Language Residents

an archive of lesson plans

Category: German (Page 2 of 10)

German Conversation class

DE F21 INT/ADV German Federal Election 2021

December 10, 2021 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name:
Nicolai Diener

Class theme/topics discussed:
German Federal Election 2021

Goal of the class:
Learn and discuss about:

  • Political system in Germany
  • Comparison between German political system with U.S.
  • Comparison between Majority voting & proportional representation
  • Key political offices/names/institutions/parties in Germany
  • Distinction between party, fraction and coalition
  • Distinction between German parties

How did you structure the class?

4.30 – 4.40:        “Positionslinie” (Students have to position themselves along a line (“Positionslinie”) which is marked by a check on one side and a cross on the other according to three statements: 1) “I mostly understand what politics is about” 2) I feel that my opinion is well represented in politics 3) “I would go to a demonstration if I didn’t like something in the country”. Depending on where the students stand the teacher tries to collect like 1-2 opinions from students (standing on the extremes/middle/.. trying to involve everyone))

4.40 – 4.45:        Review: Political System USA – groups (the students have to discuss the following points with regard to the political system in the U.S.: “1) Key offices 2) Who votes for whom? 3) How is the winner decided?” They can use the chalkboard for illustrations)

4.45 – 4.50:        Review: Political System USA – plenum (teacher asks students for what they discussed in the groups and collects their input on the chalkboard for illustration purposes + easier comparison to German system)

4.50 – 5.00:        Scheme of key offices/institutions in German political system (students get 6 different parts of one scheme and have to bring them in the correct relation to each other. If too difficult help the students + discuss open questions)

5.00 – 5.05:        Gap text of key offices/institutions in German political system (introduce more/precise vocabulary/offices/institutions and record it with the gap text)

5.05 – 5.10:        Discuss 3 important terms: party, fraction & coalition (“party” and “fraction” important basic terms to understand the political system in Germany, as well as “coalition” – the latter one also allows to transfer to the next point: the comparison between majority voting and proportional representation)

5.10 – 5.20:        Watch Video „Wahlsysteme einfach erklärt“ + Discuss open questions

5.20 – 5.30:        Introduce & Discuss the Parties in Germany (each student gets 1 party – they have to read the short introduction and combined with their own knowledge have to answer the following questions: “1) Who is you party? What positions do they represent? 2) Where would your party position on a left-right-scale (using the same line as in the first task) 3) With which other parties would your party form a coalition?”)

XXX       Campaign issues

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

I knew that this class would be intense and we won’t be able to do all the things that I had planned – nevertheless I am really happy, as we were able to talk about the most important aspects and from my point of view the students were really (!) interested and also understood a lot (!). They were really engaged and worked pretty well on all the assignments, even though they had different degrees of political knowledge. To be honest, I switched to English several times this class – but this was a once a year occasion and it was important to me that they use German as much as possible (and I use German as much as possible in explaining things), but at the same time I really wanted them to take as much knowledge out of that class as possible – even if that meant that I had to switch to English sometimes.
All the assignments worked really well and took about the right amount of time – maybe the first task could have been a little bit shorter, but it was a really nice introduction, had the students walking around in class, discussing, sharing – so I would not necessarily change it as it is a good introduction to the class.
The comparison worked really well – students own knowledge/experience as basis to imagine how the German system could work. The explanations of the “party”, “fraction” and “coalition” terms allowed to have short little excursions to other topics – e.g. differences between the two voting systems. The video was good and worked really well in combination with further explanations by myself. They got to know the parties and what they stand for – the only thing we did not talk about were the campaign issues. But I do not really mind that – as that part is the weakest in my opinion and I will focus my study break on campaign issues. So it is not too bad that we did not do it and instead used the SHORT time for all the other important stuff. The students also asked a lot of questions after the class, left about 5.45 and I could tell them some insights to the German political landscape – all in all I would say that this was certainly a PACKED, but VERY good class.

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

Bundestagswahl-2021Download
Bilderimpuls-WahlkampfthemenDownload
Luckentext-BundesregierungDownload
Parteien-PositionenDownload
Schaubild-BundestagDownload

Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZSCCKjttM0 (09/23/2021)

DE F21 INT/ADV Desert Game

December 10, 2021 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name:
Nicolai Diener

Class theme/topics discussed:
Desert Game

Goal of the class:
Finding a compromise
Finding the (best possible) solution as a team
Debate & discussion

How did you structure the class?

4.30 – 4.35:        Introduction & Scenario (Welcome students to class and introduce them to the topic “desert game”. Tell them the scenario in a dramatic fashion! [students on a plane/plane crashes/they are all by themselves in the desert and were able to save 15 items, which they have to rate according to their importance for their survival/their ratings will be judged compared to the solution and then reflected)

4.35 – 4.40:        Questions & familiarize with items (Make sure that every student understands the scenario and quickly introduce the 15 items – it is really important that the students know what those items are and if they have no idea what an item could be used for it doesn’t hurt if there is a short exchange about them within the class)

4.40 – 4.48:        Step 1: Work on your own (each student now has 8 minutes to think about the items and rate them from 1 to 15, depending on how important they think a certain item is to survive in this desert scenario)

4.48 – 5.00:        Step 2: Small groups (students are divided into small groups and within those small groups have to discuss the items and then come to a shared solution. It is not allowed for students to have different solutions within the small groups, so they have to discuss with each other and find a compromise together)

5.00 – 5.10:        Step 3: Plenum (students have to come up with a solution for the whole class. As in the step before, they have to come up with a shared solution for everyone – so they have to be able to find a compromise. Depending on the size of the class or the number of small groups there are two ways on how to handle the plenary discussion: a) every group selects one speaker that has to represent and argue for their solution in the whole class, while the others of the small group have to help and assist him with arguments or questions for the others, or b) everybody can speak.

5.10 – 5.20:        Solution (the teacher reads out the solution [find in documents] – students have to compare their own, small group and class solutions with the solution offered by the teacher and calculate the difference to their solutions. While reading out the solution there will be lots of surprises and students want to discuss that. If not you can always ask “Are you surprised by this” or something like that to engage small discussions)

5.20 – 5.30:        Reflection (ask students questions to allow them to reflect on the solution finding process, like: “How did the initial group process go? How did you proceed as a group to find a solution? How did you feel about the discussion in the group? How did you manage to reach a good result? Were all group members equally involved? What was the leadership like? Did a team leader emerge? How were decisions reached?”

What worked well in this class? What did not work (how could that be improved)?

The class worked really well – students were very engaged in the discussion and had a lot of fun thinking about how to survive in this scenario by making best use of the offered items. They were also really surprised by the solution – reading that out might take longer than expected and is a bit much teacher-focused. I really enjoyed that part, how surprised the students were and the discussions that followed that – but maybe there is a better solution, like handing out a handout and then having the groups discuss in small groups again on what they think about the solution. In general, it is important to give them enough time to discuss everything – otherwise they might feel that they were being rushed. But at the same time the class is really tightly scheduled, so it is important to keep an eye on the time.

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

WustenspielDownload
Das-Wustenspiel_HandoutDownload

Internet resource (solution and further information : https://butterflying-akademie.de/team-challenge-wuestenspiel/ )

DE SP21 Study Break: Easter Escape Room

May 11, 2021 /

Excel file used for Easter-themed virtual Escape Room:

(Each group of students playing against each other gets a separate file. We used Google Sheets so they can all work on the same sheet within their group. The Excel file can be imported into Google Sheets, if necessary).

The Key file has one tab with the solutions and one “Student” version tab that can be copied for the files to be used and filled by the students.

Easter-ESCAPE-ROOM-KeyDownload

DE SP21 INT/ADV – Student Presentations

May 11, 2021 /

Note: This is a two-part class! I did one class brainstorming and then one to two classes presenting.
ADV: 15-20 minutes per presentation, over several classes
INT: 5-10 minutes per presentation, can be held in one class, depending on number of students.

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 4/15/2021, 4/20/2021, 4/22/2021,

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate/Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Presenting

Goal of the class: Learn interactive ways to present a topic

How did you structure the class?

Class 1

A) “Word of The Day” Game: Students are given a very specific and not well known word that fits the topic of the day (For example a slang word: “Trantüte”). They write a quick description of what they think the word could be (on a card, piece of paper, or in Zoom they would privately message you). When all have submitted their description, you read all of them, including the correct one and let the students guess which one is right. I do this at the beginning of every class as an ice breaker, but it can also be done as a quick random activity.

B) Presentations Discussion: What makes a good presentation? Which ones do you remember best? Tell us about your favorite and worst presentations you have heard or seen. As the teacher, filter out bullet points of Do’s and Dont’s that the students can have access to.

C) Brainstorm: What you could do in your presentation? Each student deliberates for themselves. The questions are asked one after another, so the students have to sit with them for a bit to give them a chance to go deeper.

1) If you had to talk about a topic, what would you talk about and why? – everybody gets 5 minutes to think about a topic (or optional: topics can be assigned, but I found they enjoy picking their own more)

2) How would you put a new spin on it? – 5 minutes

3) Think of an interactive exercise to incorporate in your presentation – 5 minutes

4) Which other aspects of what we reviewed earlier (your bullet points) can you incorporate in your presentation? Brainstorm for 10 minutes (or until the end of class)

D) Optional homework: Pick a topic and prepare a 5-10 (INT)/10-20(ADV) -minute presentation. Think of an interactive exercise and a new way to present your topic.

Note: If you don’t want to do it as homework, students can work on a shorter presentation in the next class in the first half and present in the second half of the class

Class 2:

Students present their topics. Afterwards you can have a discussion about what they liked, what new things they learned, etc.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.), Props: Share Screen function in Zoom for presentations, Google Doc to write down bullet points

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

This class worked very well, the students were very engaged talking about presenting in the first half. The second half was quiet work where they could start preparing the concept of their presentation and brainstorm ideas about how to present it. Every five minutes I changed prompts to help them brainstorm.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

You could have less prompts and more talking about presenting, but with four people we had a good chunk of time at the end for prep. It reduces some of their homework time to let them start on it in class and gives them a chance to really think about it and take their time.

DE SP21 INT/ADV – Environmental Protection

May 11, 2021 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 4/29/2021

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate/Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Environmental pollution and protection

Goal of the class: Being able to talk about how to protect the environment

How did you structure the class?

A) “Word of The Day” Game: Students are given a very specific and not well known word that fits the topic of the day (For example a slang word: “Schmarotzer”). They write a quick description of what they think the word could be (on a card, piece of paper, or in Zoom they would privately message you). When all have submitted their description, you read all of them, including the correct one and let the students guess which one is right. I do this at the beginning of every class as an ice breaker, but it can also be done as a quick random activity.

B) Green Politics Vocabulary: Give each student or group of students a few words relating to environmental protection (see examples below) . The students shall find pictures that illustrate each word and write a description of what each word means.

C) Household items: (See examples below) Together with the students, go through pictures of machines or appliances and let them fill out the English words (or ask them and fill in for them). Pronounce each German word together.

D) Discussion:
Advanced: How can we use these household items to be more mindful of the environment?
Intermediate: How can we describe these machines? What do they do? (Good exercise to learn relative sentences).

E) Extra Activity: Pick one machine, but don’t tell the students which one. Now they have to ask questions to guess which of the machines you are thinking of, for example: is it being used outside or inside? Is the color grey? etc. Once a student guesses correctly, they will pick a word and everyone else will guess again. (Can be yes/no questions to make it more advanced, but doesn’t have to be).

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.), Props: Share Screen function in Zoom, Google Docs & Google Sheets (for exercises)

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

This was inspired by two assignments from the book “Passwort Deutsch 4” in another class, so I re-used the vocabulary for this class, because protecting the environment is something I noticed the students are very interested in. They learned a lot of fairly simple vocabulary to be able to talk about this topic better. It worked out well.

Examples:

Green Politics Vocabulary List:
Die Umweltschutzbewegung, Alternative Energien, Die Umwelt verschmutzen, Abgase (Pl.), Das Gift, Umweltfeindlich, Müll & Recycling, Der Smogalarm, In einer Bürgerinitiative aktiv sein, Der Stromverbrauch, Der Lärm, Umweltschädlich, Die Katastrophe

Houshold items List (Excel)

Maschinen_und_GeräteDownload

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I wouldn’t change anything.

DE SP21 ADV – German politicians & Social Media

May 11, 2021 /

Day and Date: 3/23/2021

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Current German politics, Social Media

Goal of the class: Get to know party leaders (= candidates for chancellor)

How did you structure the class?

A) “Word of The Day” Game: Students are given a very specific and not well known word that fits the topic of the day (For example a slang word: “lindnern” or “verschlimmbessern”). They write a quick description of what they think the word could be (on a card, piece of paper, or in Zoom they would privately message you). When all have submitted their description, you read all of them, including the correct one and let the students guess which one is right. I do this at the beginning of every class as an ice breaker, but it can also be done as a quick random activity.

B) Instagram Profile Revamp: Each student is assigned an important politician (leader of a party or chancellor candidate). They look up one of their Social Media profiles (for example, Instagram or Facebook) and think about how their page could be re-done in order to speak to them as an audience. Alone or in groups, they work on a new Profile Image, Instagram handle (Name), a concise logline, three lines of bio description and three posts consisting of a picture of the politician with a post text. Use of emojis is strongly welcomed. This activity can take about 25 minutes. (Note: they do not create an actual Instagram account, that should be made clear. They can do the task in a Word or Google Doc.)

C) Presenting their work/politician: Students present their revamped Instagram pages to each other, so that the students get to know each politician in a fun and engaging way.

D) Discussion: Compare to existing social media accounts and talk about the differences.

E) Optional extra activity: The students record a selfie video telling their friends why they should vote for this politician’s party.

Example: One student went above and beyond (which was not expected) and photoshopped his answers so it looks real. Can be part of the exercise as well.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.), Props: Share Screen function in Zoom, Google Docs or Word Doc for students to write down their Instagram material

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The class worked well. The students seem to enjoy the creative exercises.

How could this class be improved/ modified?
The Instagram task could also be done as homework, if applicable, and the class can be used to talk more in-depth about the parties. If the Instagram task is done in class, the selfie-video exercise can also be done as homework or done in a previous class about politics and watched before the exercise.

DE F20 ADV – German politics

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Credit to: INES FISTER, DE F17 INT German Parliament – Bundestag
(I modified her class for online. Had the group research be homework so we had more time to discuss current politics and added some explainity videos.)

Day and Date: 11/10/2020

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: German government and current politics

Goal of the class: Discuss current politics and trends in Germany

How did you structure the class?

A) Warm-Up: How do you feel right now that the US election is over? Did you celebrate?

B) Discussion: Did you know yesterday was the first anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin? How much do you know about that? Fill in knowledge gaps, if needed with a short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxWn75LSO48

C) Homework Recap: Students present their research about a German political party each. Then talk about 6 major parties in Germany and where they are on the spectrum. Look at how large each party is in the Parliament. Discuss some topics the parties have discussed recently or topics the students are especially interested in.

D) Extra Activity (if not talking about the fall of the wall or if students want to go deeper):
a) Video about how parliament is elected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAkG_D8nKTc&list=PLfRDp3S7rLds47DhlHPlRwTSK4DP5fmuo&index=55

b) Video about how chancellor is elected:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLHEBeSKfPI

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) Prop: Share Screen function in Zoom, Chat, Youtube, Google Sheets, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference

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

I modified the previous lesson plan to having the students each present a party that was prepared as homework, because they seemed to be interested in the current policies and we had more time to talk about that this way. But the research could also be done during the class. I assigned each a party, so we didn’t hear about the same party several times.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would leave as is. I asked the students which direction they wanted to go deeper in and they wanted to know more about parliament elections. They were very interested and engaged this way.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language: https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/11/10/13-1-class-22-11-10-2020/  (Password: GERMAN)

DE F20 INT/ADV – Baking Bread & Brotzeit

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 9/22/2020 & 9/25/2020 (Two-day class!)

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate/Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Prep & bake a bread & “Brotzeit” (Bread Time)

Goal of the class: Learn how to read recipes and make your own bread

How did you structure the class?

DAY 1

A) Warm-Up Discussion: Tell us about a food you like to cook and describe how you would cook it (learn words for preparation)

B) Look at a simple, no-knead bread recipe steps 1-3 (see attached) and go through the verbs necessary in each step. (In my kitchen, I showed them kitchen items that we will need for baking the bread and made sure they have them accessible.)

C) Ask the students to tell you what to do in German to prep the dough for the bread, reading the recipe out loud.

D) Homework: The students shall prep their bread the night before the next class! Make sure to let them know to put a note on the oven so roommates/family know that the dough is proofing in there (so nobody turns it on and accidentally bakes the pre-dough). If they have high traffic in their kitchen, they can proof it on their counter overnight alternatively.

DAY 2

A) Start with preheating dutch ovens and preparing utensils (10 mins). Go through the rest of the recipe with them and make it together.

B) Bread goes into oven (20 minutes). Meanwhile, talk about “Brotzeit” and where it came from. Show some examples on what you can have on bread. Discussion with students: How will you eat your self-made bread?

C) Remove lid from bread and bake for another 25 minutes. Meanwhile, continue discussion: What is a beer garden, what utensils do we use to eat? What do we call our table setting? Learn new words that they are not familiar with yet.

D) Homework: Take a photo of what you’re eating the bread with and who you’re eating with. Describe how it tasted in the next class.

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

Prop: Share Screen function in Zoom, Images, Google Docs, Chat, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference

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

The students were nicely engaged, baking along. When showing them how to make the recipe I could tell they were a little bored so I had them taking turns directing me. The bake-along might be more difficult in a larger class, I only had three students.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I could have given the students a bit more notice for the ingredients. They need water, flour, salt and yeast. And maybe one could find a way to have my laptop in the kitchen, so I don’t have to run between my desk and the kitchen while the bread is in the oven and we talk about “Brotzeit”.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/category/germ-13-1/  (Password: GERMAN) and https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/09/24/13-1-class-10-9-24-2020/ (Password: GERMAN)

Example for vocabulary related to Brotzeit, from DK “Bilingual dictionary” ISBN: 978-0-7566-1295-5
Brot-ohne-Kneten

DE F20 INT/ADV – St. Martin’s Day & Lantern crafting

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 11/12/2020

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate & Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: St. Martin’s Day

Goal of the class: Learn about German culture and master casual conversation

How did you structure the class?

A) Warm-Up: Have you heard of St. Martins Day or seen lantern-walks before? Why are they happening?

Watch short cartoon about St. Martin:


B) Activity: Make a lantern as is a custom in Germany on 11/11 while listening to songs that are traditionally sung, like  “Ich geh mit meiner Laterne“ and “Laterne, Laterne”.

Here is an example for an easy lantern: http://www.labbe.de/zzzebra/index.asp?themaid=237&titelid=4116
This one is made poking holes, alternatively you can have the students cut out shapes with small scissors and glue tissue paper behind it.

Maybe watch video of actual St. Martin’s procession towards the end, when people are settled in with crafting (you can find some on Youtube).

C) Discussion while crafting or after: What were your favorite Childhood activities this time of year? Is there something similar in your culture?

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) Props: Share Screen function in Zoom, Chat, Youtube, Spotify, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference.

I emailed students a few days before with what is needed so they could get the supplies needed for making the lanterns (cardboard box, scissors, thumb tacks, glue, tissue paper, fake candle, etc.).

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

The students very much enjoyed making the lanterns. It is a bit hard to make them multi-task, so they became chattier once they were almost done with their work. It worked well to listen to some traditional songs while they were crafting and showing the videos in the beginning & end.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I’d leave it as is. And we took a screenshot photo with all our lanterns at the end, which made a fun memory.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language:  https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/11/12/13-1-class-23-11-12-2020/   (Password: GERMAN)

DE F20 INT/ADV – Christmas Escape Room

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 11/24/2020

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediante/Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Christmas & the holidays

Goal of the class: Learning about German customs and escaping Krampus’ mine

How did you structure the class?

A) Warm-Up: With the lights off and your Zoom background set to a coal mine, tell the students they have been captured and brought to a coal mine because they opened their advent calendars too early! Impersonating Krampus for this is highly recommended & fun (I wore a Santa hat and used a flash light to make myself look frightening)

B) Give them the “escape room” game Google Sheet link and explain (as “Krampus”) how they are going to find the code word to get out (which is “Merry Christmas” in German, but backwards, see Key sheet). Stress that they are supposed to talk to each other to solve riddles together, one at a time. Then set a timer for 45-50 minutes for them to solve the questions and to guess the code word.

It’s good to remind them of the time they have left every once in a while (half time and maybe 5 minutes before, depending how they are doing on time). I plan about 5 minutes per question on average as a guideline. If they are taking longer, feel free to help them a bit by telling them if their answer is right or wrong before they type them in, to avoid detours. And giving hints or more information about a correct answer works well, too.

C) Once the game is finished, go over the answers the students provided or answer any outstanding questions about Christmas in Germany.

D) Extra activity: Watch “Cat-A-Claws”, a 2-minute Christmas themed cat movie https://vimeo.com/381605666 (this is my own production, but available publicly). Find traditions and words we talked about in the movie.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.): Share Screen function in Zoom, Chat, Google Sheets, Vimeo, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference

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

The students enjoyed the surprise escape room very much and solved the riddles just in time. I clarified some things during the game and helped a bit to keep it moving. It was a fun way to learn!

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I’ve tried this both with just one student and a group of three students and both took about 45-50 minutes to finish it. If the group is much larger, communication might be hard so they should probably be split up into groups of three or four and you can jump from room to room to help if necessary.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/11/24/13-1-class-25-11-23-2020/ (Password: GERMAN)

Christmas ESCAPE ROOM – KeyDownload

Note: You can use the key document for yourself and then load the blank template tab into Google Sheets to have the students work in the same document. It’s best if one student shares their screen of it so all can see what’s asked.

DE F20 INT/ADV – Octoberfest

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 10/1/2020

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate/Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Oktoberfest

Goal of the class: Know how to order foods and drinks & how to give compliments/small talk

How did you structure the class?

A) Warm-Up:  Discussion about Oktoberfest – what do students know about it? Have you been? Learn important vocabulary (best with pictures, maybe let them pronounce the words/fill in translations for intermediate). (10 min)

*Optional for advanced students or students who have been to Oktoberfest: Wordsearch with words that they have to find (helps knowing how to spell words that they have just heard before)

Activity 2: Discussion: How do we order items/ask other people to bring us food? How do we give compliments? (10 min) – can be done online in small breakout groups either just talking or written with Google Sheets or in small classes with whole class (see example for ordering food/conversations with server attached)

B) Some facts and figures about Oktoberfest. Learn about 40th Oktoberfest terrorist attack anniversary. Talk about effects of Covid-19 and the alternate program in Munich via their Instagram page.

Fun Examples: – Watch “Bavarian Line Dance” https://youtu.be/BcU38jrw5ew

C) If extra time, show them attraction “Teufelsrad”, a spinning platform that people sit on and have to stay on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5oEn5y0H10

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.): Share Screen function in Zoom, Images, Instagram, YouTube, Google Docs, Chat, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference

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

The students were engaged well. One of the students had been to Oktoberfest, so I let her knowledge and conversations lead to the topics and added some based on questions. They enjoyed ordering things and learning compliments. We zigzagged a bit in terms of topics, but I wanted to keep it organic. They very much enjoyed the videos and pictures of the alternate program to Oktoberfest this year.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Oktoberfest is such a huge topic that it’s hard to give a true impression in one hour and have a conversation and some grammar at the same time. I assumed they had already seen the partying in tents and the atmosphere, so I focused on more practical/historical aspects of it and some special attractions that they have had in the past and are having now. I think that worked well.

For the wordsearch, you can make your own here: https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2017/01/make-word-search-puzzles-for-your-classroom

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/10/02/13-1-class-12-10-1-2020 (Password: GERMAN)

Oktoberfest-conversations

Oktoberfest-Vocabulary

Wordsearch-Oktoberfest-10_2-food_word_search

DE F20 INT – Grocery Shopping

December 1, 2020 /

Language Resident/Assistant Name: Eva Saunders

Day and Date: 9/17/2020

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Food & Groceries

Goal of the class: Identify food in a recipe and know how to buy it

How did you structure the class?

A) Warm-Up Discussion: Who enjoys cooking? Who does it regularly? Has it changed with the pandemic? What’s your favorite food?

B) Quick food quiz about fruit & vegetables: ask them which German fruits and veggies they already know. Then use a Google Doc with pictures and German words underneath to let them fill out the English equivalent and read them out loud for pronunciation.

C) Corona e-shopping: Look at different shopping carts I pre-loaded online and guess what food it might be for, show them photo of finished dish.
(For more advanced group or extra time: ask them how ingredients might be used.)
Then learn each of the ingredients’ words and identify structure and words of the shopping cart.

(Example dishes: Pasta w tomato sauce, Schnitzel with potato wedges, Currywurst with fries, buttered bread/pretzels)

D) Homework/Extra activity: Go over to getnow.com (German equivalent to Instacart), enter 80333 (Munich) as post code and gather ingredients of a dish you make a lot. Bring a screenshot of your shopping cart and a photo of what the dish will look like. (And you can have the students guess each other’s in next session).

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.): Share Screen function in Zoom, Images, Google Sheets, Website getnow.com, Chat, Course Website as a resource for homework and reference

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The students enjoyed learning the different groceries and learning to shop on their own online.

How could this class be improved/ modified?
If it’s a larger class (more than 4-5 students), it can be done in groups. For more advanced students, you can pick harder fruits/vegetables or practice plural/pronouns.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Virtual Handout in target language https://courses.pomona.edu/la-german-2020/blog/2020/09/17/1-13-class-8-9-17-2020   (Password: GERMAN)

Obst-und-Gemuse-Sheet1

DE S20 INT: Traveling (Zoom class)

May 6, 2020 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Monday, 04/27/2020

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

# of Students: 3

Class theme/topics discussed: traveling

Goal of the class: Students repeat traveling vocab, practice a common German grammatical construction, practice presenting information.

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up (Prior knowledge):

I put questions in the google doc, that the students talk about in pairs in breakout rooms. 1. What was the best trip that you ever went on? What was so great about it? 2. Can you imagine living in a different country one day? Where would that be? 3. Where would you travel to if money was not an issue? 4. Is traveling important to you? Why/why not?

  • Activity 1 (Input):

The students brainstorm as many terms that are connected with traveling as possible. After two minutes, we look at all the terms together and talk about them.

  • Activity 2 (Guided Practice):

The students answer the question “Why do people travel?” with the “um…zu”-Construction (in order to). Together we collect as many reasons to travel as possible. When the students run out of ideas, we look at a website together that gives ten reasons for traveling.

  • Activity 3 (Task):

Students prepare a mini-presentation about the most interesting trip they ever went to. They explain where they went, for how long, how they got there, what they did there, what was most interesting, etc. They also explain, why traveling is important to them. They can also show pictures with the screenshare function. After about 5 minutes of preparation time, they get together in breakout rooms and present to each other.

  • Activity 4 (Follow-up):

We meet in the main room, everyone quickly summarizes what they talked about, before we say our goodbyes.

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

Google Doc, DeepL, website : https://www.auslandsjob.de/10-gruende-reisen.php,

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

The class went pretty well. The students talked a lot and were active and engaged all the time. The activities were not as dynamic as I had hoped, but I think that was because half of the class was missing. Also, I had one more, pretty big task prepared for the students, but we did not have the time to do it. But because I did not try to squeeze that activity in, the timing worked out very well.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Finding a short video or some other kind of input with travel-related vocabulary would have been good to stimulate more ideas in the brainstorming activity.

DE S20 INT: Impressions

May 6, 2020 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Credit to Katherine Pérez, Mariia Glukhova

Day and Date: Monday, 02/03/2020

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

# of Students: 6

Class theme/topics discussed: Physical appearance

Goal of the class: Learning vocabulary to describe someone’s physical appearance.

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up (Prior knowledge):

Focused Freewriting: What do you think about when you think about physical appearance? How would you describe your closest friend? How would you describe yourself? (3-5min) We talk about it and come up with categories for describing physical appearance. Then the students get to the board and fill the categories with as many expressions as possible.

  • Activity 1 (Input):

I show students a picture of me and friends of mine. I then describe some people in the picture, before I have the students describe the remaining people based on what they see.

  • Activity 2 (Guided Practice):

While the German music is playing, everybody walks around the room observing other people’s clothes, hairstyle, etc. As soon as the music stops, each student pairs up with the person standing nearest and they stand back to back. Each of the students makes statements about the other’s appearance. Repeat a couple of times.

  • Activity 3 (Task):

Detective role play: Each student gets a picture of someone who “has gone missing”. One of the students is a detective and the other one has to tell what the person missing looks like. The “detective” draws the person who is being described. Both students get to be a “detective” using one different picture each. After having done this, each group describes their partners’ picture and we all get to compare and see how accurate the description was (15-20 min).

  • Activity 4 (Follow-up):

What do students guess the occupations of the people on the pictures are?

After guessing and giving reasons for their guesses, in two groups, they each look up one of the people, then present their findings to the group.

  • Extra final activity:

What do you think the German saying “Kleider machen Leute” could mean?

We talk about it.

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

Song, pictures of German celebrities

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

The class worked very well, even though we did not get to the extra activity.

First-impressions

DE S20 ADV: Youth Slang (Zoom class)

May 6, 2020 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Thursday, 04/16/2020

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

# of Students: 3

Class theme/topics discussed: German youth slang

Goal of the class: Students learn about German youth slang

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up (Prior knowledge):

I post questions in the Google Doc, that serve as conversation starters. They talk about the questions in Breakout Rooms and if they look up vocabulary, which I encourage them to do, they put them in our shared vocab list. The questions were 1. What is good about winter if you compare it to summer? 2. What are the most essential food items for you? 3. What three things are the most important for you in life right now? 4. Who is your favorite musician?

  • Activity 1 (Input):

In the Main Room: I give the students three lists of youth slang words and short phrases in the Google Doc. I give each one of them a list and they do a short research on Google.de to find out what the words/phrases mean and what language they are from. I demonstrate the process via screenshare quickly, so that they know that they should also enter “meaning youth slang” into the search bar after the word/phrase. We then go through the words together.

  • Activity 2 (Guided Practice):

We read a website together that is about German youth slang, its history and its important elements and characteristics. They can later use the forms on that website for their dialogues.

  • Activity 3 (Task):

I give the students four different little scenarios, to choose from and write a creative dialogue around, using as many youth slang words as possible for them. They write the dialogues in pairs in breakout rooms, and then they present them in the Main Room

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

Google Doc, Google.de, Website : https://online-lernen.levrai.de/deutsch-uebungen/jugendsprache/0_jugendsprache_regeln.htm

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

The class went well, we had good conversations and the students had a lot of fun with writing and performing the dialogues. I had to skip the website bit, and we did not have a lot of time left for the dialogues, so they were short.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I should have reduced the amount of warm-up questions and the amount of words every single student had to research.

DE S20 ADV: Storytelling

May 6, 2020 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Credit to Mariia Glukhova

Day and Date: Thursday, 02/06/2020

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

# of Students: 3

Class theme/topics discussed: Storytelling

Goal of the class: To practice improvisational speaking

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up (Prior knowledge):

Exercise on “Deutsch Perfekt” to practice the simple past form.

  • Activity 1 (Input):

Students play two truths and a lie. Each of the students should tell three stories (‘’I don’t like cats” is not a story!) to the others. Then they ask this person questions in order to catch them on lying. After that they take turns.

  • Activity 2 (Guided Practice):

I write a phrase on the whiteboard. It can be something like: “Paul woke up, and immediately realized that something was different today”. Students sit down in a circle. The first student has one minute to tell what happens next. When the time is over, the next student starts talking and continues the story, and so on.

  • Activity 3 (Task):

We get together in pairs. Each team gets Story Cubes and the show begins. They should create a story and then present it to each other.

  • Activity 4 (Follow-up):

We play “Black Stories”.

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

Story cubes, website (https://www.deutsch-perfekt.com/deutsch-ueben/das-praeteritum), Black Stories (game)

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

The class was great, and the students had a lot of fun. We did not get to the last two tasks, so maybe a time limit for two truths and a lie would be necessary.

DE F19 ADV Global Warming

December 13, 2019 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Thursday, 09/26/2019

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

Class theme/topics discussed: What can we do as individuals to combat climate change?

Goal of the class: Students learn the vocabulary and grammar needed to discuss measures that individuals can take to combat climate change. They will be able to say whether they are feasible or not and whether they would take them or not and give reasons for their decisions.

How did you structure the class?

  1. They write down 3 questions they want to ask another student. Then they pair up.
  2. Focused free writing (2-5 min.) with a few words/phrases having to do with climate change as inspiration.
  3. Discuss what they have written with their partner.
  4. We watch a video with 5 tips for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. After the video we quickly discuss what they think was important and whether they learned something new.
  5. Students write all their ideas down about what people can do individually to fight climate change.
  6. I give input, explaining what I do to contribute to the struggle (Already modeling the grammar they will use later)
  7. I explain what “containern” and “bändern” is. Controversial topics as food for thought for the discussion.
  8. I introduce all the phrases and words they can use to discuss actions with their peers.
  9. Students write down 5 things they would do or already do, and 2 things that they wouldn’t do.
  10. They discuss their ideas in pairs first, then in the group.

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

Video 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTAGliXvZXg

Powerpoint, Pen, Whiteboard

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

The class went, well and we had a lively discussion. Students told me they liked it.

Germ.-adv-4.2

 

DE F19 ADV children’s books, Thanksgiving

December 13, 2019 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Tuesday, 12/03/19

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

Class theme/topics discussed: Thanksgiving, children’s stories

Goal of the class: Students improve their narration skills, asking questions, reading skills

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up (Prior knowledge):

Two truths and one lie: I tell students three short stories about my Thanksgiving holidays, one of which was a lie. I wrote 1 word associated with each story on the board. Then students had to decide which story was a lie. They could each ask me two questions before making a decision. Then the students had to come up with three words and stories about them, and then they presented, and we played in the same way as detailed above.

  • Activity 1 (Input):

I talked about children’s books that I read as a child and showed and described to them the covers of these books. I then told them about my favorite children’s book, and in the process answered the 5 questions I would give them afterwards.

  • Activity 2 (Guided Practice):

I gave the students the following questions to answer about their favorite children’s book:

  • What is the title of the book?
  • When was it first published?
  • Did you read it yourself or was it read to you?
  • What is the plot of the book?
  • Why should everyone in this room read this book?

The students presented their books to the class.

  • Activity 3 (Task):

I introduced the “Struwwelpeter” to the class and read the first story in the book to them, while showing the text and pictures on the screen. Then I gave both students a story and they figured out what it was about, asked for words that they did not know and then read and presented their story to the class.

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

Whiteboard, pens, PPT, Handout with the Struwwelpeter stories (You can find the whole book as a free pdf on Google)

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

The class worked pretty well, the students were engaged and seemed to have fun.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

More work with the text. Maybe a gap text, or matching pictures and verses of the stories.

Thanksgiving-Kids-stories

DE F19 INT Introduction

December 13, 2019 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/04/19

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

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction (personal & organizational)

Goal of the class: The students and I get to know each other; they understand what the class will be like. Also, they get to talk about themselves, practice asking questions and describing the past.

How did you structure the class?

  1. Introducing myself (in German), with a stick figure representing myself and answers to questions about myself around it. The students guess the questions to the answers.
  2. Organizational introduction (class agreement, attendance sheet, syllabus (task for second lesson: look over the syllabus, think about what topics may interest you)
  3. Students do the self-introduction like I did in step 1
  4. What did you do this summer?

In pairs: One person explains, the other person draws a picture of the holidays. Afterwards, the person who drew shows the picture to the other pair and explains their partner’s holidays using the picture.

  • Speeddating: Students pair up, and they get 5 Minutes to find 4 things they have in common. Then they switch partners and repeat.

Difficult decisions: I ask “either or” questions and the students position themselves on one or the other side of the room, according to their opinion. Then they explain their decisions.

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

White Board, pens

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

Everything went well

DE F19 INT Housing

December 13, 2019 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/11/2019

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

Class theme/topics discussed: Housing: How do you live? How to shop for furniture and decoration at IKEA.

Goal of the class: Learning vocabulary about furniture and housing, negotiating, talking about your living situation

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up: What do you like in your dorm room? Why? (Talking with their neighbor)
  2. Brainstorming for words for furniture and decoration. First make individual lists of all words that come to mind, then say a word one after the other until you don’t know another word (no words twice). Everyone has three lives. You lose one life if you don’t know a word when it is your turn. When you lose three times, you are out. The last person standing wins a prize.
  3. Input: IKEA ad, talking about the ad to assure understanding.
  4. Shopping at IKEA: Budget constraint of 700 EUR, time constraint of 20 minutes, work with a partner to furnish your new one-bedroom apartment together.
  5. Explain to the other pairs what you bought, and why.

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

Powerpoint, Whiteboard, Pens, Banana with a small German flag as the prize

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

The Brainstorming did not go very well. After about two rounds no one came up with any more new words. The shopping at IKEA bit was great. They had a lot of fun doing that and learned new words and phrases.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

It will probably work way better with a big group, because more people usually mean more ideas for words. Also, it would be more interesting to see more than just two different ways to furnish apartments, so the students get exposed to more words. Maybe it would also be good to lower the budget to about 600 EUR, so they feel the constraint more.

Int.-presentation-wohnen

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