ABOUT OUR SITE AND AEQUORA
The Uniondale Public Library is located on Long Island, NY. At the Uniondale Public Library, we are proud to partner with The Paideia Institute and offer Aequora as an after-school program.
Aequora is a K-8 curriculum focusing on literacy education via Latin. Led by independent site-coordinators, Aequora has expanded to over 30 sites in 12 states throughout the continental U.S.
At Uniondale, we have chosen Aequora because we believe in the benefits of a classical education. Through The Paideia Institute’s Aequora curriculum, our volunteers harness the classical languages’ power to improve literacy, cultural understanding, and equity in education — all while making the ancient Mediterranean world fun and accessible to students of all backgrounds.
Aequora is shaped by a belief that everyone should have access to Latin and by a vision of Classics as an inclusive, diverse, and socially engaged field. Our textbook, Aequora: Teaching Literacy with Latin, introduces the basics of Latin vocabulary and grammar, Roman culture and mythology, and connections between Latin, English, and Spanish, all through games and activities designed to show students that learning Latin is fun!
To learn more about The Paideia Institute’s Aequora program, its groundbreaking curriculum, or how we can work together, click Partner with Us.
HOW WE TEACH AEQUORA
At Uniondale Public Library, we feature small classroom settings. This enhances the power of our curriculum, allows for a high degree of interaction and collaboration between teachers and students, and gives our volunteer teachers rich opportunities for mentoring and leadership. It creates a small community of Latin speakers to have fun with as we explore the ancient past.
During our Aequora sessions, volunteers adopt an ‘active reading’ style. We encourage the students to ask questions, and discuss the material as they learn it, with the understanding that they may be quizzed later. When we begin teaching the vocabulary, we help the students with pronunciation, and explain some derivatives in English and Spanish. At the end of each lesson, we usually come together into one group and play games or activities to give the students an opportunity to apply what they have learned that day.
We periodically review the material through games such as Latin Jeopardy. At the Uniondale Aequora site, we hold after-school Aequora sessions every Friday during the school term in the Story Time Room, 4-5 pm. Our program has recently transitioned from the one at the Hempstead Boys and Girls Club to Uniondale. So, if you or your student liked Aequora there, we would love to see you again at our new location! To lend your support for the Classics and public literacy by donating to the Paideia Institute, click Support Aequora.
HOW TO VOLUNTEER
The Aequora program is sustained by enthusiastic volunteers all over the country who care about making a difference and want to fight educational inequality through sharing their love of Latin. We are always looking for new volunteers!
To learn more about volunteering at Uniondale, or if you have questions about how you can get involved, use the Volunteer button below.
SITE COORDINATORS
Our site coordinator, Isaac Hoffman, is a student at Hofstra University, where Aequora has been adopted as an Internship fo Classics students, under the direction of Professor Ilaria Marchesi. Isaac is a Classics and Latin double major at Hofstra. Ilaria is Director of the Classics Program in the Department of Comparative Literature and Languages at Hofstra, where she teaches Latin and Greek languages at all levels.
Click below to learn more about Isaac and Ilaria!
