Why do you call this Preliminary Access?

• We would like to offer anyone interested preliminary, i.e. electronic only, access to our Latin through Stories Level 1 and 2 curriculum materials at a lower price than what our published curriculum will be. (Information below is primarily about Level 1, which we recommend everyone to start with.

• The curriculum is fully developed and piloted but not yet professionally laid out, i.e. not in its final format.

• We are also still in the process of finalizing the picture book translation rights and can’t go forward with a full publication until that is completed.

• All materials are yours to download and keep; however, since our website may undergo changes when we are ready to publish, your web access is only guaranteed until June 30, 2024.

• Fully scripted Teacher Guides for 4 “themes” or units (plus additional resources for an optional 5th unit)
  • Each lesson is fully planned and fully scripted (e.g. for Level 1: 87 fully scripted 30-minute
    lessons, plus extra material for several weeks of optional additional lessons)
  • Each lesson incorporates a steady review of everything learned, already planned out
  • Lessons include lots of songs from around the world
  • Optional grammar components directly in the guide so you can use the same level for multiple grades

• A supplementary student book with grammar and writing meant for grades 3 & up (this is not the main resource—the Teacher Guide is!)

• Audio files for all the songs, Gouin series, Little Socratic Talks, and picture books in ecclesiastical and classical Latin

• PowerPoints to accompany the “Little Socratic Talks”

• Translation files for the classical picture books (see Level 1 book list – you need to purchase these in English and paste the translated text over the English text)

• Reader’s theater versions of some of the Gouin series and picture books

• Optional editable quiz banks about every 8-10 lessons

• A Teacher’s Resource Book so you have all prayers, song lyrics, Gouin series, and reader’s theaters versions in one place

• Free live introductory webinar and ongoing assistance any time

• Please note that the program is NOT computer-based and there are no recorded lessons (other than a few teaching demo lessons). We’re providing electronic access to materials since we don’t have print materials available at this point, but the lessons need to be taught by a teacher or homeschool parent!

What is distinctive about this curriculum?

• Our curriculum is based on current research in second language acquisition as well as our research on the history of Latin teaching in the tradition of the Trivium.

• We treat Latin as a language, not a code.

• We treat children as persons fully capable of acquiring a language and communicating in the language.

• We use beautiful works of art and real photos, no cartoons or animations.

• Lessons are fully planned out and include a variety of elements to keep young children engaged and to ensure a maximum of acquisition
  • see the Level 1 Scope and Sequence

• All lessons are fully scripted in Latin with English translations so even teachers or parents new to Latin can give their students a near-immersive experience of the Latin language.

• For more information, please see this brochure.

What is the cost?

• The preliminary access cost per Level for the 2023-24 school year is:
  • homeschooling families: $99 per family
  • schools: $149 per school
  • homeschool coops of at least 5 families: $99 for the coop teacher to get access; access may not be shared with other parents
    • if any coop families also want individual access to supplement at home, they pay $69 per family

• You also need to purchase the required supplementary Level 1 books: 4 little story books in Latin and some picture books for which we will provide the Latin translation (to be printed, cut out and pasted over the English text)

What are teachers allowed to share with parents/send home?

• you may share: occasional individual pages from the student book such as a grammar exercise, a prayer, song, or Gouin series to memorize, a Gouin series to illustrate, a reader’s theater text to practice.

• you may not share: the teacher’s resource book, the teacher’s guides, any of the audio files, the student book in its entirety, the picture book translation files.

What do I need to do? What’s the procedure?

• You will be able to purchase preliminary access to this curriculum around June 15 on this website (apologies for the delay!). Please check back here after that date!

• Please note that we are in the process of reorganizing the teacher resource website to make it more user-friendly, and that process might not be fully finished by then.

How do I know if Level 1 or Level 2 is right for my students?

• We strongly recommend starting with Level 1, even if your students had a year or two of another curriculum. Most current Latin curricula for children tend to be “word based” and don’t expose students to a large quantity of full sentences, so your students might get overwhelmed in Level 2 which presupposes a year of exposure to Latin in complete sentences and the ability to respond to questions in Latin rather than translating words and isolated sentences.

• If your students had a year or more of input-rich Latin instruction (i.e. lots and lots of complete sentences and stories), if instruction wasn’t primarily translation-focused, and if your students are used to responding to questions in Latin, they should be ready for Level 2. If they’ve had at least two years of really input-rich instruction, consider joining our Level 3 pilot!

What do I do if I have further questions?

• Please first check out our FAQs to see if your question has already been answered! If not feel free to
  contact us.

In the past two decades educators have made great strides in recovering and developing Latin and language arts tools that are consistent with the principles of classical education and consonant with the discoveries around second language acquisition. Nevertheless, there exists no textbook or curriculum for grammar school students that proposes to teach the Latin language through natural language processes. The work of the K-12 Classical Curriculum Project is particularly exciting because it aims to fill this need with an inspiring curriculum that encourages students’ wonder and fosters their appreciation of the inherent beauty of the Latin language.

Dr. Patrick M. Owens

Go to the main curriculum overview