A-Level Latin Activities: Fun Ways to Build Fluency and Background for OCR
- Ana Martin
- Jul 16
- 9 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Are you going to start Latin A-Level, or moving from AS to A2 Latin, and looking for activities to bring the specification to life? In this blog post, you will find a selection of what to read, watch, make and do, and even visit.
You do not need to start by memorising the A-Level OCR vocabulary list, or sluggishly making your way through past papers. There are many other ways to learn and prepare to build a strong foundation:
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A note of caution: as happens with many lists, this one is, by nature, unfair and — I will not hide it —based on my personal taste. Please just use this blog post to jump into the endless pool of resources waiting for you out there!
A-Level Companion Things to watch: Movies and Documentaries
This post contains affiliate links, which help me keep producing free resources at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, but I only ever recommend products that I use and believe are worthwhile.
There are plenty of excellent quality documentaries and classically inspired movies. Just please, please, please check the age rating first!
Having said that, here is an eclectic list of my favourites. Drop me a line in the comments if you think I have unfairly left out a classic!
Christopher Nolan's Odyssey.
I know what you are thinking: isn't that for the Greek crowd? Absolutely not. The Odyssey was loved and adopted by the Romans, and what most people imagine as the Trojan War today is actually drawn from Book 2 of the Aeneid.
If you want to understand Roman literature, and particularly the unseen author Ovid, you must know your Trojan War inside out. You can read more about the place of Nolan's Odyssey in the literary and cinematic tradition in my review of the movie.
Netflix Barbarians
A masterpiece that brings together learning about the Romans with building your Latin fluency, as the Roman characters speak in flawless Latin. You can read more about it in my review of the Barbarians TV show on Netflix.
Gladiator (1) by Ridley Scott
This is an essential classic. I recommend all my students watch it. It is very loosely based on historical facts, but it is mostly outstanding fiction that brings to the fore the tension between Republic and Empire, and between the roles of men and women, in a credible and stimulating way.
The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson
For a full Latin immersion experience paired with geopolitical and religious insights, this is an absolute must. Note that the level of violence, as can only befit the story, is severe, but this is what we are dealing with when we deal with classical texts.
HBO's Rome
Whereas the series (and book) I, Claudius is a great way to immerse yourself in the world of the early empire, HBO's Rome is a visual triumph and, in my opinion, a great way to get familiar with the Age of Augustus.
Other things to watch for A-Level Latin
There is a broad range of movies, documentaries, series and videos which make for excellent background preparation to read classical literature.
Here are, in no particular order, some examples:
Documentaries
Eight Days that Made Rome with Bettany Hughes
Pompeii's Secrets Revealed, with Mary Beard
Meet the Romans, with Mary Beard
Top 10 Treasures of Pompeii, with Bettany Hughes
Ancient Greece, the Greatest Show on Earth, with Michael Scott
The BBC has a whole dedicated page to Roman themed content, and my recommendation is to start with Julius Caesar: the Making of a Dictator.
Other movies to help with cultural background (and even Latin!)
Quo Vadis
Ben Hur
Spartacus
Cleopatra
Agora (a firm favourite here!)
Conclave (apart from being an amazing movie, it comes with a very healthy amount of Vatican Latin)
Making A-Level Vocabulary Learning a Routine
Whatever you do to prepare for A-Level Latin, going beyond the AS vocabulary list and starting to build your own vocabulary in a natural way are essential if you want to become a fluent reader (and translator).
Above you can donwload my lis of ideas to help any vocabulary work stick. But this still does not solve the problem of where to start building vocabulary.
Every student's vocabulary journey is different, and I highly recommend you select vocabulary from your reading and vocabulary testers and add it to a notebook where you keep the words you are currently learning and revisiting at regular intervals. The most beneficial vocabulary list you will find is one you have curated yourself.
Books to read alongside A-Level Latin
This will really depend on your interests, but I suggest reading at least one (or sections of several) from each of these categories as a starting point:
Historical Fiction about the Ancient World for A-Level Latin students
Below are some personal favourites of mine. There is a mix of Roman history and mythology together with Greek mythology but, as I mentioned above, you should consider Greek literature as a foundational element of Roman literature, and essential to be able to read it.
David Malouf’s An Imaginary Life follows Ovid into exile and invites reflection on otherness. By the same author, Ransom gives us a beautiful new version of Priam's recovery of Hector's body. Both books are essential for those studying English and with an interest in postcolonial literature.
Robert Graves’ I Claudius and Claudius the God for the imperial family
Robert Harris’ Pompeii and Cicero Trilogy for a historically accurate and thrilling approach to the political and social world of the Romans
Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian for those with an interest in philosophy
Calasso’s The Marriage of Cadmos and Harmony revisits a large amount of Greek myths in a very Ovidian way.
Pat Barker's The Women of Troy; you can read my review for the Journal of Classics Teaching in the Cambridge University Press website
Counting the Stars by Helen Dunmore is one of the few historical novels that deals with the life and times of Catullus from a Romantic perspective.
The big names, in no particular order
A note on translations: some are more beautiful, some are more accessible, some are more accurate, some are works of literature in themselves… The best way to choose a translation is to browse through a few (Amazon is very good for that these days, you can download a free sample). Some publishing houses have good reputation and rightly so, as is the case with Penguin, OUP or CUP. For all the links provided, I have chosen a translation I personally like; the options, however, are many!
Homer: Do not feel that you need to tackle the Iliad or Odyssey from start to end. Bearing the story in mind, just choose the books you might find more interesting for a start. There is something to suit all tastes: war, love, the supernatural, death, adventures, politics, philosophy… You name it!
Virgil: Obviously, the Aeneid, but why not look at his other works? The Georgics are surprisingly delightful.
Thucydides and Herodotus: again, you can pick on the index the passages that you are most interested in, e.g. the plague of Athens or the travels of the Fish-Eaters.
Catullus: the rock star of the Republican era. You could accompany a reading of Catullus with some Propertius and Tibullus to get a good idea of the course of elegiac poetry before Ovid.
Ovid: any of the works will be a pleasure to read and you will open a door to the rich social, political and religious – but not so pious! world of the Romans. It is also, perhaps ironically, the most accessible gateway to Greek mythology. I would start with the Metamorphoses, but there is plenty of fun to be had with the Art of Love, The Cures for Love and Treatments for the Feminine Face - this particular edition is also a joy to hold in your hands!
Tacitus: marvel at his skill and get immersed in a world of political turmoil, dark motives and moral decline. The Annals are a must-read, but they are not the easiest to read in one go. I suggest you choose your episodes according to what interests you or choose instead one of the shorter works, such as Agricola and Germania.
Horace: carpe diem! Find it out from the man himself.
Greek Tragedy: explore the human soul through reworkings of myths by the great three playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The best starting points are probably Sophocles’ Oedipus King and Euripides’ Medea, but do not be afraid to look through the extant plays and choose one that appeals to your interests, including the much-feared Aeschylus.
Not so big names, still monumental works:
Hesiod’s Theogony: origins of the universe and the gods, along with most foundational myths, you could not ask for more!
Apuleius’ The Golden Ass: let yourself be surprised by this very unusual early novel where the protagonist gets himself turned into an ass and experiences one of the most surreal odysseys that Antiquity has left for us to enjoy.
Lucian of Samosata: You will be surprised at how contemporary his writing sounds. In his True Stories, you will find the very first account of a trip to the Moon, Star Wars included. Other works, for example, the Dialogue of the Dead, cannot be read without loud laughter.
Background works:
This is an ever-growing list that spans from very popular history books to more specialised academic works. Choose what works best for you and make sure you take some notes as you read along.
· OUP Very Short Introductions have very rigorous and amenable introductions to most topics of interest for a classicist. Some examples: Classical Mythology, Roman Britain, The Classics, Ancient Greece, The Roman Empire, Archaeology, Classical Literature. I also highly recommend Homer, for which I recently wrote a review in the Classics for All website.
· Look for the great champions who are bringing scholarship to readers of all levels and create highly enjoyable books: Mary Beard (SPQR), Paul Cartledge (The Spartans), Helen Morales (Antigone Rising), Tom Holland (Rubicon), Robin Lane Fox (The Classical World), Charlotte Higgins (It's all Greek to Me), etc
· Delve into one of the larger, more academic works of reference: the Cambridge Companions (Ovid, Virgil, etc), Zanker’s The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, Harrison’s Companion to Latin Literature, etc. Your local library or the school’s library will have a good selection to match your interests.
Things to make and do
The following actions will give you some inspiration:
Create a personal timeline of the ancient world to place the events that are relevant to what you are studying. Here is an example I have created for the background of the Aeneid, but you can also do the same for Pro Roscio or Tacitus' XIV.
Buy a gorgeous notebook and pen to keep your vocabulary list.
Read a bit about Roman cooking with my Ultimate Guide to Eat like a Roman for Day and go all hands on with some experimental archaeology.
Research what archaelogical sites are near you: if you are anywhere in the area of the former Roman Empire, this should not be too difficult to find, but you can also visit an archaeology museum if you are abroad. There are stunning collections all around the world (think The Met in the USA or the Glyptoteket in Denmark.
What to browse
There are many courses, podcasts, and YouTube channels that can help you on your Latin journey. As there is limited space here, I will just leave a starter one for each category:
Podcasts in and about Latin
There are tonnes of materials to listen in Latin online. For videos targetting OCR vocabulary and set text authors, check out my YouTube channel and then YouTube will recommend you similar ones too:
Podcasts about the ancient world
Again, the possibilities are pretty much endless and ever-changing. A great starting point is the BBC's In Our Time. I also recommend the videos in Massolit, which cover everything you need to get started on the set texts, including Cicero, Tacitus, Virgil and even Apuleius.
Online Courses
There is a great variety of courses online that are great not only to learn more about Latin and the ancient world but also to develop your interests and, why not, build on your supercurriculars in preparation for your personal statement and UCAS application.
If you are interested in Linguistics, my number one recommendation is the Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics by the University of Leiden. If you prefer to develop your knowledge of material sources, FutureLearn has a good selection of archaeology and history courses.
A note on my A-Level Latin Course for OCR students
Many students find it difficult to cover the required syllabus only with the lessons they receive in school. If you need support but are not sure about the options available, you can book a call with me to see if my A-Level Latin Course is the right choice for your case.
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