Friday, January 29, 2016

Assignment for Thursday, 02-04-16

Dear Elementary Hellenists,

For Thursday morning, February 4, please do the following:

(1) Reading: Groton, Lesson 3, on verbs in general and present tense forms (#17–20, pp. 13–17). Note any questions along the way.

(2) Homework (due by 8:00 a.m.). Translate these sentences into Greek, with proper accents and breathings:
a. She teaches and you (pl.) write.
b. We stand guard and we do not hasten.
c. Do they not offer sacrifice? They want (to).
d. You (sing.) both steal and draw. I sacrifice and I do not protect.
e. He is not eager, but (ἀλλά) he is willing.
f. We both write and educate and protect. You (pl.) do not write and you are not eager.
DC

Assignment for Tuesday, 02-02-16

Dear Elementary Hellenists,

By Tuesday morning, February 2, please do the following:

(1) Reading: Groton, Lesson 2, on Greek accents (#11–15, pp. 9–11). Note any questions along the way.

(2) Homework (due by 8:00 a.m.):
  • Exercise 2.A (#16, pp. 11–12).
DC

Assignment for Monday, 02-01-16

Dear Elementarians,

By Monday morning , February 1, please do the following:

(1) Practice pronouncing the Greek names in exercise A (#10, pp. 6–7). In class on Monday, you'll come to consensus on the proper pronunciation with your teammates.

(2) Practice reading aloud the Greek passage in exercise B (same section, p. 7), "Zeus Cuts the Camel Down to Size." Again, you'll practice reading aloud with your teammates on Monday. Enjoy the English translation.

(3) (Due 8:00 a.m., via email) Transliterate the following English names into Greek, then syllabify each Greek name:
a. Aischylos
b. Alexandros
c. Euripidēs
d. Hectōr
e. Helenē
f. Hēraklēs
g. Hypsipylē
h. Menoitios
i. Mnēmosynē
j. Pandōra
k. Ploutarchos
l. Rhadamanthys
m. Sapphō
n. Theocritos
IMPORTANT NOTES:
  • For this exercise, don't make accent marks, but do make breathing marks (see below).
  • Long e (ē) always = eta; long o (ō) always = omega.
  • An initial H in the English name indicates a rough breathing mark over an initial vowel or diphthong in Greek (see section 6, p. 5).
  • If a word begins with a vowel/diphthong, it will still need a smooth breathing mark in Greek.
  • Separate the syllables of the transliterated Greek word using dashes.
  • If you type your answers, you don't necessarily need GreekKeys, but now would be a good time to purchase the software and to learn it.
  • Whether you type or hand-write your answers, please email them to me as a PDF by 8:00 a.m. on Monday. Make sure your name is on the actual document.
DC

Clarification on Consonants from Thursday, 01-28-16

Dear Hellenists,

The thought occurs that, in my zeal to cover the basics of Greek consonants on Thursday, I wasn't as clear as I might have been about consonant clusters — that is, which consonants get pronounced together (and therefore kept in the same syllable), and which get pronounced separately (put in different syllables).

Let's take it from the top.

(1) CONSONANT CLUSTERS USUALLY PRONOUNCED TOGETHER
  • two different stops: stop1 + stop2 (examples: βδ, κτ, φθ)
  • stop + liquid (examples: γρ, τρ, πλ, κλ)
  • stop + nasal (examples: πν, γμ)
(2) CONSONANT CLUSTERS USUALLY PRONOUNCED SEPARATELY
  • double consonants (examples: λλ, σσ, ττ)
  • liquid + stop (ex. λτ), liquid + liquid (ex. λρ), liquid + nasal (ex. ρμ)
  • nasal + stop (ex. μπ), nasal + liquid (ex. μρ), nasal + nasal (ex. νμ)
(3) EXCEPTIONS
  • the nasal + nasal combo μν is pronounced together
  • sigma + any consonant might be pronounced together or separately
Groton explains all of this in more detail in Lesson 1 (#7–8, pp. 5–6).

DC

Reflections on Teamwork, 01-28-16

Dear Hellenists,

Just a few thoughts on Thursday's initial round of teamwork.

(1) Congratulations on making it through the first session. Beginnings are always difficult with team-based learning, because everyone's still getting acquainted and figuring out how to collaborate.

(2) It was very interesting that every team's initial impulse was to work on its own, despite the remarks I'd made just a few moments earlier. Still, that solo time was valuable for illustrating both how individuals work at different paces (I noticed that some teammates were able to transliterate quickly, and others needed more time) and how easy it is for peers to get left behind in that kind of scenario. Even as we were ending class, some students hadn't filled out their worksheets entirely. That outcome is not really a concern for a first session (in fact, it was expected), but if it were to become habitual, it could be disastrous in the long run.

(3) I think it was also clear that, once teams began talking amongst themselves, the work got easier. As I saw it, more progress was made in the 10–12 minutes of true collaboration than in the 20–25 minutes of silence that preceded it. While I am sure that some of you would prefer to work alone, and would be quite capable on your own, that's not what team-based learning is about.

As we move forward, let me suggest that you minimize solo work and maximize discussion. I've noted that it's all right to divide up the work individually — provided there's ample time to review that work as a group. This does not mean everyone completing the entire worksheet on their own and scrabbling for the answer key to check their individual responses. Rather, it might mean each team member takes a set amount of items, completes them within an agreed-upon time limit (a brief one), and then reports their answers to the group at large, with discussion ensuing. Or, it might mean that the team works through each item with one member taking the lead, walking peers through his or her thought process and answering (or asking) questions along the way.

Either scenario could have been employed with Thursday's worksheet, with great success and great efficiency. I offer these thoughts in the spirit of true critique, because it's my job not only to present new material but also to make sure the overall process runs smoothly.

If you have any questions about yesterday's class — or any of our classes, or about team-based learning — please let me know.

Stay tuned for a clarification on yesterday's material, and next week's assignments.

DC

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Assignment for Thursday, 01-28-16

Dear Elementary Hellenists,

For Thursday, January 28, please do the following:

(1) Read Groton, Lesson 1, on the Greek alphabet and diphthongs (#4–9, pp. 4–6) and study the alphabet chart (p. 3). Note any questions along the way, especially on the more nuanced material we didn't cover today.

(2) Memorize the names of the letters of the Greek alphabet in their proper order, such that you can either say or sing their names in order in 9 seconds or less. Khang and I will check your times before you enter the classroom on Thursday; if you fail, you won't be allowed in the classroom until your order or time (or both) is correct.

(3) On a lined sheet of paper, write out a line of 24 consecutive alphas, betas, gammas, and so on, all the way through omega. Do this for both lower and upper cases — 48 lines of Greek letters in all. Make sure your name is on the sheet, and turn it in at the beginning of class (a rare exception to the PDF-and-email-before-class routine we'll soon be in).

DC

PS: If you want to join our Quizlet group, which has flashcards on the alphabet/diphthongs in chapter 1 and might help you with the above work, (1) sign up for a (free) Quizlet account, if you haven't yet done so, and (2) send me a request through Quizlet to join the group. All I ask is that your username resemble your real name in some way so that I can make sure I'm adding Skidmore people.

DC

Monday, January 25, 2016

Assignment for Tuesday, 01-26-16

Dear Elementary Hellenists,

For Tuesday, January 26, please do the following:

(1) Review these pages of our website:
Please note any questions that arise and bring them to class.

(2) Read Lesson 1 on the Greek language (#1–3, pp. 1–2) of our textbook, hereafter referred to as "Groton." This will get us oriented and ready to embark on the Greek alphabet.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

DC

Friday, January 22, 2016

Welcome!

Dear Elementary Hellenists,

Welcome to the blog for CG 110: Elementary Greek!  Here I'll post assignments and other notices, as well as other ephemera pertaining to the study of ancient Greek.

With each post, you'll get an email alerting you to the new content.  The message will contain the entire post, so you'll have the option of reading it on email or navigating over to the blog. Similarly, if you'd like to reply to a post, you can either use the "Comments" feature on the blog, or you can reply to the email message you received.  Either way, everyone in the class will be able to read your response.

None of this is meant to substitute for in-class interaction.  However, since our sessions together will go by quickly, I hope the blog will save us precious minutes here and there.

Again, welcome!

DC