Articles From The Classical Teacher

Which Latin Program Should I Start With?
by Cheryl Lowe (about her)

We are often asked, "Which Latin program should I start my student with, Prima Latina, Latina Christiana, or Henle?"  Below we have listed the most commonly requested scenarios that parents and teachers call in with.  The scenarios are charted against the age of the starting student and which book we recommend.  There are of course a few things to note before you delve into our colorful graph of Latin programs.

First, the recommendations below are only rough guidelines and should always be adjusted based on your child's maturity and ability.

Second, the teacher's experience is almost always more important than the student's background.  Even if your child is very good at languages, if you are not comfortable with Latin, you may consider taking an easier path.  Likewise, if you are a Latin teaching wiz, you should consider a more challenging course.

Third, Latin is challenging.  When parents call in and are unsure whether to use Latina Christiana or Henle Latin we almost always recommend Latina Christiana. If you are unsure whether to use Latina Christiana or Prima Latina, you should consider Prima Latina. It is much better to start off slower and be successful than to be overwhelmed and give your child a bad taste for Latin.

Common Scenarios

1. Teacher or parent has no background in Latin. Student has no background in Latin.
   

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2. Teacher or parent has some Latin background. Student is relatively strong but has no Latin background.
   

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3. Student has some introduction to Latin through another course or previous attempt but is not really comfortable with the concepts or has forgotten much of what was previously learned.
   Teacher/Parent also has some Latin Background.
   

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4. Teacher or parent is very comfortable with Latin.  He has taught it before and understands children's ability with Latin at their particular age level.
   Student's background in Latin is less important with a very experienced teacher.
   
   

   	Grade of Starting Student
   Scenario	1st Grade	2nd Grade	3rd Grade	4th Grade	5th Grade	6th Grade	7th Grade	8th Grade	9th Grade
   1								LC I & II
   2	Prima Latina			Latina Christiana I
   3
   4							Henle Latin I

   
   

   	Use Prima Latina for the year
   	Use Latina Christiana I for the year
   	Consider completing Latina Christiana I and moving on to part or all of Latina Christiana II in one year
   	Start Henle Latin I but expect to complete less than the first two units in one year
   	Complete the first two units or more of Henle Latin I for the year.  *

   
   *Henle Latin I almost always takes more than a year to complete.  In the scope and sequence article, which outlines the ideal Latin course, we recommend using it to teach Latin grammar for 4 years.