Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Thursday, 14 April ‘16

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German advanced

 

 Class theme/topics discussed: Election campaigns then and now

 

Goal of the class: To discuss and understand some old and new posters used in elections by various political parties in Germany.

 

 How did you structure the class?

 

  • Each student got a paper with pictures of about 16 electoral campaign posters since 1949. They took turns reading out and describing them and we tried together to understand their meaning and context in the election back then. It also served to introduce students to the different political parties that exist in Germany and their general profile (liberal, social, environmental, and so on).
  • I showed students some contemporary campaign posters from 2013 and we discussed their effects and their messages.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Copied pictures from a book about political education from my high-school years (I attach the pdf).

Wahlplakate_früher1

Wahlplakate_früher_2

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

It was a good introduction to the names and profiles of the general political parties. It was just hard to explain all the allusions and the political context because this is sometimes very specific and complicated. But nevertheless, students got a lot to speak because they had to describe the pictures and formulate hypotheses about the message.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Talk also about campaign posters in the US – it is more relatable to the students and you might get to know a lot about American politics.

Lesson Plan