I’m pleased to announce that the BigBooks can now be printed on both sides of the page and still be organized in their proper spots in student notebooks. Almost since the beginning of LivelyLatin in 2007, I’ve had requests for this update, so I’m happy to serve the students and the environment by allowing you the opportunity to save paper!
This was a major project for me over the summer, as it entailed rearranging the pages so that, for instance, a grammar exercise on the front is followed by a grammar exercise on the back, a history story on the front has a history story or activity on the back, etc.
All this rearranging necessitated creating more content, 28 new pages in BB1 and 33 in BB2. Some of the pages are added grammar or vocabulary reinforcement activities to help students practice their understanding and skills. With the history pages, it It was a chance for me to delve further into some aspects of Roman past and make some connections that I had not before. Examples include:
- The story of Masinissa, the Numidian prince who allied himself with Scipio Africanus the Elder (Conqueror of Hannibal), and the sad fate of his true love, the Carthiginian princess Sophonisbe (p. 329, BB1)
- Julius Caesar’s descriptions of the strange religious practices of Gauls and some of the unusual animals found in the German forest (pp. 244 & 268, BB2)
- The loving (if surprising) marriage of Caesar’s daughter Julia and his contemporary Pompey the Great, who was first his political ally, then his enemy, after her death (p.300, BB2)
- Cato the Younger’s steadfast opposition to Caesar unto death, which originated in his rock solid foundation of morals and unwavering love for Rome with her legacy of republican freedom (pp. 310-12, BB2)
- Cato’s daughter Portia would marry Marcus Brutus, the friend of Caesar who would deliver the “unkindest cut of all,” of “Et tu, Brute?” fame (p. 358, BB2); this Brutus was also the inspiration for another famous assassin, John Wilkes Booth
Ok, ok, there’s more but you probably get the idea. I had a lot of fun this summer lurking around ancient Rome.
Note: Those of you who purchased the first editions of BB1 and 2 will also have access to the newly organized books. You can use your same enrollment key for the 2nd Edition Online Classrooms to download lessons which print on both sides and include the new content.
Just the new content pages will also be available in a file in the General Resources section of the 1st Edition Online Classrooms.