Vocabulary Acquisition & VERBA Trials¶
Operation LAPIS takes a research-grounded approach to vocabulary. Rather than leaving acquisition entirely to incidental exposure, the curriculum builds a structured, cumulative vocabulary program on top of the narrative, one that draws from the same high-frequency Latin words students will encounter not just in LAPIS but across their entire Latin-reading lives.
The Problem Worth Solving¶
Comprehensible Input theory requires that learners know roughly 95% of the words in a text before they can read it with genuine understanding. Novice learners have a small acquired vocabulary; almost every compelling Latin text sits above their threshold. Meanwhile, Krashen notes that most vocabulary is acquired incidentally through reading, which means students need vocabulary to read, and they need to read to get vocabulary.
The research offers a way through this. Borawski (2019) found that explicit vocabulary instruction can double retention rates, that novice learners benefit from teacher-structured approaches, and that regular interval testing aids acquisition. Keeline (2023) reinforces this in the specific context of Latin: having the top 1,000--3,000 most frequent Latin words available translates directly to understanding 80% or more of most Latin texts. The takeaway is practical: intentional vocabulary development, anchored to a frequency list, measurably accelerates reading ability.
The LAPIS Approach¶
LAPIS selects five vocabulary words per episode, drawn from the DCC Latin Core Vocabulary List, a frequency-ranked list of roughly 1,000 Latin headwords that together account for a very high percentage of words in Latin literature. Over 28 missions and three episodes each, a student who completes the full operation will have encountered 420 explicitly-taught words, all anchored to high-frequency Latin.
The selection is not arbitrary. Each episode's five words are chosen by cross-referencing the DCC list against the vocabulary that actually appears in that episode's Latin texts. Students acquire the most important words for the texts they are reading, which are simultaneously the most important words for Latin reading in general.
Words are introduced in their student-facing form (3rd singular for verbs, nominative singular for nouns) with a short, clean gloss matched to that form. Verbs use "she/he [verb]s" consistently so students always know exactly what form they are seeing.
The VERBA Browser¶
The VERBA browser at lapis.practomime.com/verba is the student-facing vocabulary tool. It is a static, cumulative word list that grows with the curriculum.
Key features:
- Episode selector. Set the ceiling to any episode; the browser shows all words introduced at or before that point. Useful for matching the list to where a class currently is in the curriculum.
- Full list / Recent 100 toggle. The rolling window shows the 100 most recently introduced words (the active working set for the current assessment cycle). Before the list reaches 100 words, the browser shows all words and notes the actual count.
- A--Z / By episode sort. Alphabetical for quick lookup; by episode to see the words in the order they were introduced.
- Quizlet export. Generates a tab-delimited block in the correct Quizlet import format (term → definition, one per line). Copy and paste directly into Quizlet's import screen.
- POS color coding. Each word is tagged by part of speech with a consistent color system, matching the color coding used in the CODEX KEY-TEXTs.
The Quizlet set feeds directly into Blooket: import the Quizlet set and Blooket auto-generates game-ready practice from it. No separate Blooket build step is needed.
Vocabulary Trials¶
Vocabulary Trials are the assessment side of the system. The structure is simple and cumulative:
- ~10 words per trial, drawn from the most recently introduced episode set
- Cumulative: each trial adds 10 words and retains all prior words, up to the rolling maximum
- Rolling maximum of 100 words: once the list exceeds 100 words, the oldest words cycle off. Trial 11, for example, covers words from episodes 2 to 11, not 1 to 11. Students see each word roughly ten times before it cycles off the active assessment list.
- Practice in Blooket before the trial: both individual episode sets and cumulative sets are available
- Assessment via Google Forms: auto-graded, one point per word, short answer format. Students give the English meaning for each Latin form.
- Retakes optional: the low-stakes structure (just 10 new words) means class averages tend to be high and retakes are a support mechanism, not a pressure valve
The rolling window matters. Students who know they will eventually stop seeing a word have a different relationship to it than students who fear it might appear on a final exam two years from now. Cycling words off the active list rewards genuine retention and prevents the list from becoming unmanageable.
Running Trials with LAPIS¶
The LAPIS VERBA browser is designed around the same episode-by-episode structure as the trials. Use the episode selector to match the browser to the current trial window, then export to Quizlet to generate your Blooket practice set and Google Forms trial. The full workflow per episode:
- Students study using the VERBA section of the relevant CODEX page as they work through the episode.
- Use the VERBA browser's Quizlet export to generate the current cumulative word set. Import into Quizlet, then import that Quizlet set into Blooket for practice.
- Build your Google Forms trial from the same word list. Auto-grading returns scores immediately.
- Award any Custom LP you have configured in Mission Control for the trial result. See Latinity Points & Grading for Custom Entry setup.
The VERBA browser and the CODEX VERBA sections are built from the same underlying word list. The browser's episode selector and rolling-100 toggle keep your practice and assessment windows synchronized automatically.