Elementary Koine Greek - resources, tips and advice

[Caroline Ball]

Hello!

 

I am the second oldest of a homeschool family of nine. I teach two of my younger siblings, Augustus who is ten, and Daphne who is nine, Elementary Greek and am looking for supplementary exercises/learning material. I would be grateful for any recommendations of a site, or any other source, that would offer this; I could then print the material for class. Right now we are about half way through Year ll of Elementary Greek for Beginners, by Christine Gatchell but are taking a break from learning new material and doing a review.

 

Also, I would appreciate much any tips or advice on how I could make the classes more interesting (e.g. historical anecdotes, games or competitions between the two of them, etc.), give the student a greater sense of satisfaction and motivation, and "trick" him into learning! They are not yet at the age when they can start analyzing the material they learn, so this is particularly important.

 

Thank you!

 

Sincerely,

Caroline Ball

[Hunter]

Caroline, welcome to the forum!  :grouphug:  :hurray:   :party:

 

When teaching my son, I found that it took as many books to teach Greek as it took to teach English. I needed books that worked as readers, and books that focused on grammar, and resources for handwriting, and books that taught composition, and resources that focused on vocabulary, and things that were just fun. It was a lot of work.

 

I used to have the old Ted Hildebrandt software. He still has some stuff up at his website. If you find any old software, you need a computer old enough to run it, unfortunately.

http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/New_Testament_Greek/MNTG_Interactive/MNTG_TableOfContents.html

 

The first edition of Machen's text was in public domain, but then removed. It remained public domain in Canada. I used this for composition work as well as grammar and vocabulary.

http://www.sounddoctrine.net/Classic_Sermons/new/New%20Testament%20Greek%20193.pdf

http://www.puritandownloads.com/search.php?search_query=machen&x=-1076&y=-49.

 

I used to print out a chapter of the text at a time and use the textmapping method.

http://www.textmapping.org/scrolls.html

 

I applied a lot of what I learned from Memoria Press about teaching Latin to the Greek

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/lost-art-teaching-latin

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/lets-memorize-latin-grammar

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/recovering-lost-tools-latin

 

I liked Learn New Testament Greek as a reading book.

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Testament-Greek-John-Dobson/dp/0801031060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413932510&sr=8-1&keywords=greek+dobson

 

[Hunter]

Greek to Me is still available, but I can't find the flashcards anywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Me-J-Lyle-Story/dp/159160222X/ref=la_B001K8EEF8_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413932705&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Greek-Memory-System-innovative/dp/B001ANFP4W/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

 

Visual Greek is similar.

http://www.visualgreek.org

[Hunter]

Lots of great stuff here.

http://www.inthebeginning.org/ntgreek/

 

This was the handwriting chart we used.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/pens/GreekChart.pdf

 

We used these Euclid Greek math lessons

http://mysite.du.edu/~etuttle/classics/nugreek/contents.htm#conts

 

And we used some of the Loeb Classics

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1031

 

We used an interlinear bible for copywork.

[Hunter]

We used Dr Tyler's audio CDs to read along in the interlinear.

http://audiohebrewgreekbible.com/english

[Space station]

Hunter, you are amazing! These resources look great.

[christineg]

Caroline,

 

It sounds like you are making great progress with your students.  When my kids were young, we found that the easiest, most effective way to review vocabulary was just to play memory, go fish, or old maid.  I'd make a set of English cards and a set of Greek cards, and once a week we'd play a few games to work on all that vocab.  Other simple games, like copying the Bible verses word-by-word onto cards and then arranging them in the proper order, can be helpful.  I also made a memory sheet with all their declensions and conjugations which I laminated and then required them to fill in the endings/forms with a dry erase marker.   I keep hoping that I'll find the time to write a set of simple readers, but haven't been able to pursue that idea yet.  Maybe soon....  Until then, it looks like Hunter has given you some great ideas for additional texts and readers.

 

Hope that helps!

Christine Gatchell

  

[Caroline Ball]

Wow! Thank you for all this support!

 

Thank you very much, Hunter. What a wealth of resources and help to plan my classes!

You are right about needing several different kinds of books and resources - there is so much to learning a language, especially a "dead" language like Ancient Greek. One doesn't have the benefit of immersion so the more "immersion" I can create in class, the better. 

 

Thank you, Christine. What a happy surprise to receive tips and help from you! The ideas you posted sound great - just what I needed.

I hope you get time to write a set of simple readers. I have three more future Greek students lined up behind Daphne and a set of Greek readers would be a big help!

 

With best wishes,

Caroline

[Hunter]

I used a bit of TPR (Total Physical Response) for Latin and Greek, but I really don't think it helped enough to make it worth it. I really wish I could remember the name of a text I used that included some basic greetings and classroom words, though. I'll try and keep thinking.

[Hunter]

Here it is!

 

Ancient Greek Alive.

http://blue.butler.edu/~psaffire/textbook.html

 

The author is nice. At one time or another I conversed by e-mail with most of these authors. Everyone of them was really nice. Back when I was teaching Greek, homeschooling was still pretty new, and children learning Greek was rare. Authors were willing to chat with me a bit, and were interested to hear how I was using their materials. 

 

I don't like Athenaze at all for a spine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I STRONGLY suggest sticking with Koine resources as your spine. But I did supplement a little with Athenaze and Ancient Greek Alive and some other classical resources and texts.

 

The dictionary in Strong's Concordance has pronunciation suggestions I found helpful. I switched the pronunciations for "ai" and "ei" to match standard Erasmian. Otherwise everything was perfect.

[Caroline Ball]

Yes, I'll keep to Koine resources. I took a look at the link you sent and Ancient Greek Alive looks like a very good immersion tool; the reviews are impressive. I think I will order a copy! 

 

Thank you!

 

[Hunter]

Once you have a few phrases from Ancient Greek Alive, and your basic spine, the children can start to write some snarky and ridiculous cartoons with speech bubbles.

 

Try to write basic phrases like the ones in this Berlitz self-teacher book.

http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Self-Teacher-Spanish-Editors/dp/0399513248

 

No matter what language my boys studied, they made up dialogues like the ones in the Berlitz book and tried to out do each other on the most pathetic conversations possible.

 

"Is the cow on the table?"

"No, teacher, the cow is not on the table. The pig is on the table."

"Is the pig green?"

Yes, teacher, the pig is green. A green pig is on the table."

"Is the sword on the table?"

"No, teacher, the sword is not on the table. The sword is in the green pig."

 

Have the children at least draw pictures and write single words and phrases under them. Hang them on the fridge. There is just nothing cuter than Latin and Greek illustrated compositions hanging on the fridge. And neighbors totally stop asking if you REALLY think you are qualified to teach. :lol: They work wonders for portfolios to the school board too. :) And the Greek math is just over the top.

 

For holidays you can have them chant and write paradigms of words like love and turkey and draw cute borders around the paradigms.

 

The Loeb Classics can be used for copy work. Especially look for dialogues in the tragedies. But just holding those cute little books and reading the English, does wonders for children.

 

See if your library has any DVDs of Greek tragedies. You might even be able to find a college with a live performance.

 

Do little art projects and teach a few relevant words, like vase, orange and black.

 

Have snacks of words that you know well enough to teach, like grapes and bread.

 

Include word studies during Bible studies and then elaborate on and review those words during Greek study.

 

 

[Caroline Ball]

Thank you. ...I can get very creative now! I think the Greek cartoon and picture drawings especially will be a hit, and I know they will catch on the dialogues quickly!

[FloridaLisa]

I'm trying to remember some of our posters who were teaching Greek.  I know abbeyej is one. Maybe Erica in PA or OR?  We have so many that used to post with a wealth of information.  If you search for threads with abbeyej's postings on Greek, you might hit some great old threads. Good for you! Greek is on the to-do list for us this year, but it has yet to bubble to the top!

 

Lisa

[Caroline Ball]

Thank you Lisa!
 
That's a good idea...I'll see if I can't find any old threads that would be helpful on abbeyej's postings or possibly Erica's. I've been planning my Greek classes today - so much more motivated now with all the great links and tips I've received, and I think our Greek classes have a bright future ahead!

Here is one of the links Hunter sent me yesterday and which I found very helpful. I thought you too might find it interesting, especially if you are planning on starting Greek soon. It is about Latin but applies to Greek just as well.

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/lost-art-teaching-latin

 

Best wishes,

Caroline

P.S. You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser - I am having trouble attaching it as a link!