AP German Language
Speaking. With very few exceptions this course is conducted in German. Grammar
explanations, literary discussions, assignments, group work etc. are conducted in
German. Students are required to use German in class. Unless indicated otherwise,
all activities described in this document are done in German. Students have various
opportunities to use their German—class and small group discussion, informal and
formal presentations and speeches over fictional and non-fictional topics. We
frequently use portions of released AP exams for speaking practice-both the short
answer portions and the picture sequence sections. When students discuss daily
homework assignments they are required to use their German with their partners.
We frequently use Wechselspiel to incorporate the use of more difficult grammar
into speaking.
Listening. I use a variety of sources to help students practice their listening
comprehension skills. These sources include released AP exams, tapes and CD’s of
the literature we are reading, Keine Panic, Chaley Papa hat gesagt, selected movies
which may vary from year to year. In addition, we listen to music from various
German pop groups, such as die Prinzen, Nena, Die Fantastischen Vier or die Junge
Deutsche Dichter at different times of the year. We also use Uwe Kind Eine kleine
Deutsch Music. By the time students have begun AP German, they have worked
with the listening comprehension CD’s and assessments that accompany the Komm
Mit! textbook series for German I and German II—along with the videos which
accompany each chapter of book those texts.
Reading/Writing. I pull from a variety of sources in order to expose students to as
many different types of reading and writing experiences as possible. Of course we
practice with the composition topics provided in AP exams. Students write many
summaries and reactions and interpretations for various types of literature: short
stories, classical poetry, modern poetry, youth literature and mysteries. Therefore,
the skills of reading and writing are closely linked.
Strategies/Philosophy
This course may vary slightly from year to year depending on the needs and skills of
the students. Some years I may need to spend more time on grammar review which
means less time for movies or may necessitate selecting a shorter novel or one less
short story or poem along the way. Throughout the year we use AP exams to
practice specific language skills. When covering new grammar topics, aside from
grammar drill practice, I require students to use these new grammar structures in
their oral and written work. This gives them more realistic practice. This level of
instruction lends itself well to small group/partner work and cooperative learning.
Students are required to go over their work with a partner. The difficulty of the
work may necessitate reviewing the grammar, story or whatever it may be as a
larger group. I view my job in this course as facilitator of activities which involve
students speaking, reading, writing or listening to German --or a combination
thereof. The students are the most active persons in my classroom. Rarely does one
find me standing up in front of the class lecturing.
Course Planner
First Nine weeks.
Students are required to complete a summer assignment between their third year of
German and AP German. I use this summer assignment as a spring board for class
discussion. Students usually read Geheime Mission or Die Spur fuhrt nach Bayern.
In addition, they complete a thorough verb review with German Verb Drills. During
the summer, students write a number of chapter summaries. Upon their return to
school, students write longer summaries over a number of chapters and are
required to use particular grammar structures like subordinating conjunctions,
relative pronouns or a particular tense as a review. Students periodically give oral
summaries of a number of chapters. We also listen to the audio version of the book
as a review and to initiate listening comprehension activities. As a culminating
activity students complete a multi-faceted project over the story. They are required
to create an oral presentation and a written summary of their presentation. In
addition, students create a visual aide to use during their presentation. Rather than
merely retelling the story, students are encouraged to create a new ending, add a
new character, give special incite into a particular character etc. During this period
of time, we also complete a comprehensive review of active and passive voice,
irregular verbs and all tenses. After this review we cover Subjunctive II. The main
text I use for grammar instruction and review is German in Review by Sparks and
Vail. There are a few essays which lend themselves nicely to the use of Subjunctive
II from the released AP essays. In these essays students are involved with writing
about what they would do if they won the lottery and what they would do and how
their life would be different if they were invisible. I use both these topics for essay
writing and class discussion.
During the first part of the year we closely examine the released AP exams.
Students often use the picture sequences and short response questions to hone their
speaking skills. Students are also assigned several essay topics from the released
exams. I take this opportunity to meet with students individually to discuss
grammar issues or struggles they may be having. Students are required to edit and
correct all essays. We also use portions of College Board Achievement Test, German
and SAT II: Subject Test, German to review grammar and prepare for testing type
questions.
Our classroom celebration of Oktoberfest usually occurs during the first nine weeks.
At this time we may view some episodes of the Simpsons in German and usually
watch Staplerfahrer Klaus, a short German movie about the misfortunes of Klaus’
first day on the job as a forklift driver. Students may be asked to summarize these
in writing or orally.
Second Nine weeks.
Toward the end of the first nine weeks and the beginning of the second nine weeks
we begin our classical poetry unit. Most of these poems come from Dichter Denker
Erzaehler and/or Introduction to German Poetry. We cover about 10 different
classical poems: Erlkoenig, Gefunden, die Entwicklung der Menschheit, die
Loreilei—just to name a few. I include the audio version of these poems for the
students to listen to. Students are involved in daily discussion in German about the
poets and these poems. They are encouraged to try to make connections with their
own lives. Students are required to read about the poet. I have downloaded
information from on-line sources in German for them to read. For some of the
longer poems, students illustrate the poem and give oral presentations. As an
introduction to some of the poems students will write essays or participate in oral
presentations which cover themes in the poems –for example:
Was ist wahre Liebe?
Beschreiben Sie was das Wort ‘Freundschaft’ Ihnen bedeutet?
After every 3-4 poems students are assessed with interpretive essay questions about
the poems and poets as well as listening comprehension questions. They must
identify from which poem particular sentences or phrases come. At the end of this
unit students select three poems to illustrate and orally present to the class with a
visual aide. If there is time at the end of the classical poetry unit, I give each student
a modern poetry book, which I have purchased in Germany or Austria. They select
a poem from this book and present this poem to the class. During their
presentation, students explain relevant grammar, vocabulary, content and their
personal interpretation of the poem.
During our poetry unit, I take frequent pauses to cover some new grammar units.
We review adjective endings and then cover unpreceeded adjective endings. In
addition, we go over a list of idiomatic verbs which require the use of particular
prepositions. At this time students purchase the book, German Idioms. They are
required to pick 5 phrases from the book periodically which they are required to use
in their writing and speaking. When I assign compositions or essays I often require
particular grammar structures. Each time we cover a new aspect, I throw in that
particular grammar requirement.
After our classical poetry unit we move on to short stories. We usually read 3-4
short stories by Marie Luise Kaschnitz. We begin with Gespenster for which I have
the audio version. Before each assignment, students first listen to the audio version
to help develop their listening skills. The original version of this story is quite a
challenge for students, so we move slowly. Students then read Das Dicke Kind and I
usually pick one or two more from the book, Kurz Geschichte. This is also a good
time for a comprehensive review of conjunctions. Retelling stories lends itself well
in terms of using conjunctions. We review the use of subordinating clauses in
connecting ideas, cause and effect and transitional statements. Students deal with
these stories in a number of different ways. Of course there is daily discussion and
short answer to content questions. For at least two of the stories, student will give
oral presentations which cover interpretation and summary. During the
presentation students are required to include particular grammar structures such as
relative pronouns, passive voice, verbs with particular prepositions. During the
second nine weeks I also cover and review present and past participles used as
adjectives. This is a good follow-up to a review of adjective endings. Aside from the
pure grammar drill, we use the content of our short stories to create sentences using
these particular grammar structures. Christmas falls during the second nine weeks.
Therefore, I give students a reading selection from Weihnacht, Christmas in
Germany by Susanne Ehrlich. They are required to summarize in the form of notes
what they have read about Christmas customs in Germany and Austria. We may
also take a few Christmas carols and grammatically analyze them in order to review
some grammar aspects. (Usually Stille Nacht to review unpreceeded adjective
endings.)During these nine weeks, we may also listen to selections from Charley,
Papa hat gesagt in order to practice our listening comprehension skills. In
additional student see Truce in the Forest, which is a bilingual film based on a true
story which happens around Christmas time during the second World War.
Before the end of the 2nd nine weeks, students take practice tests for the AATG
achievement test. This test provides a good grammar review as well as
opportunities to practice listening skills.
Third Nine and Fourth nine weeks
During the third nine weeks, we begin our extensive unit on German history during
the period of the Holocaust. We pay special attention to the fate of children during
this period of time as we read, Damals war es Friedrich by Hans Richter. As we
read through this book we also read and discuss selected chapters out of Von
Vereinigung zu Vereinigung, A Survey of German Culture from 1871 to the Present in
order to more closely examine post World War I events in Germany which led up to
the rise of the Nazi Party and historical events during the World War II which can
be correlated with events in Damals war es Friedrich. Students read and answer
content questions about these chapters.
I pull from many different sources for this unit.
Struwwelhilter. This is a satirical version of Struwwelpeter with which
students are familiar from German III.
Hast du Hitler gesehen? This is a collection of peoples’ impressions of Hilter
as he or she first saw or heard him. Usually the person’s occupation and
date of seeing Hitler is given. We discuss the impact of this in class. Students
are required to write and entry for this book. They pick a particular
occupation, time period to make relevant in their entry.
Anne Frank We read and discuss sections from her diary. Students write
their own diary entry in which they must include something relevant from
Anne’s life and the historical time of the entry.
Warum warst du in der Hitler Jugend? These are a collection of interviews
children conducted with their grandfathers. Students must orally present a
chapter.
Mein Schatten in Dachau We read and discuss selected poems.
Vernichten Verachtet Verstossen This is a collection of stories from children’s
perspective during this time in history. We read and discuss selections.
Dachauer Hefte 9: Die Verfolgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen This is also
a collection of stories of the persecution of children during Hilter’s reign. We
read and discuss selections.
We also take the time to view selected movies:
Schindler’s List
Nasty Girl (auf Deutsch)
Swing Kids
Life is Beautiful (auf Deutsch)
The Camps
Kindertransport
The White Rose (auf Deutsch)
The number of movies we view and sources I pull from is dependent upon the skill
level of my students and how much review we need before the May AP exam. As we
view the movies, students are required to keep journals which summarize the movie
in German. In addition they are required to write their own opinions, thoughts and
reactions to what they are seeing. We usually view the movies available only in
English language after the AP exam.
For the first 8 chapters or so of Damals war es Friedrich, I take the lead in
presenting the chapters. For each chapter students receive a vocabulary list,
content questions, quotes to translate and usually a review grammar topic which
occurs in the chapter. After the initial chapters, students divide-up the remaining
chapters to present. Students create their own vocabulary list and content questions
and also select quotes to translate and the review grammar topic. Students make
copies of their materials for their classmates and then facilitate discussion of the
chapters with their created materials. Having students present chapters covers a
many language skills, reading, writing, speaking and listening.
After reading, Damals war es Friedrich, students independently read and summarize
an additional story dealing with this period of history. Usually they select from
Mensch Karnikel or Schwester Scholl or Das Brandopfer. Students do this
independently without as much class discussion, therefore I use the easy reader
series for these. They are then required to give an oral presentation covering the
content of these stories.
This unit provides students with obvious opportunities to read German at the
appropriate level from a number of different types of texts in addition to daily
opportunities to use their German in discussion and presentation.
After finishing Damals war es Friedrich, we move on the other stories, poems,
excerpts dealing with this period from history. I have listed those books above along
with the types of activities we complete with each of them.
Grammar covered during this time period. We review passive once more, and it is
at this time that students really seem to digest the concept. Discussing history lends
itself well to the use of passive. We also cover Subjunktiv I during this time. As a
break before spring break we may see and discuss the movie Lola rennt.
As a culminating project for this semester and for AP German. Students are
required to selected a topic related to the Second World War and Germany—a topic
which we touch on but about which they would like to learn more. Students are
required to conduct their own research on the Internet. One source has to come
from a book. Topics from the past have been such things as Dachau, Die
Geschwister Scholl, Widerstandsgruppen, Hitlerjugend, Hitler etc. This project is
multi-faceted. Students conduct research, write about their research, create some
type of visual aide which could be a power point presentation or poster and present
their research to the class. In the written portion of this project, students are
required to use specific grammar: passive voice, compound tenses with modal verbs,
subordinating conjunctions, relative pronouns, subjunctive I and II. The grammar
items are graded objectively while the rest of the project is assessed holistically.
At this point in time during the year, we are coming close to AP exam time. We
start completing portions of the exam under time constraints and exam conditions
so that students are acclimated before the actual exam. We complete a thorough
review of case uses and prepositions at this time and well as a review of all forms of
determiners and possessives.
Student Evaluation
In this course each project or larger assignment has a point value. Students’ grades
are calculated simply by dividing the number of points they have earned with the
number of points possible. By the time students have decided to take Advanced
Placement German, I have had them as a student for three years. I am very
familiar with their background in German and their personal strengths and
weakness in all language skills. This puts me in the special position to be able to
help them on a more individual basis to improve their language skills. Evaluation in
this course is often based on holistic evaluation. For any written assignment, I mark
all students’ work, and the student is required to correct his or her mistakes. For
oral presentations students are often required to use particular grammar structures
correctly. Therefore a portion of the evaluation may be purely objective-- whereas a
portion of the evaluation may be holistic in nature. We do examine the AP scoring
guidelines and language. When completing portions of the AP Exam, we use those
scoring techniques and that particular language so that students are familiar with
those standards. Each time we complete a new grammar topic, students complete an
objective evaluation, but as can be seen by the course planner, evaluation of that
particular grammar concept does not end with the completion of the objective
assessment. Students are often required to use particular grammar concepts in
their writing and speaking.
Homework. Students have homework daily. Very few points are given for mere
completion of work--less than perhaps 10% of their total grade. Most work is
evaluated and returned for required correction.
Grammar
Bueges, Michael, Curry, Frederick, McMahon, James, and Thomas, Linda. SAT II:
Subject Test German. USA: Research and Education Association, 1998
Drake, Michael/Lind, Wolfgang. Wechselspiel. Berlin: Langenscheidt, 1986.
Strutrz, Hentry. German Idioms. Hauppauge: Barron’s, 1995.
Henschel, Astrid. German Verb Drills. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Rath, Angelika. Keine Panik. Berlin: Langenscheidt, 1997.
Sparks, Kimberly, and Vail, Van Horn. German in Review. Boston: Heinle &
Heinle, 2002.
1997 AP German Language Released Exam. New York: The College Board, 1997.
2002 AP German Language Released Exam. New York: The College Board, 2002.
2003- 2006 Level 4 Tests. New Jersey: American Association of Teachers of
German, 2003-2006.
Books, Short Stories, Novels
Baxstrom, Jerri Lynn. Von Vereinigung zu Vereinigung: A Survey of German
Culture from 1871 to the Present. Wooster: AATG, 1997.
Burger, Horst. Warum warst du in der Hitler-Jugend? Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1993.
Ehrlich, Susanne. Weihnacht, Chirstmas in Germany. Lincolnwood: NTC, 1985.
Dachauer Hefte 9, Die Verfolgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Dachau: Verlag
Dachauer Hefte, 1993.
Frank, Anne. Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank. Heidelberg: Fischer Taschenbuch
Verlag, 1989.
Goes, Albrecht. Das Brandopfer. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer Verlag GmbH,
1974.
Herfurtner, Rudolf. Mensch Karnikel. Wien: Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, 1990.
Kempowski, Walter. Haben Sie Hitler Gesehen? Muenchen: Goldmann Verlag,
1973.
Koenig, Hans J. Geheime Mission. Saint Paul: EMC, 1975.
Koenig, Hans J. Die Spur Fuehrt nach Bayern. Saint Paul: EMC, 1984.
Richter, Hans Peter. Damals war es Friedrich. Muenchen: Deutscher Taschenbuch
Verlag, 1980.
Roth, Harala. Verachtet, Verstossen, Vernichtet. Wuerzburg: Arena, 1995.
Spence Robert, Spence Philip. Struwwelhitler. Berlin: Autorenhaus Verlag, 2005
Movies
Der Pianist. 2002. Directed by Roman Polanski. Distributed by Imagion AG, 2002.
143 minutes.
Die Simpsons. 1994. Directed by Matt Groenign. Distributed by Gracie Films,
2003.
Lola rennt. 1998. Directed by Tom Tykwer. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics,
1999. 80 minutes.
The Nasty Girl. 1990. Directed by Michael Verhoevan. Distributed by Miramax
Films, 1990.
Staplerfahrer Klaus Der erste Arbeitstag. 2001. Directed by Joerg Wagner and
Stefan Prehn. Distributed by Anolis Entertainment, 2001. 9 minutes.
Swing Kids. Directed by Thomas Carter. Distributed by Hollywood Pictures, 114
minutes.
The White Rose. Directed by Michael Verhoeven. Distributed by Sentana Films,
1983, 123 minutes.
Truce in the Forest. Directed by Jim Lawrence. Distributed by Family Films, 40
minutes.
Poetry
Allert-Wybranietz, Kristiane. Dem Leben auf der Spur. Muenchen: Heyne, 1987.
Allert-Wybranietz. Liebe Gruesse. Fellbach: lucy koerner verlag, 1982.
Allert-Wybranietz. Trotz alledem. Fellbach: lucy koerner verlag, 1980.
Allert-Wybranietz. Wenn’s doch nur so einfach waer. Fellbach: lucy koerner
verlag, 1984.
Heller, Peter/Ehrilich, Edith. Dichter, Denker, und Erzaehler. New York:
Macmillan, 1982.
Mathieu, Gustave, and Guy Stern. Intoduction to German Poetry. New York:
Dover Publications, 1991.
Ohne Sehnsucht bin ich tot. Frankfurt: Journal fuer die Frau, 1987.
Pfennig, Joern. Grudlos zaertlich. Muenchen: Goldmann Verlag, 1979.
Pfennig, Joern. Kein Angst dich zu verliern. Muenchen: Goldmann Verlag, 1984.