When my third grade class first began their study of Greece and Rome, as part of the social studies curriculum during the 1996-1997 school year, we learned about the architecture, language, culture, customs, way of life and other exciting facets of these great societies. As part of our discussion on Rome, we talked about Latin mottos used by states, government, and other organizations. As a related class activity we individually came up with our own mottos. The motto selected by the class, as being the best, was then translated into Latin and displayed on our class room home page.

Since then, I have moved onto the fifth grade and have incorporated the concept of a class motto into our language arts studes. My class recently completed a project in which they came up with a class motto, and to go along with it, a class crest. The crest and motto, as you see above, was later printed on iron on decals and transferred to a white tee shirt that each child received.