Dictations Revisited

In students' return to an in-person, post-hybrid classroom, I have realized that they need A LOT of guided support. We cannot make the assumption that everything is going to be "business as usual" and that we can pick up from where we left off last year. As I have stated before in previous blog posts, I have entered this year with the mindset that students did NOT acquire any language last year (or at least the majority of students did not), so I need to focus on sheltering vocabulary (and not grammar) and giving them a lot of support in the beginning. While last year teaching hybrid in a primarily digital environment was definitely challenging, there were a number of revisions and adaptations which occurred to usual face-to-face lessons which I liked and am now incorporating back into my regular teaching. One of them is the dictatio activity.

The basics of the dictatio still remain the same in terms of the activity itself. 

1. I read aloud a sentence SLOWLY in the target language many times while students write down the words as I say them.
2. After the 3rd time of reading the sentence aloud, I project the sentence on the screen.
3. Students make any spelling corrections to their sentences if any words are misspelled.

Here is how I have changed the way in which I do dictations:

1. I write all unknown/new targeted words on the board prior to the dictation with their English defintion in order to establish meaning right away for students and will point/pause at those words when they come up in the dictation. This way when students are writing down unknown words, they are able to understand the meaning immediately instead of waiting for me to project the sentence and having to ask then.
2. I now give students a handout/digital document that has three boxes: sentence, corrections, picture/translation. This is something which my instructional team did with students when we were trying to conduct dictations virtually via Zoom (it did not work well at all!).
3. Students will transcribe the dictation in the Sentence box.
4. When I project the sentence, students will the correct spelling for any misspelled words in the Corrections box. If they had no spelling errors, they write Optime!
5. We now do a choral reading of the projected sentence to establish meaning.
6. I then give students one minute to either write down a translation of the sentence into English or to draw a visual representation of the sentence. At an IFLT many years ago, I saw Annabelle Williamson do this with elementary school students, and I was amazed at how focused they were in doing a dictation!

Observations

1. Establishing meaning of unknown words for students during the actual dictation has been very helpful for students, because now they can have an immediate understanding of these new words as they write them down.
2. The format of the handout gives structure to students as they perform this activity.
3. The choral reading afterwards continues to establish meaning for students with the dictated sentence.
4. The one-minute of writing down a translation of the sentence or drawing the sentence gives students something to do with that sentence (albeit for a minute).

Running Dictation with Categories

This is a take on a regular running dictation which I learned from Miriam Patrick. This is a great post-reading activity involving characters from a reading or sentences involving categories. It still has the basics of a running dictation where a runner will run to a list of sentences in the target language, memorize what is written, and then dictate what is said to a writer. This twist, however, has the writer put the sentence now in a particular category.

Pre-Class Directions

1. On a document, create a number of categories, such as characters in a reading or other natural categories. 4-5 categories are a good amount.
2. Write short sentences in the target language for each category. 4-5 sentences for each category are a good amount.
3. Scatter the sentences on a document so that all of the sentences are not grouped by category.

Classtime

1. Put up the sentences along a wall in a random order either in the room or outside of the classroom. You can post copies of the document. I recommended making one copy of the sentences, cutting the sentences into strips, and taping them to an outside wall.
2. Pair up students.
3. Each team will need a writing surface and a writing utensil.
4. Give each team a copy of the category document.
5. Explain that one person will sit with sentences and the other person will run to ONE of the sentences. It is not necessary for them to run to the sentences in order but rather to run to just one of the them.
6. The person who runs will look at the sentence, memorize it, run back to the partner, and dictate the sentence in the target language.
7. Both members will then determine into which category that sentence that goes, and the writer will write that sentence under that category heading.
8. Then, the two will switch roles - the writer will now become the runner, and the runner will then become the writer.
9. Explain that they may NOT use their phones to take a picture! They again can only look at one sentence at a time.

Example:

Non est defessus

Exclamat “Narra fabulam mihi”

Ludit (is playing) cum amicis in silva

Habitat in parva insula

Iecit rete in mare

Vidit aliquid in mari

Putavit arcam esse navem

Est defessa, sed narrat fabulam

Non vult narrare fabulam

Vult matrem narrare fabulam

Est monstrum

Est in Labyrintho

Habet caput tauri

Est in arca

Est cum parvo infante in arca

Invenit feminam in arca

Vendit pisces

Accepit nummum

Vult caedere Minotaurum

Non vult auxilio esse (to help) patri

Observations

1. This is a quick post-reading activity and takes about 10 minutes.
2. I love the higher-level thinking that goes on in this activity. Instead of just parroting back sentences, students are using the sentences for a reason (a "task" perhaps), which is putting the sentences into categories.
3. This is also a higher-level thinking activity, because runners and writers need to communicate to each other which sentences they already have.
4. The sentences need to be short, since runners are dictating them for a purpose. It frustrates students to have long sentences where they have to keep running back to the sentence.
5. The sentences need to be comprehensible, since the both the runner and writer need to understand the message communicated.
6. I love the multiple layers of input which is going on - the runner reading the sentence and then dictating it to the writer, who is listening and writing it down.
7. I like cutting up the strips and posting them all over the walls outside the classroom, because students are moving all over the place and really start to read each sentence as the activity progresses to determine if their team already has that sentence.

Running Dictation with Pictures

I absolutely love IFLT! In Georgia, students return in the first few weeks of August (summer begins around Memorial Day), so with IFLT being in mid-July, the conference totally gets me pumped up and ready to return to school. I love attending the presentations, because there is SO much which I learn from master CI teachers. This is one which I learned this summer from La Maestra Loca herself, Annabelle Williamson.

It is a twist on the traditional running dictation. A running dictation is very much like a regular dictation, except there is a running aspect, and it is like the game Telephone. Outside of the classroom or on the opposite wall (depending on the size of the room), there is paper which has the dictation sentences in the target language. Students are teamed up usually in pairs, where one student is a runner, and the other is a writer. The runner runs to the paper, tries to remember as much as possible, runs back to the writer, and dictates the sentence or as much as possible. The writer writes it down, the writer and runner then switch roles, with the writer now running and the runner now writing.

I am not a big fan of running dictations, because not every student enjoys it or sees the purpose in it. Because the sentences may not be completely comprehensible to the students, the runner does not always understand what he/she is dictating to the writer. Plus, a lot of times, it becomes a spelling activity for the writer. In addition, when I look over the dictations, many times I do not understand what was written due to spelling errors and the "telephone" effect of the sentence changing. Annabelle's idea changes it into a comprehension activity but still preserves the running aspect. 

Pre-Class Directions

1. Create sentences in the target language from a known story, and create a document of those sentences. I used 12 sentences and found that it was a good number.
2. Illustrate (or use screenshots) for those sentences. You will also need to label the picture as "A," "B," "C", etc. 
3. Print up the Running Dictation pictures.
4. Print up Running Dictation sentences - usually ½ of total number of students which you have.

Classtime

1. Put up the pictures along a wall in a random order either in the room or outside of the classroom.
2. Divide up class into teams of 2 or 3.
3. Each team will need a writing surface and a writing utensil.
4. Give the list of running dictation sentences to each team. 
5. Explain that one person will sit with sentences and the other person will run to ONE of the pictures. It is not necessary for them to run to the pictures in order but rather to run to just one of the pictures.
6. The person who runs will look at the picture, memorize which letter that picture is, run back to the partner, and describe the picture in English.
7. The person with the sentences will then determine what sentence that picture is and write down the letter.
8. Then, the two will switch roles - the writer will now become the runner, and the runner will then become the writer.
9. Explain that they may NOT use their phones to take a picture! They again can only look at one picture at a time.
10. When they have gotten all of the sentences, they are then to put the story in order based on the letters. 

Examples from Monster in the Closet

  

___________. Senex in lecto dormiebat.

___________. Puer non erat in lecto, sed monstrum erat in lecto!

___________. Quamquam senex erat iratus, in lecto ascendit.

___________. Puer non dormiebat, et timebat.

___________. Sed subito aliquid magnos sonos facit.

___________. Senex vidit puerum in armario.

___________. Puer in armario magnos sonos faciebat.

___________. Aliquid magnos sonos faciebat in armario!

___________. Cum senex magnos sonos in armario audivit, timebat.

___________. Puer respondit, “Monstrum est in armario!”

___________. Senex vidit puerum in lecto.

___________. Senex respondit, “Tempus est obdormire!”

Once you are done, put the story back in order by the above letters
______ 1. ________ 5. _________ 9.
______ 2. ________ 6. _________ 10.
______ 3. ________ 7. _________ 11.
______ 4. ________ 8. _________ 12.

Observations

1. Wow, I liked this version of a running dictation SO much better than the traditional one.
2. Turning the running dictation into a comprehension activity made it a higher-level thinking activity, since in a regular running dictation, if the runners did not understand what they were saying, then they were just parroting unknown words. 
3. Even though runners are reporting back to the writers in English (I suppose they could do it in L2), there is a purpose for it, since the writer needs that information to determine which sentence it is in L2.
4. Annabelle recommends that you as the teacher be near the pictures to clarify them for students if needed. I found this to be helpful for students, because sometimes they could not interpret my pictures.
5. I liked that lots of higher-level collaboration happened when students were putting the story back in order according to letter. Yes, it was happening in English, but students were solely using the sentences in the target language.

Drawing Dictation

This is a great listening comprehension activity, which I learned this summer from Linda Li in her Fluency Fast Mandarin class. It is very much like a regular dictation, but the difference though is that instead of having students write down the target language sentences as you say them, they draw them! I would recommend that you do this as a post-reading activity, instead of as a pre-reading activity.

Directions

1. Take 6 sentences from a story which you have been going over in class. These sentences need to be "drawable."
2. If needed, write any target vocabulary on the board with their English meaning.
3. On a sheet of paper, tell students to draw a 2x3 grid which should fill the entire paper.
4. Have students number each box from 1-6.
5. Tell students “I will say a sentence, and your job is to draw a visual representation of that sentence. You will have 2-3 minutes to draw.” 
6. Begin reading the first sentence slowly. It will be necessary to repeat the sentence many times. 
7. Continue with the other sentences. Remind students that words are on the board if they need them.
8. At the end, repeat the sentences and tell students to check their drawings to ensure that they have drawn everything needed.

Alternate version - ask students to draw their visual representations with their NON-DOMINANT hand. This will take a lot more time for students to complete and will cause them to focus more on what they are drawing (which means you saying more repetitions of the sentence).

Observations

1. The sentences need to be very comprehensible, because students are drawing what they hear. If the sentences are too long or are incomprehensible, students will become frustrated.
2. Students were much more engaged with this type of dictation instead of a regular one, since it involved them having to draw a visual representation of what they heard, as opposed to just writing down words. 
3. Because students had to draw what they heard, it was necessary for me to repeat the sentences many times, which meant LOTS of great repetitions. 
4. Students did not complain about doing this type of dictation, because it did not "feel" like a regular dictation.  
5. Because students were already familiar with the story and vocabulary, it was not a difficult activity for them to do.
6. This is another great post-reading activity for going over a story and to get in more repetitions.

Example (taken from a Movie Talk called MonsterBox)

1. Ecce puella et duo monstra: parvum monstrum et mediocre monstrum! (Behold a girl and two monsters: a small monster and a medium monster)
2. Faber facit casam parvo monstro (The craftsman makes a house for the small monster)
3. Puella est laeta, quod monstro placet casa (The girl is happy, because the monster likes the house)
4. Ecce puella et tria monstra: parvum monstrum, mediocre monstrum, et magnum monstrum. (Behold the girl and three monster: a small monster, a medium monster, and a big monster).
5. Faber facit casam mediocri monstro (The craftsman makes a house for the medium monster).
6. Faber non facit casam magno monstro, quod magnum monstrum est molestum (The craftsman does not make a house for the big monster, because the big monster is annoying).

QR Code Running Dictatio

Here is a great variation of a dictation which combines a running dictation on a much larger scale with QR codes. Bob Patrick and I did this activity last week with our Latin 1 with students with great success! I can absolutely take no credit for this activity, as I learned this from my colleagues Miriam Patrick and Rachel Ash, who discuss this on their blog - they in turn learned this from Meredith White, a wonderful CI Spanish teacher in our district last week.

The idea is essentially a scavenger hunt throughout the school. Students will scan QR codes, which will give them a sentence to write down as a dictation and will then give them a clue to the location of the next QR code. 

I will tell you up front that this activity takes much preparation on the front end, but once it is set into motion, you as the teacher simply facilitate or more specifically, observe!

Preparation

1. Write a series of sentences in the target language like in any dictation. The sentences should form a story; 10-12 sentences are a good amount. NOTE - for this activity, I created sentences using already-known vocabulary which had been targeted, so these sentences served as another way to get in repetitions of these targeted words. One can still use this activity to introduce new vocabulary but there will be an additional step.
2. Make a list of locations where you can place QR codes, e.g., drinking fountains, vending machines, pictures, backs of books, under chairs/desks, etc. It is up to you to determine the scope/magnitude of the area of this activity. Bob and I chose to keep it to just our building but with many varied locations.
3. Write up these locations in the target language.
4. Create an order in which students will go to each location.
5. Assign each dictation sentence to a location AND with the next clue. It is up to you whether you wish to have students write down each sentence in order or for the sentence order to be scattered is up to you. Because my dictation sentences were using known vocabulary, I scattered the order for novelty.
6. Write up a list of the order of clues (with each sentence, location of sentence, and location of next clue), because it will come in handy during the activity. My example.
7. Using a QR Code Generator, type up the sentence and location of next clue. It is important that you use a QR Code Generator which will save text. Save that QR Code - be sure to remember where that QR Code falls in the order!

Example of QR Code - scan with QR Code reader to see embedded information

    8. Repeat step #7 for all remaining sentences and clues.
    9. Create a table to cut/paste the QR codes. Be sure to put the QR codes in order. My     
        example of QR table.
  10. Print QR Code table.
  11. Create dictatio handouts. Students will record their dictation on this handout. On the 
        dictatio handout, paste a QR Code. At the very beginning, students will scan the QR 
        code to receive the first sentence and to find the location of their next sentence. You 
        will need to create handouts with DIFFERENT QR codes so that students are not all 
        starting at the same location. My example.
 12. Cut the QR codes from the QR code table and tape them in the various locations.
 13. Print the dictatio handouts - do not collate! 
 14. Send an email to your faculty, notifying them of the activity, that students will be 
       running around the school, and to notify you of any student problems.

Activity

1. Explain that students will be doing a dictatio but with QR codes.
2. Tell students to divide into groups of 2-3. No groups of four! You may also create the groups if needed. It is important that at least one team member has a smartphone with a QR code reader. If students have the Snapchat app, then that has a QR Code reader.
3. Hand each group their “team dictatio sheets” - every team member will get a dictatio sheet. For me, There were nine different dictatio sheets, each with a Roman numeral at top. For example, Team 1 had two members, so each member received a “Dictatio I” sheet, Team 2 has three members so each member will get a “Dictatio II” sheet.
4. Students will scan QR code on their student document. It will send them to one of 8 places.

• Each QR code will have a dictatio sentence AND a clue to the next sentence on it.
• Students are to write the dicatio sentence IN LATIN which matches the number on their sheet, i.e. the sentences are not in order when they scan the QR code
• The QR code will also tell students where to go for the next sentence.

5. If you are using this dictation activity to introduce new vocabulary, you will want to add

in a step where students come to you for the meaning of new words BEFORE they

head to their next clue.

6. When they get ALL dictatio sentences, students will return to the class to turn it in.

7. Explain that they are to be respectful of other classes and to be quiet in the hallways.

8. Begin the activity, and watch the fun!

Observations

1. The search for QR codes made the activity very engaging for students. The activity became more about finding the QR codes than about the actual writing down of the dictation sentence. In other words, the dictation sentences became incidental, although they were receiving subconscious repetitions of comprehensible language in writing them down. The search kept the activity novel. As one of my students who tends to be "less engaged" in my class said: "This was SO much fun! Let's do this EVERY week." 
2. Bob Patrick said it best: "This activity was a true communicative activity, because students were actually using the language to complete a task."
3. To make the activity last longer, you can add a translation component where students have to translate the sentences prior to turning them in. Per Miriam Patrick, you can also have students write down the location clues on their dictation handouts.
4. Bob and I limited our QR code locations to a certain area in our building (as it was the first time doing something like this). Students requested that they wanted to go to various parts of the school for the next time. 
5. Students said that they really liked being able to copy down the sentences from their phones instead of having to write them down by listening to me repeat the sentence aloud three times - lol!
6. The list of sentences, locations, and next clues will come in handy if students get out of order. You can redirect them if they get "lost."

As I said earlier, this activity takes a lot of preparation the first time you do it, because you will be learning how to put it together. Now that I have created one, the next time I do this, it will be much quicker to prepare.

Lesson Plan - Want to Have, Love, See. Take, Give to Him/Her

I've received a lot of very positive feedback about my Week 1 Lesson Plan. Here is my lesson which I recently used to teach the verbs want to have, love, see, take, and give to him/her; and the nouns dog, money, and baby. I chose those particular verb structures, because they are high frequency, and because students already knew the verbs want and have, I could easily add on the infinitive to have and teach it as a single structure. It is not necessary to use those particular nouns, but to me, they seemed somewhat compelling for the story.

English version
Yoda sees Kim Kardashian. Yoda loves Kim. Kim sees Yoda. Yoda does not love Kim. 

Kim wants to have a dog. Yoda sees a dog. Yoda takes the dog. Yoda gives the dog to her. Kim loves the dog, but aww shucks, Kim does not love Yoda.

Kim wants to have money. Yoda sees money. Yoda takes the money. Yoda gives the money to her. Kim loves the money, but aww shucks, Kim does not love Yoda.

Kim wants to have a baby. Yoda sees a baby. Yoda takes the baby. Yoda gives the baby to her. Kim loves the baby, but aww shucks, the baby explodes.

Latin version

Yoda Kim Kardashianem videt. Yoda Kimem amat.Kim Yodam videt. Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim canem habere vult. Yoda canem videt. Yoda canem capit. Yoda canem ei dat. Kim canem amat, sed edepol! Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim pecuniam habere vult. Yoda pecuniam videt. Yoda pecuniam capit. Yoda dulciolum ei dat. Kim pecuniam amat, sed edepol! Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim infantem habere vult. Yoda infantem videt. Yoda infantem capit. Yoda infantem ei dat.

Kim infantem amat, sed edepol!  infans displodit.

Day 1

1) Dictatio of story version #1 (dictatio directions)

Day 2

2) Teacher retells story aloud and acts it out w/ circling and PQAs (sorry, no script this time!)

Day 3

1) Readers Theater of story (if you as the teacher play Movie Director with this, you can get students to redo their stage directions after each sentence to get in more reps of the language!)

2) Choral Reading of story

Day 4

1) Read/Draw of story

Day 5

1) Partner retell of story in Latin, using Read/Draw

2) 5-minute timed write of story, using Read/Draw as a story map

Day 6

1) Project student-written timed write endings and read as a class (pick out any endings which students wrote for their timed write, edit them for grammar purposes, and write them on a document or powerpoint)

2) Read Dating of Story Version #2

PreReading for a Classical Text

A few weeks ago at ACL, I was asked a number of times, "So how do you use CI to prepare students for a classical text?" Maybe a better question should be "What pre-reading activities/strateges do you use to prepare students for a classical text?" 

Under the traditional method, when it came to classical readings, we would give students a text, a dictionary, and say, "Go translate (and good luck, because you will need it)." We would do this, because we were under the impression that students already knew ALL of the necessary grammar and if they did not know a word, they could just look it up. Unfortunately, students would end up looking up probably 80% of the words, and heaven forbid, if it were an idiomatic expression or a phrase needing a note of some kind. The 4%ers could complete the task, but the remaining were floundering. 

If you are new to CI and are wanting to use CI methodology, here is an example of how I introduced students to a classical text. A few years ago, I was teaching Latin 3, and I was wanting to expose students to some passages from the AP syllabus, so I chose the scene in Book 1 where Aeneas and Achates first see the city of Carthage being built. I felt that there was enough plot to keep students interested, and that there was a degree of repetition happening to keep it comprehensible.

Because I was still kind of new to CI at that time, I decided to preview vocabulary/structures using a dictation. By this point, my students were very familiar with dictations.

Prior to the dication, though, I had to select which vocabulary/structures which I was going to preview. I decided on the following words:

1) quondam

2) sulcus

3) arx

4) mirari

5) magalium

6) subvolvere

7) collis

8) moenia

9) concludere

Day 1
I gave a dictation of the following. See here for directions about how to do a dictatio. The dictation was about three students: Colleen, Ray and Sahil.

1) Colleen ira affecta est, quod quondam Ray eam in sulco deiecerat.

2) in sulco a Raye deiecta, Colleen ultionem voluit et arcem in colle aedificavit.

3) arce in colle aedificata, Colleen invitavit ut arcem videat.

4) arce a Rayo viso, non miratus est, sed risit, dicens “ille non est arx, sed magalium!

5) arce vocato “magalium,” Colleen Rayem humi deiecit, et Ray de colle subvolvit.

6) Ray subvolvit in sulco, quem Colleen quondam effoderat.

7) Ray non ascendere e sulco poterat, quod Colleen sulcum moenis conclusit.

8) conclusus in sulco moenis, Ray tristitia affectus est et lacrimavit.

9) Sahil ad sulcum festinavit, et arcem miratus est.

10) mirans arcem, Sahil clamavit, “O fortunatus est vir qui arcem aedificavit!”

11) Sahilo audito, Colleen ira affecta est et in sulco Sahilem deiecit.

Following the dictation, we did a choral reading of the passage to establish meaning.

Day 2

1) I did a review of the dictation with a powerpoint, calling attention to particular vocabulary words. This was done was a choral reading.

2) I then introduced an embedded reading of the passage written in prose (as Nancy Llewellyn likes to call it, an enodatio):

Aeneas miratur molem (aedificia) in Karthagō - molēs erant quondam magalia, sed nunc sunt moles. Aeneas quoque miratur portās, strepitum urbis et strata viārum (paved roads). Tyriī (the Tyrians) sunt ardentēs (ablaze), et instant (they press on): pars Tyriī ducunt (extend) murōs, pars Tyriī aedificant arcem, et pars Tyriī subvolvunt saxa manibus; pars Tyriī quaerunt locum domō (for a home), et concludunt locum sulcō.

Tyriī legunt (choose) iura (leges), magistratūs et sanctum senatum. Hic (here), aliī (pars Tyrii) effodiunt portus. hic, aliī (pars Tyrii) locant alta fundamenta (foundations) theatrīs. Tyriī excidunt (carve out) immanēs (magnas) columnās e rupibus (cliffs). columnae sunt alta decora (ornamenta) scaenīs futurīs (for future stages). Aeneas dicit, “O fortunatī sunt homines quorum moenia iam (nunc) surgunt!”

3) I then had the class do a choral reading of this, since this was the first time for them to see it. I asked some comprehension questions and circled in Latin about the passage.

Day 3

1) Students did a 20-minute Read and Draw of the embedded prose passage. See here for a description. 

2) Following this, students did a 8-minute timed write of the passage, using the Read and Draw as a guide. When they finished writing the passage, they continued writing what happened next. 

Day 4
1) I gave students another version of the reading, this time as an outline - they read this silently:

molem = aedificia quondam = olim pars = alii moliri = aedificant subvolvere = subvolvunt pars = alii optare = quaerunt iura = leges

I. Aeneas miratur

A. molem (quondam magalia) et
B. portas et

C. strepitum(que)

D. et strata viarum[1].

II. ardentes Tyrii instant[2].

III. pars (Tyrii)

A. ducere[3] muros
B. et moliri arcem et

C. subvolvere saxa manibus

IV. pars optare locum tecto[4] et concludere sulco.            

V. (Tyrii) legunt[5]

A. iura et

B. magistratus et

C. sanctum senatum

VI. hic[6], alii (Tyrii) effodiunt portus

VII. hic, (alii Tyrii) locant alta fundamenta[7] theatris

VIII. (alii Tyrii) excidunt[8] immanis columnas (e) rupibus[9] scaenis decora alta futuris[10].

IX. Aeneas ait, “O fortunati (homines), quorum moenia iam surgunt!”

---

[1] strata viarum = paved roads

[2] ardentes Tyrii instant = the blazing Tyrians press on

[3] ducere = are extending

[4] tecto = for a house (tecto = roof – what poetic device is this?

[5] legunt = choose

[6] hic - here

[7] fundamenta - foundations

[8] excidunt = dig out

[9] rupibus = cliffs

[10] scaenis decora alta futuris – lofty decorations for future stages

2) Finally, they saw the original text:

miratur molem Aeneas, magalia quondam,
miratur portas strepitumque et strata viarum.
Instant ardentes Tyrii: pars ducere muros,
molirique arcem et manibus subvolvere saxa,
pars optare locum tecto et concludere sulco.               5

iura magistratusque legunt sanctumque senatum;       
hic portus alii effodiunt; hic alta theatris
fundamenta locant alii, immanisque columnas
rupibus excidunt, scaenis decora alta futuris.

'O fortunati, quorum iam moenia surgunt!'               10

3) As an assessment, I gave them the following two pictures and they had to label them using the text. In many ways, it was easy for them to do since they had already done a Read and Draw of the prose version.

Observations

1) Yes, it took four days to get students to read the original text, but at the same time, they were able TO READ the original Latin by then without really translating.

2) Most students told me how easy it was to read the original, even with the funky dactyllic hexameter word order. My response, "Well, it should have been! You read it multiple times, different ways and you knew most of the vocabulary by the time you got to how Vergil wrote it."