Garden City Public Schools
Garden City, New York
Course: German 2R/H
Overview of Course
This class addresses the requirements of the first half of Checkpoint B of the state syllabus. For
the Level II Course, there will be an increased emphasis on reading and writing in German
language. Students will also be required to communicate and express themselves in German.
Instructional Philosophy
The Department of World Languages believes that the primary goal of second language learning
is the achievement of functional communication in the context of the target language. Language
learning is also an invaluable asset to students who will be taking their place in the world
today. To achieve this goal, the aim of the department is twofold: To teach students the skills
necessary for effective communication in the foreign language; i.e.: listening, speaking, reading
and writing and to provide students with the insight into and appreciation of the foreign culture
in order that they become more informed and understanding citizens of the world.
Knowledge and Skills Objectives
Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.
Listening and Speaking are primary communicative goals in modern language learning. These
skills are used for the purposes of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing
personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action. Reading and
Writing are used in languages other than English for the purposes of socializing, providing and
acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a
course of action.
Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings.
Effective Communication involves meanings that go beyond words and require an understanding
of perceptions, gestures, folklore, and family and community dynamics. All of these elements
can affect whether and how well a message is received.
Units of Study
I.
Review of Checkpoint A
a. vocabulary Units 1-6: Deutsch Aktuell 1
b. verbs
i.weak, strong, irregular
1. present and present perfect tenses
b. structure
i. subject & nominative case for ein / der words and pronouns
ii. direct object & accusative case for ein / der words and pronouns
iii. indirect object & dative case for ein / der words and pronouns
iv. für; bei; mit; zu
II.
Travel
a. Transportation
i. describing airport facilities
ii. describing means of transportation
iii. identifying baggage items
iv. discussing travel plans
v. writing about travel experiences
vi. discussing travel destinations
III.
Comparisons
a. comparison of adjectives
b. comparison of adverbs gern and lieber
i. expository writing using comparatives
ii. speaking using comparatives
IV.
Recreation
a. German Youth Hostel system
i. reading about youth hostels
ii. talking about youth hostel facilities
iii. asking for information
iv. researching specific hostels in Germany
v expressing likes and dislikes regarding accommodations
b. Camping
i. reading about German camping facilities
ii. talking about equipment required for camping
iii. asking for information at camp grounds
iv. talking about camping trips
v. expressing likes and dislikes regarding camping
IV.
Recreation- Continued
c. Vacationing in southern Germany
i. accommodations
ii. vacation times in German-speaking countries
iii. reading about a German family’s vacation
iv. compare/contrast vacation habits of Americans and Germans
v. reading about southern German vacation destinations
vi. talking about vacationing in southern Germany
vii. expressing likes and dislikes regarding vacations
viii. creating a vacation itinerary for southern Germany
V.
Accusative and Dative Cases
a. definition
b. standard word order with accusative and dative cases
c. reflexive pronouns
i. accusative reflexive pronouns
ii. dative reflexive pronouns
d. reflexive verbs and word order
i. accusative case
ii. dative case
iii. talking about daily routine using reflexive pronouns
VI.
Vacation
a. making plans for a trip
i. discussing pros and cons of various Germany vacation destinations
ii. reaching compromises when planning a vacation
b. reading about Chiemsee as a popular vacation destination
c. describing a trip
d. writing about favorite past family vacations
VII.
Weather forecasts
a. discussing current weather conditions
b. talking about weather forecasts
c researching climate of German-speaking countries
i. comparing and contrasting climate of Germany and U.S.
VIII. Present perfect form of verbs: expansion
a. weak verbs
b. strong verbs
c. irregular verbs
i. talking about past events
ii. writing about past events
IX:
Imperfect form of verbs
a. weak verbs
i. converting present tense phrases using weak verbs to imperfect tense
b. modal auxiliaries
i. converting present tense phrases with modal auxiliaries to imperfect
X.
House and Home
a. types of residences
b. facilities associated with homes
i. interior
ii. exterior
c. comparing and contrasting types of German and U.S. housing
d. weekly activities associated with the home
i. leisure activities
ii. chores
iii. weekly routine
1. comparing and contrasting weekly routines
2. talking about personal weekly routines
3. writing about personal weekly routines
e. types of living environments
i. rural
ii. suburban
iii. urban
1. comparing and contrasting rural and urban life
2. expressing likes and dislikes regarding urban and city dwelling
3. reading about city-life in Leipzig
3. writing about preferences in living
VII.
Fauna
a. identifying animals
i. domestic
1. livestock
2. house pets
ii. wild animals
1. mammals
2. birds
3. common reptiles
b. expressing likes and dislikes regarding animals
i. favorite family pet
ii. speculating on owning an exotic pet
c. talking about animal care
i. house pets
ii. livestock
XI.
Infinitives used as nouns
a. definition & examples
b. comparison / contrast to English
c. rules for application
d. conversion of verb phrases to noun phrases
XII.
Foods
a. dining out
i. types of restaurants
1. comparison and contrast with various types of German and U.S.
restaurants
2. foods offered in various types of German restaurants
3. reading a menu
4. ordering from a menu
b. dining in
i. customs associated with meal preparation and eating at home
1. how to set a table
2. high-frequency kitchen and dining room vocabulary
ii. comparing and contrasting German and U.S. mealtime customs
c. dinner for a special occasion
i. talking about special occasions
ii. talking appropriate menu items for a special occasion
iii. comparing and contrasting related German and local traditions
iv. reading about young people in Germany planning a dinner
XIII.
Der-words
a. review of Checkpoint A concepts
b. expansion to dieser, welcher, jener, jeder, manche, solcher
c. application of concepts in sentence conversion and completion drills
XIV.
Shopping
a. department store
i. comparing and contrasting German and local department stores
ii. vocabulary associated with various departments
iii. shopping protocol in a German department store
iv. formal address review
v. role-playing related to shopping & selling
b. grocery store
i. comparing and contrasting German and local grocery stores
ii. fruits
iii. vegetables
iv. metric weights and measure
v. writing a shopping list
XV.
Demonstrative pronouns
a. definition & examples
b. comparison / contrast to English
c. rules for application
d. conversion of nouns and pronouns to demonstrative pronouns
Major Resources
Kraft, Wolfgang. Deutsch Aktuell 2, 6th ed. text. St. Paul: EMC Corporation, 2010.
Kraft, Wolfgang. Deutsch Aktuell 2, 6th ed. workbook. St. Paul: EMC Corporation, 2010.
Websites
www.google.de
used to access a multitude of German sites
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/types/flnews/
access to numerous sources of current information
http://webgerman.com
numerous grammatical PowerPoint presentations, interactive vocabulary exercises and
interactive quizzes
http://german.about.com/library/blgrammatik.htm
extensive grammatical units, interactive vocabulary exercises and interactive quizzes
www.youtube.de
access to numerous sources of cutting edge trends and cultural information