an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

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Markos
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an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Markos »

Below is a story in Ancient Greek that I composed in the form of an “embedded reading.” An embedded reading is similar to the “leveled readings” that I have been doing on the other thread, but here the idea is that the base level is repeated and contained within, rather than paraphrased, in each subsequent version of the story. You can read more about the method here:

http://embeddedreading.com/about/

“Throwing the Book at Her,” an embedded reading in Ancient Greek, by Markos, based on a story by Susan Jeffers.

Base reading:
ὁ παῖς ἔχει σφαῖραν. ἡ κόρη ἔχει βιβλίον. ὁ παῖς θέλει βάλλειν. ἡ κόρη θέλει ἀναγινώσκειν. ὁ παῖς λαμβάνει τὸ βιβλίον καὶ τὸ βιβλίον πίπτει εἰς τὴν γῆν. ἡ κόρη λάμβανει τὴν σφαῖραν καὶ γράφει λόγους ἐπἰ τῆς σφαίρας.

νῦν ὁ παῖς βάλλει τὸ βιβλίον καὶ ἡ κόρη ἀναγινώσκει τὴν σφαῖραν.

Version 2:
παῖς τις βλέπει κόρην τινα. ὁ μὲν παῖς ἔχει σφαῖραν. ἡ δὲ κόρη ἔχει βιβλίον. ὁ μὲν παῖς κακός ἐστιν. θέλει οὖν βάλλειν. ἡ δὲ κόρη ἀγαθή ἐστιν. θέλει οὖν ἀναγινώσκειν. ὁ δὲ παῖς λέγει «θέλεις τὴν σφαῖραν βάλλειν?» ἡ δὲ κόρη λέγει «οὐχί.» ἡ δὲ κόρη λέγει «θέλεις ἀναγινώσκειν τὸ βιβλίον?» ὁ δὲ παῖς λέγει «ούχί.» ὀργίζεται οὖν ὁ παῖς καὶ λαμβάνει τὸ βιβλίον ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς κόρης. τὸ δὲ βιβλίον πίπτει εἰς τὴν γῆν. ὀργίζεται οὖν ἡ κόρη καὶ λαμβάνει τὴν σφαῖραν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ παιδός. ἡ δὲ κόρη γράφει λόγους ἐπἰ τῆς σφαίρας.

νῦν δὲ ὁ μἐν παῖς τὸ βιβλίον βάλλει, ἡ δὲ κόρη τὴν σφαῖραν ἀναγινώσκει.

Version 3:
ῥάθυμος παῖς τις ἀντᾷ κόρῃ τινι σώφρονι. ὁ μὲν παῖς ἔχει ἐν τῇ χειρὶ σφαῖραν. ἡ δὲ κόρη ἔχει βιβλίον τε καὶ κάλαμον. ὁ μὲν παῖς, φιλοπαίγμων ὤν, μάλιστα θέλει βάλλειν τὴν σφαῖραν μετὰ τῆς κόρης. ἡ δὲ κόρη, φιλομαθὴς οὖσα, θέλει λίαν τὸ βιβλίον μετὰ τοῦ παιδὸς ἀναγινώσκειν. ὁ δὲ κακὸς παῖς λέγει «βάλλωμεν!» ἡ δὲ ἀγαθὴ κόρη λέγει «οὐχί! ἀναγινώσκωμεν δή.» ὀργιζόμενος οὖν, ὁ παῖς λαμβάνει τε ῥίπτει τε τὸ βιβλίον ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς κόρης. τὸ δὲ βιβλίον πίπτει εἰς τὴν γῆν παρὰ τοῖς τῆς κόρης ποσῖν. ὀργιζομένη οὖν, ἡ κόρη εὐθὺς λαμβάνει τὴν σφαῖραν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ παιδός. ἡ δὲ κόρη γράφει τῷ καλάμῳ λόγους πολλοὺς ἐπἰ τῆς τοῦ παιδὸς σφαίρας.

γελοῖον οὖν γίγνεται . νῦν γὰρ ὁ μὲν παῖς, ὥσπερ σφαῖραν, τὸ βιβλίον βάλλει, ἡ δὲ κόρη τὴν σφαῖραν, ὥσπερ βιβλίον, ἀναγινώσκει.
Last edited by Markos on Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
οὐ μανθάνω γράφειν, ἀλλὰ γράφω τοῦ μαθεῖν.

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Σαυλος
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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Σαυλος »

Mark, this is brilliant... your best leveled or embedded reading ever! And the story is great. Thanks to Susan Jeffers!

What really makes me excited about this particular reading is that it is truly at beginner level. There is such a dearth of material out there at beginning level. We have all sorts of readers that are supposedly beginner (Greek Boy at Home, Thrasymachus, Moss, etc), but I sure don't see it an beginning level. None of them make any attempt at shielding the beginning learner from having to know far too much vocabulary. This reading does use limited vocabulary, without shielding grammar (which is the way it should be!).

Thank you very much. What's your next story? Does Susan have another dozen or so of these stories?
I will babble until I talk. ετι λαλαγω...

Pros
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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Pros »

Since you mentioned Thrasymachus, is there an answer key for this book? There seems to nothing online in my searches. I just don't feel confident enough to do the exercises without an answer key. Thanks for your reply.

pros

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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Σαυλος »

Check this site for exercises and answer keys. I'm not sure if they match the book, ουκ σχεδον εστιν βιβλιον μου. http://www.vroma.org/~abarker/thrascontents.html
I will babble until I talk. ετι λαλαγω...

Pros
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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Pros »

Thank you for your reply but the above website lacks an answer key for this book. Perhaps someone reading this message is a Greek teacher at a school who can get an answer key to Thrasymachus or at least the information I need to purchase one. I am not a college student, just a do it yourself learner. Thanks for your help in advance. Pros

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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Σαυλος »

Markos wrote:Version 3:
ῥάθυμος παῖς τις ἀντᾷ

Maybe a week ago, I re-read the stories above. Then I came across this, "ἀνήρ τις κατήντησεν εἰς πόλιν," and recognized it as κατα and ανταω in composition. I hadn't known the word. These sorts of experiences are confirming one of the sub-points in my blossoming theory about Greek pedagogy.


"Vocabulary should be added through reading. The best reading is embedded stories."

I will babble until I talk. ετι λαλαγω...

mwh
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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by mwh »

From your Version 3:
ὀργιζόμενος οὖν, ὁ παῖς τε λαμβάνει τε ῥίπτει τὸ βιβλίον ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς κόρης.
You're forgetting "te" is postpositive. You mean λαμβάνει τε ῥίπτει τε. But I think what you really mean is
o pais lambanei te to biblion ek ths xeiros ths korhs kai riptei (which would be better however without the "te").
(What you really want is an aorist participle, labwn, o pais labwn to biblion ek ths xeiros ths korhs riptei, and you can't really write Greek without aorist participles, e.g. your orgizomenos really should be aorist - but I guess you're avoiding aorists).

Next sentence, τὸ δὲ βιβλίον πίπτει εἰς τὴν γῆν εἰς τοὺς τῆς κόρης ποσῖν.
εἰς τοὺς τῆς κόρης ποσῖν is meaningless, presumably you mean "podas" (accusative to agree with tous). But that would mean "into the girl's feet." What you want is "para tois ths korhs posin" "at/by/beside the girl's feet."

A smaller point: ὁ μὲν παῖς ἔχει ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ σφαῖραν.
Greek would not have the "autou" (unless it was someone else's hand!)

A great exercise, but only (of course) if the Greek is correct, so I hope you won't mind my interfering like this.

Markos
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Re: an "embedded reading" in Ancient Greek

Post by Markos »

mwh wrote:A great exercise, but only (of course) if the Greek is correct, so I hope you won't mind my interfering like this.
No, I don't mind the interference at all, and I very much appreciate the corrections. I edited the text to reflect your corrections. All of my readings no doubt have very many mistakes, and I am producing them not as finished products, but really to be a model of the sorts of resources that I think would be helpful. In an ideal world, those resources would be peer-reviewed and corrected and improved along the lines that you have done. εὐχαριστῶ σοι!

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