Latin and Greek to GCSE level
Teaching language
Any of the textbooks listed here will take you to GCSE level in the use of language. In fact, as my third son noticed as soon as he started on past papers, the language papers keep the grammar, syntax and and vocabulary fairly simple: the literature papers, using 'real' Latin, usually prove more challenging (see below).
In both Latin and Greek, the exam site actually gives you lists of ALL the vocabulary which will be used in the exam. If your child memorises the vocabulary lists, he will be a at a huge advantage. The OCR site also provides lists of the grammar and syntax which will crop up in the exam and, as usual, plenty of past papers.
Teaching Literature
Teaching literature is, in my experience, the most challenging part of preparing for a GCSE in a classical language, even if you love the literature. The first thing to do is go to the exam site and find out what the set texts will be for the year in which you child will sit the exam. You see things cropping up regularly - I think that Virgil's Aeneid, for example, will always be an option. Then it can be a good idea, if the child is not familiar with the texts, to find simplified versions of the story (this is certainly helpful in the case of long works like the Aeneid, as you will only be studying one extract closely but need to set it in context). For this purpose you might want to look at books by Alfred Church who produced a phenomenal amount of these simplified (but not over-simplified) versions of classic texts. Two of these are Alfred Church's 'The Aeneid for Boys and Girls' and 'Stories from the Greek Tragedians'.
Then you need to acquire the proper text. Be careful, though, because as we found, the recommended versions on the exam websites often contain the Latin only - not much use if you are not a Latinist yourself! However, you can almost always find a good translation online - in fact, you could simply print out both text and translation: it saves money, and you can happily annotate the text without damaging a book. We have found the quizlet website a rich source of assistance for literature study.
Finally, as with all GCSEs, make sure you are very familiar with the exam format. Work through past papers as much as you can so that there are no surprises on the day.
Option of non -language paper
There is the option of substituting one of the literature papers for a paper on Roman or Greek life and culture. See the OCR exam specification for details.
Teaching language
Any of the textbooks listed here will take you to GCSE level in the use of language. In fact, as my third son noticed as soon as he started on past papers, the language papers keep the grammar, syntax and and vocabulary fairly simple: the literature papers, using 'real' Latin, usually prove more challenging (see below).
In both Latin and Greek, the exam site actually gives you lists of ALL the vocabulary which will be used in the exam. If your child memorises the vocabulary lists, he will be a at a huge advantage. The OCR site also provides lists of the grammar and syntax which will crop up in the exam and, as usual, plenty of past papers.
Teaching Literature
Teaching literature is, in my experience, the most challenging part of preparing for a GCSE in a classical language, even if you love the literature. The first thing to do is go to the exam site and find out what the set texts will be for the year in which you child will sit the exam. You see things cropping up regularly - I think that Virgil's Aeneid, for example, will always be an option. Then it can be a good idea, if the child is not familiar with the texts, to find simplified versions of the story (this is certainly helpful in the case of long works like the Aeneid, as you will only be studying one extract closely but need to set it in context). For this purpose you might want to look at books by Alfred Church who produced a phenomenal amount of these simplified (but not over-simplified) versions of classic texts. Two of these are Alfred Church's 'The Aeneid for Boys and Girls' and 'Stories from the Greek Tragedians'.
Then you need to acquire the proper text. Be careful, though, because as we found, the recommended versions on the exam websites often contain the Latin only - not much use if you are not a Latinist yourself! However, you can almost always find a good translation online - in fact, you could simply print out both text and translation: it saves money, and you can happily annotate the text without damaging a book. We have found the quizlet website a rich source of assistance for literature study.
Finally, as with all GCSEs, make sure you are very familiar with the exam format. Work through past papers as much as you can so that there are no surprises on the day.
Option of non -language paper
There is the option of substituting one of the literature papers for a paper on Roman or Greek life and culture. See the OCR exam specification for details.