Aus 4, 2 - 25.2

Guten Abend,

Today's lesson began with an introduction to "Zungenbrecher," tongue twisters. I introduced the class to a few of my favorites, to start off:

• Fischer Fritz ißt frische Fische, frische Fische ißt Fischer Fritz
• Am Zehnten Zehnten um Zehn Uhr Zehn zogen zehn zahme zarte Ziegen zehn Zentner Zücker zum Zoo
• Hinter Herman Hannes Haus hängen hundert Hemden raus; hundert Hemden hängen raus hinter Herman Hannes haus

usw...

Then it was time to go about making our own! First this was done individually, then the class came together as a group to make up one. 

After the break, it turned out that our class of 4 had become a class of 2. So the boys and I finished out the day watching "Monsters Inc." 

The lesson as planned shall continue next week. 

Homework for the week shall be in preparation for next week's lesson:

Arbeitsbuch

P. 73, Exercise 5

P. 77, Exercises 1-2

Modal Verbs and New Inventions - 2.18

Hello everyone,


Today we had the modal verb quiz, as promised/forewarned last week. I will be handing those back along with the pop quizzes next week.

Aside from that bit of fun, we did a little review today over previously-covered topics, beginning with a round of Bingo to remind us of the conjugation rules of regular verbs. Despite my having upped the anté several times, the class still managed to meet the goal I'd set for them: if at least 5 of them got "Bingos" within the last 15 minutes before lunch, I would have to bring them donuts next time. Now I have to bring them donuts next time. I suppose that's my own fault for not thinking they could pull it off.

We did a sentence-construction (syntax) exercise in the second half of class, wherein the students divided into 2 teams and attempted to outdo each other with guessing how to put a set of words on the board in the correct order, e.g. I'd write "ICH DICH GERN HABE NICHT" and they would have to arrange them in the proper order for a point.

We also show-cased the games that they had mostly finished developing as a group last time, and I will be reviewing these for feasibility. Should they seem manageable to use for the class, then next class period we will be playing some of these games.


I do not have Hausaufgabe scheduled for this week since I have been rather quiz-heavy lately. Consider this a breather period as there will, indeed, be homework again beginning next time.

Cheers!

Mit Vergnügen

2.11 Mitten Februar

Hello everyone,

Sorry that this post is a little late; my wife and I both have been sick this week and took turns taking care of each other. I spent the week sick, so it was apparently her turn this weekend. Don't worry--I've been fine for a few days now.

Saturday's class period began with our writing paragraphs describing our favorite animals such that the rest of the class would have to guess what they were, e.g. "mein Lieblingstier hat 8 Beine, wohnt tief im Meer und frisst Fische gern..."

Our modal verbs unit continued with the addition of the verb "wollen," leaving us with a list as follows: Dürfen, Können, Möchten, Wollen. There will be a quiz over the meaning, conjugation and usage of these verbs next weekend. We then played a round of mad-libs to practice proper syntax with modal verbs and helping verbs in standard, single-clause sentences.

We also played a revised version of the game that was played earlier in January while a sub was present, "Folge den Leiter," wherein one person commanded a group of his/her blindfolded classmates through an obstacle course using basic imperatives: "Geht nach Links/Rechts/Gerade aus/Rückwarts," "HALT!" usw.

After the break, the class earned a pop quiz by deciding to spend the lunch period hiding all my dry-erase markers. Every minute spent hunting down my markers and/or being loud earned a quiz question, leaving us with an 18-question pop quiz over modal verbs, regular verbs and imperatives. I will be returning these with the other pending papers to be graded.

To end the day, I asked the children to split into groups and try to invent their own games over any of the grammar points we have learned so far throughout the year. Their results will be presented next class period.

And now, for the homework.

Hausaufgabe: study for the modal verbs quiz. Review conjugation and meaning of each verb as well as how to form sentences with modal verbs and helping verbs.

Superhelde!!!!!!!!!!! 4.2.12

Guten Abend,

We had an unexpectedly small class today, but we managed to get through most of the material that I had hoped to cover. While I seldom send out responses to emails notifying me of absences, I do take them into account when planning the day, and they are very much appreciated when I receive them.

The class period began with another Hörverständnis exercise, "Ich Will" from Rammstein, which served as a nice and natural segue into learning another modal verb, "wollen" (to want). Covered modal verbs so far would then be the following:
Wollen, Dürfen, Können, "Möchten" 

After a break for a few games (4 kids are somehow rowdier than 9 kids), the majority of the class time was spent on an in-class essay, "Ich bin Superheld!" wherein the students described themselves as superheroes in the first person. Those not present will need to do this essay for homework.


And now, the homework!

Arbeitsbuch
P. 75, ex. 11-12

Essay: "Ich bin Superheld!"
10-15 sentences (bonus points will be awarded for those who do 15)
Use Haben, Sein, and at least 1 modal verb (preferably "Können") to describe yourself.

• What is your superhero name? 
• What is your normal name?
• What does your costume look like?
• What are your superpowers? (Superkräfte) 
• What do you do with your powers? (fight crime, win the lottery, join the Army, etc...)
• How did you get your powers? 
• Who are your enemies? What do they do?
• Who are your friends? 

Please note I will also be expecting report cards from those who were not present today.

Mit Vergnügen~