Curriculum Overview
Elementa is a self-paced online course for younger learners that offers an introduction to the Latin language and establishes the foundations needed for further study of the classical humanities. It features lessons on parts of speech, Roman culture, and mythology - including animated videos to engage students and bring the ancient world to life.
Elementa offers schools and homeschool families the opportunity to incorporate Latin into literacy instruction in the classroom. The curriculum is flexible as a supplement to current English classes or as an independent and robust Latin program building the foundations for exploring both modern and ancient world languages.
Upon completion of the curriculum, students will be able to:
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Recall basic Latin phrases and a vocabulary of 150+ Latin words.
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Identify the parts of speech in a Latin or English sentence.
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Critically discuss aspects of Roman culture and its influence on the present.
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Recognize major characters and narratives from classical mythology and analyze its influence on contemporary literature and popular culture.
- Correctly determine the meanings of English and Spanish words by using knowledge of Latin roots and affixes.
A Dynamic Online Learning Experience
The Elementa digital course is fun, engaging, and simple to use! The curriculum spans 22 learning modules, each of which includes three lessons covering Latin vocabulary, first steps in Latin and English grammar, and topics related to Roman history, culture, and mythology.
Users can navigate through the curriculum with the index sidebar on the left, while the sidebar on the right displays additional cultural connections between the ancient world and ours, glossed vocabulary, and Mens Sana (healthy mind) discussion questions for deeper reflection on the lesson's content.
All Elementa users have access to a general Forum, an online message board where students and teachers can post questions and interact with other users. The forum is monitored by Paideia Institute staff, who are available to answer questions.
Each unit also includes animated videos to illustrate core linguistic concepts and spotlight themes and characters from Roman history and mythology. For a quick preview, you can check out the Unit 1 video on Latin derivatives!
Assessments & Learning Analytics
Quizzes follow each lesson to check student comprehension of the subject matter covered. Teachers whose students are using Elementa gain access to the platform's customized reporting tools. These tools allow teachers to view student performance in the course, and filter by individual student or specific specific quiz or lesson elements.
What Teachers Are Saying
"Implementing Elementa into my classroom has engrossed my students into learning Latin through a new lens. This curriculum is jam-packed with engaging, fun activities for middle school students. It is nice to have something that helps my students become efficient in their grammatical studies in both Latin and English. It is a refreshing teaching experience and Elementa has beautifully woven a way to enhance the Latin learning experience for younger, curious students."
- Joseph Starnes, Washington Latin Public School
I LOVE Elementa! I used it as a guide for a sixth-grade Introduction to Latin course. It worked so well with my teaching style! And I used some of the activities when I taught a section of Intro French!
- Chelsea Brewer, Christ Church Episcopal School
