Latin I: Henle
2025-2026
"I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar… because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labor and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent.” -Dorothy Sayers
Latin I will use Units 1 through 6 of Fr. Henle's Latin First Year text to establish a basic but solid foundation for the Latin student. The text begins with a focus on nouns and their attributes of gender, number, case and declension. Verb study introduces conjugation, person, number, tense, and voice in the indicative mood. At the end of the year, the subjunctive mood is briefly introduced. Latin I also includes adjectives, pronouns, ablative constructions, interrogatives, idioms, and, of course, vocabulary study.
Because the approach is grammatical, students tend to gain much clarity and insight into the English language as well as Latin. Within just the first week, students are translating complete sentences. The goal by the end of Latin I is for students to be able to translate complex English sentences with multiple clauses into Latin and to be able to read Latin passages with comprehension.
A bonus to using Henle's approach is his use of Catholic themes in sentence and passage translations along with explanations of Latin Mass parts.
Additionally, most weeks will include a "de Roma" assignment to introduce aspects of the history, culture, geography, and mythology of Ancient Rome. Along with gaining insight into the culture in which Latin was the primary language for centuries, this helps the students prepare for those portions of the National Latin Exam (NLE) which the students will take in the spring semester.
> Latin II will be offered again in 2026-27.
HOMEWORK
Students should expect to spend about 1 hour per homework day on course work. Depending on the student, this could be more during major test weeks.
PARENT RESPONSIBILITY
Parents will need to be involved with the student for about 15-20 minutes per homework day to be available for students to complete oral translations and to check daily work for errors so that the student does not *learn* the errors.
COURSE FEE: $350 pay-in-full / $384 payment plan
SUPPLY FEE: $25 (includes estimated NLE fee)
GRADE LEVEL: 9th - 12th
PREREQUISITES: Highly recommended but not required: Intro to Latin or equivalent
CREDIT HOURS: 1 credit
MIN/MAX: 3 minimum, 10 maximum
TEXTS*:
- First Year Latin by Henle
- First Year Latin Answer Key by Henle
- Latin Grammar by Henle
- Latin I, II, & III Answer Key for Selected Exercises from First & Second Year Latin by Krestyn
- Guide to the National Latin Exam by Memoria Press - Intermediate Level
Additional supplies*:
- Folder with brads and pockets and some loose leaf paper
- Dry erase markers (red, orange, green, blue, purple, black)
- Pen
- Sticky tabs to label/bookmark pages in folder (optional)
- Optional Latin dictionary (https://www.online-latin-dictionary.com/ works well too and is free)
*Please do not purchase any texts or supplies until you receive the officially, updated book & supply list after registration.