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Latin Aqueduct Projects
Years 7 and 8 have recently completed their cultural assessment projects in Latin. Year 7's project was the building of a model or the 3D drawing of an urban Roman villa. Year 8's project was the building of a model of a Roman aqueduct or a 3D drawing of Roman thermae or baths.
The culture of the country or area which shares a common language is now rightly seen as an integral part of any language learning. Language is not used in isolation from the culture around it. Language shapes the culture and vice versa.
Many students enjoy the opportunity to use their ingenuity and make something with their hands, much like the Romans. Others find this difficult but the effort to draw and label is a good exercise in fine motor skills and in reinforcing vocabulary. Some of the students have surpassed themselves in these projects. James Brown and Noah Daniel from Year 8 produced aqueducts which actually transport water. Both did this by incorporating small electronic water pumps in their design. We know that the Romans did not have this luxury but seeing the aqueducts transporting water brings home the wonderful engineering capabilities of the Romans.
Matthew Furcciniti's drawing of the thermae was particularly good. Nathan Haryanto built his aqueduct using Lego and his work is the envy of more than one Primary student. The Year 7 students took more to the drawing but there were still some remarkable models of Roman villas that showed great interior detail. Christopher Kang's model was the most detailed and he included an assessment journal that looked like a scroll.
And on a final note, Year 8 is now in the depths of their study of the Roman army. Pictured are some fine specimens of Roman legionaries.
- Martin Fitzgerald, Latin Teacher
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