1) enter into class discussion, help lead a group activity, or volunteer for board work; (2) offer
questions or comments in class or while working in groups; and (3) visit the professor at the lec-
tern before or after class or during office hours to clarify ideas. Negative points will be earned
for showing up late, sleeping in class, or being disruptive.

Assessment Details for Written & Creative Assignments.

(1) Homework and Drills: The bulk of the writing for this course will take the form of homework as-
signments that will have you working out grammar problems, translating Latin into English, or
composing Latin sentences. Occasionally, your homework will entail a short essay in English on a
topic relevant to our class discussions. Regardless of the type of assignment, there will be daily
written homework, not including the study of vocabulary and grammar that should be on-going;
you are expected to complete all homework by the next class session unless otherwise indicated
on the daily syllabus.

You will be responsible for grading many of your own homework assignments. I will collect the
homework after we have gone over it in class. To help me understand how you are doing, I ask
the following: (1) that you write your homework on lined, looseleaf paper, unless it is from your
SAM; (2) that you write on every other line; and (3) that you make corrections to your paper
with a different color ink than what you originally used. This makes it easier for me to make
legible corrections or comments and to see your in-class corrections. For some assignments, I
will collect and mark them myself.

Homework assignments, as works in progress, will be marked on the following system: check-
plus (=95, honest attempts at work made), check (=85, honest attempts at most work made),
and check-minus (=75, half-hearted attempts at work made). Extremely incomplete assignments
will be returned with a grade of zero. Late homework will be accepted up to a week after it was
originally assigned; however, there will be a penalty for lateness. The homework mark is not
necessarily based on how many items you do correctly, but on your attempt at the work, the
quality of the work, the quality of your corrections, and whether you are mastering general
concepts.

Successful mastery of Latin vocabulary and grammar depends on constant drilling, both inside
and outside of class. Your homework and study time takes care of the latter, but we will also
drill during class to keep you on your toes. Most of the time drills will be collected and marked
as the homework assignments described above; however, occasionally a drill may be treated as
a pop-quiz and will be graded for correctness.

(3) Culture Project: Students will be responsible for completing a creative project on a topic of Ro-
man history and archaeology to supplement their work with the ancient Roman language. De-
tails about the project will be distributed on Blackboard and discussed in class later in the se-
mester. Although students will complete individual projects, they will be expected to share their
findings with the class so that everyone can learn about the project topic. The creative projects
will be due on 12 Apr (F). Late projects will be accepted, but with a reduction of one letter grade
per class day late.

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Assessment Details for Tests.

(1) Quizzes. Given the nature of language study and the constant need for practice and feedback,
we will likely have a quiz at least once per week to make sure that you are grasping concepts
and vocabulary. There will be absolutely no make-ups on quizzes; to compensate for this and for
possible poor performance on your part, I will drop your lowest two or three quiz scores at the
end of the semester. NOTE: Some of the quizzes will be in-class; some will be conducted through
the MLL learning module online.

(2) Exams. There will be two in-class exams and one final. The exams will include a variety of ques-
tion types, including but not limited to: true/false, multiple choice, matching, short answer, fill-
in charts, composition, and translation. In-class exams will run for 50 minutes. The first exam
will be held on or around 15 Feb (F). The second exam will be held on or around 29 Mar (F).
Both of these exam dates are subject to change depending on our pacing. The final exam will be
held on 6 May (M) from 10:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Plan to be in class on testing days as I do not give make-ups except in extreme circumstances. If I deem
it necessary to give make-up exams (not quizzes) to students who have inescapable excuses for absences
(e.g., university-related activity, military reserve service, major medical emergency), I must be informed
beforehand, arrangements to take the make-up exam must be made at the time of the request, and you
must provide written documentation verifying your absence.

Topics Overview

The following is a rough outline of the grammar topics we will cover week-by-week. Detailed assign-
ments will be given each day in class and posted on Planbook Connect (accessed through Blackboard) to
remain current with the progress we are making through the course.

Week 1: Impersonal Verbs & Adverbs

Week 2: Third Declension Nouns and Adjectives
Week 3: Third Declension Nouns and Adjectives
Week 4: Third Declension Nouns and Adjectives
Week 5: The Future Tense
Week 6: Present Participles & Demonstrative Pronouns
Week 7: The Imperfect Tense & Relative Pronouns
Week 8: Review of Demonstrative, Interrogative, and Relative Pronouns
Week 9: SPRING BREAK
Week 10: The Pluperfect Tense & Demonstrative Pronouns
Week 11: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives and Adverbs
Week 12: The Future Perfect Tense & Sequence of Tenses
Week 13: Personal and Reflexive Pronouns & Verb Synopsis
Week 14: The Passive Voice: Imperfect Tense
Week 15: The Passive Voice: Future Tense
Week 16: Deponent Verbs & REVIEW

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Policies and Other Information

Academic Integrity. The work you will do in this course is subject to the Student Honor Code. The Honor
Code is a commitment to the highest degree of ethical integrity in academic conduct, a commitment
that, individually and collectively, the students of Northern Kentucky University will not lie, cheat, or
plagiarize to gain an academic advantage over fellow students or avoid academic requirements. Famil-
iarize yourself with the code at: http://deanofstudents.nku.edu/codes_and_policies/
codeofstudent_rights/index.php.

A Note about Plagiarism: The professor will be checking every essay for plagiarism. If you
commit plagiarism, you will receive an automatic zero for the assignment. A second plagiarized
assignment will result in a failing grade for the course. All of the following are examples of pla-
giarism (and apply to both essays and Power Points/presentations):

a) Quoting/using wording from a book, journal article, internet or other source verba-
tim (word-for-word) without putting the quote in quotation marks and citing it in a
footnote;

b) Paraphrasing another person’s unique ideas, theses, themes, research, etc. (pub-
lished or unpublished) without giving the author credit in a footnote;

c) Using another person’s tables, graphs, photographs, artwork, or illustrations with-

out giving the author credit in a source reference;

d) Using all or part of another student’s paper or presentation, even if that student
approves; Emailing a paper to another student (both students will be held accounta-
ble);

e) Using a paper or presentation from a free essay or presentation website or service;

f) Buying a paper or presentation from an essay or presentation website or service.

NKU's Steely Library is pleased to present class lessons, films, and activities on plagiarism and
copyright awareness for the classroom at http://creativethinking.nku.edu.

Classroom Etiquette. In order to create a productive learning environment, I ask that you adhere to the
following policies:

 Turn off all cell phones, pagers, iPods, laptops, or other electronic devices during class. Stow
them away. Do not have them out on your desk.
 Do not text during class. In theory, you won’t do this if you’ve followed the first etiquette point.
 Do not eat during class, unless you have generously provided enough food for everyone.
 Do not sleep during class. While I appreciate that you made the effort to get to NKU, snoring and
drooling on your desk is not productive use of class time. I’d rather you stayed home and got
some real rest.
 Read the assignments before you come to class and bring your DISCE and SAM to class each
day. If you do not read and complete homework assignments, you cannot give 100% to learning

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Latin.
 Please let me know in advance if you will have a visitor with you in class.

I reserve the right to lower your class participation grade if you fail to follow the etiquette rules. If there
are personal issues that require special consideration, I am willing to discuss them with you; but you
must speak with me before the problem arises, not while the problem is occurring.

Email, Blackboard, Planbook Connect, and MyLatinLab. Since there are public computer labs on campus,
I expect that everyone enrolled in this class will be able to communicate electronically. I will use your
official NKU email address for all electronic communications so make sure you have all NKU mail for-
warded to your preferred email account.

I will use Blackboard (accessed at http://learnonline.nku.edu) as a place to post announcements (emer-

gency class cancellations, syllabus changes, etc.), items of interest (e.g., lecture opportunities), and vari-
ous course materials. Posted documents will be in PDF or MS Word format. If your computer at home is
unable to read these types of files, please print out all materials while you are at NKU. The NKU comput-
er workstations are able to view and print these documents, and this should take no more than five to
ten minutes per week.

Planbook Connect (accessed at http://www.planbookconnect.com or via the Blackboard menu) is the

online daily assignments program I am using for this course. When you navigate to Planbook Connect,
type in “Quinn” in the field for teacher’s name, make sure the search string brings up my user name
“Prof Quinn,” and then click on “Show courses” to find your appropriate section. This is where all read-
ing assignments, reading questions, attached readings and links, etc. will be posted. It is updated regu-
larly so you will want to log in at least once per week to make sure you have the most up-to-date as-
signment schedule.

In addition, we will be using the My Latin Lab (MLL) feature of your textbook. It can be accessed at
http://www.mylanguagelabs.com. This site includes an interactive version of the SAM (in case you want
to practice exercises again with immediate feedback), audio files that are keyed to vocabulary and read-
ings in your textbook (look for the “sound” icon), grammar assistance, flash cards, and more.

Evaluations. Northern Kentucky University takes Instructor and Course Evaluations very seriously as an
important means of gathering information for the enhancement of learning opportunities for its stu-
dents. It is an important responsibility of NKU students as citizens of the University to participate in the
instructor and course evaluation process. During the two weeks prior to the end of the semester, you
will be asked to reflect upon what you have learned in this course, the extent to which you have invest-
ed the necessary effort to maximize your learning, and the role your instructor has played in the learning
process. It is very important that you complete the online evaluations with thoughtfully written com-
ments.

Student evaluations of courses and instructors are regarded as strictly confidential. They are not availa-
ble to the instructor until after final grades are submitted, and extensive precautions are taken to pre-
vent your comments from being identified as coming from you.

Starting Spring Semester 2011, the students who complete an evaluation for a particular course (or opt
out of doing so in the evaluation) will be rewarded for their participation by having access to their

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course grade as soon as that grade is submitted by the instructor. On the other hand, any student who
does not complete the course evaluation (or opts out of doing so in the evaluation) should expect to in-
cur a two week delay of access to his or her course grade beyond the university’s official date for grade
availability. To complete online evaluations go to http://eval.nku.edu. Click on "student login" and use
the same username and password as used on campus.

In addition, you should be aware that:

 Evaluations can affect changes in courses. Evaluations without comments are less valuable and
less credible than those filled out thoughtfully. Comments that are expressed well are more ef-
fective than those that are not.
 Positive feedback is just as important as criticism. Moreover, negative evaluations without any
explanation and specifics are not especially useful.
 Once grades are submitted, all evaluations are read not only by the instructor, but also by the in-
structor’s department chairperson.
 Evaluations not only provide feedback to your instructor, but also provide information to the
department chair for use in performance evaluations. This information affects reappointments,
promotions, salaries, and teaching assignments.

Help and Support. There are various offices on campus whose sole purpose is to help and support you in
your educational endeavors. Your tuition dollars help support these programs so please use them when
you need to!

 IT (Information Technology) Help Desk: Call 859.572.6911, go online

(http://it.nku.edu/ask.php), or visit in person at FH 220 or SL 220 for all your technology ques-
tions.
 Email Account: Change your password, check your mail quota, and more at
http://it.nku.edu/students/email/index.php.
 Disability Services: Students with disabilities who require accommodations (e.g., academic ad-
justments, auxiliary aids, or services) for this course must register with the Office of Disability
Services (101 University Center, 572-6373, http://disability.nku.edu). Verification of your disabil-
ity is required in the Office of Disability Services for you to receive reasonable academic accom-
modations.
 Student Achievement Center: If you need help purchasing textbooks, balancing work and school
responsibilities, and navigating the university’s many offices, visit the office in person (120 Uni-
versity Center) or go online to request help (http://sac.nku.edu).
 Learning Assistance Programs: If you want to get tutoring, have a writing assistant help you edit
your most recent paper draft, or have questions about making the most of your academic expe-
rience, visit LAP (170 University Center) or register for services online (http://lap.nku.edu/).

Grades & Midterm Grades. NKU requires that I issue midterm grade reports for all students who have
completed fewer than thirty (30) semester hours. You can view your midterm grade by accessing your
record on Norse Express. I will post your mid-term grades sometime on or before March 19. Please
note that a passing midterm grade is not a guarantee of a passing final grade but is only a reflection of
your work to date. For all students, grade reports can be requested from me at any time, and one will
be sent to you electronically via email.

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Office Hours. Office hours are for your benefit so please stop by if you need assistance outside of class.
You can leave a message on the voice mail or (better!) email me for a more immediate reply. Also, if
your schedule prevents you from stopping by during my scheduled office hours, I am available by ap-
pointment and via Blackboard IM chat.

Studying. In a university course, you should expect to spend two to three hours outside of class for
every hour you are in class. I have tried to select reasonable reading assignments, and I have tried to
space out assignments so as not to be too burdensome. If you find that you are spending more than nine
hours per week on this course, please come and see me immediately.

Syllabus. I reserve the right to make adjustments to the syllabus as the semester progresses. Any
changes will be announced and/or distributed in class, via email, or on our class Blackboard site (and
associated Planbook Connect site). Note: Although topics and readings may change, major due dates will
generally not change. I want you to be able to plan ahead.

If there are any issues that I have not covered in this course description, please feel free to come and
talk to me about them. I am looking forward to an enjoyable and interesting semester. I hope you will be
as invigorated by the study of history as I am!

Disclaimer. We will be studying an ancient culture’s language, history, and daily life. The Romans may
have held beliefs or created art or literature which some in our culture do not condone or identify with.
If you are easily offended by different attitudes towards religion, war, slavery, sexuality, and the like,
you may not wish to take this course. I will be frank in my discussions of some material, and I do not
wish to offend anyone.