Seventh Grade Latin Students Play “alea iacta est”

In world language and history teacher Katie Swinford’s classroom, seventh grade students reviewed grammar and vocabulary while playing alea iacta est, “the die has been cast.”

To play the game:

• Students sit together in their group, and each student has a copy of their worksheet and a pen.
• Each student in the group takes turns rolling the die. 
• When a student rolls a six, they stop rolling and start doing the problems on their worksheet.
• The other students continue to roll the die until one of them rolls a six. Then, the first student immediately has to stop solving problems on their own worksheet and pass the pen/pencil to the second student, who can start to fill out problems on their sheet.
• The remaining students (including the first to roll the six) continue rolling the die to see who can get the next six, etc.
• The first one to finish the worksheet correctly wins the game.

Seventh grader Manal Azhar said she found the game interesting because it balanced fun, education, and pressure to win. 

“Alea iacta est was the perfect match for me,” Azhar said. “I loved the feeling of pressure while trying to roll a six, but I also liked how we were able to learn something by doing the worksheet, and all while having a blast.”

“I loved the feeling of pressure while trying to roll a six, but I also liked how we were able to learn something by doing the worksheet, and all while having a blast.” – Seventh grader Manal Azhar

The game reminded Azhar of Ludo, a traditional Pakistani game her family enjoys. 

“These two games were sort of different, but one thing that was similar was having to roll a six,” Azhar said. “In Ludo … you have to roll a six before being able to leave the main base. Sort of like alea iacta est, only your goal in that game is to finish the worksheet ASAP.”

According to Swinford, there is a lot of archaeological evidence for game boards etched onto marble floors and steps, and dice carved out of animal bones or made from clay.

“This particular game is a fun way for Latin students to practice material we’ve covered, but its name, ‘alea iacta est,’ is the famous quote attributed to Julius Caesar,” Swinford said. “When Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BCE, re-entering Roman territory at the head of an army, it constituted an act of civil war — supposedly, Caesar said ‘alea iacta est’ at this pivotal moment. This phrase is still used, either in Latin or English, to represent moments when an irreversible decision has been made, i.e., there’s no turning back.”