1. While we note how the study of the Classics can support Common Core standards, the approaches and activities can, of course, be used in any Latin classroom.
Classical to the Core
Latin as the Lynchpin to the Goals of the Standards
Melanie C. Stowell (Arlington, VA, public Schools)
Ivy J. Livingston (Harvard University)

2. Imperium Romanum
It is always a good idea to introduce students early on both to the geographic location and to the scope of the Roman Empire.

3. In this, you would mirror the beginning of many of the textbooks out there, with practice sentences like these.
Roma est in Italiā.

4. Italia
est
in Europā.
Roma est in Italiā.

5. Britannia est insula.

6. Gallia est in _______ Gallia est in Europā.
Once the concept has been introduced, students can quite quickly be expected to supply the information. And you can expand on the idea by asking questions like “Quid est Gallia (hodie) Anglice?”
Gallia est in _______
Gallia est in Europā.

7. Gallia est provincia Romana.
You can move quickly to noun-adjective agreement.
Gallia est provincia Romana.

8. Sed Aegyptus est provincia Romana. Aegyptus non est in Europā.
Apart from the obvious benefits of students learning geographical names and locations, we want them to appreciate that the sources that we will be looking at come from all over the empire. We’re turning to Egypt first specifically to lead into the next segment.
Sed Aegyptus est provincia Romana.
Aegyptus non est in Europā.

9. Marcus Antonius est Romanus.
As mentioned in our introduction, one of the sources of Roman cultural knowledge (an often under-appreciated source) is coins. We’ll begin by activating students prior knowledge by focusing on familiar figures. Grammatically, this allows us to move into the second declension.
Silver denarius. 32 BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.5 license.
Public domain via Wikimedia.

11. Cleopatra non est Romana.
The right Mark Antony is known in conjunction with Cleopatra, but of course she is not Roman.
One nice thing you can point out here is that the coin is in Greek and the letter C is transliterated with a kappa (not that sigma or whatever would have been an option here).
Greek hemiobol. 32/31 BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.
Marble bust. 40–30 BC. Altes Museum Berlin. Public domain via Wikimedia.

12. Cleopatra non est regina Romana. Estne Cleopatra regina Romana?
Aegyptus
For a little oral practice, you can ask simple questions such as ...
Cleopatra non est regina Romana.
Estne Cleopatra regina Romana?
Cleopatra est regina Aegypta.

13. Cleopatra est amica Marci Antonii.
Marcus Antonius
Whether or not your text has covered the genitive, this gives you an opportunity to introduce it inductively. And this isn’t a bad idea since it is part of the NLE syllabus for the first year.
Cleopatra est amica Marci Antonii.
Cleopatra est amica Marc__ Antoni__.
Marcus Antonius est amicus Cleopatrae.
Marcus Antonius est amicus Cleopatr__.
Silver denarius. 32 BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.5 license.

14. Vir est _________________________.
This one is sort of a trick question. The students should be able to pick out the name of M. Antonius. And we sort of set them up to say that the woman on the reverse is Cleopatra.
Vir est _________________________.
Femina est _____________________.
Cistophoric tetradrachm. 39 BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.5 license.

15. Femina non est Cleopatra.X
But in fact she is Octavia. Quis est Octavia?
Femina non est Cleopatra.
Femina est Octavia.

16. Octavia est uxor Marci Antonii. Octavia est uxor Marc__ Antoni__.
His fourth wife, sister of Octavian, whom Antony abandoned in favor of Cleopatra. Octavia was one of the first Roman women to have coins with her image.
Octavia est uxor Marci Antonii.
Octavia est uxor Marc__ Antoni__.
Cistophoric tetradrachm. 39 BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.5 license.

17. Cleopatra est Aegypta. Octavia est Romana. Octavia est Roman__.
This exercise primes students to think about different nationalities within the empire.
And what was one of the classic ways in which Romans publicly differentiated themselves from other nationalities? By their naming conventions (see part 2).
Cleopatra est Aegypta.
Octavia est Romana.
Octavia est Roman__.