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)