Latin Chat Mat: "What animals do you like?" Classroom Conversation

Students use Latin sentence starters to have a conversation about their interests, specifically what animals they like or don't like. The chat mat has a helpful picture for each response. This is a great way to build community and get to know your students while they use the target language.

Suggestions for how to use the chat mat:

• To facilitate a teacher-led check-in:
  • As students line up to enter your room, hold up the chat mat and ask them the question, offering them a chance to look at the options and respond in Latin.
• To complete a brief conversation in student pairs:
  • I’ve included a guided conversation handout that you can print and give to students. It walks them through what partner 1 and partner 2 should say to each other, prompting them to use the chat mat for their response options.
• To start or end class:
  • Students can use the chat mat independently as a written warm-up or exit ticket.

Included:

• A chat mat that asks "quae animalia tibi placent?" (What animals do you like?) and "quae animalia tibi non placent?" (What animals don't you like?) with student-friendly images showing 17 possible responses for animals (lions, crocodiles, dogs, birds, snakes, etc.)
• A guided dialogue handout to accompany the chat mat
• An English translation for all Latin terms used
• Notes to the teacher to help with implementation
• A black-and-white version

Material Covered:

• placere with "tibi" and "mihi"
• animal vocabulary (first, second, and third declension nominative plural nouns)