These days, I really miss the small moments when a class shares a laugh or students engage in a quick activity that adds to the fabric of the group’s identity. In a world where some students are in person one day and on a computer screen the next, and other students have only been a Zoom tile all year, those moments are rare. Many of us are already stretched too thin to find the time to research new strategies or to make new materials even when we know how valuable the outcome might be.
At the same time, students seem to need more variety and novelty than ever to help them stay engaged in the hybrid Latin classroom, and short activities can be very effective in increasing and retaining students’ attention. Here are five ideas that require almost no preparation, but will help you and your students enjoy small moments of shared experience with the benefits of a brain break—whether you are physically together or not.
1. Pro/con starter
Invite every student to weigh in on a topic with a pro or con as they enter the room physically or virtually. Students can, but do not have to, share why they are “pro” or “con”, but it creates the chance for everyone to participate. You can pick anything from cultural topics to historical figures to myths (e.g. Wearing a toga—are you pro or con?).
2.“What would you do if” breaks
This technique obviously lends itself to any reading task because you can ask students to put themselves in the author’s, narrator’s, or another character’s place.
If you notice energy fading, you can also use this as a quick brain break and surprise students with a question like “What would you do if a centaur walked into class right now?” or “What would you do if right now you were transported to the Roman forum in 9 BCE?” Taking two minutes to have students share with a partner and/or the class can increase energy for the next activity.
3.“How would a Roman…”
Take a few minutes occasionally to talk about how Romans washed clothes, made bread, or got a haircut. Students often enjoy learning the details of ancient daily life. If you are willing to invest more time, you can invite students to submit topics to be covered in the future.
4.“Qui numerus proximus est?”
Give the students a random series of numbers in Latin (evens, odds, count by 3s, 5s, etc.) either verbally or quickly write out the Roman numerals and ask students to say the next number in Latin. A few quick rounds can serve as a fun brain break and a review of numbers.
5.“Quid videmus?”
Find a picture of something Roman and either cover most of the image or take snips of smaller sections so that you have three reduced versions of the image. As a stand-alone activity or a brain break, show students the most reduced version and ask students to guess what they are looking at. You can have students submit guesses via chat or respond verbally. Show all three right in a row or distribute them as breaks during a longer activity.
These small activities can be a quick change of pace that renew student interest, and over time help the class build memories and feel a little more normal—in a year that is definitely not.
Alisha McCloud is a Latin teacher at Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, Illinois. She graduated with a BA in Latin/Spanish/Secondary Foreign Language Education from the University of Iowa, and earned her MA in Latin from the University of Georgia and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from North Central College in Illinois. She started teaching in 2000 and has spent most of her career teaching various levels of Latin as well as a few Spanish classes.
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