Operation LAPIS is a two-year game-based (practomimetic) introductory course in the Latin language and in Roman culture. It may be employed on its own, or as a supplement to other materials; programs and teachers may experiment with it as a supplement and then easily transition to using Operation LAPIS in place of a traditional textbook.

“You are standing, in the Italian sunshine, in a road. In the distance rises a mountain so perfectly-shaped that it must be a volcano. Near the road is a tree, and in the tree is a boy. Under the tree, you see a rough-looking man. The man looks up menacingly at the boy, and says, ‘Ubi est lapis?’”

Thus begins a two-year epic adventure to find and to interpret the LAPIS SAECULORUM. At the end of it, the operatives of Operation LAPIS–whether students playing in a traditional classroom or learners in cyberspace–will read Latin with fluency and understanding; much more importantly, they will know why their learning was important, and how they can use it to help save civilization and build their communities.

Read about Operation LAPIS in the October 2013 issue of The Language Educator, published by ACTFL.