University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Colleen Miehm
Introduction
 Lesson Topic: Subordinating Conjunctions
 Duration: 90 minutes
 VA Standards of Learning: GIII.4.2
 G.III.4 The student will present information orally and in writing in German,
combining learned and original language in increasingly complex sentences and
paragraphs.
 2. Use past, present and future time frames, word order and other levelappropriate language structures with increasing accuracy.
 Context: This lesson is the second of two on the use of conjunctions in German III. The
lesson before this one presents coordinating conjunctions.
 Global Themes: Understanding the use of conjunctions in German allows one to express
complex thoughts.
Content Objectives
1. Students will recognize and define subordinating conjunctions.
2. Students will demonstrate correct usage of subordinating conjunctions by composing and
correcting sentences both orally and in writing.
Assessment Aligned to Objectives
Formative assessments:
 1. Students will recognize and define subordinating conjunctions.
o Each student will complete a conjunctions chart
o Each student will complete a conjunctions worksheet
 2. Students will demonstrate correct usage of subordinating conjunctions by composing
and correcting sentences both orally and in writing.
o Each student will practice combining, translating and composing sentences.
o Each student will have the chance write on the board and/or orally correct
sentences written on the board.
o I will ask questions about usage.
Summative assessments:
 Students will write an essay using conjunctions at the end of the unit and will be asked to
demonstrate usage on the chapter test by filling in sentence blanks, composing sentences
and translating sentences.
Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation
 Subordinating Conjunctions Smartboard file
 Conjunctions Chart
 Conjunctions worksheet (Konjunktionen Arbeitsblatt)
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Teaching and Learning Sequence
TIME
TEACHER ACTIONS
STUDENT ACTIONS
Introduction/Anticipatory Set – Outline how the lesson will begin. How will you focus student
attention on lesson content, build on prior knowledge, motivate students to learn, etc.?
6 min
The teacher will have the warm-up
activity already on the board when
students arrive.
Students know to look for and begin the
warm-up activity when they arrive to
class. Students will complete the activity
as individuals.
4 min
The teacher will have student volunteers
come to the board to complete the
activity.
Students will volunteer to come to the
board to complete the warm-up activity
by raising their hands.
Fill in the blanks will the correct
conjunction. Write out the sentences in
your notebooks.
1. Gerhardt wohnt in Leipzig,
aber er studiert in Chemnitz.
2. Ich habe keine Angst vor
Markus, denn er ist sehr
freundlich.
3. Ich kann singen und ich kann
auch Klavier speilen.
4. Es ist nicht kalt heute,
sondern es ist warm.
5. Es ist nicht kalt heute, aber es
ist windig.
6. Ich gehe heute abend nicht
aus, sondern ich bleibe zu
Hause, denn ich muss meine
The Smartboard is set up so that they can
drag and drop the appropriate
conjunctions into the sentence blanks.
Lesson Development – Outline the sequence to be followed in the development of the lesson. Pay
particular attention to concept development and questioning.
7 min
The teacher will have the students take Students will find their charts and either
out their half-completed conjunctions volunteer to answer by raising their
chart and ask questions to review the hands or they will be cold called.
usage of coordinating conjunctions.
3 min
The teacher will ask questions about Students will either volunteer to answer
subordinating conjunctions in English by raising their hands or they will be cold
and diagram 2 English sentences.
called.
5 min
The teacher will define and explain 8 of Students will write down the translations
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
the subordinating
German.
conjunctions
in and special notes for the subordinating
conjunctions on their charts.
7 min
The teacher will ask questions about, Students will either volunteer to answer
diagram and explain sample sentences by raising their hands or they will be cold
containing subordinating conjunctions.
called.
6 min
The teacher will give the assignment Students will complete the task on the
directions and walk around the class to board of combining sentences using
offer
assistance
with
combining conjunctions.
They
will
work
sentences.
individually and write the sentences in
their notebooks.
8 min
The teacher will ask for 5 volunteers to
each write one combined sentence on the
board. The class will orally correct any
mistakes, which the teacher will write on
the board, and translate each sentence.
9 min
The teacher will give the assignment Students will work in partners to translate
directions and walk around the class to 6 sentences from English into German,
offer assistance with translations. 6 writing their answers in their notebooks.
people will be chosen during this time to
each write a sentence on the board.
5 min
The teacher will ask the class to orally Students will raise their hands to
give any necessary corrections, which the volunteer (or they will be cold called) to
teacher will write on the board, or give corrections or alternative sentences.
alternative sentences to those written.
8 min
The teacher will give the assignment Students will each write 3 original
directions and walk around the class to sentences in their notebooks using any
offer assistance to individuals while they subordinating conjunction from the chart.
write their sentences.
6 min
The teacher will have students get into Students will work together to correct
pairs, exchange papers and work together their sentences.
to make any necessary corrections while
walking around to offer assistance.
4 min
The teacher will have each student pick Each student will read one of the 3
his/her best sentence and read it aloud to sentences written.
the class. The teacher will choose 2 or 3
original sentences that need corrections
to write on the board correct with the
class.
Students will raise their hands to
volunteer to write on the board, to give
any corrections necessary and to give
translations
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
2 min
The teacher will explain the homework Students will write down the homework
assignment that will be due next class.
assignment in their agendas.
Closure – Outline how the lesson will be concluded. How will you summarize, review,
reinforce, enrich, and/or encourage students to reflect on what they have learned?
5 min
The teacher will hand out the
conjunctions worksheet, explain the
directions and be available to answer any
questions. 3 students will be chosen to
each write one sentence on the board.
Students will complete first 3 sentences
on the worksheet and 3 students will be
chosen to write one sentence on the board
each. The rest of the assignment will be
completed for homework and turned in
next class.
5 min
The teacher will talk about the first 3
answers and ask for students to give
translations and make any necessary
corrections. When finished, the rest of
the worksheet will be assigned as
homework.
Students will volunteer to give
translations and corrections by raising
their hands and complete questions 4-8
on the worksheet for homework.
Homework
Each student is going to brainstorm ideas and pick a topic for an essay that will be due at a later
date.
Prompt:
You have won an all-expense paid trip for 2 to anywhere in the world. Where are you
going, who are you bringing along, what will you do while you’re there and why did you
make those decisions?
Students will bring with them to the next class: where they are going, who they are bringing
along and 2-3 things they plan do to on their trip.
This essay will apply the usage of both subordinating and coordinating conjunctions.
Questions 4-8 on the conjunctions worksheet
References
Conjunctions worksheet questions taken from:
http://www.nthuleen.com/teach/grammar/wortstellung.html
Appended Materials
Conjunctions chart
Conjunctions worksheet (Konjunktionen Arbeitsblatt)
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Lesson Organizer
Prior Knowledge and NEW Instructional Content
Prior Knowledge
Students know how to construct sentences in the present, future and past (present perfect, past
perfect) tenses. They were introduced to coordinating conjunctions in the previous lesson.
Anticipatory Set
The anticipatory set will act as a review of coordinating conjunctions. Students will first write
the answers in their notebooks and then volunteer to come fill in the blanks on the Smartboard.
Fill in the blanks will the correct conjunction. Write out the sentences in your
notebooks.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Gerhardt wohnt in Leipzig, aber er studiert in Chemnitz.
Ich habe keine Angst vor Markus, denn er ist sehr freundlich.
Ich kann singen und ich kann auch Klavier speilen.
Es ist nicht kalt heute, sondern es ist warm.
Es ist nicht kalt heute, aber es ist windig.
Ich gehe heute abend nicht aus, sondern ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich muss
meine Hausaufgaben machen.
Lesson Development
I will transition to the lesson by asking students to take out their conjunctions charts and think
back to last class.
We just reviewed the meaning of each coordinating conjunction, but what are some other things
we said about them? What do coordinating conjunctions do? (Link two or more independent
clauses) What happens to word order when using a coordinating conjunction? (Nothing, it stays
the same in both clauses) These two points are unique to coordinating conjunctions and it is
important to remember them. Today we are going to work with subordinating conjunctions,
which function differently but serve a similar purpose grammatically.
What do you already know about subordinating conjunctions in English? (They connect ideas,
main clause and dependent clause)
What are some examples of subordinating conjunctions in English? (after, if, before, because,
whenever, while, that, etc.)
I will ask the students to identify the main clause, dependent clause and subordinating
conjunction in the 2 English sentences on the board. I will mark the sentences based on what the
students tell me.
I didn’t go for a walk today because it was raining.
Before I take the test, I have to study vocabulary.
In German subordinating conjunctions are also used to link a main clause and a dependent
clause. They are used to express when, why, how or under what conditions the activity in the
main clause is taking place.
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
I will show the students a chart of subordinating conjunctions on the board and have them fill in
the translations (Übersetzung) for each conjunction on their conjunctions charts. Once they
have the translations written down, I will talk to them about wenn and als and have them write
down the special notes (Kommentar).
Als is used to describe one-time past events or situations. For example, if you were
talking about your childhood or something in History class.
Wenn is used to describe recurring events (past or present) or events that have yet to take
place. For example, if you were to talk about whenever you go somewhere or when you
finally graduate.
Next we will look at some example sentences that contain subordinating conjunctions and talk
about word order.
What do you notice about the sentences on the board? Do you notice anything unusual
about the word order? If so, what?
When you use a subordinating conjunction in German, the word order of the dependent clause
changes. Where does the conjugated verb usually go in a German sentence? (second position or
first position for yes/no questions) The conjugated verb in a dependent clause, which in this
case is following a subordinating conjunction, always goes at the end of the clause.
For each sentence, I will ask the students to identify the main clause subject and verb(s),
the subordinating conjunction and the verbs in the dependent clause while I mark them
on the board. Students will also be asked to translate each sentence to show how the
conjunction is being used.
After diagramming sentences, I will have the students practice writing some. I will show them 5
pairs of sentences on the board, which they will connect using the conjunctions indicated.
Students will first write the sentences in their notebooks and then I will have 5 volunteers come
to the board to write them out. As a class we will discuss the word order and meaning of each
sentence.
1. Frau Enderle hatte in Berlin gewohnt, bis sie nach Wartburg gekommen ist.
2. Ich konnte ihm nicht folgen, weil er so schnell gelaufen ist.
3. Während sie in England studiert hat, hat sie Englisch gesprochen.
4. Sie war schon da, als ich angekommen bin.
5. Wenn es viel Arbeit gibt, helfen wir alle mit.
Next I will have the students translate 6 sentences from English into German with a partner. I
will have them first write out the sentences in their notebooks and then I will choose 6 people
who did not volunteer before to write their sentences on the board. As a class we will discuss
the word order and translations for each sentence.
1. I didn’t clean my room because I didn’t have time.
Ich habe mein Zimmer nicht aufgeräumt, weil ich keine Zeit hatte.
2. Every day when the weather was nice, we went for a hike in the mountains.
Jeden Tag, wenn das Wetter schön war, sind wir in den Bergen gewandert.
3. We didn’t know if you all wanted to come along.
Wir haben nicht gewusst, ob ihr mitkommen wollten.
4. Because he didn’t want to take the bus, he bought a car.
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Weil er nicht mit dem Bus fahren wollten, hat er ein Auto gekauft.
5. I thought that you were interested in the movie.
Ich habe gedacht, dass du dich für den Film interessiert hast.
6. When I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor.
Als ich Kind war, wollte ich ein/e Artzt/Ärtztin sein.
I will then have the students write their own sentences using any of the subordinating
conjunctions on their charts. Each student will write 3 original sentences. Once the sentences
are written, I will have the students find a partner. They will trade papers with their partners and
review each other’s sentences. They will talk about and make any corrections that may be
necessary. Each student will choose his/her best sentence to share with the class orally. If there
are still incorrect sentences after the partner corrections, I will choose a couple of them to write
on the board and correct as a class.
Once we have reviewed one sentence from each student, I will explain the homework
assignment. Each student is going to brainstorm ideas and pick a topic for an essay that will be
due at a later date.
Prompt:
You have won an all-expense paid trip for 2 to anywhere in the world. Where are you
going, who are you bringing along, what will you do while you’re there and why did
you make those decisions.
Students will bring with them to the next class: where they are going, who they are bringing
along and 2-3 things they plan do to on their trip.
Closure
Each student will complete the first 3 questions on a conjunctions worksheet. I will hand it out
as soon as we are done talking about the homework assignment. We will go over the first 3
sentences as a class, with 3 students (who have not yet had a chance) writing them on the board.
I will ask the students to give translations and make any necessary corrections. The rest of the
worksheet will be assigned as homework for extra practice with the material.
I will collect this assignment at the beginning of the next class to see how well the students
understand the usage of conjunctions.
Instructional Modifications
to
ASSIST Students
Teacher assistance for most of
the lesson, partner work for
translations, partner
corrections for original
sentences
Main Events of Instruction
Review
Sentence Diagrams
Sentence Combinations
Translations
Think-Pair-Share
Worksheet
Instructional Modifications
to
CHALLENGE Students
Translate and compose
sentences w/out using a
dictionary, model correct
sentences for class by writing
on board
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Name: __________________________
Konjunktionen
koordinierende Konjunktionen:
use: to link 2 independent clauses
Konjunktion
Übersetzung
Kommentar
aber*
but
however, nevertheless
denn*
because
informal version
oder
or
sondern*
but rather
und
and
instead, on the contrary
subordinierende Konjunktionen*:
use: to link a main clause and dependent clause
Konjunktion
Übersetzung
als*
when, as
bis*
until, by
bevor*
before
dass*
that
ob*
whether
während*
while, during
weil*
because
wenn*
when, if
Kommentar
one-time past event or
situation
repeated and future events,
“whenever”
* = requires comma
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University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline
Konjunktionen Arbeitsblatt (key)
Name: ______________________________
A. Wie heißen die folgenden Konjunktionen auf Englisch?
1. aber _______but__________
6. weil ____because_________
2. sondern __but rather________
7. ob _____whether________
3. oder _________or_________
8. dass _____that___________
4. denn _____because________
9. wenn ___if, whenever_____
5. und ______and___________
10. als _____when, if_______
B. Macht einen Satz aus den zwei. Benutz die gegebene Konjunktion. Acht auf die
Wortstellung auf!
1. Ich hoffe. Der Kurs ist interessant. (dass)
Ich hoffe, dass der Kurs interessant ist.
2. Frau Bernstein wandert gern. Sie reitet auch gern. (und)
Frau Bernstein wandert gern und sie reitet auch gern.
3. Barbara kommt nicht vor dem Unterricht. Sie kommt danach. (sondern)
Barbara kommt nicht vor dem Unterricht, sondern sie kommt danach. (, sondern danach.)
4. Ich weiß nicht. Die Bibliothek ist morgens geöffnet. (ob)
Ich weiß nicht, ob die Bibliothek morgens geöffnet ist.
5. Ich kann dich nicht anrufen. Ich habe keine Zeit. (weil)
Ich kann dich nicht anrufen, weil ich keine Zeit habe.
6. Er kauft einen Wagen. Er will nicht mit dem Bus fahren. (denn)
Er kauft einen Wagen, denn er will nicht mit dem Bus fahren.
7. Ich will ausgehen. (aber) Er kann nicht. (weil) Er muss für eine Prüfung lernen.
Ich will ausgehen, aber er kann nicht, weil er für einen Prüfung lernen muss.
8. Er sagt. (dass) Er ist krank. (aber) Ich weiß nicht. (ob) Das ist wahr.
Er sagt, dass er krank ist, aber ich weiß nicht, ob das wahr ist.
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