Introducing German
Lesson 4
CONTENT:
 birthdays
 months
 seasons
OBJECTIVE:
 students will be able to identify the months of the year
 students will be able to identify the 4 seasons
 students will be able to talk about the birthdays of family members and classmates
MATERIALS:
 color cards
 Das Deutschbuch: pp. 8-9
PROCEDURE:
A. Review (approx. 10 mi
Write the first phrase of each phrase on the board and ask students a) to respond or b) to provide
other greetings or farewells
Guten Tag! (and other greetings: Guten Morgen/ Guten Abend/ Gute Nacht)
Ich bin ___________. Wer bist du?
Wie geht's?
Auf Wiedersehen! (other farewells: Tschüs, Servus, Bis morgen!)
After briefly reviewing the vocabulary from previous lessons, students should do some partner
work. Mimic one conversation with a student and then ask each student to introduce themselves
to their partner.
Transition:
Ich bin ein Lehrer! (as you say this, point to yourself and put up 1 finger)
Das sind 2 Schüler! (as you say this, point at 2 students and put up 2 fingers)
B. Numbers (approx. 5 min)
Review the numbers in 3s and ask students to repeat after you. Add additional emphasis for
numbers that are written in bold and underlined
eins, zwei, drei
vier, fünf, sechs
sieben, acht, neun, zehn
elf, zwölf, dreizehn
vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn
siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn zwanzig
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Introducing German
Play the game Autsch! Write the numbers 1-14 on the board. Start counting with your students.
When you get to 3, say Autsch! instead of 3. Keep on counting. When you get to 13, say
Autsch! again. You can cross out the numbers to indicate that students are not supposed to say
anything with a 3 in it. When you think that the students understand, ask all of them to get up.
Start again. When students make a mistake, ask them to sit down (Bitte setze dich hin – help
them with a gesture so that they know to sit down). The students will understand quickly that
this is a competition.
Sehr gut. Jetzt können wir ein bisschen zählen!! Aber was können wir sehen (point to your
eyes)? Das ist eine Tafel, die ist grün. (show them the green color card).
C. Colors (approx. 5 min)
Review the colors using the color cards.
gelb - yellow
grün - green
braun - brown
blau - blue
weiß - white
schwarz - black
Say
Ich sehe etwas, das ist scharz!
As you say this, put your hand above your eyes as if you were looking around the entire room.
Repeat again Etwas schwarzes! Hopefully one of the students points to something. Tell the
students the name of the item and then respond either with ja (yes) or no (nein): der Schrank?
(cupboard) Nein!, die Tür (door) Ja! When a student points out the correct item, start a new
round with a different color.
So, und jetzt macht Das Deutschbuch auf. Seite 8
D. Months (approx. 14 min)
Put the list of months on the overhead, pronounce each word and have students repeat after you.
Ask students to open page 8 of Das Deutschbuch. Students color the months with colors of their
choice. Then they show this to their neighbors:
Januar ist rot./ März ist blau / ...
Tell the class the month of your birthday in German:
Ich habe im April Geburtstag.
Then ask them to guess what that means in English. Write that sentence on the board. Ask
several students when their birthdays are:
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Introducing German
Wann hast du Geburtstag?
Then repeat this to the whole class:
(Name) hat im (month) Geburtstag.
Students walk around and ask other students when their birthdays are. Tell them to write down
both their German names and their birthdays on page 9 of Das Deutschbuch. Afterwards
students report what they have found. Give them feedback and add following information:
Gut! Das ist im Frühling/ Sommer/ Herbst/ Winter
F. Birthday Party (approx. 10 min)
Ask everyone to look at page 9 of Das Deutschbuch. They should all walk around the class and
find someone with a birthday in every month by asking them in German:
Hast du Geburtstag im Mai/ ___?.
Students answer either ja (yes) or nein (no). Students should ask for a signature if they find
somebody with a birthday in the month they ask. The first student to finish the page wins.
At the end of the class you should go around asking students Wer hat im Januar/ September/
Mai/ etc. Geburtstag?
*** Consider giving the class an assignment for next time: drawing and labeling a picture of
their family, including when each family member has a birthday. Then the teacher can display
their pictures in the classroom. Please discuss this first with the teacher. ***
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