MFL – German
Year 7
Unit 5 Freizeit
About the unit
Expectations
In this unit pupils learn to talk about their hobbies and what they do in their leisure time.
At the end of this unit
New language content:
• frequency
• negatives with nicht
• adverbs
• introduction to prepositions + accusative (with gehen)
• introduction to infinitives with können
• introduction to man
most pupils will: understand spoken and written information, including simple opinions and
negatives, about common leisure activities; ask and respond to questions of frequency and
understand and use simple adverbs of time; understand and begin to use ‘können’ +
infinitive
New contexts:
• leisure
• family activities
• hobbies
• sport
• opportunities for developing independent strategies for learning about own hobbies, etc
some pupils will have progressed further and will: write largely accurate short phrases on
leisure activities from memory, using adverbs; manipulate verb forms confidently in the
present tense, including ‘können’ + infinitive; show consistent grasp of ‘verb second idea’
and word order; substitute items of vocabulary to personalise language; use a dictionary to
look up a few new words successfully
Alternative contexts: transport.
Prior learning
This unit is expected to take
12–15 hours.
Where the unit fits in
This unit offers pupils opportunities to begin to develop independence in language learning
and use.
some pupils will not have made so much progress and will: use a few set phrases to
express likes/dislikes of leisure activities; copy phrases of time or activities correctly, but
only approximately if writing from memory; show awareness that German verb endings
change
It is helpful if pupils already know:
• how to express the time
• differences between strong and weak verbs
• rules of verb patterns
• use of sein + descriptions
• possessives
• es gibt + accusative
Resources
Resources include:
• overhead transparencies (OHTs) of dictionary references
• German calendar
• access to the internet and e-mail
• PCs and word-processing software
Out-of-school learning
Pupils could search the internet or other sources of information, eg for details of German
sports personalities.
Future learning
• The use of the infinitive with modal verbs such as können is developed further in later
units.
• Pupils will work more and more independently in future units.
Any activities marked  might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

optional activities
© QCA 2000
Browse, save, edit or print Schemes of Work from the Standards Site at www.standards.dfee.gov.uk
MFL German - Unit 5 Freizeit
1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
PUPILS SHOULD LEARN:
POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES
LEARNING OUTCOMES
PUPILS:
POINTS TO NOTE
1
• Read out, then write, a list of hobbies containing some cognates, eg Sport,
• that German uses a lot of
Tennis, and some near cognates, eg Musik, Fußball. See how many of
cognates and near cognates
• to develop their independence
these pupils can guess/work out.
in language learning by using • Use OHT copies of a few dictionary references to show pupils how to use a
a dictionary to look up their
dictionary, to help them work independently. Pupils then look up in a
hobbies and interests
bilingual dictionary, sports and other leisure activities which interest them
• how to understand and talk
and categorise the words into cognates/near cognates/non-cognates. They
about basic leisure activities
further list the words as nouns and infinitives.
• Using the OHTs again, teach pupils how to form the ich form of the verbs
listed as infinitives. This can lead into ‘Give us a clue’-style mime games
and mime and response in pairs, focusing on the first person form of verbs,
eg Was machst du? Ich tanze/ich schwimme/ich spiele Karten.
• Use flashcards or symbols on OHT, or use famous names, to teach third
person of verbs. This can be extended to verbs which have been listed
following the dictionary search.
 Pupils apply paradigm rules of weak verbs to change the person.
• see how languages are
• Make pronunciation differences very
clear, eg Sport is pronounced quite
interrelated
• find the appropriate nouns
differently in German and in English.
and verbs to describe their
Encourage pupils to apply what they
leisure interests
know already about German
• understand and say simple
pronunciation to the new words they
phrases like Ich spiele Schach
find.
or David Beckham spielt
• Look out for opportunities for pupils to
Fußball.
get away from using ich all the time.
• The use of dictionaries builds on skills
that pupils have developed in their
National Literacy Strategy work.
2
• to express likes and dislikes
of leisure activities in more
than one way, including
simple positive and negative
opinions
• Revise gern/lieber with school subjects, then apply to leisure activities.
• form a negative statement
using nicht, eg Ich lese nicht
Show pupils flashcards or OHTs of leisure activities with gestures or
symbols to indicate likes and introduce pupils to phrases such as ich
gern, or a simple negative
schimme gern. Then use gestures or symbols to indicate dislikes and
opinion, eg Das ist langweilig.
introduce phrases such as ich lese nicht gern.
• use gern, gefallen, Lieblings-,
eg Mein Lieblingssport ist…,
• Pupils work in pairs. They rank their likes, and predict the likes of their
partner, using gern, lieber, am liebsten and Lieblings… . They then compare
and give simple opinions, eg
their predictions, eg Du spielst gern Fußball, meine ich. Ja, das stimmt/Nein,
Das ist toll.
das stimmt nicht.
 refer to their notes and say
• Carry out a class survey using the question Wie findest du...?, and show the
Sechs Leute haben Golf
gern... .
results on a bar chart.
 Pupils report back the survey findings using plural verbs.
• Make explicit to pupils that ‘don’t’ is
not in a dictionary and cannot be
translated directly.
• Showing pupils how language is
transferable is a key languagelearning skill.
• Have fun with words – show pupils
how to make long words like
Lieblingsmannschaft so that
compound nouns seem less
frightening.
• Further related activities can be found
in Optional Tests and Tasks 1.4A,
1.4B.
 Pupils could attempt Optional Tests
and Task 1.9.
Any activities marked  might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

optional activities
© QCA 2000
Browse, save, edit or print Schemes of Work from the Standards Site at www.standards.dfee.gov.uk
MFL German - Unit 5 Freizeit
2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
PUPILS SHOULD LEARN:
POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES
LEARNING OUTCOMES
PUPILS:
POINTS TO NOTE
3
• to ask and answer questions • Using an OHT of a calendar for a week and/or month, say how often you do • ask the question Wie oft…?
of frequency, and use adverbs
a leisure activity, and circle the number of days appropriately. Then ask
and answer with sentences
such as Ich/Er... zweimal in
of time with ‘verb as second
pupils to come to the front to do the same.
• Reinforce grammar with ‘human sentences’ at the front of the class, eg one
der Woche.
idea’
pupil holds a card with ich, another with gehe. When another pupil stands at • produce orally and in writing
• how to say where they go
the front of the ‘sentence’ with jeden Tag on a card, pupils have to stand in a
sentences such as Einmal in
der Woche spiele ich Fußball.
different order.
• Pupils play a simple board game with a die. Pupils take it in turns to throw
• understand and say/write
the die. If the die shows 2, for example, the pupil says zweimal in der Woche
sentences such as Ich gehe
einmal im Monat ins Kino.
and moves their counter two places, then turns over a picture/symbol card
of leisure activities, and adds spiele ich Fußball. If the pupil cannot supply
the accurate German, they cannot move their counter. The first person to
complete the course around the board wins.
• Ask pupils to write a brief description of their activities and frequency. Then
you (or a pupil) read these out to the class for pupils to guess the identity of
the authors. It is likely that some pupils will produce statements which
include both an adverb of time and an adverbial phrase of place. This is an
opportunity to teach the correct word order (time before place).
• Before introducing gehen, revise and extend known vocabulary relating to
places for leisure activities. These can be practised using a six- or 10-sided
die with numbers which refer to a set list. Pupils can work in pairs or this can
be organised as a brief team game.
• Teach parts of gehen + in + accusative. Show difference between ‘motion
towards’ (accusative) and ‘already there’ (dative).
• Stress that Germans like to begin
sentences with expressions of time.
• At this stage, not many pupils will
actively produce the correct dative or
accusative alternative after in (final
activity).
• Pupils should, however, be given
opportunities to rise to the challenge.
• Word ordering activities can be
created in a simple computer program
that automatically turns the text into
an interactive web page.
• Pupils will have learnt about adverbs
and their function as part of their work
in English.
4
• to prepare an interview with a
native speaker, eg the
German assistant
• Brainstorm ideas of what questions to ask and how to formulate them. As
well as questions relating to activities, encourage pupils to ask as many
questions as possible covering earlier contexts such as likes and dislikes,
personal information.
• Pupils take part in brief question and answer sessions with the German
assistant.
• communicate with a native
speaker of German
• The assistant may need prompting to
keep mainly to known language.
• Further related activities can be found
in Optional Tests and Tasks 8.1, 8.2.
Any activities marked  might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

optional activities
© QCA 2000
Browse, save, edit or print Schemes of Work from the Standards Site at www.standards.dfee.gov.uk
MFL German - Unit 5 Freizeit
3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
PUPILS SHOULD LEARN:
POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES
LEARNING OUTCOMES
PUPILS:
POINTS TO NOTE
5
• how to understand and
describe leisure activities
6
• Pupils listen to or read descriptions containing phrases such as Man kann + • understand and then produce • Explain that man is used more
statements such as Man kann
infinitive with known verbs about German towns or villages.
commonly in German than ‘one’ in
ins Theater gehen.
• Pupils contrast leisure facilities in a small village with those in a big town,
English.
using positive and negative statements. They search websites for authentic • produce statements such as
• Teachers may wish to point out some
Wir können in der Schule
texts.
differences about when people in
Tennis spielen.
• Role-play set in a tourist office, incorporating language from this unit, using
Germany have opportunities for
authentic materials or cue cards.
leisure activities (no afternoon school
 Problem-solving activities, matching likes and dislikes to holiday locations in
lessons, shops closed early on
German-speaking countries, using some authentic or pre-prepared material.
Saturdays, staggered regional
• Extend this to talking or writing about what they can/cannot do at home or
holidays).
school (unit 3 ‘Der Schultag’ and unit 4 ‘Zu Hause’) using other parts of
• A further related activity can be found
können.
in Optional Tests and Tasks 4.3.
End-of-unit activity
• to apply the knowledge, skills
and understanding learnt in
this unit
• Having initially created and saved their work on a word processor, pupils
could send individual e-mails to a partner school in Germany, saying as
much as possible about themselves, drawing on language from all the units
so far. Writing frames for different topic areas can be used to help pupils
structure their work.
• write at greater length about
themselves, their interests, etc
and communicate this
information to a Germanspeaking pupil abroad
Any activities marked  might be better suited to higher-attaining pupils

optional activities
© QCA 2000
Browse, save, edit or print Schemes of Work from the Standards Site at www.standards.dfee.gov.uk
MFL German - Unit 5 Freizeit
4