Inscription & Graffiti Unit

This a unit I taught as a component for my teaching licensure. I was required to teach at least 4 days of lessons; half of these days were dedicated to Receptive uses of Latin, and the other to Productive uses. The directions for this assignment can be viewed here.

GOALS:

To interpret authentic Latin inscriptions and graffiti.
To infer the circumstances around these writings.
To compare transcriptions with hand written texts
To create their own graffito with a message

MATERIALS:

Hartnett's By Roman Hands
Courtney's Musa Lapidaria
Roll of drawing paper
Charioteer Game Pieces
Colored markers
Reusable stickers
Computer paper

OBJECTIVES:

Differentiate between dedicatory inscriptions, epitaphs, and graffiti.
Comprehend authentic Latin texts through reading
Interpret and infer what were the circumstances around which these inscriptions were written from textual clues.
Identifying the speaker and addressee of authentic Latin inscriptions and graffiti.
Decode & Replicate customary addresses and abbreviations of Roman epitaphs/graffiti in written Latin.
Compose a message via a Latin graffito
Discuss what messages and information can be ascertained from the text in English
Understand the Ablative Absolute
Understand Indirect Statement and be able to turn Direct Speech into Indirect.

ASSESSMENTS:

Assessment Day 1 (formative):

Match simplified transcriptions to authentic, handwritten inscriptions. Students will be given a transcribed inscription to read in groups of 4-5. After they fully comprehend their transcription, they will match their transcribed texts to the corresponding authentic, handwritten transcriptions that are posted around the room along with the details of where they were found and any images may have accompanied them. Students will have to use their comprehension of the text as well as contextual cues such as pictures and details about the inscriptions’ locations to match these inscriptions. If a student can correctly match their transcription, this will demonstrate reading comprehension in target language, critical thinking skills, and group collaboration.
Assessment Day 2 (summative):

Interpretive Questions asking students to infer the circumstances surrounding these inscriptions answered individually in a written format (click here). Students will be given an inscription to read on their own. They will be given a set of questions that ask them to infer what were the circumstances around the writing of these inscriptions (e.g. Who is the writer, where was it written, who was the intended audience, were their accompanying pictures). This shows that students were able to correctly read the inscription and use the information to invent a realistic scenario for these inscriptions.

Assessment Day 3 (formative):

Students will play a game where they will identify the speaker of a statement via written Latin (Circus Scripturae). Students will be divided into 4 groups with their own “charioteer team” piece that they are attempting to move all the way around the Circus circuit. To do so, they will be all be given written sentences from past readings which they will them rewrite as indirect speech after identifying the correct speaker. Each correct sentence they will move forward one space on the circuit. By playing this game, students will show their ability to recognize speakers and change sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech.
Assessment Day 4 (summative):

Students will create their own inscription/graffito in Latin that will be “posted” around the high school. Imitating the graffito that we have read, their graffito must include 1) a direct address to the reader or object, 2) a plea that the reader stop or hurry along, 3) cast the material (note, wall, rock, page) as the speaker of the message, and may include accompanying sketches. Successfully including these in the graffito, will show that the student recognizes customary features of Roman graffiti and ability to use indirect speech in Latin. The teacher will collect these and give feedback on whether they met all the requirements, the clearness of their message, and the creativity. After receiving their graffito back with feedback, the students will put their graffiti (or a different version of their) on a large piece of drawing paper as part of a graffito wall that will be displayed in the school.

For the full Lesson Plan template, click here.

PRESENTATION:

Below is the presentation I used throughout the unit. It contains examples of different types of inscriptions, grammatical explanations, and modern examples of graffiti by Banksy to compare.

ACTIVITY 1:

Students will then break up into 3-4 groups with one "Scholiast" (students given a Latin to English dictionary for looking up unknown words) in each. They will be given a transcribed inscription which they will read (click here). Besides the Scholiast, one student will be designated the Scribe who records the group’s translation and answers to context questions about the inscriptions on a sheet distributed by the teacher.

After reading the inscriptions and answering comprehension questions, a delegate from each group will be sent to the teacher who will check to see if there are any large misconceptions.

After they receive the teacher’s approval the groups will use their understanding of the inscriptions’ content and their hypotheses of their circumstances to match their transcriptions with their corresponding authentic text that the teacher has been posted around the room beforehand. Below are examples of inscriptions posted.

After matching their inscriptions, each group will present to the rest of the class aloud and in English: what their inscription said? where it was found? what images accompanied the inscriptions if any? what purpose it is believed to serve? what inferences did they make regarding the inscriptions’ circumstances? and how their understanding of the inscription changed during their process of interpreting it?

ACTIVITY 2 - CIRCUS SCRIPTURAE:

The teacher will draw on the board a race track with a start/finish and 6 spaces in between. They will paste Charioteer game pieces on the board (See Below).

The teacher will divide the students into 3-4 groups determined beforehand, and assign each a charioteer game piece based on color. Each team will designate a spokesman/woman who will give the team’s answers to questions.

The teacher will explain to students that their goal is to be first to move their piece around the track by correctly identifying the speaker of a familiar Latin text and rewriting the text as indirect speech spoken by that person. The first to finish will move 2 spaces, the second and third 1 space, and last 0 spaces.

The teacher will distribute a sentence to the groups for each round that the students will modify after identifying the speaker. As students send a representative with completed Latin to the teacher, the teacher will read over the sentence for correctness. If the teacher finds any errors, they will underline the problematic words/phrases and give it back for that group discuss what was wrong and how to fix it. This will be done until, 3 groups have successfully modified each sentence for the round.

The teacher will then ask individual students to explain how they identified the speaker and rewrote the sentence in English for the class after each round until a team completes the circuit

ACTIVITY 3 - GRAFFITI WALL:

Students will be presented with examples of Roman graffiti where the material on which the message is written (rock or wall) is presented as the speaker of the message [See Presentation or Courtney 17, 18, 19, 157]. Students will read these together as a class (referring to the Scholiasts for vocabulary help). Students will identify speaker and addressee, then discuss this rhetorical device.

Students will create their own Latin graffito. Each graffito must include: 1) a direct address to the reader or object, 2) a plea that the reader stop or hurry along, 3) cast the material (note, wall, rock, page) as the speaker of the message, and may include accompanying sketches.

Imitating the Roman graffiti we have previous examined, students should chose an addressee, such as a specific individual, a general reader or loiterer, or an object on which the graffito will be presented. Students will be given a list of Latin quotes (click here) which they may use as a sentiment that the graffito will present in indirect statement or invent their own.

Students may turn their graffito in tomorrow for feedback the next day of class.

Students will then write their graffito (or a simplified version of it) on a roll of drawing paper to display. Below is the example my students produced after a couple of days. We allowed the Latin 1 and 2 classes to add their own quotes as well.