Doug Clement
7 December 2009
Lesson 4 – Day 4
Parameters
- 50 minute lesson
- Day 4
- High School Level
- Learning objective (subject/content)
o Berlin Wall, East vs. West Germany
o Culture and History
Goal:
Students should know the effects of the Berlin Wall on the people of both countries.
Students should be able to describe in their own words the significance of the Berlin Wall.
Linguistics: Vocabulary
Culture: East and West Germany, the Berlin Wall
Lesson Plan
Theme: The Berlin Wall
Lesson Title: A City Divided
Standards Addressed: 1.1 (Debrief), 1.2 (Alternate Activity), 1.3 (Presentations), 3.1
(Powerpoint), 3.2 (Simulation), 4.2 (Debrief)
Outcomes or Objectives: Students should know the effects of the Berlin Wall on the people of
both countries. Students should be able to describe in their own words the significance of the fall
of the Berlin Wall. Students will also acquire information and recognize the distinctive
viewpoints that are unique to East and West German culture (Standard 3.2).
Assessment: Students will interpret their feelings and opinions based on the Berlin Wall Activity
Lesson Building Block:
Language: Verbal/Visual Identification, Berlin Wall Role Play
Subject Content: East and West Germany
Cultural: The effects of the Berlin Wall on German Culture
Materials: Power Point Presentation, Reference/Vocab list, Activity cards
Doug Clement
7 December 2009
Outline:
Intro (5 minutes – Students will participate in a basic review of previous material in
order to prepare for the day’s lesson.) – The instructor will begin the lesson by briefly reviewing
the material from the previous day’s lesson. Through interpersonal communication with the
students, the instructor will review the command form and its creation. The main goal of this
activity is to focus the students for the start of the lesson and provide a base for the material that
will be discussed.
Follow-Up (5-10 minutes – Students will present and submit their homework.) – Students
were required to complete their propaganda posters. They should be ready to present it to the
class (Standard 1.3). Presentations will hopefully be unique to the individual student both in
topic and in description. Once the students have shared their posters, they will hand the material
in to the instructor, who will indicate spelling/grammar mistakes without making the corrections
for the students. Later, the students will have the opportunity to make the necessary corrections
and submit the sentences again for a final grade.
Presentation (8 minutes - Students will learn the location and history of the Berlin Wall.
They will be able to visually identify the locations of East Berlin, West Berlin, and the Berlin
Wall.) – The instructor will begin the lesson with an introductory powerpoint presentation. This
presentation will serve to review the basic background leading up to the formal creation of East
Germany (DDR) and West Germany (BRD). Once the stage is set, the class will locate Berlin
(deep inside East Germany), and the instructor will show the location of the Berlin Wall. All this
will serve to set the stage for the group and classroom activities. Students will reinforce and
further their knowledge of European and World history through German (Standard 3.1).
Visual images will be used to better connect students to the locations that are involved in
the situation surrounding the Berlin Wall. Photographs and maps are the primary examples that
will be shown in this powerpoint. By using visuals, the students will be connecting the images to
the concepts, rather than connecting the concepts to a specifically English word or phrase. These
visuals are also integral in helping to bridge the gap between historical events and the students in
the classroom, bringing them closer to the events themselves.
Activity (20 minutes - Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of
vocabulary and culture relating to East and West Germany. They should be able to incorporate
that knowledge into their portrayal of their roll in the activity.) – This classroom activity is
designed to give students a feel for what it was like for Germans when the Berlin Wall was built.
Students will be given cards that identify them as East German, West German, East German
Guard, or Stasi. They must play their part as described in a simulated divided Berlin in the
classroom. Students will recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are unique to East and West
German culture (Standard 3.2) through personal experience of a simulated situation.
Once the students have been given their identification cards, they will be allowed to
move freely about the classroom. After a brief period of time, the instructor will tell everyone to
“Freeze”. At this point, no matter where they are, everyone will stop moving. The students who
are the East German Guards will form a line down the middle of the room, simulating the Berlin
Wall. Randomly, students from either West or East will be trapped on the opposite side. The
debrief for this activity will focus on how they may have felt being cut off from their “friends” or
Doug Clement
7 December 2009
“family”. Were they afraid, not knowing who was trustworthy and who was a Stasi? If more
time were available, the activity could be expanded in length to allow for attempts to cross the
border and “escape”.
Assessment – (5 minutes – Students will interpret their feelings and opinions based on
the Berlin Wall Activity.) – Following the activity, the instructor will lead a debriefing
discussion. The debrief for this activity will focus on how they may have felt being cut off from
their “friends” or “family”. Were they afraid, not knowing who was trustworthy and who was a
Stasi? The activity is meant to make a greater emotional connection to those who might have
lived at the time. During the debrief, students will be assessed on their comprehension of that
experience and ability to put that experience to practical use, using their new vocabulary where
able. Students will engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings
and emotions, and exchange opinions (Standard 1.1). Students will discuss the differences
between the Berlin Wall environment and their own local environment, demonstrating
understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the Berlin Wall culture and their
own (Standard 4.2).
Closure – (2 minutes – This serves to bring closure to the lesson and to prepare the
students for the activities to follow (depending on the classroom).) – Following the lesson, the
instructor will distribute a follow-up assignment to be done outside of class. They will then
wrap-up the lesson by bidding the class farewell in German before parting ways for the day.
Follow-Up (Homework) – (Students will review the material they had worked on during
the week.) – Students will be given the opportunity to make the necessary corrections to previous
assignments and submit them for the next class period.
Plan B – An alternative activity would be to view a brief documentary relating to the Berlin Wall
and the effects it has had and is still having on the German people. Such a documentary could be
from the American or British point of view, such as National Geographic, the History Channel,
or BBC. Again, the visual connection through images and film brings the events closer to the
students and helps to give them a better idea of what it was like. First and second-hand accounts
from people who were actually there further help to deepen the connection. In the event of a
German speaker on an English documentary, students will be exposed to the spoken and written
German language for interpretation (Standard 1.2).