NEENA PIO

6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu

Sample Lesson Plan

This lesson was taught to eighth graders in Latin III. The students learned about the special -ius adjectives.
They participated in a game to practice the forms and then applied their new knowledge by translating an
adapted quote from Cicero’s In Catilinam.

LESSON PLAN: Special -ius Adjectives

Level: Latin I Student Teacher: Neena Pio
th
Grade: 8 Grade Date: 21 March, 2019
OBJECTIVES RATIONALE
Today, learners can… The eighth graders have been working on demonstrative adjectives.
- recall past noun endings and Today they are going to learn about “UNUS NAUTUS.” “UNUS
noun genders NAUTUS” is an acronym for special -ius adjectives. Two of the ten
- correctly translate adjectives forms, the genitive singular and the dative singular, are different and
and nouns according to case, can trip students up. Therefore, we are going to discuss the nine
number, and gender adjectives today and practice using translating them from English
- Work collaboratively with a into Latin. Since these are adjectives, the students are going to be
partner working with nouns as well. As a result, the students will have to
MATERIALS recall past concepts and endings to complete this activity.
Chalk Furthermore, since some students work faster than others, to help
Chalkboard slow the class down and help each other out, the students will
Slips of paper (nouns, adjectives, participate in pair/whole class activity. Latinists often find
and famous Romans) themselves collaborating with their peers in order to find the
Three magnets meaning of a small phrase or a larger group of words. Even if the
AGENDA students do not continue studying Latin after this year, it is
UNUS NAUTA important that the students are able to work with others. It is a
Practice valuable skill to have.
Quote from Cicero
STANDARDS
Standard 1.1: Communication Goal - Interpretive Mode
“Learners understand, interpret and analyze what is read, heard, or viewed on a variety of topics.”
Standard 4.1: Comparisons Goal - Language Comparisons
“Learners use Classical languages to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through
comparisons of the language studied and their own.”
ASSESSMENT: FORMATIVE
Students will show their knowledge by working in pairs, coming up to the board, and revealing their
answer.

ACTIVITIES (CLASS PERIOD: 42 MINUTES)

TIMING DIRECTIONS AND TEACHER SCRIPT
THINKING
2 Mins GREETING
2 Mins Greet students. [Bell rings]
Review the genitive and dative Me: Alright! Let’s get started! [get students’
singular endings for the demonstrative attention] Today we are going to be talking about
adjective ille, illa, illud, meaning the special -ius adjectives. There are nine of these.
“that.” But first, two quick questions for y’all. You can
just shout out the answers to both. [Pause] Remind
 NEENA PIO
6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu
For the past week, the eighth grade,
Latin III students have been working
on demonstratives (ille/illa/illud—
“that person”). The special -ius
adjectives have the same abnormal
endings in the genitive and dative case
as some of the demonstratives,
specifically the demonstrative ille. As
a result, start class by reminding
students of the genitive and dative
forms to foreshadow the main
differences between an “UNUS
NAUTA” adjective and a regular
1st/2nd declension adjective.
7 Mins MINI-LECTURE: “UNUS NAUTA”
7 Mins Mini-lecture
Inform them of the nine special -ius
adjectives. These nine adjectives are
1st and 2nd declension adjectives.
However, they are “special” because
the genitive singular and dative
singular are different.
Pass out the guided notes on “Unus
Nauta.”
Introduce the 9 adjectives (unus nauta)
U unus, -a, -um: one
N nullus, -a, -um: no, none
U ullus, -a, -um: any
S solus, -a, -um: alone, only
N neuter, neutra, neutrum:
neither
A alius, -a, -ud: another, other
U uter, utra, utrum: either, which
(of two)
T totus, a, um: whole, entire
A alter, altera, alterum: the other
(of two)
me, what is the the genitive singular of ille, illa,
illud?
[answer: illius]
Me: And what is the dative singular of ille, illa,
illud?
[answr: illi]
Me: Great.
[pass out the half sheet/guided notes]
Me: Alright, so besides the demonstrative
adjectives that you learned last week, there are
nine adjectives that also have the endings -ius for
the genitive singular in all genders and -i for the
dative singular in all genders. These nine
adjectives are called... so creatively... “special -ius
adjectives.” I have created a little cheat-sheet,
which I am passing out now. As I identify the nine
adjectives on the board, you should write them on
this half sheet.
[On the board, write, “UNUS NAUTA” vertically
(see guided notes)]
Me: One way to memorize these adjectives is by
using the acronym “UNUS NAUTA” The nine
nouns are as follows....[write them on the board]
unus, -a, -um meaning “one,” nullus, -a, -um
meaning “no” or “none,” ullus, -a, -um meaning
“any,” solus, -a, -um meaning “alone” or “only,”
neuter, neutra, neutrum meaning “neither,” alius, -
a, -ud meaning “another” or “other,” uter, utra,
utrum meaning “either” or “which of two,” totus, -
a, -um meaning “whole” or “entire,” and last but
not least, alter, -a, -um meaning “the other of
two.” So take a minute and write these down.
[Wait]
Me: So as I mentioned at the beginning. The two
ways these nouns are different are, (1) the genitive
singular masculine, feminine, and neuter ends in -
ius and the dative singular masculine, feminine,
and neuter ends in -i. The rest of adjective declines
like your standard 1st/2nd declension adjective,
like magnus, a, um. [Pause]
 NEENA PIO
6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu
3 Mins TRANSITION
3 Mins Have students grab one card from the
caffeinated coffee can of destiny. If
everyone is present, there should be 7
groups of 2 students. There should be
14 slips of paper in the can.
The slips are labeled as such:
Cicero
Vergil
Livia
Caesar
Ovid
Octavia
Sallust
These are important figures from
Ancient Rome. There are two of each
in the can of Destiny.
This way, students are working with
someone completely random and not
grouped by friendships or ability.
20 Mins ACTIVITY I: Practice (Pair/Whole group)
20 Mins The activity
Students work in pairs. Each pair has a
different set of “cards.” A pair either
has a noun or an adjective. They
should organize their cards in a
manner that makes sense to them, such
as putting them in the order of the
declension. Then once everyone is
settled, I will write a phrase on the
board in English. For example: to/for
the one city. (Standard 1.1:
Communication Goal - Interpretive
Mode)
This activity shows the students how a
four-word phrase in English can be
represented by only two words in
Latin.
(Standard 4.1: Comparisons Goal -
Language Comparisons)
The group that the corresponding
words, so “one” and “city,” will need
to find the correct form of their word.
Me: Questions? [if no questions grab the
caffeinated coffee can of destiny.]
Me: So keep this little cheat-sheet on hand.
Remember the activiy we did yesterday? With the
slips of paper and the magnets?
[Students should remember]
Me: We’re going to add these adjectives to the
activity we did yesterday. Grab one number from
the can.
[Once everyone has a card, organize the groups.]
Me: Ciceros raise your hand, you are at this first
table. [point to the table] [students move]
Me: Vergils raise your hand, you are going to be
right here. [Students move]
[Do it until all seven pairs have their seats]
Me: Alright, same as yesterday. You should
organize your cards so you can find them easily. I
will write a phrase on the board and y’all will have
to figure out what cards you need.
[Give the students a few minutes to organize their
cards]
Me: Alright, ready?
[Students respond]
Me: First phrase [write on the board] to/for the
one city.
[the pairs find the cards and a student comes up
and sticks on the board.]
[answer: uni urbis]
[check the answer to make sure it matches and is
correct]
[Phrases to use:
to/for the one city -- uni urbi
this only city (nominative) -- haec sola urbs
by/with these courses-- his cursibus
of these entire routes -- horum totorum itinerum
 NEENA PIO
6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu

Then come up to the blackboard and of the whole city -- totius urbis
put it under the magnet. Then we will of this course alone -- huius cursus solius
review it as a class to see if the two to/for the whole course -- toti cursui
match. The adjectives must match the
by/with this city alone -- hac urbe sola
noun in case, number, and gender. The
eighth graders know this, the trick here these cities--hae urbes
is to recall the new forms for the to/for this entire journey--huic toti itineri]
demonstratives and the special
adjectives as well as the more recent
noun endings.

There are 4 adjectives. The first three

listed here are special -ius adjectives.
The last one is one of the
demonstratives the students learned
last week:
1. unus, a, um: one
2. solus, a, um: alone, only
3. totus, a, um: whole, entire
4. hic, haec, hoc: this, these
There are three nouns, one of each
gender:
1. urbs, urbis, f: city
2. cursus, cursus, m: course
3. iter, itineris, n: journey, route

<1 Mins TRANSITION

<1 Transition to the Cicero quote.
10 Mins Activity II: Cicero Quote
2 Mins Who’s Cicero?
Ask the students who Cicero was,
what they know about Cicero, and if
the name Catiline rings a bell. It
should since they studied these men in
social studies.
Write the sentence up on the board.
Over the course of their studies, the
students have only really seen created
Latin, not Latin by real Romans.
Yesterday we talked to the students
about this fact. And how if they
continue with Latin in high school and
Me: Alright, please gather the cards so I can come
around and collect them in a moment. And let’s
take the last 10 minutes to put your knowledge to
the true test.
Me: With your partner, you are going to quickly
work through an adapted quote from Cicero’s
speech against Catiline. What do y’all know about
Cicero or this speech?
[Facts that may come up: Cicero was a political
figure. He was a member of the senate. He was a
lawyer, orator, and philosopher.
Most students should also know about the
Catilinarian conspiracy, which is what this speech
is about. – Catiline and fellow conspirators
conspired against the senate. They planned to
assassinate Cicero and other senate members.][If
students do not remember anything about Cicero
or the conspiracy, remind them of the
aforementioned things]
 NEENA PIO
6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu

read authentic Latin, authors will not
think about how the endings don’t
match and how it can be tricky for
non-native readers to match adjectives
to nouns properly. So, I found a
sentence from Cicero’s In Catilinam, a
speech against Catiline, that includes
demonstrative adjectives and special -
ius adjectives. This sentence is slightly
adapted. However, unlike the passages
that they have read from the book, the
sentence is based off of the real text.
The original is more complex because
that’s how Cicero wrote. (Standard
1.1: Communication Goal -
Interpretive Mode)
6 Mins Students Translate
Students are translating the quote and I
am circulating the room.
2 Mins The Translation
Ask for a volunteer or two to read out
their translations.
Reveal the translation.
The translation is: “For these men are
thinking about the destruction of this
city and of the entire world.”
“Hi enim (de exitio huius urbis et
totius orbis terrarium) cogitant.”
3 Min END CLASS
3 Min End Class
[Write the adapted quote on the board: “Hi enim
de exitio huius urbis et totius orbis terrarium
cogitant.”]
Me: With your current partner, please work on
translating this quote. You have six minutes. [set
timer]
[students work on the quote with their partner]
[Ask if there is a pair that thinks they have it]
[Pair reads out the translation. Review the
translation][The students will most likely not
realize the prepositional phrase goes from de to
terrarium—put parenthesis around this]
Me: Ready for the translation? “For these men are
thinking about the destruction of this city and of
the entire world.” [explain how two genitive
phrases huius urbis and totius orbis terrarium are
going with exitio]
Me: Alright, the bell is going to ring in just a few
minutes. Once the bell has rung, you may leave!
[Bell rings]
Me: Valete.
 NEENA PIO
6817 Scio Church Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan • (734) 395·0971 • neenapio@umich.edu