mommamagistra Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 A number of parents have expressed disatisfaction with the Cambridge Latin series. As a Latin instructor, I can understand the frustration as it is not a text I would recommend for learning Latin. I am sure there are reviews online from Latin teachers who do not endorse Cambridge, so I will not go into details. For students who are not quite ready to attack Latin with Jenney or Wheelock or Moreland & Fleischer or Keller & Russell et al, I can recommend the following series that I have used with my own children in middle school: Ecce Romani. I am not aware of support materials for this series; however, for families looking for a self-paced asynchronous course I can endorse a program called KET Distance Learning (with which I have no professional affiliation). The program comes with videos that thoroughly explain the grammar, vocab, and reading selections in Ecce Romani. There are extensive tests and quizzes -- some online, some that are teacher graded -- that ensure students master the material. In addition, the instructor in the video (Ann Denny) is available for email, phone, and Skype (free) support and respnds swiftly. http://www.dl.ket.org/courses_latin.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Half-Elven Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 What age/grade level would Ecce Romani be for? Does it have 4-5 levels that can count for High School Latin 1, 2, 3, and 4? Is Ecce Romani more of a grammar book as opposed to Cambridge? I thought Cambridge was half grammar, half readings...so you would learn a little grammer, then use what you've learned in a reading they provide? How is Ecce Roman different from Cambridge? Thank you for any information you can post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) I can answer this! Cambridge is heavily focused on reading, with lots and lots of vocabulary thrown at you and a smattering of grammar. I don't think it is easy to teach at all. Ecce Romani is also reading based but to me it is more balanced in its approach and you get some solid grammar in there as well. To me, it is much more intuitive to teach. I've only done the first book of Ecce Romani though but there are several levels. I will say there is one minor annoyance in Ecce Romani I in that they make the Latin sentences too English in sentence structure, so make sure to explain that to your student, otherwise they get really thrown for a loop later when they encounter more authentic Latin sentence structure. But that is my only complaint thus far. I found a nice blog by a Latin teacher who uses Ecce Romani called Latina Nostra: http://latinanostra.weebly.com/ Edited December 13, 2015 by Faithr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Half-Elven Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) Thank you Faithr, that helps! I enjoy learning latin, but not when I have to "hunt" for the grammar in order to read the assigned passages. It's doable, but it bogs my homeschool down too much. So far, I see that Ecce Romani is available from Pearson Publishing. Other than Amazon, are there other places they are available? I'd like to compare prices. Thanks for pointing the website, it's got great info!! Edited December 13, 2015 by Half-Elven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Pearson is their publisher, so it is the only place you can buy the teacher materials, as far as I know. If you buy from Pearson you need to give them documentation of homeschool (from the state) and they will set you up. All I had to send in was the initial letter of recognition of our intent to homeschool. Once you do they will allow you to buy all the teacher support materials. This also allows me access to buying any of their products. The teacher's manual makes life a lot easier as it has all the answers for the translations, exercises and workbook exercises. You can also buy the supplemental Romans Speak for Themselves with answer key. This text is referred to in the main student text, but you can also skip it. They sometimes have bundle deals that end up quite a bit lower in price then other places. But those also often change, so it just depends on when you catch it. Heather 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 For what it's worth, I used Ecci Romani when I took Latin 1 in college. I don't remember much about it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I found a nice blog by a Latin teacher who uses Ecce Romani called Latina Nostra: http://latinanostra.weebly.com/ There is a link on this blog to a 179-episode podcast on the history of Rome. I listened to the first episode (they are all about 12 minutes), and it was very well done. This blog has a lot of useful content! Thanks for posting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I can answer this! Cambridge is heavily focused on reading, with lots and lots of vocabulary thrown at you and a smattering of grammar. I don't think it is easy to teach at all. Ecce Romani is also reading based but to me it is more balanced in its approach and you get some solid grammar in there as well. To me, it is much more intuitive to teach. I've only done the first book of Ecce Romani though but there are several levels. I will say there is one minor annoyance in Ecce Romani I in that they make the Latin sentences too English in sentence structure, so make sure to explain that to your student, otherwise they get really thrown for a loop later when they encounter more authentic Latin sentence structure. But that is my only complaint thus far. I found a nice blog by a Latin teacher who uses Ecce Romani called Latina Nostra: http://latinanostra.weebly.com/ Faithr, THANK YOU!! I know this is an old post but I had to thank you for posting this info about Ecce Romani. My dd is in 8th grade at a BMS and will complete Ecce Romani I. She loves Latin and the students seem to do very well on the National Latin Exam with this book. I'm considering bringing her home for 9th but want to continue the same Latin in case she returns for 10th. I wanted to have some outside support for the book and you just provided it. That site is still active. Thank you! It was one of the big questions I have had in considering homeschooling 9th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metrodorus Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Advertising deleted by moderator. No advertising pleaseIf you are the publisher or author of home schooling (or other) materials, or have a financial interest in a particular program, you may answer direct questions about those materials but don't use a general query ("What science/language arts/history materials should I use?") as a chance to promote your product. When these questions are posed, we hope that parents will hear from other parents not from those who may have a vested interest in the use of a particular program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.