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Create anagrams with the letters composing the names “Teodoricus ? and “Theodoricus ?.
OBJECTIVES
to imagine a funny situation rallying the children’s interest in the character of the Goth King Theodoric
to enrich the vocabulary
to develop the creative capacities in the linguistic field
SKILLS
to use a dictionary
to write short texts
to take an interest in King Theodoric’s personality in a playful and poetic way
MATERIALS
Notebook “made ? using cardboard, sheets of paper of different colours, sheets of transparent paper bound by wool threads and coloured ribbons
Cardboard letters composing the two forms of Theodoric’s name
Dictionaries
Pencils and felt-tip pens of different colours
REFERENCES
The Theodoric Park in Ravenna
The Latin name of the King in its two Latin forms “Teodoricus ? and “Theodoricus ?
Various documents giving out information about King Theodoric’s name
PROCEDURES
Hand out the letters to the children by groups of two and explain the instructions
Create anagrams using the letters of the King’s name. Make the children find orally a few examples then let them manage. Look for the larger combination making sense by using all the letters from the Latin name. Use the dictionary to identify new terms.
Share the created works
Each group suggests to the others their combinations, and then copies them out in their notebook adding other groups’ combinations.
Use the anagrams found by the pupils
Using the anagrams found by the pupils, create some acrostics, non-sense, epigrams, trying to underscore the King’s physical, psychological and political features.
Put into light the works in order to read and assess the texts produced.
FOLLOW-ON-ACTIVITIES
Go to the National Museum of Ravenna. To confirm the written form of the King’s Latin name you can look at the fistulae plumbae (fragments of leaded pipes from the aqueduct, done up as new by the Goth King) and the tails of the coins of Theodoric’s time.
ASSESSMENT
Capacity for the pupil :
to be interested in the activity
to use the dictionary
to create linked up and meaningful texts
Anna Bolognesi Professeur d’Italien et d’Histoire Ravenna Italie