Monthly Archives: January 2014


Individual whiteboards

So far this year, I’ve gotten the most bang for my buck from school supplies by adding individual whiteboards to my classes.
Target currently is selling (in the dollar area) individual whiteboards made to look like sheets of paper. They also have whiteboard markers at two for a dollar. At the start of the school year, they had miniature whiteboard erasers at two for a dollar, but I haven’t seen them recently. It would be easy to erase the boards with scraps of fleece, tissues, or, as we did with the slates we used for this kind of activity back when I was in school, orphan socks. In the past, I’ve seen people use cut up slices of shower board, but these are around the same price and my students really like the fake notebook paper design.
I bought large ziptop bags and made up a kit for each student, each of which has a board, marker, and eraser. They live in a copy paper box until they’re ready to be used, when each student in class gets a bag.
There are a variety of things we use the whiteboards for, but I usually ask a question and have students write the answers and hold the board up. Everyone participates this way and I go around “Yes…Yes…Check your answer…Yes.”
What I use the whiteboards for depends on the level. Recently I used them with my sixth grade class to review endings of the second declension: I called out a case and number and they wrote the ending. In my elementary Classics class, I used the boards to review locations of major Roman provinces (I numbered each one on a map on the board and had students write down the numbers).
The students enjoy using the whiteboards much more than other things that let them review or practice. It lets me see how everyone in the class is doing, not just one person I call on, followed by a bunch of nods.


Announcements for 26 January

CANE

  • The Committee on Discretionary Funds is accepting requests to fund small projects in the classroom. We have $400 to disburse for the next funding cycle. The deadline is February 1, 2014. Please send requests by email to Geoffrey Sumi, the Immediate Past President.
  • The theme for the 2014 CANE Summer Institute has been announced!  Registration is forthcoming!
  • The Annual Meeting registration and program is here!

BEYOND CANE

  • CLIPEUS is running a Latin meetup in Boston. Meetings are planned for 26 January (today) at 3 pm and 16 February. Both will take place at Uno Due Go.
    • The American Philological Association (APA) is accepting applications for three fellowship programs that may be of interest to CANE members. APA membership is not required to submit an application for any of these programs, two of which are named for long-time participants in CANE.
    • 2014 David D. and Rosemary H. Coffin Fellowship for Travel in Classical Lands: A fellowship to support overseas travel. APA membership is not required. Application deadline: February 14.
    • 2014 Pedagogy Awards. Fellowships to support professional development by both collegiate and precollegiate teachers. Application deadline: March 3.
    • 2014 Zeph Stewart Latin Teacher Training Award. Support for individuals seeking to obtain Latin teacher certification. Application deadline: March 3.
  • Ascanius is offering Latin Summer programs for elementary and middle school students this summer in Birmingham, Boston, and in Loudoun County, VA. They’re currently looking for staff for these programs. Click here for more information and to apply. Their deadline is February 15th.
  • SALVI’s Rusticatio Latin July 2014 immersion weeks and pedagogy seminars are now open for registration. Sign up by Feb. 15th for a discount. See link for details. If a whole week is too much, you could sign up for their Biduum, Feb. 21-23.
  • The Vergilian Society is holding its first annual Vergil translation contest for students in K-12. To register, sign up <a href="https://secure.jotform.us/form/33303790386153">here</a> by 18 February. The contest will be the week of 24-28 February.

    The Rose-Marie Lewent Conference at NYU’s Center for Ancient Studies will be held on Thursday and Friday, February 13-14, 2014. The conference is entitled, “Animals in Antiquity.” The event is co-sponsored by the NYU Center for Ancient Studies, the Animal Studies Initiative and the Department of Classics, and is free and open to the public. The conference will examine the role of animals in ancient culture, literature, and art; the full program may be viewed here: http://ancientstudies.fas.nyu.edu/object/Lewent_Conference_Animals_in_Antiquity.