Name:_______________________________
Choose your poison project
Object – write at least a 15 sentence story in the Imperfekt. The finished product will be an illustrated book.
Option 1 - I’m confident I know the Imperfekt – throw it at me!
Write at least a 15 sentence story in Imperfekt using animal vocabulary and words you know
Option 2 - I’m so-so with Imperfekt – give me some support here!
Write a 15 sentence story in Imperfekt given a 7 sentence start in present tense. Change the sentences to
Imperfekt and then build off of the story to create your own ending.
The following rubric is how you will be graded:
Verb forms of Imperfekt are correct (are in
Imperfekt and match the subject)
Rough Draft handed in and corrected by peers
Brainstorming Guide handed in
Nouns are capitalized, spelling and word order are
correct
Story has a beginning, middle, and end
Appearance - Text is legible, book is neatly put
together, illustrations are colored and neat
Total:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
0 10
0 10
0 2 4 6 8 10
0 2 4 6 8 10
0 2 4 6 8 10
/65
Foreign Language Writing Tips
1) Write it in the foreign language first.
Why? – Writing first in your native language causes you to try and say things you don’t have the capacity
for just yet in the foreign language. Writing in the foreign language first helps you stay in your
vocabulary and keeps the grammar simpler and more on-track with the grammar of the foreign
language.
2) Don’t use a translator for sentences.
Why? – Translators don’t know what’s correct, they only go word for word what they see. Using a
translator for an entire sentence or paragraph won’t give you what you want to say. If you need it, an
online dictionary (ex: http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ or http://dict.leo.org/ are good German-English ones)
can help you for a word you’re looking for.
3) Focus more on how you’re writing and less on the content.
Why? – What you’re writing (probably) will not win a Pulitzer or Nobel prize. The purpose of writing
exercises is to practice your production of the language, not on how creative you can be. As with tip
one, keep it simpler and try using only words you know. The fancier stuff will come with time and
practice!
4) Be positive!
Why? – Foreign languages are challenging things to master. But, you CAN do whatever task has been
assigned to you. Take it a baby step at a time, none of us (not even Frau Kackowski) are as good at
German as we’d like to be. Becoming skilled at a language takes time and lots of effort, so realize your
skills now and focus on improving them with time and practice.
Brainstorming Guide - Option 1
Answer the following questions is German if the question is in German, and in either German or English if the question is
in English.
Wer sind die Hauptfiguren (main characters) deiner Geschichte?
Was passiert (happens)? Welche Verben brauchst du?
Welche Verben sind stark? Welche schwach?
Draw a storyboard of your story. How will the action flow, what will the sequencing of pictures be like? What do you
imagine for your story?
Brainstorming Guide - Option 2
Story Start:
Die Schildkröte und das Kaninchen sind beste Freunden. Jeden Tag lauf das Kaninchen. Die Schildkröte
schwimmt jeden Tag. Die Beide wohnen in dem Wald. Sie gehen im Wald. Eines Tages treffen sie einen Bär. Der Bär ist
sehr groβ.
Answer the following questions is German if the question is in German, and in either German or English if the question is
in English.
Wer sind die Hauptfiguren (main characters) deiner Geschichte?
Was passiert (happens)? Welche Verben brauchst du?
Welche Verben sind stark? Welche schwach?
Draw a storyboard of your story. How will the action flow, what will the sequencing of pictures be like? What do you
imagine for your story?