Summer Reading Synopsis for Minimus  

 Who is Minimus ?

            Minimus is cool Roman mouse that speaks Latin! Minimus, the students will discover, lives with a family and a cat in Roman Briton.  The stories of the book and the Minimus WEB-PAGE focus on these characters, following them on their adventures.

            The Latin of the book and the online stories is quite simple and intended for an audience that has never been exposed to Latin.  Reading the stories will come easy to former SMES students, giving them a sense of confidence that they already know another language.  Likewise, the new students will be reading and understanding Latin right away, for the pictures, convenient vocabulary, simple grammar explanations, and interesting story lines guide them throughout the text.

            Minimus, the book and WEB-PAGE, not only delve into amazing stories in Latin but also offers an array of knowledge on the history, culture, and mythology of the Romans and the Britons at the time of the stories.  The text provides pictures, maps, and very coherent explanations of these topics.

What are the important resources?

                  1.      Minimus WEB-PAGE. 

The web page contains a) this handout, b) the online stories that accompany the book, c) an online activity page (the QUIA page) that provides review games, activities, vocabulary and term cards, and practice quizzes for the review of all Minimus material.  The Minimus assignment requires that all students use and refer to the Minimus web-page.

GO TO www.smes.org, CLICK on Middle School, CLICK on SUMMER SCHOOL READING, Click on Minimus/Latin Summer Reading Link.

2.      This Synopsis and the accompanying Review Guide. 

Both of these documents can be found on the Minimus WEB-PAGE.

3.      The QUIA Online Activities Page.

See the description above.  This can be reached my going to the Minimus WEB-PAGE

What are the requirements and means of accountability?

             Students are to read both the Latin and English selections of Minimus as found in the text book AND the Minimus WEB-PAGE, including the stories, readings, and explanations.  During the first week of school in the fall, students will take a 50 question, multiple-choice QUIZ on Minimus.  To prepare for the test, students should use the Review Handout (on the reverse side of the Synopsis), the Minimus WEB-PAGE, and the online QUIA activities page. The test questions will be framed after the prompts and guidelines of the Review Handout, and the activities and practice quizzes on the QUIA page.  The QUIZ will count as a first quarter QUIZ grade for Latin.

Minimus Review Handout   

General Goals:

1)      Read and comprehend all of the Latin stories in ‘Minimus’ and on the Minimus web page.

2)      Read and comprehend the stories of mythology (English).

3)      Read and comprehend the sections on culture (English).

4)      Read, review and practice basic grammar sections.

5)      Read and practice Latin roots sections.  

Specific Goals:

When the students are tested at the beginning of the school year with a 50 question, multiple choice, QUIZ, they must be able to:

1)      Identify the correct translation of Latin passages from the Picture stories in the book AND the additional stories from the Minimus web-page, being responsible for those Latin words that show up in the WORDS TO REMEBER that are found in the book and on the web-page.  The students are NOT required to memorize the words that are ONLY in the WORDS TO HELP section of each chapter and on the web-page.  Therefore, when the students are tested, the words that are ONLY in the HELP sections will be provided.  I suggest that students should keep a “running vocabulary list” of all of the words that show up in the WORDS TO REMEMBER sections.

2)      Identify characters in the Latin stories according what they do and how they are described.

3)      Demonstrate a comprehension of the developments that take place in the stories.

4)      Identify mythological characters according to how they are described.

5)      Demonstrate a comprehension of the mythological stories that are found in each section.

6)      Identify the following terms, characters, dates, and abbreviations found in the ROMAN REPORT sections:

N.B. (nota bene)         cena                stilus               Regina            frigidarium

B.C.                             liquamen        SEG                centurion        signifer

A.D. (anno domini)     Bread, veggies, and bacon    apodyterium   vexillifer

55 and 55 B.C.            Corinthus        Brittunculi       tepidarium      cornicern’s horn

A.D. 100                     Candidus         Vindolanda    caldarium         centurio

A.D. 122                     Pandora          mansio            strigil              ballista

Suggested Approach to Reading and Comprehending the Latin stories in Minimus:

1)      Read a Latin story aloud (either from the book or the accompanying stories online).

2)      Review (read over and study) any previous WORDS TO KNOW sections. (Use QUIA)

3)      Review the new WORDS TO HELP that accompany the story. (Use QUIA)

4)      Read aloud (or quietly) a translation of the story; refer to the WORDS FOR HELP when necessary. 

5)      Read the GRASP THE GRAMMAR section.

6)      Translate the story a few more times.  (It is suggested that previously read stories be re-read frequently.)

Suggested Approach to Reading and Comprehending the other sections of Minimus:

1)      Read all of the sections, paying attention to the teaching guidelines and prompts of  Minimus

the mouse. 

2)      Thoroughly read the mythology stories, paying close attention to the characters.

3)      Carefully read the ROMAN REPORT sections, focusing in on the specified topics below.

4)      Even though the LATIN ROOTS and GRASP THE GRAMMAR exercises will not specifically show up on the test, I highly suggest completing the exercises in order to strengthen one’s vocabulary and accuracy when reading Latin stories.

Use the QUIA page online computer activities found on the web-page for review!