Latin 1, 2, 3, Honors, 4 AP, & 5

  • Salvete omnes!


    Lingua Latina est vita!  In Miramonte Latin, students not only master the Latin Language, the foundation of all Romance languages and a major component of the English Language, but they also learn about the history, mythology, and culture of the ancient world in order to better understand our own history and culture.  In this dynamic community the students will receive a foundation that prepares them for college and also lets them make connections with other Latin students from Miramonte, California, and around the nation.


    In Latin 1 students learn the basics of Latin vocabulary and grammar (the first three noun declensions and indicative verb forms) while also acquiring and deepening their knowledge of ancient mythology and Roman history through Latin readings.   They make connections with the modern world and discover how Latin and the ancients shape our own language and culture.


    In Latin 2 students review and finish learning the remaining noun, adjective, and verb forms and expand their vocabulary in preparation for reading Latin literature.   In readings and classroom discussions the students learn about Ulysses, Cicero, heroes of the Roman Republic, and ancient Italy and Greece.


    In Latin 3 Honors students refine their knowledge of the Latin Language, continue to expand their Latin vocabulary, and read selections from the following ancient authors:  Livy, Sallust, Cicero, and Catullus. In these readings, students explore the the ideas of character, identity, valor, patriotism, history, terrorism, the role of government, and the human condition.


    In Latin 4 AP the students read the AP College Board curriculum in order to prepare for the AP exam in the spring.  In the Latin readings from Caesar’s De Bello Gallico, the students learn about the Roman conquest of ancient Gaul and explore ideas about leadership and the clash of cultures.  In Virgil’s Aeneid, the ancient epic of Rome, the students read about the travels of Aeneas after the fall of Troy and explore the nature of life and the foundational myth of Rome.


    In Latin 5 the students continue to read literature drawn from the golden age:  Ovid, Cicero, Livy, etc. The students will continue to deepen their knowledge of the ancient world and the Latin language.