Et tu? How Would You Choose?

by Jennifer Jordan, Latin Teacher

For the past month, our 8th grade students have been practicing diligently for the National Latin Exam (most likely, their last time taking it) by completing past exams and reviewing Latin II concepts. To take a little break and honor that famous Roman dictator, Julius Caesar, on the anniversary of his death, we played a Choose Your Own Adventure game. Two creative Latin teachers (not me) designed a slideshow called “Beware the Ides of March” with background information about Caesar’s rise to power and choices for students to make as they navigated the game. All of the slides were in Latin, of course, so we had to rely on our vocabulary knowledge. Students took on the role of Caesar and decided if they were going to return home to Calpurnia or go into Rome and attend a meeting called by the senators. One of these choices led to a long, quiet life and the other, a not-so-peaceful death. I hope that learning about Caesar’s assassination in a unique format was both interesting and a quick break from studying.  Strawberry Twizzlers (representing Caesar’s blood) added a little excitement too.