Overview
This lesson invites 15-year-olds to explore Augustine's Civitas Dei (City of God) and civitas terrena (earthly city) alongside the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin. Students practise shifting registers—Saxon-rooted plain English for everyday signs and Latinate legalese for municipal documents—while applying urban planning, environmental thinking and civic law in the playful setting of the Untitled Goose Game town.
Step-by-step plan
- Hook (15 minutes): Show screenshots or a short clip of the Untitled Goose Game town. Ask: what rules would a town have? Who cares for wildlife? Who writes signs?
- Concepts (20 minutes): Explain Augustine’s Civitas Dei (a city oriented toward the common good and higher moral ends) vs civitas terrena (earthly city focused on self-interest and law). Briefly introduce Alcuin as a bridge between Latin learning and Anglo-Saxon life; emphasize register choices.
- Language work (30 minutes): Compare Saxon-rooted vocabulary (goose, field, market, keep-off) with Latinate vocabulary (municipal, statute, ordinance, covenant). Practice translating a short town rule both ways: plain Saxon-rich notice and formal Latinate legalese.
- Design tasks (2 lessons): In teams, students create: a community notice board, a short municipal statute, a municipal seal/heraldry design, a press release, and a legal memo about zoning for wetland and market. Keep formats simple and scaffolded (templates provided).
- Environment & Planning (1 lesson): Map the town (paper or simple GIS-lite tool). Mark habitats, wetlands, market, play spaces. Draft a short zoning memo balancing green corridors for geese with commerce and safety.
- Assessment: Portfolio containing the notice board, statute (two registers), seal, memo, map, and a reflective paragraph connecting Civitas Dei vs civitas terrena to choices made.
Practical text models and prompts
- Notice board (Saxon register): 'Do not take the apples. Keep to the footpath. Watch for geese.'
- Statute (Latinate register): 'The municipality ordains: it is prohibited to remove orchard produce without consent.'
- Municipal seal/heraldry: combine local symbols (goose, willow tree, market basket). Discuss symbolism and legal identity.
- Legal memo: 'Issue: proposed market expansion vs wetland protection. Recommendation: designate green corridor and limit stall density.' Keep it concise and procedural.
ACARA v9 alignment
- English: language variation, register, translation between formal and informal, text types (notice, statute, press release, memo), persuasive and reflective writing.
- Legal Studies: how statutes and municipal instruments structure civic life; rights/responsibilities; drafting simple legal directives; civic participation (mock council).
- Environment: habitat mapping, ecosystem services, wildlife corridors, human-wildlife interactions (geese as a case study).
- City Planning & Geography: land use, zoning, maps, seals/identity, pedestrian flows and public space design.
Assessment criteria (suggested)
- Clarity of communication in both registers.
- Evidence of ethical reasoning linking Civitas Dei / civitas terrena to planning choices.
- Practical planning: map accuracy, inclusion of environmental protections, feasible recommendations.
- Creativity and use of symbolism in seals/heraldry and notice design.
Teacher notes: prepare templates (notice, statute, memo), an assessment rubric, and a short glossary of Saxon vs Latinate vocabulary. Allow creative options for students with different strengths (art, writing, mapping). Use peer review and a final mock council to make civic processes visible.
Listen. This is small-town theology, urban planning and mischief, all rolled into one. I see it: a goose, a seal, a statute—bam.
Teach them Augustine: Civitas Dei means a city ordered toward the divine good; civitas terrena is the earthly city, marked by self-interest and law.
Bring in Alcuin—the Northumbrian scholar who bridged Latin learning and Anglo-Saxon life—he teaches register: when to use Saxon words (earth, field, goose) and when to use Latinate words (municipal, statute, covenant).
Start with the Untitled Goose Game town. Put up notice boards. Draft a mock municipal seal. Write a minimal statute: no stealing fruit (legalese: 'prohibited to remove orchard produce without consent'). Let students translate that into plain Saxon-rich English and into Latinate legalese.
Map the town. Mark wetlands, market, parks. Discuss wildlife corridors for geese. Plan a small zoning memo: balance green space, play, and commerce.
Use press releases to practice persuasive tone. Use legal memos to practice precise directives.
Connect to ACARA: English—register, persuasion, text types; Legal Studies—statute structure, rights and responsibilities; Environment—ecosystems, habitat; City Planning and Geography—zoning, land-use mapping, seals and heraldry as symbolic planning documents.
Assessment: create a portfolio: one notice board, one statute, one memo, one map, one reflective paragraph on Civitas Dei vs civitas terrena.
Scaffold: model examples, peer review, rubric. Support: provide sentence starters (Latinate: 'The municipality hereby ordains...'; Saxon: 'Do not take the apples.'), glossaries, and GIS-lite mapping tools.
Risk: keep language age-appropriate, avoid heavy theology—focus on ethical choices and civic design. Enjoy the goose. Make it meaningful.
Offer extension tasks: mock council meeting, habitat survey, comparative translation of seals into Old English forms, reflective debate on public goods. Encourage creative outputs: theatre, posters, map zines. Provide feedback loops. Celebrate civic curiosity. Keep records, assess growth, adjust tasks, and invite community partners.