German
LEVEL ONE
INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE
Prepared by Brittany Smith
Welcome to Memphis City Schools’ Instructional Guide for German Level I.
This document is NOT a collection of lesson plans, nor is it NOT an exhaustive list
of all the activities you will need or want in order to teach the new curriculum.
You’ll still have to find some resources on your own, and you’ll still be able to
personalize your lessons to your own teaching style.
HOWEVER, this guide IS a useful starting point for an engaging classroom for your
students. It IS a springboard for your creative genius. It provides a variety of
instructional strategies that have been put into specific contexts, but it is up to
you as an innovative educator to adapt these strategies to new themes and
language functions in your classroom. If any of the ideas here don’t work for you,
you do not have to use them. Feel free to adapt and edit them as you see fit.
The guide is structured to go along with themes found in the Instructional Map
for Level I, and in each section, you will find suggestions in the following
categories:
 PATs (Performance Assessment Tasks)
 Projects
 Possible Bellworks/Introductory Activities
 In-Class Activities (Communicative, Written, Pair, & Group)
 Resources
Copies of the resources listed in each section can be found in the appendix. Again,
feel free to use them as they are, or modify them to better suit your classroom
needs.
Viel Spaß dabei!
Table of Contents
In
the
Classroom
(Receptive
Vocabulary)……………………………….………………….…….………..……..…1
The
German
Alphabet
and
Cognates…………………………………………………………………..……………….3
Numbers…………………………..……………….………………………………………………………………….….……………5
Why Learn German?
(Countries,
Influence
of
German
in
the
U.S.)………………………………………………………..……………..7
Greetings, Farewells, Introductions
(Name, Age, Birthday, Origin)…………………………………………………….……………………….……………10
Talking
About
Family
and
Describing
People……………………………………………………………………13
School……………………………………….…………………………………………………….………………………………….16
Likes and Dislikes/Activities………………………………………………………………….……….……………….19
Around the House……………………………………………..……………………………………………………………….22
Food…………………………………………………………………………………….………………………….……………….….25
Restaurant…………………………………………………………………………………..……………….…………….…..….28
Places………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….……………………..31
Clothing………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………34
Appendix: Resources
2
In the Classroom (Receptive Vocabulary)
Performance Assessment Tasks (PAT)
TPR: Listen as your teacher tells you to complete 5 tasks in class. Do what
he or she asks you to do. (Commands at teacher’s discretion). Suggested
commands: Steh auf. Setz dich hin. Dreh dich um. Heb die Hand. Geh an die
Tafel. Schreib deinen Namen. Usw.
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. Go through the list of classroom commands for your students with dramatic
gestures. Have students repeat and respond to the commands with
appropriate actions as they watch you.
2. Students create a picture chart of several classroom commands with
images that demonstrate what each command means. (Students label the
images with correct command)
3. Display 5-7 classroom action pictures on the board and a list of possible
German commands. Have students match the picture with the correct
command in German.
4. Write several scenarios on the board, i.e. ‘your teacher wants you to get
out a piece of paper and a pencil.’ Have students match the scenario with
the correct command in German.
5. Teacher creates sets of classroom object vocabulary cards in German. (It is
recommended that these be printed on cardstock, cut out and laminated)
Each student receives a set. The teacher has a backpack of items and
introduces the items by name. Students touch the item on their desks as
they are introduced.
In-Class Activities
1. Student Teacher: Student volunteers come to the front of the class and call
out various classroom commands to the rest of the students. The class
responds appropriately.
2. Simon sagt…(Simon says): Students close their eyes and the teacher calls out
various commands in German, and the students respond appropriately. Play
continues until the last 3 are standing. (Once students are out, they become
referees to make sure that the players are responding appropriately.)
3. Fastest Thumb: Students in pairs share a classroom set of objects. Teacher
calls out an object. The first student to touch the correct object with his/her
thumb gets a point until all objects are called. (Recommended: Students
place both thumbs in front of them on different edges of the same desk. They
can only touch the object with a thumb. This cuts down on the number of
bruised and battered students.)
4. Fly Swatter Game: Teacher creates sets of supplies or pictures of command
actions. There should be 6-8 images per page on 11x17 paper, laminated.
Teacher calls out the appropriate vocabulary and students in pairs slap at the
correct image on the page. (Variation: Students can be in groups of three and
one of them is the caller while the other two play.)
5. Wer hat…? Teacher calls out Wer hat…(school item)? and students respond
by holding up corresponding items.
Resources needed
Action pictures
Classroom object vocabulary cards
Classroom supply images on 11x17 paper
2
The German Alphabet and Cognates
Performance Assessment Tasks (PATs)
Speaking: You are calling in a to-go order at your favorite German restaurant.
The person you are speaking with cannot understand your last name. Spell
your name using the German alphabet.
Writing: A girl in your class is from Heidelberg, Germany. She is a little
frustrated because she doesn’t know much English. Make a list of cognates in
English and German to show her that there are several words in English that
she already knows.
Possible Bellworks/Introductory Activities
1. Hand students a copy of the German alphabet, and instruct them to
circle/highlight characters that do not exist in the English alphabet. Discuss
the differences and similarities between the two writing systems, i.e.
sounds.
2. Hand students a German alphabet grid and give them 2 minutes to fill in as
many German words as they know. (Collect these. At the end of the
semester, hand them back and give students 5 minutes to fill in more words
in a different color.)
3. Put a list of German words on the board. Have students draw a circle on
their papers. Instruct them to write all the words that are cognates inside
the circle and all the words that are not cognates outside the circle.
4. The day after discussing concept of cognates, have students answer the
following questions: 1. What is a cognate? 2. How do you think that
cognates could be useful to a person learning a new language? 3. Why do
you think that English and German have cognates?
5. Students read an authentic advertisement or paragraph with many
cognates. Ask them to list 5-7 words that they recognize to help them
figure out what the ad or paragraph is saying.
3
In-Class Activities
1. Cognates grid puzzle: Teacher creates a cognates puzzle by writing German
and English cognates along the sides of each cube. The squares must then
be cut out and placed in a bag for students to reassemble the grid by
matching the English and German cognates. Make enough copies of the
cognate grid puzzle so that students can work in pairs to put the puzzle
together.
2. White Boards: Students listen and write out the different letter
combinations as called out by the teacher or student volunteer(s).
3. Interactive Spelling Bee: Teacher creates a set of index cards with German
words. Student volunteers come to the front of the class, choose a card,
and spell the word aloud in German. The other students listen and spell the
word on their own paper or white board. (This can be used to introduce
thematic vocabulary such as days of the week, school supplies, numbers,
etc.)
4. Fake ID: Each student assumes a new identity (students may choose a
German name or teacher may assign names using name cards). Students
move around the room and must spell their new name for 10 classmates or
for a specific amount of time.
5. Alphabetize Me: Students line up in rows according to their middle names.
Instruct students that they may only say the first letter of their middle
name in German to get themselves in alphabetical order.
Resources needed
Alphabet grid
Cognates puzzle (see appendix)
4
Numbers
PATs
Speaking: Your German teacher wants to call your parents to tell them what a
great job you have been doing in class. Tell your teacher your telephone number
in German.
Listening: You are helping your uncle at the BMW dealership where he works.
His bilingual assistant is out for the day, so he has asked you to listen to the
messages from various German –speaking business associates. Listen to each
message and write down the names and telephone numbers so that he can call
them back tomorrow. (Teacher creates list of numbers to call out.)
Possible Bell-work/Introductory Activities
1. Counting: Students should receive (or make) 10 index cards with the
numbers from 1-10 written out. They listen as the teacher rings a bell or
knocks on the desk. Students hold up the appropriate card. (To save time
students can use their fingers to indicate the numbers if you don’t have the
index cards made)
2. How many: Teacher writes a list of items on the board that students can
easily associate with a specific number. (i.e. fingers, eggs, cokes, eyes, etc).
Students write out the appropriate number words associated with each
item.
3. Math: Write several simple math problems on the board. Students rewrite
and solve the problem using words in place of the numerals. (Teacher may
want to include a key on the board with math terms in German: plus,
minus, mal, durch, sind, ist)
4. Number Scramble: Put a word scramble on the board with 5 of the
number words from one to 20 (use random numbers). Students must put
the words in order from least to greatest or vice versa.
5. Wie alt sind sie? Teacher lists 5-7 names of people on the board. Students
write out the ages of the people in German. (i.e. your mom, the person
sitting beside you, your brother/sister/cousin, etc)
6. Counting by 2s, 3s etc.: (Pair work- Speaking) In pairs, students count from
0-39 by ones. For the next round, students count by twos, then threes, then
fives.
7. Number Sequence: Teacher writes a series of numbers on the board.
Students fill in the missing numbers. (i.e. …sieben, acht, _____, zehn…).
In-Class Activities
1. Telefonnummer: Students write down 5 or 6 names of German speakers.
Students listen as teacher calls out telephone numbers for these people.
Students write down the numbers beside the appropriate names.
2. Wie ist deine Telefonnummer?: Students write a pretend telephone
number at the top of the page. They circulate the room for 5 minutes
trying to collect as many numbers as they can. (Be sure to tell the students
that their telephone number should include a variety of digits!!! 555-5555
is not acceptable.) Students should write the name beside each number
they collect.
3. Größer oder kleiner: In pairs, students will create two lists of 5 numbers
between 0-39. They must guess each of their partner's numbers. When a
student calls a number out, the other says "größer” or “kleiner" until the
number is guessed. (White boards work well here.)
4. Mein Problem ist dein Problem: In groups of four, students write their
own math problems and then call them out to their group members to
write and solve in a race.
5. In order: Students will receive a card with a number from 1-18 on it. In
groups of 5 or 6, they should line up from youngest to oldest. They must
ask ages in German and respond appropriately.
6. Number Line-Up: Teacher needs two sets of number word cards,
preferably on different colored paper. Each student is given a different
number word card. Students get into two groups and line up in order based
on the number word each one is holding. Groups count off when they are
finished in order to “check” accuracy.
Resources needed
Index Cards
Number Cards 1 – 18
Number Word Cards
6
Why Learn German? (Countries, Influence of German Language in
U.S.)
Project
Travel Brochure Project: Students create an enticing travel brochure for a
German-speaking country and present what they have learned to their
classmates. Students are assigned a country or choose one. (Teacher may wish to
put names of German-speaking countries into a hat and have students randomly
choose a country; to ensure that students get a country they are interested in,
teacher may allow students 30 seconds to trade countries.) Students receive
copies of Project instructions and Rubric. (See resources.) Note: the examples in
the instructions are from a German-speaking country so that students cannot
copy the examples for their own project. Students may present their work at
teacher’s discretion **Presentations aren’t necessary, but can be added if the
teacher desires. They can be done in the target language with 4 simple phrases:
Mein Land ist…, Die Hauptstadt ist…, Die Fahne ist (Farben). Es gibt(something
interesting zB „viele Bergen“)
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. Ja oder nein? Teacher lists a mix of German-speaking and non-German
speaking celebrities on the board. Choose a different category each day,
such as scientists, musicians, actors, athletes etc. (See resources for a list of
German-speaking celebrities. You will have to supply the non-Germanspeaking ones yourself). Students copy the entire list then circle or check
those that ARE German-speaking. Then discuss the contributions these
German-speakers have made to American society.
2. German influence in the U.S.: Put the following questions on the board.
(Leads into class activity/discussion.) 1. What foods can you think of that
come from German-speaking countries? 2. Name three famous Germanspeaking people, i.e., movie stars, singers, athletes. 3. What English words
can you think of that come from German? Examples: uber, kindergarten,
sauerkraut.
3. Country/Capital Match: List the 4 German-speaking countries in one
column and capitals in another. Students match the countries with the
corresponding capitals. This can also be done with German Bundesländer
and their capitals (just not all 16 at a time).
4. As Many As You Can!: Students list as many German-states as they can
think of in the time limit, then compare their list with a friend.
5. FedEx Frenzy: Your best friend’s dad flies for FedEx, and he’ll be traveling to
the following German-speaking cities: (List Wien, Hamburg, Tirol, München,
and Salzburg on the board). Which country will he be in? (Students copy
the list and then write out the country beside the name). Similar activity
can be done with the German states. You list the capital cities and the
students list the German state.
In-Class Activities
1. Was weißt du schon? (Used to find out what students already know and
introduce the German-speaking countries) Students have 30 seconds to
write down as many German-speaking countries and cities as they can on
their own paper. After time is up, students have 30 seconds to “copy”
answers from those around them to extend their lists. Teacher or student
volunteer then writes down answers on the board as students share aloud
from their lists. Students are then allowed to look at maps of the Germanspeaking world to add to lists on the board and copy those country names
onto their own papers. (Class can make a separate column on the board for
countries that are not predominantly German-speaking but have Germanspeaking areas (such as Belgium, the U.S., Argentina, Venezuela, etc.)
2. Map It!: (Perfect for visual learners) Give students a blank map of the
world. Students color code the regions where German is spoken. Students
include a key/legend identifying the regions by color. Ex: red for German as
the only official language, orange for German as one of the official
languages, yellow for an area that has German-speakers, but it is not the
official language.
3. Country of the quarter… Students choose a German-speaking country to
represent for the quarter. Since there are 4 quarters in the school year,
they will have a chance to do all four German-speaking countries. At the
beginning of the quarter students select a country to represent for the nine
weeks. They will make a rendition of their respective country’s flag on an
index card or with construction paper. (Teacher will need to have images
of flags for students to choose from.) On the back of the flag, students
must write the following information about the country: a. capital b.
major landmarks (rivers, mountains, structures, buildings, etc.), c. colors of
the flag in German. Students may post flags on their binders. To make it
8
4.
5.
6.
7.
more interesting you can have the students add more information to their
flag each week of the nine weeks. They can add things like, famous people
from the country, famous foods, inventions, etc.
Warum deutsch lernen?: Why study German class discussion. Have
student think, pair, share the answers to the following questions: Do you
think it’s important to study a second language? Why or why not? Why will
knowing German help you as an adult? How can YOU use German right
now? Have students get in groups of 3 or 4 and combine answers and
present their list to other groups or the class as a whole.
Country Catch: Using a soft object, one student begins the activity by
saying the name of a German-speaking city or state. The student then
tosses the soft, harmless object to another student who must say the name
of another German-speaking city or state. Play continues until students run
out of names to say. No repeats!
Famous German speakers Bulletin Board: As extra credit or for a small
treat, allow students to bring in pictures of famous German-speakers
(singers, athletes, actors, politicians, historical figures, etc.) along with a
small index card including the person’s name, what they are famous
for/profession, and their country of origin. Now you have an interactive
bulletin board!
Map labeling: After having introduced and practiced the 16 German states
with the students, give them a blank map of Germany and have them label
as many of the Bundesländer as they can. This can be done as practice the
first time and later on as a quiz.
Resources needed
Map of the world
Blank map of Germany
Travel Brochure Project instructions and rubric (see resources)
List of famous German-speakers (see resources)
9
Greetings, Farewells, Introductions (Name, Age, Birthday, Origin)
PATs
Speaking: You have been accepted to a summer camp in Salzburg. They have
requested that you call and give them a little information about yourself. You
call the camp and have to leave a voicemail for Herr Meyer. You must greet
him, introduce yourself, say what city you are from, give your birthday, and
say how old you are.
Writing: You decide to get an E-pal from Salzburg because you'll be going to
camp there this summer. Your E-pal assignment has just arrived. All you know
is that his name is Erich. Write him an email introducing yourself and giving
some basic information such as your name, age, birthday, origin. Also, ask
him two questions about himself.
Project
Comic Creations: Have students create a one-frame comic or a multi-frame
comic strip depicting basic conversational exchanges between two or more
people. You can have the students draw the comics themselves or you can use a
comic creation site such as toondoo.com.
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. Whole-Class Conversation: Have students copy a simple A-B conversation
from the board or on butcher paper. Divide the class into Group A and
Group B. After the teacher models phrases for each group, the class
completes the conversation aloud. Groups switch roles and repeat. (This
can be used with various conversations and is useful in introducing new
phrases.) Sample conversation:
A: Hallo! Wie geht es dir?
B: Es geht mir gut. Und dir? Immer noch krank?
A: Nein es geht mir viel besser.
B: Das freut mich.
2. Write a simple conversation on the board with words missing. Students
copy conversation and fill in appropriate responses. (See sample above.)
3. On board write one column of questions and one column of suitable
responses. Students match questions with possible answers or responses.
4. Have students draw a T-chart. On the board write a mix of greetings and
farewells. Students write greetings on one side and farewells on the other.
(Alternate suggestions: circle greetings and underline farewells, or color
code the two with colored pencils, etc.)
5. Give students a copy of pictures of people with blank speech bubbles. Tell
them to fill in appropriate greetings and/or farewells for the situations
depicted.
In-Class Activities
1. Mingle-Mingle: Teacher passes out one question card to each student.
(Wie heißt du? Woher kommst du? Etc.) Students move around the room
and ask each other the question on their cards. After answering, students
exchange cards and move on to another partner.
2. Ein Interview: Students work in pairs to ask each other basic biographical
questions and record their partner’s answers to report to the class. The
questions will be asked in 2nd person, then reported in 3rd person.
3. Musical Conversations: Teacher creates 3 mini-conversations based on
current theme and gives each student a copy of the conversations.
Students begin circulating the room when they hear music. When the
music stops, they turn to a partner and have the conversation. When the
music plays, they move on. Repeat until students have had all three
conversations.
4. Pass the question: Use a beanbag or other soft, object that will not cause
physical harm. Teacher begins by asking a question and then tossing the
object to a student. Student answers the question and then asks the same
question. He/she then tosses the object to another student. (When
applicable, students may use more than one question in the activity.)
5. Greeting or goodbye? Hand students two pieces of different colored
cardstock. Tell them to raise one color if they hear a greeting and the other
color if they hear a farewell. (Teacher calls out the greetings and farewells
in target language). To save time (or paper) students can raise one hand
for a greeting and two hands for a farewell.
6. Mein Ausweiß: Have students fill out a questionnaire for the following
information: Wie heißt du? Wie alt bist du? Woher kommst du? Wann hast
11
du Geburtstag? Take pictures of students, and have them create an ID card
that displays the information.
7. Birthday Lineup: Using only German, students line up in order of their
birth month. (This can be done in teams: divide the class in half and see
which half can complete task first. )
8. Cluster: Using only German, students find other students in the class with
the same birth month.
9. Interactive Sentences: Teacher creates sets of sentences on card stock
(one word on each card; each sentence with a different color card stock).
Pass out all the cards. Call out a color. Students come to the front and
arrange themselves in the correct order for the sentence to make sense.
10.Biography in a Bag: Teacher creates sets of sentences that give
biographical information. (Example: Ich heiße Tanja. Ich komme aus
Frankfurt. Ich bin 15 Jahre alt. Ich habe am ersten Dezember Geburtstag.
Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist lila.) Each bag should contain a different identity.
Cut sentences into individual words and put them in a ziplock bag. In pairs
or groups of three, students work together to assemble the sentences.
Students record this information on a sheet of notebook paper. Students
put all words back into plastic bag, seal it, and exchange bags with another
group. (*Follow up activity- Teacher asks entire class about individuals, i.e.
Woher kommt Tanja? Was ist Tanjas Lieblingsfarbe?)
Resources needed
Mingle-Mingle question cards
German music for Musical Conversations
Cardstock for Interactive Sentences
Beanbag or soft ball for Pass the Question
Ziplock bags and cut up sentences for Biography in a Bag
Comic Creation Project Description/Rubric
12
Talking About Family and Describing People
PATs
Speaking: Your E-pal, Erich, is coming to the airport. You are not able to pick him
up, but two of your family members will be there to pick him up. You call Erich on
his cell phone, but it goes to voicemail. Leave him a message in German that
describes your family members so that he will recognize them.
Writing: Erich, your E-pal is coming to visit. In his last e-mail, he asked you about
your family so that he would have an idea of who he will be staying with at your
house. Write him back in German, and describe your family to him with as
much information as you can.
Project
Meine Familie Oral Presentation: Give students a copy of the Scrapbook Project
Instructions (See Resources). Students create a scrapbook page (can be on
construction or scrapbook paper). They present these to the class. In order for
this to be a well-rehearsed presentation, teacher should allow students to
practice presenting in small groups before presenting to class. Also, teacher
should plan to have four to six presentations per day as it may get a little tedious
listening to 30 presentations in one day.
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. Family Tree: Before introducing vocabulary, teacher draws a simple family
tree on the board and lists family vocabulary to the side. Students copy the
family tree and label it with where they think each term should go.
2. Simpsons Family: Put a picture of the Simpsons (or other TV family the
students would know) and write family riddles on the board for students to
solve, such as: Bart ist _______ von Homer. Or Die Frau von Homer heißt
______.
3. What are they like? Place various images of people on the board. Students
list as many descriptors as they can for each image. (Big magazine pictures
work well.)
4. Describing Celebrities: Students see a list of celebrities/famous people and
another list of descriptors. Students choose which word on the list best
describes each person. As an alternate activity, students can choose an
additional celebrity that fits the descriptor. Or, just list descriptors, and the
students choose someone who would fit that description. You get the idea!
5. Was machen sie gern? Students copy the list of family members from the
board onto their paper and then write one or two activities that that
particular family member likes/dislikes. This can also be done in reverse—
teacher lists a variety of activities, and students must identify members of
their family that like/dislike that particular activity.
In-Class Activities
1. Celebrity Family Tree: Students work in small groups or pairs. Teacher
provides magazines or students bring them in. Students will create a family
tree for a family of celebrities. They can mix and match celebrities as they
choose. Example: Beyonce is Denzel’s wife. Will Smith is their son. The
students arrange the pictures and write an explanation of their family tree
beneath.
2. Wie heißt dein(e)…? Talking Squares: Using the Talking Squares Template
(see resources), teacher creates an exercise where students circulate and
ask each other questions to find out about their families. Each column
should have a question. Example: Wie heisst dein Vater? Students write
their partner’s response to the question in one of the squares beneath that
question and also put their partner’s name in the square. This is a great
opportunity for students to expand vocabulary by using extra vocabulary
not on the Instructional Map. *Alternate questions: Wie heisst deine
Schwester…? Hast du ein Haustier…? Was macht deine Mutter gern ….? Etc.
3. Memory: Teacher creates or has students create sets of memory cards to
practice recognition of descriptive words (image on one card, word on the
other). Students play memory in pairs or small groups. Example: Student
A flips over a picture of Arnold Schwarzeneggar and tries to find the card
with the word stark.
4. Quick Interview: Teacher makes a list of five-ten questions using current
vocabulary. Teacher (or a native speaker or an exceptional student)
conducts an oral interview asking each of the questions. The interviewer
14
checks yes or no according to whether or not the student being interviewed
could answer the question (short answer or complete sentence).
Resources needed
Picture of Simpsons family
Images of Celebrities
List of celebrities
15
School
PATs
Speaking: Your family volunteered to host an exchange student from Stuttgart for
two weeks as part of an international program for your school. You have just
been introduced to Bettina. She will be attending classes with you for a week. In
German, tell her what to expect as she shadows you throughout the week.
Writing: The guidance counselor has asked you to write an email to Birgit, an
exchange student from the Berlin. She will be coming to your school in a few
weeks, and she wants to know about some of the classes and what materials she
will need. Write Birgit an email giving her the information about your schedule.
Projects
In einer Buchhandlung: In pairs, students create and perform a short skit that
takes place in a bookstore. One student is the client and the other is the clerk.
One student needs to ask where certain school related objects are located. The
clerk will show the student where they are and tell him/her the prices of the
items. The student will purchase the item and thank the clerk. Students can use
props for the presentation.
Meine Schule: Students create a promotional poster in German that
demonstrates what their school offers. They may work in pairs to design and
present the poster.
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. In meiner Schultasche: To introduce school supplies, fill a backpack with
the items. In German, take out the items telling the students what you have
in your Schultasche. Have them repeat the terms. You may pass out items
to select students as the terms are being repeated. After all items have
been introduced, ask Wer hat _____? Students can return the items to the
teacher as they are called.
2. Match Up: On board, teacher lists school supplies in one column and
classes in another. Students match the class with appropriate
3.
4.
5.
6.
supply/supplies.
Was braucht man? Teacher writes a list of tasks that students would
complete in a classroom. Beside each task, students write the supply (in
German) that would be used to accomplish that task. (Example: to write a
draft Papier, einen Kuli) *can also be done in reverse
Class/object match up: On the board, teacher writes list of “Ich brauche”
phrases, such as: Ich brauche ein Wörterbuch. In welcher Klasse bin ich?
Students provide the answer for each. Answers may vary.
Word Scramble: Teacher writes a list of vocabulary words on the board in
German, but each word is scrambled. Students unscramble each word then
put the list in alphabetical order according to the English word.
Richtig oder Falsch? Teacher puts phrases on the board such as: Man
braucht eine Gitarre in Naturwissenschaft. Students tell whether each
phrase is true or false and correct false phrases.
In-Class Activities
1. Odd one out: Think Sesame Street—“One of these things is not like the
other…” Students are given a list of terms in German and must decide
which word does not belong. After completing teacher given examples,
students can work in pairs to create their own examples and have other
students solve them.
2. Interview: Students conduct four interviews to find out certain information
about their classmates’ preferences and school schedules. Teacher will
want to discuss with the class how to form the questions they will need to
ask. Students copy the questions from the board after the discussion.
Students make four “appointments” with other students. At the teacher’s
signal students meet with their first appointment and conduct the
interview, recording the information they receive onto their notebook
paper. Repeat until students have met and completed all four
appointments.
3. Ich brauche…: Students are seated in rows of six at their desks. The
objective is for each row to collect a pool of school supplies to be placed on
the floor in the front of their row. Teacher begins the activity by saying: Ich
brauche einen Bleistift. A student from each row should provide a pencil for
their row’s pool. Teacher continues until each row has a complete pool of
17
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
school supplies. Follow this activity up with the Ich brauche...das Spiel!
Ich brauche…Das Spiel! (Competition): Students are seated in rows of six at
their desks. Each row has a complete pile of school supplies on the floor in
front of their row. The student in the back begins by whispering “Ich
brauche ….” (calling for a specific school supply from the pile). The message
is relayed student by student to the front of the row. The student in the
first seat picks up that specified school supply and takes it to the back of
the row. All students shift forward one seat. Process continues until the
entire pile has been moved to the back of the row. The first team finished
wins!
Mein Stundenplan: Students number from 1-6 on their papers. They listen
as the teacher talks about a mock class schedule. Zuerst, habe ich ______.
Danach habe ich _____. Students record the classes in the order that they
hear them. Teacher then shows the monologue on an overhead or on the
board for students to verify that they heard correctly. Students then turn
to a partner and complete the monologue according to their own
schedules. (Teacher may want to discuss ordinal numbers before students
begin pair work.)
Advertisement: Students create an advertisement for a back-to-school sale
in Germany. The ad must include at least 5 school supplies, with pictures
for each, the German word, and a price.
Prove it! Teacher makes up a list of can-do statements for students to use
to prove what they can do. (See instructional map). The students self-verify
that they can do each of the functions on the list. They circle ja or nein
according to what they can do in the language. At the teacher’s signal,
students move around the room and get a classmate to verify that they can
indeed do what the list says. (They get a signature from the different
verifiers.)
Picture this… Show students a picture of a classroom or a school building
in a German-speaking country. Have them list similarities and differences
that they see. (Venn diagram, Think, Pair, Share, etc.)
Resources needed
Project description for skit and presentational rubric
Can do statements
Picture of classroom or school building from German-speaking country
18
Likes and Dislikes/Activities
PATs
Speaking: Your mother works at International Paper. One of her clients from
Switzerland is in town with his family and she has invited the family to have
dinner with yours. When you get to the restaurant they introduce you to Elena, a
girl about your age. She doesn’t speak much English and asks you in German
what you do in your free time. Tell her briefly about some of the things you do
when you are not at school.
Writing: Your E-pal from Vienna wrote you back. In his email, he asked you what
you like to do in your free time. Write an email back and tell him 3 activities that
you like. You don’t want to be rude, so be sure to ask him what he likes to do as
well.
Project
Was machst du gern? Booklet Project: Each student needs two pieces of white
paper and one piece of construction paper. Students fold pages into a “booklet.”
Students use the booklet to write about their likes/dislikes and the “degree” to
which they like/dislike various activities. They can use phrases like: sehr gern,
nicht so gern, überhaupt nicht gern, etc.
Possible Bell-work/Introductory Activities
1. Show students a list of activities. Tell them to use what they know about
cognates to write down what they think each word means. Tell them to
make a guess if they don’t know.
2. Show students a list of vocabulary words. Students make three columns:
smiley face, straight face, sad face. Have them list the activities in the
appropriate column according to their own opinions.
3. Put a list of vocabulary words on one side of the board. On the other side
of the board, put a group of pictures that corresponds with SOME of the
words. Ask the students to list the words that are not pictured. (Or ask
students to list the words that ARE pictured).
19
4. List a few activities on the board. Have students a sentence or two
expressing their opinion about the activities listed. For example: Ich mag
Fahrrad fahren nicht, or Basketball ist mein Lieblingssport.
In-Class Activities
1. Gallery Walks: Teacher posts pictures of different activities around the
room. (Place pages in sheet protectors and label each in dry erase marker
before hanging them on the wall.) Give each student a copy of the
pictures. Students walk around the “gallery” and write the German word or
phrase for each image.
2. Show me: (Great for kinesthetic learners!) As a class, students create
gestures to go along with each activity. Class comes to a consensus on one
specific gesture to use for each activity. Follow up by playing Charades,
Simon says, etc.
3. Ja oder nein?: Teacher gives each student a card with ja on one side and
nein on the other. (It helps if each side is a different color.) Teacher asks
students, “Hast du ________ gern?” Students respond with the cards.
(Variation: students stand if they like the activity and sit if they don’t like
it.)
4. Charades: Volunteer acts out various activities. Class guesses (in target
language) which activity the volunteer is acting out. Teacher may also use
word/phrase cards to have volunteers act out specific vocabulary.
5. Simon sagt! Play one round with eyes open to warm up. Teacher calls out
activities and students act out to show understanding. When the real game
begins, students should close their eyes. (Allow student volunteers to call
out activities as well.)
6. Four corners: Teacher posts a sign in each corner of the room: Ich habe
_____gern, Ich habe _____nicht gern,Ich habe _______ sehr gern, Ich habe
_____ überhaupt nicht gern. Teacher calls out activities and students move
to the sign that expresses their opinion about that activity. Teacher calls on
a specific group to express their collective opinion aloud (choral response).
Repeat as time allows.
7. Was macht Zappelphilipp gern: Teacher gives each student an image with
an activity on it (from Gallery). Students form two large circles in opposite
areas of the classroom. To warm up, each student takes a turn introducing
his/her activity by saying “Zappelphillip ____(verb) gern.” Teacher sets
timer for about a minute. One student in each circle begins the game by
20
saying “Zappelphillip ____(verb) gern.” (Student fills in the blank with the
activity pictured on ANOTHER student’s card.) The student holding that
activity card continues the game by responding with “Zappelphillip
____(verb) nicht gern (his/her own activity card); Er _____ gern (image on
ANOTHER student’s card)” Play continues until timer goes off. The students
in each circle who are speaking when the timer goes off switch circles.
Repeat as time allows.
8. Ticket Out the Door: Students have to tell the teacher one
activity/food/color that they like or don’t like as they leave the classroom.
9. Scavenger hunt: Teacher creates and distributes scavenger hunt lists in
German to pairs/small groups. Using magazines/newspapers, students cut
out images that represent words/phrases from their lists and collage and
label the images.
10.Autobiographical Sketch: As a follow up activity to the Scavenger Hunt,
students work together to write an “autobiographical sketch” of a person
whom their collage could represent (i.e. Ich heisse…, Ich bin __ Jahre alt, Ich
komme aus ___, Ich habe am ____ _______ Geburtstag, Ich _____ gern, Ich
______ nicht gern… etc.). Allow students to be creative and draw the
character if they choose!
Resources needed
Pictures of various activities
Scavenger Hunt lists
Construction and copy paper for booklets
21
Around the House
PATs
Speaking: Your host mom is an architect and she is always looking for new ideas
for designing houses. She has asked you about your dream house to get some
inspiration for her next project. Describe your dream house to her in detail.
Writing: Your pen pal from Germany has written you about the latest US movie
he saw and the beautiful mansions he saw in it. He asks you to describe what US
homes are really like. Write him a letter describing what your home/apartment
is like.
Projects
Ein Wunderschönes Haus: Students play the part of a realtor in Germany who is
flipping a house. Each student creates a diagram or a 3-D home complete with
furnishings and all rooms labeled.
 Written component: Open House! Students create a flyer advertising their
homes. The flyer describes the amenities of the house, asking price, etc.
Houses go on display and flyers are beside them. Students visit other
homes checking out the flyers and eventually choose the home they want
to buy.
 Speaking component: Open House! Students speak to potential buyers
explaining the amenities of the house, asking price, etc. Listening ‘buyers’
take notes during the ‘realtors’ presentations and eventually choose the
home they want to buy. (You may wish to have the ‘buyers’ write a brief
note in German explaining why they chose the home.)
Possible Bell-works/Introductory Activities
1. List furniture in a jumbled mess on the board. Students copy columns with
room names at the top. Students write furniture into appropriate columns
based on where they would be located in the home.
22
2. Write sentences on the board that describe rooms in the home and
furniture in the rooms. Students copy the sentences and then decide if the
sentences are logisch oder unlogisch. (Example: In der Küche gibt es einen
Tisch. Im Esszimmer ist ein Bett.)
3. Provide an image of a house (inside and outside). On the board, have a list
of sentences with missing vocabulary items that are found in the image.
Students read the sentences and figure out which item is located in the
area described in the sentence. zB: Eine _______ liegt auf dem Tisch in der
Küche.
4. List several rooms on the board. Students write a clue/hint in German that
would lead someone to guess that room. Have students read their clues
aloud to a partner and see if their partner can guess which room they were
writing about.
In-Class Activities
1. Ein renoviertes Haus: Show students a clip from a home make-over t.v.
program with no sounds (Flip This House, Trading Spaces, etc.). In pairs,
students write a script in German for the program intro. Have student
volunteers present their scripts as the class watches the clip again.
2. Ein großes Haus: Teacher creates ‘Ein großes Haus’ activity kit with: a big
tarp or sheet, a roll of masking tape, large images of furniture and items
unique to each room in the house. You’ll also need laminated vocabulary
cards with names of each room in the home. Students work in pairs or
threes to create a blueprint of a typical German home, using the tape to
outline the rooms. Students place images in the appropriate rooms of the
home they have created. Groups then rotate to another group’s home and
label the rooms based what they see.
3. Wo sind die Unterschiede?: Teacher creates templates of a room or a
house scene that look similar but have subtle differences. (Note: have
some artistic students or colleagues create these.) There should be a
certain number of differences (5-8). Tell students to make statements
describing their scenes until they find the differences.
4. New Furniture: Students work in pairs. Each pair receives a plastic bag
with laminated furniture images (clipart, etc). Student A receives a picture
of the layout of a room with some furnishings included. Student B receives
23
a page with the layout of the room complete with the additional furniture
and a list of statements explaining where this new furniture should go.
Student B reads the statements to Student A, and Student A places the
furniture accordingly.
5. Wo ist mein Schlüssel? Students work in pairs. Each student receives a
copy of a layout of a room or house and their own small “key.” Students
“hide” the key in one room or place in the house and then take turns trying
to find out where each other’s keys are hidden by asking, “Ist der Schlüssel
im/ in der_______?” (This goes by quickly—have students re-hide their
keys and play best out of five. As a variation, they could switch partners
after someone wins x number of times.)
24
Food
PATs
Speaking: You are on Skype talking with a student from Switzerland. She is on
staff with her school’s newspaper and the editor has asked her to write an article
about what American teenagers typically eat throughout the day. Tell her what
you prefer to eat during a typical day.
Writing: There is a new student from Austria in your math class. He knows you
take German and he writes you a note asking what the cafeteria food is like.
Write him back and tell him what the cafeteria typically serves for breakfast
and/or lunch.
Project
A German Recipe: Students research and find an authentic recipe from a Germanspeaking country. They design a page with the recipe in the target language and
the class combines the recipes to create a cookbook for the class. They should
find the recipe already in German (not try to translate). They should be able to
give a brief explanation of how to prepare the recipe in English, based on what
they read. You may wish to offer the students extra credit for trying the recipes
out at home describing how they tasted in German. They can document that they
did this by submitting a video or getting a parent signature.
Possible Bell-work/Introductory Activities
1. Teacher puts a list of vocabulary words on the board. Students put them
into correct food group categories. (categories can also include
likes/dislikes, meals, colors, etc.)
2. Teacher writes a list of food on the board, and students see which foods
they can identify.
3. Teacher puts several food images and a stick person on board. Students
create cartoon with conversation bubbles talking about the foods that the
person likes/doesn’t like.
4. Students write a list of foods that they ate the previous day.
5. Students make a Montag bis Freitag calendar for the cafeteria with various
meals for each day.
In-Class Activities
1. Vocab Intro: Each student gets a list with 10 food vocab words all from the
same food group. (This will provide students with more vocabulary than
what is found in the book. They are not responsible for owning ALL of the
words from other groups, but it will expose them to a variety of food
items.) Students individually use dictionaries to look up the words on their
lists. Once they have written the English/drawn a picture definition. Put the
‘titles’ of the lists on the board in German. Students title their lists, then
move to groups with other students who have the same food group. Once
in groups, teacher gives each student in the group a ‘picture page’ with
images of foods from that food group. Students verify their vocabulary in
their groups and label each image with the German term. (You may want to
have them keep a dictionary throughout the year and repeat this activity
with various vocabulary sets.)
2. Grocery List: Teacher gives pairs a ‘grocery list’ with a variety of foods in
German. Pairs use grocery store ads to find the items on their lists.
Students cut the items out and create a collage with the images labeled.
3. Zum Markt: (If you can, find grocery ads from a German speaking country
complete with prices in another currency!) Have students work in pairs to
create a meal. Give students a budget in the local currency, and tell them to
‘go shopping’ for their meal.
4. Gallery Walks: Teacher posts pictures of different activities around the
room. (Place pages in sheet protectors and label each in dry erase marker
before hanging them on the wall.) Give each student a sheet with small
images. Students walk around the “gallery” and write the German word or
phrase for each image.
5. Food Pyramid Challenge! Use this activity to extend vocabulary recognition
as most of the words provided are not part of the produced vocabulary
requirements. Teacher writes extended list of food items in black on the
board. Teacher draws food pyramid on opposite side of board. (Alternate
option: use overhead or SmartBoard to project food pyramid) Teacher or
26
student volunteers fill in each food group title on the board with a different
color.
Resources needed:
Extended Food Vocabulary set
German grocery ads
27
Restaurant
PATs
Speaking: You are in a German restaurant with your family. Your aunt wants to
hear you use your German and wants you to order in German. Tell the waiter
what you want to eat and drink.
Writing: The German Club is having a Semester party. There will be a variety of
food and drinks served. Three people have signed up to bring table
supplies/utensils. Write each one a short note telling him/her what two items
each person should bring.
Project
Im Restaurant… Students work in small groups to create a scene at a restaurant.
During the scene, a problem arises and the students must solve the problem.
Place Setting: Students create a 3D place setting with dishes and utensils for a
meal of their choosing. Food should also be included. They bring this to class.
They write a description of their setting and then present it orally to the class.
Possible Bellwork/Introductory Activities
1. Teacher puts a list of foods on the board. Students decide which utensils
one would typically use to eat/drink them.
2. Students write a list of greetings between customer and waiter. (This
provides a review for register and greetings in general.)
3. Teacher provides a simple dialogue between a server and a customer.
Students fill in missing words/phrases.
4. Teacher puts images on board of several items found on a table. Students
match these items with the correct word.
5. Teacher puts lists of items on the board. One item in each list does not
belong for some reason i.e. das Messer, die Gabel, der Löffel, der Teller.
Students identify which word does not belong.
In-Class Activities
1. Das Eindecken eines Tisches: Teacher demonstrates an appropriate
German place setting according to Knigge (the authority on German
etiquette) and identifies each object as it is placed on the table. Students
listen and repeat as the teacher sets the table. Then the teacher jumbles
up the place setting and asks students to help her place it back in the order
it should go. They can do this by saying it in German while the teacher
moves the pieces, or coming to the front, saying it and moving the pieces
themselves. (See http://www.knigge.de/themen/bei-tisch/das-eindecken2040.htm for rules on setting the table. Basically, for a simple lunch, the
plate goes in the middle with the knife to the right and the spoon next to
the knife. The fork goes to the left of the plate. Above the knife and spoon
goes the cup. And crosswise above the plate goes the small dessert spoon.
The napkin can be folded and placed on the plate.)
2. Who has it? Hand out various table items to students throughout the class.
Ask “Wer hat….? As you call out the items, students bring them up and put
them on the table. (Create several sets of place settings as students bring
items to you.)
3. Fastest thumb: Students are in groups of three for this activity. Each group
receives a full place setting. One student calls out an item. The other two
students race to grab the item with their thumbs and drag the item to their
side of the desk. Students change roles as time allows.
4. Up, down: Divide class into two teams. Distribute table items to all
students. Each team should have an equal number of each item. Teacher
or student volunteer calls out items. The team with the first member to
stand with correct item gets a point.
5. Im Restaurant I (Conversation/Presentational): Students work in pairs to
create a dialogue that would happen in a restaurant. They then present
these dialogues or record them for other students to hear. Teacher should
set criteria before beginning activity. Example: Conversation should
include: Polite greeting, order a drink, ask for bill.)
6. Im Restaurant 2 (Listening/Interpretive): As an extension activity using the
recorded conversations from Part I, have different pairs of students listen
to a peer group’s recording. The listeners will either a. write the dialogue
they hear as a dictation exercise or b. answer specific questions about the
conversation. (How did the waiter greet the customer? What did the
29
customer order to drink?) The groups should then check their answers with
the creators of the conversation.
7. Servers and Customers: In this activity, half of the class are servers and half
of the class are customers. There should be a large sampling of removable
laminated images attached to the board. (tape/magnets). “The customers”
sit at various tables around the room. “Servers” circulate and ask the
customers what they would like one at a time. (Instruct the customers
that they should ask for only one item at a time.) Servers then bring the
items to their customers and then move on to another table. As time
allows, students should switch roles. (Objective is to practice polite phrases
used when ordering food: Ich hätte gerne, Ich möchte, Ich nehme, etc.)
8. Die Speisekarte: Give students a copy of a menu from a restaurant in a
German-speaking country or from a local restaurant. Have pairs take turns
asking and answering Wie viel kostet/kosten_____? from the menu. (This
would work with true/false statements about the menu as well.)
9. Exchange Rate: Show students a menu from a German-speaking country.
Explain the concept of exchange rate and have them convert the prices to
dollars.
10.As a follow up activity to Exchange Rate, give students a budget in U.S.
dollars (i.e. they only have $15), and ask them what they can order and how
much money they would have left if they ordered in that restaurant.
Resources needed:
Dishes for place settings
Laminated Images of food
Menus from German speaking countries (can be found on the internet if you
don’t have authentic copies from Germany)
30
Places
PATs
Speaking: The student from Liechtenstein who is in your school has invited you to
come to the movies this weekend. Call him back and leave him a voicemail
stating whether you can or cannot go and give a reason for your response.
Writing: You are having a party this weekend, and you want to invite the new
student from Germany. Write her a note to explain the details of your party,
(i.e. where it will be, who will be there, what you will be doing) and invite her to
come.
Possible Bellwork/Introductory Activities
1. List various activities on the board and have students brainstorm as many
places as they can where those activities can take place.
2. Logisch oder unlogisch? Make a list of statements, some of which make
sense, and some of which do not make sense. Students use a T-chart and
write the logical sentences in one column and the illogical sentences in the
other. (zB: Ich schwimme gern im Kino.)
3. Sentence correction: Write sentences on the board that have common
mistakes. (zB: Ich fahre zu Hause. Ich gehe zu Deutschland.) Students must
find the errors and correct them.
4. Students write a short paragraph telling where they are going to go over
the weekend and what they are going to do.
5. Create a one week calendar on the whiteboard. In each day of the week
write an event. Students must write sentences that indicate what they
have to do during the week. (i.e. Montag – Prüfung Dienstag Basketballspiel…usw) Students may write Ich muss für meine Prüfung
lernen...usw.
In-Class Activities
1. Vocab introduction: Create a slide show spiraling the activities students
already know and introducing the places they might go for those activities.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Each slide should include a recognizable image of the place and the
question “Was machst du in der/dem…?” (Example: Was machst du in der
Bibliothek? And students are able to respond in writing or aloud with lesen,
lernen, usw.)
Interview: Teacher lists at least ten possible ‘interview’ questions (focusing
on activities during the week/on the weekend/places) on the board. Each
student chooses/copies five of the questions onto his/her paper. Students
rotate around the room interviewing at least three people and jotting down
their responses.
Interview follow up: Based on what students found out in their interviews,
students write a short description of how each interviewee responded. You
may also have them include assumptions about that person based on the
activities they participate in. (zB: Bob geht jeden Tag zur Sporthalle. Ich
denke er ist sehr sportlich.)
Talk Show: Students work in pairs as ‘hosts’ to produce a list of seven
questions to ask their ‘guests.’ (Focus on where someone goes, what
he/she does there, etc.) Both students in the pair write their questions on
index cards and then separate, circulating the room finding ‘guests’ to
interview. After students have practiced a variety of questions with various
‘host/guest’ combos, have volunteers come to the front as ‘hosts’ with
volunteer ‘guests’ to answer their questions.
Sentence Scramble: Materials needed: Plastic ziplock bags, several
different colors of copy paper or cardstock and all the German I creativity
you can muster. Write statements about what people are going to do this
week and weekend. (zB: Ich gehe zum Park. Du gehst ins Kino. usw. A
complete set of statements (all of the same color paper) should include all
present tense forms of gehen.) Cut the statements into chunks and put
them in the plastic bags. Students work in pairs to put sentences back
together. When they finish one set/color, they should have the teacher or
another student verify that the sentences make sense. This is a nice
individually paced activity. Students who are still mastering the concept
may only complete one set of sentences in the allotted time, but others
have the opportunity to roll through other colors (and of course have the
bragging rights to how many sets they were able to do!).
Skit: Students prepare a brief skit in groups of 3 or 4 in which they extend
an invitation and make plans to go somewhere together. Encourage them
to accept/decline the invitation and make detailed plans about the event.
32
Resources needed:
Slideshow/Powerpoint of activities and places
Sentence strips
33
Clothing
PATs
Speaking: You are at a party and your friend Frank has gone inside to get
something to drink. While he has stepped away, a girl you don’t recognize comes
looking for him. By the time he gets back, she is gone. You don’t know her name,
but you describe the girl’s clothing so that Frank can try to find her.
Writing: You are meeting Angelika at a concert, but there are so many people she
can’t find you. You have already sent her a text to tell her where you are. Send
her a second detailed text telling her what you are wearing so she can find you
in the crowd.
Possible Bell-work/Introductory Activities
1. Put various images of people on the board. Students choose people/outfits
to describe paying close attention to the color of each article of clothing.
(noun-adjective agreement)
2. Use a graphic organizer (Venn Diagram with four circles) to put clothing in
the correct bubble for each season.
3. Sentence correction: Write sentences on the board that have common
mistakes. (noun-adjective agreement) Students must find the errors and
correct them.
4. List places on the board and have students come up with as many articles
of clothing as they can think of that would be worn to those places.
5. In one box/column, list several articles of clothing. Have a list of adjectives
on the opposite side that can modify articles of clothing (zB: Die Schuhe,
Das Hemd, usw. /weißes, rote, usw.) Students must match the article with
its color.
In-Class Activities
1. Gallery Walk: Hang pictures of the clothing around the classroom, label
them and give each student a copy of these pictures with no labels.
Students label their vocabulary pictures.
2. Zieh dir das an! Intro: Teacher introduces clothing vocabulary by calling
students to the front and giving them an article of clothing to put on over
their clothes.
3. Zieh dir das an! Relay: Teacher gathers a laundry basket of clothing.
(Students may bring in unwanted clothes. Goodwill is another option.)
Students form two teams. A member from each team comes to the front.
Each student draws a card with a clothing vocabulary word on it. Students
race to find their item and be the first to put it on to earn a point for their
team. (There may be more than one card for each vocabulary word.)
4. Was tragen sie?: Pairs of students receive a magazine image and work
together to describe the clothing that they see the people wearing. (This
can be spoken or written.) Every 60 seconds, pairs exchange images with
another team.
5. Papierpuppen: Students create an outfit for a paper doll and then write a
description of the outfit. They can present these aloud to the class.
6. Ich gehe zu einer Party…: Separate students into groups of about 10 and
have them sit in a circle. One student starts by saying “Ich gehe zu einer
Party und ich trage einen roten Rock.“ The next student says “Ich gehe zu
einer Party und ich trage ein gelbes Kleid. Sie trägt einen roten Rock.”
Students continue until everyone has had a turn.
7. Modeschau: Students prepare a fashion show. This can be done in groups
of three. They may plan the event in advance and practice their
descriptions. Or for a spontaneous activity from the laundry basket, three
to four students go into the hallway with the laundry basket to ‘dress’ for
the fashion show. As each ‘model’ walks in the door in his/her new outfit,
the volunteer describes what he/she is wearing. You may wish to have the
audience write their own description of each model and then call on
various students to be the ‘spokesperson’.
Resources needed:
Articles of clothing to be used in class (from Goodwill or other thrift store)
Pictures of clothing to hang around classroom
35
Appendix:
Resources
Sample Alphabet Grid
before you print and it will fit onto the pages nicely)
A
B
C
D
E
F
2
(remove the title
G
H
I
J
K
L
3
M
N
O
P
Q
R
4
S
T
U
V
W
X
Use words that contain the letter x, as it is uncommon for words to begin with it.
5
Y
Z
Ä
Ö
Ü
ß
Use words that contain the ß, as words do not begin with it.
6
7
Sample Cognate Puzzle
8
Travel Brochure Project
Create Your Own Travel Brochure!
Overview:
You will be choosing one country within the German speaking world to research.
Remember that there are 5 countries to choose from. Once you have chosen a country that you
are interested in, you will be doing some research on that country. With the information that you
have gathered, you will be creating your own travel brochure for that country! Below I have
provided some suggestions and guidelines for the brochure. However, you may feel free to add
things that you think will be appropriate for your brochure. If you don’t know where to start
with your research, I have provided some websites and other resources that you can use to find
information about your country. Once you have selected a country, you must tell me what it is
so that I can approve it and keep track of which students are researching which countries.
Content Requirements:
This is a list of things that you must include in your brochure in order to receive full credit.
 Population of the country
 The capital city of the country
 A picture of the flag or an outline of the country on the cover of the brochure
 Some basic geographical features of the country (Is it mountainous? Is it flat? Are
there a lot of beaches? Are there a lot of rivers?)
 Information on the weather and climate of the country (Are the weather conditions
basically the same throughout the country or do different regions experience different
temperatures and conditions? Is it rainy or is it dry? Warm or cold? Does it depend on
the season?)
This is a list of things you may want to include in your brochure to make it more interesting
and possibly earn some extra credit points.
 Some historical information about the country (When did it become independent? Is
there anything particularly unique about the country’s history?)
 Some cultural information about the country (This can be information about the types
of food/music/art/clothing that are popular in this country, or it can be information about
a particular festival or holiday that is celebrated in that country)
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
Information about famous cities and sites within the country (Are there any famous
museums, parks, beaches, monuments, ruins, etc. in that country that people might be
interested in visiting?)
Structure:
It is difficult to visualize what the brochure will look like so I will provide you with the structure
of how I would like your brochure to look. You can choose the page length, but the brochure
should be tri-fold or bi-fold. It should be the size of a normal brochure – NO POSTERBOARDS!
If you have access to Microsoft Office, you can use Microsoft Publisher to create your brochure.
You may type in your information and then copy and paste the pictures that you want to have in
your brochure.
Cover: The cover should have the name of the country (in big letters), your name, date and class
period (in the bottom corner), a slogan (for example, “Welcome to Germany!”), and either the
flag or an outline map of the country (or both). Example:
Herzlich Wilkommen in
Deutschland!
A warm welcome to Germany!
Fräulein Smith
5 September 2011
3 Stunde
This is just a basic example. You do not need to, nor should you copy my example. Have fun
with this and make your cover colorful and decorative!
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Inside: On the inside cover is where you should provide some basic facts like the population,
the capital city, a paragraph of important historical facts, the geography, and climate. This can
all be either typed or hand written, but please make it as neat as possible! Example:
Bevölkerung / Population: ________
Hauptstadt / Capital: ___________
A brief history: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Klima / Climate: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geographie / Geography: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This example shows the information you should include. You will need to fill in the blanks with
the information you find while conducting your research. Again, this is just an example. Your
inside cover does not necessarily need to look exactly like this.
Additional Pages: The additional pages should include some pictures and information about the
culture and interesting places/monuments that the country has to offer. You can use a variety of
resources for the pictures including magazines, postcards, digital pictures etc. Or, you can do it
the old fashioned way and draw them! I will not be subtracting points if your pictures aren’t
perfect, but they must be neat. Do not have sticky glue everywhere or tape that is visible if you
have to paste you pictures in. Sloppy work will not be tolerated. I understand that not everyone
is an artist so just do your best! Here’s an example:
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A famous cathedral in Cologne, Germany
Der Kölner
Dom: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a picture of a famous cathedral in Germany. If you would like, you can do something
like this where you provide a picture and a brief description of a famous place in your country.
You can also do this with a type of music, food, etc. Be creative! A few sentences of
information is enough for each thing you want to include. I would recommend at least two
additional pages like this of information (remember, this is booklet size so one page is really
only a half or a third depending on how you fold it).
Resources: Here is a list of some suggestions for researching your country.
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The atlases in the school library
http://www.google.com (search engine)
http://www.infoplease.com (has online atlases, almanacs, encyclopedias, etc.)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com (the official National geographic website)
http://www.atlapedia.com/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://www.worldatlas.com/
Encyclopedias
Travel Brochures
Travel magazines
I understand that you may have trouble finding information on your own, so I am more than
happy to help you after school if you have any questions or are having trouble finding what you
need.
Important: Remember the policy about plagiarism! It is NOT ok to simply copy and paste
something from the internet! Everything that you put in your brochure should be in your own
words unless it is a quote, in which case you must put quotation marks around it and give your
source. Even if it’s not a quote, if the idea did not come directly from your head, you need to
cite your source. Sources should be listed at the very end of your brochure.
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Grading: The following page contains the grading criteria for this project. Remember, I
understand that not everyone is artistically talented, so do not worry about this. However, your
work should not be sloppy. I am looking for detail, organization, effort, and accurate
information.
Make your brochure interesting! Remember it’s a travel brochure, so the point of it is to
make people want to travel to the country that you are writing about.
Travel Brochure Project Rubric
16 points
Poor
19 points
below
average
22 points
25 points 27 points
satisfactory above
excellent
average
(extra
credit)
Quality
of information
Little
or
information.
Several
inaccuracies
no
Little
information,
some
inaccuracies
The brochure
contains
all
required
information
and
the
information is
accurate.
Sources
are
cited
Creativity
The
brochure
contains
no
pictures
or
creative elements
(pictures,
fun
facts)
The
brochure
contains
very
few
creative
elements
(pictures,
fun facts)
Organization/
Neatness
The brochure is
sloppy and hard
to follow
The
brochure is
difficult to
follow
A reasonable
amount
of
effort
has
been put into
the brochure
and there are
at least 2-3
helpful
pictures
or
images.
The brochure
flows
somewhat
logically from
heading
to
heading
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The
brochure
has
well
written
pages with
required
information
that
is
accurate
and
interesting.
sources are
cited
The
brochure
contains
some
interesting
cultural
notes and
several
relevant
images.
The
brochure is
structured
neatly and
well. It is
easy
to
follow
The brochure
exceeds
4
pages
and
contains
accurate and
interesting
information.
All sources
cited. Extra
effort is clear.
The brochure
contains a lot
of interesting
points
with
corresponding
pictures
or
drawings.
The brochure
is easy to
follow and is
complete. It
is organized
extremely
well.
Your
total
Punctuality (On The brochure was The
turned in 3 or brochure
time)
more days late
was turned
in 2 days
late.
The brochure
was turned in
1 day late
The
brochure
was
complete
and turned
in on the
day that it
was due.
Total Points:
/100
Bonus Points! You can earn up to 5 extra points for accurate and appropriate use of German in
your brochure. Do NOT use online translators!
Famous German Speakers
Famous German-speakers:
Scientists:
Rudolf Diesel – inventor of the diesel engine
Johannes Gutenberg – inventor of modern bookprinting
Albert Einstein - physicist
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen – physicist, detected the X-ray
Gregor Mendel – Austrian, pioneer of genetics
Athletes:
Dirk Nowitzki – NBA star
Steffi Graf – Tennis player
Katarina Witt – figure skater
Actors/Actresses:
Sandra Bullock
Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Til Schweiger
Franka Potente
Supermodels:
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Claudia Schiffer
Heidi Klum
Composers:
Johann Pachelbel
Johannes Brahms
Ludwig van Beethoven
Georg Friedrich Händel
Robert Schumann
Richard Wagner
Hans Zimmer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian)
Musicians and Singers:
Sarah Connor
Xavier Naidoo
Nena
Rammstein
Tokio Hotel
Kool Savas
Silbermond
Writers:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Erich Kästner - (childrens’ book author)
The Brothers Grimm
Thomas Mann
Wolfram von Eschenbach (author of the German epic poem Parzival)
Miscellaneous:
Sigmund Freud – Austrian neurologist, father of psychoanalysis
Martin Luther – protestant reformist
Albrecht Dürer – artist, painter
Siegfried and Roy - magicians
Ferdinand Porsche – Austrian engineer, designed the Volkswagen. Under his
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son (also Ferdinand) the company began designing sports cars.
Wolfgang Puck – Austrian celebrity chef
Scrapbook Page Project
Scrapbook Page Project
Use construction paper or other colorful paper to make a
pretend MySpace page or scrapbook page to describe you
and your family in German.
Your page must include:
1. A picture of yourself and your family (can be drawn if you
do not have one).
2. An introduction of at least 1 family members (give their
name, age, and a physical description)
Example: Meine Schwester heißt Jessica. Sie ist 13
Jahre alt. Sie hat blondes Haar und grüne Augen.
3. 3 sentences expressing what you like (to do).
Example: Ich gehe gern schwimmen...
4. 2 sentences expressing what you don’t like (to do).
Example: Ich mache Hausaufgaben nicht gern.
5. 2 - 3 images to decorate your page. These should match
with your personality. For example: If you wrote a
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sentence about liking football, you could use a picture of a
football to decorate your page.
 Your page should be artistic and NEAT. Do not turn in
something sloppy.
 Use your book to look for verbs and adjectives. Do NOT
copy my examples. Describe your own personality.
Talking Squares Template
Question 1
Question 2
Etc.
Classmate’s
name + response
Classmate’s
name + response
Classmate’s
name + response
Example dialogue:
Frage:
Wie heisst deine Mutter?
Antwort:
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Sie heisst _________.
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