Introducing German
Lesson 1
CONTENT:
 greetings
 introducing oneself using new German names
 asking "Wie geht's"
 saying goodbye
OBJECTIVE:
 students will be able to introduce themselves
 students will be able to greet others
MATERIALS:
 Das Deutschbuch: pp. 1-4
 nametags
PROCEDURE:
A. The German-speaking world (approx. 10 min)
You can start by asking the students what they know about the German-speaking world
(including names of cities, states, neighboring countries) and the Germany-Wisconsin connection
(i.e. towns in Wisconsin with German names). Ask them to say everything they associate with
Germany. You could also ask them if they know some people with German names (Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Mozart, Dirk Nowitzki, Heidi Klum, Bach, etc.), dogs with German names
(German Sheppard, Dachshund, etc.) or towns in Wisconsin with a German origin (Berlin, etc.).
*** interesting fun facts: Germany is approximately the size of the state of Montana and has a
population equal to the number of people living west of the Mississippi River ***
For a geography lesson, help the students label the map on the front of their Das Deutschbuch
with the country and capital names. If the students seem to be enjoying this topic, refer them to
page 4 in Das Deutschbuch and see if they recognize these products, foods, car models,
Christmas traditions, and fairy tales.
B. Greetings (approx. 5 min)
Write the four greetings on the board:
Guten Morgen
Guten Tag
Guten Abend
Gute Nacht
Draw …
- rising sun above Guten Morgen. Pretend to get out of bed and yawn.
- sun in the sky above Guten Tag. Walk through the class, greet everybody and be active.
- setting sun above Guten Abend. Pretend to come home, sit down and have dinner.
- a moon above Gute Nacht. Yawn and pretend to go to bed.
Also write underneath the greetings:
Ich bin _________________.
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Introducing German
Then introduce yourself by saying: Guten Tag! Ich bin __________ (your name).
C. Names (approx. 10 min)
Read the list of names quickly aloud from the class roster. As they tell you the name, hand them
a nametag and ask them to write on it their name. Hand them a copy of Das Deutschbuch.They
should write their name on the front cover of Das Deutschbuch.
D. Introductions (approx. 10 min)
Introduce yourself again, this time adding that you are Lehrer or Lehrerin. Provide them with
the word Schüler and Schülerin. Guten Tag, ich bin __________ (your name). Ich bin
__________ (Lehrer/Lehrerin). Wer bist du? Make sure that you model the response as often as
possible. For example, after the student responds: Ich bin __________ (student says his or her
name), you should follow up with something like: Gut, und ich bin __________ (your name). It
is also a good idea to prompt the students by pointing to your own nametag, saying: Ich bin
__________ (your name), and then point to their name tag, asking: Wer bist du? Make sure you
also model shaking hands as you greet the students to incorporate the cultural element that
shaking hands is customary in Germany. Review the names of students by asking where or who
various students are: Wer ist das? Er/sie ist _____________. Bist du ___________?
*** Note: Students can then respond either affirmatively or negatively. You will need to
help students come up with ja and nein the first few times. Another option: Circulate
around the classroom, tapping/ pointing to students, saying: Ene, mene, mu, und wer bist
du? ***
E. Farewells and Wie geht's? (approx. 5 min)
Review greetings from earlier. Write various ways to say good-bye on the board:
Auf Wiedersehen!
Tschüs!
Servus!
Bis morgen!
Then have the students turn to page 2 of Das Deutschbuch. Do the activity on Grußformeln.
Introduce Wie geht's?. This is found on page 3 of Das Deutschbuch.
F. Geheimagent--007 (approx. 10 min)
Play this game at least twice. The first time instruct the students to greet each other and ask each
other their names. Give an example on the board:
Guten Tag! Wer bist du? Ich bin ______ (last name), ______ (first name) ______ (last name).
Before the second time, collect answers for the question Wie geht’s on the board.
Then students repeat the initial dialogue, this time also asking each other how they are doing:
Wie geht's?
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