AP GERMAN
COURSE SYLLABUS
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Program Overview/Course Description
State Standards
Course Outline (Year A/Year B, Fall and Spring Semesters)
Assessments
Materials
Note: The course outline is arranged by units of study, usually alternating a reading or
audio/visual unit with short grammar practice units. An essential question or desired
outcome is given for each unit, followed by a brief description of sample activities and
assessments.
I. AP GERMAN LANGUAGE – PROGRAM
OVERVIEW/COURSE DESCRIPTION
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The teacher has read the AP German Language and Culture Curriculum Framework
The teacher uses German almost exclusivly and encourages students to do so also.
While initial introduction of new vocabulary and grammar explanations may
require some use of English, communication for day-to-day classroom
management, class discussions, practice activities and assessments are conducted in
German. Students are encouraged to use German as much as possible for all
questions and discussions and their use of German in class is formally and
informally assessed as part of their class participation grade.
The course incorporated interdisciplinary topics across all six themes. These themes
are noted with the units of study.
The course provides the opportunities for students to demonstrate an understanding
of the products and practices and prespectives of the target cultures. Cultural topics
are imbedded within the content of reading/listening/viewing and current event
units and assignments throughout the year.
German IV Honors (eleventh grade) and AP German (twelfth grade) may sometimes be
combined, depending on enrollment. Therefore, presented here is a two-year, A/B curriculum
that may be presented in either sequence.
In our school, all students enrolled in German III and IV receive Honors credit, as we do not
have sufficient enrollment to support a separate honors track. The single section of AP German
includes students who may choose not take the AP exam. Students who do not take the exam
receive credit for German V Honors only. This means that all levels from I through AP include
students of all ability levels. All students, regardless of ability, are encouraged to continue their
study of German as long as they are interested.
In order to offer a rigorous curriculum and prepare students for the AP exam in this setting, we
rely on differentiated instruction. Students with strong skills in levels IV and AP are offered
challenge assignments throughout the year, which may include extra vocabulary practice,
advanced grammar practice, additional reading and essay writing. In AP German, students are
encouraged to meet with me on a regular basis as well as to work independently to complete
practice AP exams.
It is expected that there will be uneven gaps in the skills and vocabulary have been retained from
levels I through III. A major objective in German IV and AP German is for students to
determine where their individual strengths and weaknesses lie, and to improve and refine their
skills. An overview of all of the major grammar concepts is given with the objective of having a
broader understanding of the connectedness of grammar concepts and recognition of patterns.
Students will be expected to apply learned grammar skills with increasing competence in all of
their writing and speaking activities and assessments.
II. State Standards
The AP German Language and Culture Curriculum Framework premise of Connections,
Comparisons and Communities is embedded in the New Jersey State Standards:
New Jersey State Standard 7.1.AL.A - Interpretive
The mode of communication in which students demonstrate understanding of spoken and written
communication within the appropriate cultural context. Examples of one-way reading or
listening include cultural interpretations of print, video, and online texts, movies, radio and
television broadcasts, and speeches. Interpretation beyond the Novice level differs from
comprehension because it implies the ability to read or listen( between the lines And beyond the
lines. )
New Jersey State Standard 7.1.AL.B – Interpersonal
The mode of communication in which students engage in direct oral and/or written
communication with others (e.g., conversing face-to-face, participating in online discussions or
videoconferences, instant messaging and text messaging, exchanging personal letters or e-mail
messages).
New Jersey State Standard 7.1.AL.C – Presentational
The mode of communication in which students present, through oral and/or written
communications, information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers with
whom there is no immediate interaction. Examples of this one-to-many mode of communication
are making a presentation to a group, posting an online video or webpage, creating and posting a
podcast or videocast, and writing an article for a newspaper.
The course outline that follows includes examples of learning activities and assessments
which represent each of these modes of communication.
III. Course Outline
“A” Year – German IV Honors - FALL SEMESTER
Note: Year A (German IV Honors) grammar topics focus on the verb (normal, inverted and
dependent word order, present, simple past, present and past perfect, passive and some limited
practice of the subjunctive.)
Extr@ German 1
Over the course of the year, students will view episodes 1-4 of Extr@ 1.
Themes covered in these episodes include: meeting people, daily routine, fashion, online
shopping, meeting people online, cooking, appearances, exercise, relationahips, job seeking and
restaurant language.
Themes:
Global challenges
Science and Technology
Comtemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families and Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Wie ist das Lebens eines Amerikaners in Deutschland?
 Welche Schwierigkeiten hat man, wenn man im Ausland eine Fremdsprache lernt?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 increase vocabulary, use of idiomatic expressions and listening comprehension
 talk about the lives of three young people living in an apartment in Berlin and the
adventures of an American penpal friend who comes to visit them
 express personal opinions about the characters and situations
 compare the characters and situations to their own lives
Examples of Learning Activities/Assessments:
Practice new vocabulary, answer content questions and episode activities, describe characters,
make predictions, write journal entries for characters, describe cultural differences and compare
to their own lives. Write and perform an original episode.
Fußball (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Essential Questions:
 Warum interessieren sich die Deutschen so sehr für Fußball?
 Wo spielt man Fußball und was für Mannschaften gibt es?
 Interessierst du dich für Sport?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 discuss the interest in soccer in Germany
 talk about the amateur and professional teams in Germany
Students read, answer content and personalized questions, make comparisons to their own
interests. As an enrichment activity, students may track seasonal results of a German team
online.
Word Order
Essential Question(s):
 How are German and English word order similar/different?
 What factors affect word order?
 What clues can I use to help me use more correct word order?
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 consistently use normal and inverted word order correctly, and domonstrate increased
proficiency in dependent word order in written and oral assignments
 distinguish coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and indirect questions.
Review of normal, inverted and dependent word order with simple and compound tenses,
separable and modal verbs.
Diskussion Noten - Lesen Macht Spaß
Themes:
Global challenges
Contemporary Life
Families and Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Question:
 Sind Noten Wichtig?
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 speak and write about whether or not grades are important
 describe and debate pros and cons
 discuss parents’ expectations regarding grades
 discuss a German Zeugnis and identify differences in German and American secondary
school curricula
Pre-reading discussion, journal entry Read Diskussion Noten, answer content questions,
vocabulary practice, class discussion, answer personalized questions about teachers and grades.
Prepared class debate about pros and cons of the importance of grades in school.
Brief review of irregular and stem-changing verbs in the present tense
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 correctly use common stem changing verbs in written and oral activities
Re-narrate in third person to emphasize use of stem-changing verbs, du/ich questions to show
contrast of stem changes.
Familienleben (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Families & Communities
Essential Question:
 Was für Situationen führen oft zum Streit in der Familie?
 Wie kann man Probleme in der Familie lösen?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 Talk about issues that typically cause arguing in families
 Describe issues in their own family
 Give advice to a friend on how to deal with family problems
Pre-reading discussion, journal entry: Hast du manchmal Krach mit deinen Eltern? Read
Familienleben, answer content questions, personalized questions, classroom discussion about
causes for arguments between parents and children and how they are resolved. Students write
and present dialogues, giving advice to a friend with problems at home.
Command forms
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 correctly use regular and irregular command forms of many commonly used verbs
Brief review of regular and irregular, informal and formal command forms. TPR activity –
students command each other, and me, to perform various tasks.
Suppen Kaspar (with reading selection from Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Beauty & Aesthetics
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 Talk about babysitting
 become familiar with the iconic figure Struwwelpeter
 retell the story of Suppen Kaspar
 correctly use sequencing words, ordinal numbers and time expressions
Pre-reading activities: discuss and write about babysitting experiences. Read introduction to
Suppenkaspar (about a girl who is babysitting and reads the story to the child). Practice
vocabulary, answer content questions and practice time expressions. Read Suppenkaspar silently
and aloud. View video storybook of Suppenkaspar and other selections from Struwwelpeter).
Students re-narrate the story in standard German, then write an original text to go with pictures.
Listen to disco version of Daumenlutscher.
Modals
Essential Question:
 How do modal verbs add shades of meaning to communication?
Desired Outcome – SWBAT:
 Correctly use present, past and future of modal verbs in oral and written activities
Brief review of present tense and idiomatic uses of modal verbs. Practice with past and future
tenses. Students write and present about activities they wanted, could not, were or will be able,
allowed to do, etc.
Max und Moritz (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Beauty & Aesthetics
Desired Outcome – SWBAT:
 become familiar with the iconic figures of Max und Moritz and author Wilhelm Busch
 describe Max und Moritz’ pranks
Students read introduction and answer questions about author, then read fünfter Streich – silently
and aloud. Practice vocabulary and answer content questions. Students re-narrate the story in
their own words, looking only at the pictures. Students view video storybook of all of the Max
und Moritz episodes.
Future
Desired Outcome – SWBAT:
 Correctly use the future and future perfect tenses in written and oral activities
Brief review of the future and some practice with future perfect. Use of the future with wohl to
express probability. Students write and perform Wahrsager activity, telling their classmates’
futures.
Weihnachten bei der Familie Jäger (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families & Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Wie feiern die Deutschen Weihnachten?
 Wie feiert man Nikolaustag?
 Welche Feiertage feiert man bei dir zu Hause?
 Wie unterscheiden sich die Traditionen in Deutschland zu Amerika?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 Describe Christmas traditions in Germany
 Compare and contrast German traditions to American
 Describe their own holiday traditions
Pre-reading: students discuss and write about their own holiday traditions. We read Weihnachten
bei der Familie Jäger and practice vocabulary and answer content questions. Prepare venn
diagrams comparing German traditions to American. Essay topic: Write about how your family
celebrates an important holiday. On or near St. Nicholas Day, two volunteer students dress up as
Sankt Nikolaus and Krampus and visit middle school German I students. Students practice
holiday songs in German and visit and sing in classrooms and offices throughout the building.
Overview of Tenses
Essential Questions:
 What forms do I need to communicate about the past?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish the forms and use of the simple (narrative) and present perfect
(conversational) past.
 distinguish between strong and weak verbs
 correctly use the simple past of haben, sein, werden and the modals
Students view sample texts in German and identify the various past tense forms they find.
Practice the simple past and present perfect of haben, sein and werden. Students read
,,Zeitsätze”, discuss, answer questions, and write their own, original poems in the same format.
“A” Year - (German IV Honors) SPRING SEMESTER
Brief review of weak verbs in the past
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 recognize commonly used weak verbs and correctly use the past tense forms in written
and oral activities
Practice simple past endings, past participles that do not use “ge-“ prefix, use of sein as
auxiliary. Additional practice with household chore verbs (mostly weak). Students describe
various chores that have been done.
Karneval in Köln (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Was ist Karneval und wo feiert man Karneval?
 Was ist die Fastenzeit?
 Wie feiert man Karneval in deutschsprachigen Ländern?
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 Describe Karneval and Lenten traditions in German speaking countries
 Compare earlier Lenten traditions with those today
Pre-reading discussion of students’ previous knowledge about Karneval around the world. View
websites and live webcams of Karneval in various cities in Germany. Students read Karneval in
Köln, practice vocabulary and answer content questions. Compare previous to current traditions
and fill in a calendar with main points of the Karneval season. We make Faschingskrapfen in
class on (or near) Faschingsdienstag.
Principal Parts of Strong Verbs
Essential Questions:
 Which past tense forms do I need to recognize?
 Which past tense forms do I need to master and use fluently?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish strong from weak verbs
 recognize and understand the simple past of commonly used strong verbs
 master and correctly use the present perfect of commonly used strong verbs
 correctly use haben or sein auxiliary verbs
 use correct word order when communicating in the past
With the understanding strong verbs have been isolated for practice purposes only, students
practice a list of 50-60 commonly used strong and mixed verbs. (Additional challenge verbs are
also assigned for interested students or those preparing for the AP exam). Students perform
various written and oral drills and games to aid in memorizing. Students are assigned various
topics, arranged thematically, and write (and present to class) in the past, using correct strong,
weak, simple past and present perfect forms, as appropriate.
Students read: Partizip Perfekt, answer questions and discuss its meaning. (The author
summarizes his entire life with only past participles). Students observe the use of both weak and
strong verbs. Students write original Partizip poems about their own lives and share with the
class.
Students work in pairs speaking only in German with a partner and prepare Venn diagrams with
drawings and symbols to represent activities they have done in each of their lives. Students
present to the class, comparing and contrasting their past experiences with a partner’s.
Students interview each other about last summer and last weekend, and teacher/student
interviews. Students should demonstrate accuracy in verb forms and word order.
Students create a small project Als ich Baby war… with a baby picture and paragraph about
themselves when they were little. Students guess the identities of their classmates’ baby projects.
Students write a short Lebenslauf using the narrative past.
Students read Rotkäppchen and re-narrate the story in conversational past. If time allows,
students work in pairs or groups of three to write an original fairy tale in the narrative past, given
nützliche Vokabeln und Ausdrücke. They may illustrate their story, as well.
As a final assessment, students are given an open-ended situation where they must write and
speak using the past.
Eine Radtour vom Neckar zur Donau (Lesen Macht Spaß)
Themes:
Global Challenges
Science & Technology
Contemporary Life
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Was ist eine Radtour?
 Welche Aktivitäten kann man bei einer Radtour unternehmen?
 Welche Probleme kann man erleben?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 Talk and write about students going on a bike tour
 Describe leisure activities and problems one can encounter
Pre-reading: students discuss what one would do on a bicycle tour (and if any have had the
experience). Practice new vocabulary and read Radtour, answer content and personalized
questions. Students identify cities visited on a map. Students research a city from the text and
write a postcard from that place, talking about what they saw and did, as well as describing a
problem they encountered. They also attach a picture for their postcard and present to the class.
Students summarize the reading in writing, then using picture prompts only, re-narrate the story
before taking a written and oral test.
Wörterbuch Aufgabe
Essential Questions:
 Why is it sometimes difficult to look up words in another language?
 How can I avoid pitfalls and find the right word or expression I am looking for?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 identify common pitfalls when using an online translator, online or print dictionary
Warm-up activity: students read several humorous, “poor” translations, and try to figure out
meanings and the reason they are humorous or unclear. Students are assigned to use an online
translator and observe the problematic results. Students work through German-English dictionary
exercises that focus on the common pitfalls when using a bilingual dictionary.
Keine Panik (Hörspiel, Langenscheidt)
Themes:
Global Challenges
Science & Technology
Contemporary Life
Families and Communities
Essential
Questions:
Beauty &
Aesthetics
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Wie sieht der Alltag bei einer deutschen Familie aus?
Welche Situationen in dieser Familie sind ähnlich zu oder unterschiedlich von meiner
Familie?
 Welche kulturelle Unterschiede merke ich bei den täglichen Aktivitäten, die in den
Episoden dargestellt werden?
 How can I use illustrations, sound effects and intonation to aid listening comprehension?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:

listen to a humorous radio play about a German family, describe their situations and
make comparisons with their own lives.
Students listen to the Hörspiel Keine Panik and complete various activities that accompany the
sound track. As pre-listening activities, students describe the picture that accompanies each
episode, brainstorm vocabulary and predict what may happen. Students practice new
vocabulary, answer content questions, write journal entries for the characters, describe and
compare characters, predict what will happen next and compare the characters’ experiences with
their own lives. As a closing activity, students work in groups to write and perform an original,
future, or past “lost” episode.
Project: Artists and Architects
Themes:
Global Challenges
Personal & Public Identities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Who are some well known German speaking artists and architects?
 What are the major characteristics of their style?
 What major factors (historical or personal) influenced their work?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 identify several important German speaking artists and architects
 identify a major or representative work and the style or period
Students prepare a three to five minute presentation on a chosen German-speaking artist or
architect. Students must show samples of important works, briefly describe the period of history
or influencing factors and describe the artist’s/architect’s style. Students may make Power Point
presentations, create a copy of a work of art, give a slide show, “interview” the artist, make a
booklet, or use any other format that meets the objectives. As a final assessment, students are
given a matching activity, to match artists’ names with important facts about their life or work.
In addition, samples/pictures of artists’/architects’ work is displayed, and students identify the
name of the artist/architect.
“B” Year – AP German - FALL SEMESTER:
Note: Year B (AP German) grammar units focus on the noun: gender/case, articles, pronouns,
prepositions, reflexive verbs and relative pronouns. Throughout the year, correct use of tense
and word order continue to be reviewed and reinforced with additional practice with the
subjunctive.
Summer Assignment:
Students enrolled in AP German complete a summer assignment, which consists of five to six
selected articles from the Logo Nachrichten archives. Students read, prepare vocabulary lists,
summarize and write a personal response to each of the articles. The topics include sports,
animal rights and eating disorders.
Aktuelles: Logo Nachrichten
Throughout the year, students are assigned a minimum of two current event articles from:
www.tivi.de, Logo Nachrichten each month. (The site contains current event articles for young
people in Germany, with an appropriate level of vocabulary for AP German). Students create a
short vocabulary list, summarize in their own words and write a personal reaction to articles of
their choice. Students then present to the class on an ongoing basis. The class chooses new
vocabuarly to create short vocabulary quizzes.
Themes:
Global challenges
Science and Technology
Comtemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families and Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 How can I read about current events in German?
 What current events are of interest to young people in German speaking countries?
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 become informed about current events, reading about them in German language
 learn new vocabulary on a variety of topics pertaining to current events
 write a personal reaction about topics that interest them
 compare current events in Germany, US and around the world
 summarize and present content of current event articles
Extr@ German 2-3
Over the course of the year, students will view episodes 5-8 of Extr@ 2 (and if time allows,
episodes 9-13 of Extr@ 3).
Themes covered in these episodes include: future plans, cooking, horoscopes, relationships with
parents, health, travel, job seeking and preparing for a job and work routine. (Episodes 9-13
include: job ads, problems at work, answering the phone, animal rights, media, travel preparation
and plans, ordering food, tourism, soccer, celebrations, problems in relationships, youth culture,
famous personalities.
Themes:
Global challenges
Science and Technology
Comtemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families and Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Wie ist das Lebens eines Amerikaners in Deutschland?
 Welche Schwierigkeiten hat man, wenn man im Ausland eine Fremdsprache lernt?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 increase vocabulary, use of idiomatic expressions and listening comprehension
 talk about the lives of three young people living in an apartment in Berlin and the
adventures of an American penpal friend who comes to visit them
 express opinions about the characters and situations
 compare the characters and situations to their own lives
Examples of Learning Activities:
Practice new vocabulary, answer content questions and episode activities, describe characters,
make predicitons, write journal entries for characters, describe cultural differences and compare
to their own lives.
Brief Review of Past Tense
Desired Outcome – SWBAT:
 Review and demonstrate proficiency in past tense forms practiced in the previous year
Kleiner Aufsatz: die Sommerferien. For this informal writing assignment, students are
encouraged to use the conversational past for all verbs with the exception of the use of the simple
past for haben, sein, werden and the modals. Writing will be edited, making note of correct verb
forms, auxiliary verbs, word order (normal, inverted and dependent) and common idiomatic
expressions.
Die Letzte Nacht der Welt/Subjunctive II
themes:
Global Challenges
Science & Technology
Contemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families & Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 How is the subjunctive used (in German and English) to signal unreal situations?
 How can I express unreal situations?
 How is the subjunctive in German similar to English?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish between subjunctive and indicative statements
 use of the subjunctive to express contrary-to-fact or unreal conditions
 correctly use subjuntive forms of haben, sein, werden, wissen and modals
 correctly use würde + infinitive for most other verbs
 recognize subjunctive forms of other verbs
Brainstorm: Was würdest du tun, wenn du wüsstest, dass heute die letzte Nacht der Welt
anbricht? Read Ray Bradbury’s Die Letzte Nacht der Welt. Practice new vocabulary, identify
subjunctive forms in the text, answer content questions, answer personalized questions, with use
of subjunctive II “wenn-würde” construction; written and speaking test.
Introduce Subjunctive II - use and formation. Practice the present and past of commonly used
regular and irregular verbs. Students are expected to recognize subjunctive forms (gäbe, fände,
etc.), to practice subjunctive forms of modals (was könntest, müsstest du tun, etc.), and practice
use of wenn-würde in contrary-to-fact and unreal situations. Activities include written and
speaking practice of unreal situations (if you were president, etc.) Student prepare a small
presentation, imagining if they were various animals.
Lesen: Spuk im Schloß?
Themes:
Contemporary Life
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
Glaubst du an Gespenster?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 talk about whether they believe in ghosts and express scepticism.
 Use descriptive language to describe the inside and outside of a castle
 Use clues in the text to state their opinion about happenings in the story
Prereading activities: pairs write (peer edit) original short “ghost” stories, given vocabulary from
text. Journal entry: Glaubst du an Gespenster? Vocabulary practice, silent reading/readers’
theater, short-answer content questions, vocabulary in context, idiomatic expressions from text,
identify Imperfekt forms, re-narrate using Perfekt, describe surroundings, describe characters,
write ending Spukt es wirklich im Schloß? with supporting information from text. Written and
short oral test.
Review of case and definite/indefinite articles and possessives
Essential Questions:
 When is accuracy important for communication in the use of case forms and endings?
 How can I identify case markers in German?
 How can I distinguish Nominative, Accusative, Dative and Genetive?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish subjects, direct and indirect objects and objects of prepositions
 recognize patterns in the use of case in German
 recognize when correct use of case is important for communication
 make fewer and less obvious errors in the use of case
 identify patterns in the gender of nouns and make fewer and less obvious errors in the use
of gender of nouns
We identify patterns for identifying gender, overview of nominative (subject, predicate
nominative), accusative (direct objects). (Prepositions and pronouns will be practiced at a later
date). Practice with subjects, direct and indirect objects and dative verbs using commonly used
nouns. Extra practice with gefallen. Practice wer, wen, wem. Students read: der Werwolf and
answer questions.
quizzes.
Xenia aus Berlin (Junge Leute video)
themes:
Global Challenges
Contemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families & Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Würdest du lieber in einer Großstadt oder auf dem Land wohnen?
 Was sind die Vor- und Nachteile?
 Wie ist das Leben eines Teenagers in einer Großstadt in Deutschland?
 Wie ist mein Leben, und wie sind meine Interessen ähnlich zu oder unterschiedlich von
Xenias?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 describe the daily activities and interests of a sixteen year old girl in Berlin
 compare her interests and activities to your own
 talk about plans for the future
Previewing – brainstorm vocabulary and journal entry on topic: living in the city vs. living in the
country. Practice vocabulary, viewing and postviewing activities including content questions,
personalized questions, stating opinions, describe characters, re-narration. Written and short oral
test. (At this time, or later in the year, students may prepare individual or group videos,
describing themselves, their family and friends, similar to this video.)
Review of personal pronouns
Essential Questions:
 Why is case important for communication in the use of pronouns?
 How can understanding case help me to use correct pronouns?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 identify subjects, direct and indirect objects and dative verbs
 use correct personal pronouns in the nominative, accusative and dative, and expressions
using the genetive
We build on previous lessons regarding case and function in sentence. Guided oral practice and
role play are used to reinforce use of correct forms.
Markus aus Moesern (Junge Leute video)
Themes:
Global Challenges
Contemporary Life
Families & Communities
Beauty & Aesthetics
Essential Questions:
 Warum ist Tourismus wichtig in den Alpen?
 Was für Ausbildungs- und Berufsmöglichkeiten gibt es?
 Wie ist das Leben eines Teenagers in einem kleinen Dorf in den Alpen?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 describe the life of a teenager working in the tourist industry in an Alpine village
 compare village life to city life, and your own life
 describe various educational opportunities in the German school system
Pre-reading activities include discussion/journal entry about city life vs. village life. Discuss
continuing education and career plans. View video about student studying tourism and going to
school and working at a ski resort in Austria. Practice new vocabulary, viewing and postviewing activities. Answer content and personalized questions and re-narrate. Discussion of
Abitur (Matura) and Universities in German speaking countries.
Passive/der Tod eines Briefmarkensammlers
Themes:
Science & Technology
Essential Questions:
 Wie untersucht ein Polizist einen Verbrechen?
 Welche Tips helfen, den Fall zu lösen?
 Welches Benehmen ist verdächtig?
Desired Outcomes - SWBAT:
 use new vocabulary to describe a crime scene and look for clues to solve a murder
 use the passive voice to describe events
Students read and hear an audio recording of a short story about a murder. Answer content
questions, describe characters, compare witness’ statements. Students use the passive voice t
describe events and the subjunctive to explain their guess of who is the murderer. Practice
present, simple past and present perfect forms of the passive. Students write and display
Schlagzeile.
“B” Year – AP German - SPRING SEMESTER
Prepositions
Essential Questions:
 Why do many idiomatic expressions not translate directly from English to German? (Or
German to English?)
 What are commonly used prepositional phrases I can use to improve my idiomatic
German?

Which distinctions do German speakers make in the use of prepositions that English
speakers do not?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 identify dative prepositions and use them with correct dative forms
 correctly use idiomatic expressions that use dative prepositions
 identify two-way prepositions, and distinguish Bewegung/Stillstand
 identify accusative prepositions and correctly use accusative forms
 identify genetive prepositions and use idiomatic expressions
Practice with above sets of prepositions with emphasis on idiomatic use of prepositional phrases.
Accusative/Dative (“two-way”) prepositions with focus on an/auf. Students read Meine Bude
(Lesen Macht Spaß) with emphasis on describing a room (use of dative) and students describe
pictures of furnished rooms.
Standort/placieren
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish between motion and location
 use correct verbs for placement, depending on orientation (upright, flat, on a wall, etc).
Practice stellen/stehen, legen/liegen, setzen/sitzen, then use the accusative to place items in a
room with attention to their orientation (standing/lying).
Dating Do’s and Don’ts in America (article in German and English taken from Oskar’s
magazine)
Themes:
Personal & Public Identities
Families & Communities
Essential Questions:
 Wie unterscheidet sich Dating in Deutschland und in Amerika?
 Welche Vorurteile haben manche Leute in Bezug auf Beziehungen?
 Welche Regeln gibt es in der Familie?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 discuss and compare dating customs in the US and Germany
 compare reading to their own experiences, or friends’
 discuss prejudices and tolerance regarding homosexuality
students read article, answer content and personalized questions. Compare customs in Germany
and U.S. Read an article on homosexuality from Logo Nachrichten and write about their views
on tolerance.
Adjective endings
Essential Questions:
 How important is accuracy in adjective endings?
 How can I improve my accuracy in the use of adjective endings?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 distinguish the use of strong vs. weak (preceded/unpreceded) adjective endings
 gain a better understanding of the patterns in the use of adjective endings
 not attempt 100% accuracy, but rather make fewer and less obvious mistakes, especially
with commonly used nouns and phrases
Overview of strong vs. weak adjective endings. (My own activities based mostly on ideas taken
from the AATG Listserv, especially Eckart Kuhn-Osius, Hunter College, NY). Pretest to
determine level of understanding before lesson. Practice with clear cut examples using common
nouns and subjects, direct and indirect objects. As a closing and reinforcing activity, we listen to
and practice with Brad Yoder’s das Doofe Fischlied.
Wo man Wohnt (Dreimal Deutsch)/Relative Pronouns
Themes:
Global Challenges
Science & Technology
Contemporary Life
Personal & Public Identities
Families & Communities
Essential Questions:
 Welche verschiedene Wohnmöglichkeiten gibt es? (Haus, Wohnung, usw.)
 Wie liest man Anzeigen?
 Was kostet ein Haus oder eine Wohnung, und wie bekommt man das Geld?
 Was sind die Vor- und Nachteile in einer Wohnung oder in einem Haus zu wohnen?
 Welche Eigenschaften sind wichtig, wenn man eine Wohnung sucht?
 Was für Hilfe gibt es für Obdachlose und Arbeitslose?
 Wie unterscheidet sich die Sozialhilfe in Amerika und in Deutschland?
 How can I use relative pronouns to define terms?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 describe and compare various living possibilities (home, apartment, etc.)
 read and respond to ads for houses and apartments
 discuss problems of homeless and unemployed
 compare social assistance for homeless and unemployed in the US and Germany
 use relative pronouns to define terms (a homeless person is a person who…)
Pre-reading activities about where one lives (home, apt, etc.) Practice new vocabulary, read
article, answer content questions, personalized questions. Audio activity kleine Anzeige.
Reading/writing/discussion focused on homelessness, unemployment and social services. Write
an ad or personal blog describing an apartment or home of student’s choosing from
www.mrlodge.de. Relative pronoun practice to define vocabulary words from the reading as
well as to describe professions.
Reflexive verbs
Essential Questions:
 How does German use reflexive verbs?
 When do I use accusative or dative reflexive pronouns?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 use reflexive verbs (with accusative and dative pronouns) to talk about their daily routine
Review and expand vocabulary of daily routine reflexive verbs. Distinguish use of accusative
and dative reflexive pronouns. Textbook practice as well as guided oral practice.
das Dritte Reich (Dreimal Deutsch)
Themes:
Global Challenges
Personal & Public Identities
Essential Questions:
 Was weiß ich schon über das Dritte Reich und den Zweiten Weltkrieg in Deutschland?
 Warum ist dieses ein heiklisches Thema für manche Deutschen?
 Warum war Widerstand schwer?
Desired Outcomes – SWBAT:
 discuss events of the Third Reich in German language
 respond to allegations that citizens “did nothing” and give examples of resistance and
why it was so difficult
Pre-reading activities – applying past knowledge. Practice new vocabulary, read text, answer
content questions, discussion and short essay. Anne Frank and die Weiße Rose are also
discussed. If time allows, we may do a short reading on Anne Frank. We then view clips from
two films: das Boot and die Weiße Rose. Movies are viewed in German with English subtitles.
Students answer questions (taken from AATG Listserv and Filmarobics) in English and German.
As a summarizing activity, students write a short essay in German about Widerstand.
Additional Activities:
Class Trips:
Students in level IV and AP attend a service learning class trip to local senior citizens’ home
where a large percentage of the residents are German speakers. Students may perform German
folk dancing, sing in German, and chat in German with residents.
Extracurricular Activities:
Students are also encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities which may include: the
Metropolitan Opera, a German restaurant, Kaffee Klatsch, hiking, folk dancing, holiday singing,
Oktoberfest, Maifest, and corresponding with a German speaking penpal.
“Sponge” Activities and Challenge Assignments:
The following activities may accompany or be inserted between the major units of study. They
may also be assigned as ongoing out of class assignments:

Listen to popular German music
Journal entries/edit and make corrections to journal entries
 Read and respond to German newspaper articles (New Yorker Staatszeitung) (create
vocabulary lists, summarize, present)
Read online news articles (www.tivi.de/Logo Nachrichten), create vocabulary lists,
summarize, write a reaction and present to the class.
 “pick a topic” (from jar) for classroom discussion
 “circumlocution cards” (vocabulary words students do not know and must describe
in other words in German to a partner)
 Vater und Sohn and released AP picture sequences – students narrate in pairs (in
the classroom or in the language lab)
 “Blitzfragen” short, free-response questions in pairs (in the classroom or in the
language lab)
 “Situationen” – pairs are given real life situations and act out impromptu skits
(unprepared)
 view Sponge Bob Schwammkopf episodes (German with German subtitles) and
identify vocabulary and expressions
(late in the year) view Berlin Berlin episode(s) and respond (new vocabulary and brief
summary and/or character description or character journal entry
IV. Learning Activities and Assessments
The course provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their proficiency in the
Intermediate to Pre-Advanced Range (ACTFL Guidelines) in spoken and written
Interpersonal and Presentational Communication as well as opportunities to
demonstrate their ability in Interpretive Communication to understand and
synthesize information from a variety of authentic audio, visual, anduio-visual and
written and print resources. Examples are given below.
Using the Understanding by Design Approach, desired outcomes are first identified. Then,
assessments are designed to demonstrate students ability to perform desired outcomes. Lastly,
learning activies are created to help students achieve the desired outcomes. As assessments and
learning activities frequently overlap and mirror each other, samples of both are given.
Assessment may be formal (quizzes, tests, projects and various performance assessments) or
informal (ongoing teacher observation of performance and interaction in the classroom). Rubrics
are used to evaluate essays, oral exams, dialogues, projects, presentations and class participation.
1. Interpersonal Communication:
A. Spoken:
a. use of German for every day classroom routine
b. teacher-student interview
c. student created dialogues
d. student-student interviews/surveys
e. debates
f. round-robin question/answer
B. Written:
a. e-mails
b. notes to classmates
c. letters to penpals
2. Presentational Communication:
A. Spoken:
a. describe a picture or picture sequence
b. presentations such as oral summaries or personal responses to texts
c. student created dialogues and skits (both prepared and spontaneous)
d. present orginal story
e. retell a story
f. Power Point presentations
g. student created videos
h. verbal report of results of partner interviews
B. Written:
a. written tests (may contain any of the items listed below)
b. essays
c. journal entries
d. summaries
e. short answer and essay questions to texts
f. written report of results of partner interviews
g poems
h original stories
i Lebenslauf or Steckbrief
j grammar quizzes (sentence completion, changing sentences, paragraphs with
targeted functions)
3. Interpretive Communication – Note: Students demonstrate their understanding in a variety
of ways including: answering questions, both content and personal, true-false, putting in order,
checking items, summarizing, describing, making predictions, etc.
A. Audio, Visual and Audio-Visual – Demonstrate Understanding of:
a. follow teacher’s verbal directions given in German
b. audio recording of text
c. authentic audio recordings (ads, etc.)
d. music lyrics
e. language educational video
f. authentic video (movie clips, ads, TV shows, music videos)
B. Written and Print – Demonstrate understanding of:
a. follow written directions given in German
b. reading selections from language texts
c. literature selections (short stories, poems)
d. internet articles
e. online magazine articles
f. print magazine articles
g. newspaper articles
h. reading sections of AATG exams and released AP German exams
i. grammar quizzes (choose correct answers)
IV. Instructional Materials:
Instructional Materials include a variety of educational textbook and language
learning audio/visual materials as well as authentic audio/video recordings, authentic
written texts, newspaper, magazine articles and literature.
“A” Year:
Extr@ German 1, video, Channel 4 Learning, BBC
A Practical Review of German Grammar, Dippmann. Prentice Hall College Publications
Lesen Macht Spaß (reader), Amsco
Struwwelpeter (children’s literature) text and video
Max und Mortiz (children’s literature) text and video
Keine Panik (audio play with accompanying activities), Langenscheidt
LetterNet magazine (Deutsche Post)
New Yorker Staatszeitung (German language newspaper)
Vater und Sohn (cartoon picture sequences)
AATG level 4 tests
Video recordings in German: Sponge Bob
German film: Findet Nemo
Music CDs - children’s songs, classical and popular German Music (die Fantastischen Vier, die
Ärzte, Silbermond, Wise Guys, die Prinzen)
“B” Year:
A Practical Review of German Grammar, Dippmann, Prentice Hall (college text)
Extr@ German 2-3, video, Channel 4 Learning, BBC
Das Doofe Fischlied, Audio recording, Brad Yoder
Junge Leute (video series) EMC
Noch Dazu (selected short stories), Houghton-Mifflin
Schemata, Lesestrategien (reader) Thomson Publishing (college text)
Dreimal Deutsch, (selected texts and audio recording), EMC Publishing
Die New Yorker Staatszeitung (German language newspaper)
LetterNet Magazine (Deutsche Post)
German TV videorecordings: Berlin Berlin
German Film: Die Weiße Rose, Emil und die Detektive
Logo! Nachrichten- www.tivi.de - German children’s internet news website
AATG Level 4 Tests
Released AP Exams
Music CDs - children’s songs, classical and popular German Music (die Fantastischen Vier, die
Ärzte, Silbermond, Wise Guys, die Prinzen)
Grading (per marking period)
Tests: 35%
Reading/audio/visual units will be assessed with a test. (Test counts twice, quiz counts once).
Quizzes: 35%
Grammar units are assessed with a quiz.
Checked Work
Three to five assignments per marking period such as paragraphs, dialogues, or summaries will
be collected and graded with a “√, √+” etc. These are averaged together and count as one quiz
grade.
Journals
Students write in journals three to five times per marking period and may use dictionaries.
Journal entries are graded with a “√, √+” etc, are averaged together and count as one quiz grade.
Class Participation: 20%
Per department policy: 20% of the students’ marking period grade. Students use a rubric to
evaluate themselves, and are then evaluated by me twice per marking period on: attentiveness,
time on task, active participation, “risk taking” with language and use of target language in the
classroom. Deductions may be taken for lates or unprepared.
Homework: 10%
Homework assignments may be daily or long term. (Vocabulary, grammar practice, writing,
etc.) Homework not completed earns a zero and deducts 10 points from homework average for
marking period. (Each marking period begins at 100%). Homework made up within one week
results in 5 point reduction.
Midterm and Final Exam:
Midterms and finals consist of scantron exam (listening and reading comprehension with
multiple choice, completion or true false items), plus writing (essay) and speaking (teacher
student interview or describe picture sequence).
Final grade for the year:
each quarter: 20%
midterm: 10%
final exam: 10%