Guten Abend,
We opened class today with a dance off that lasted for 17 hours, the winning couple having received a Volkswagen Jetta and an all-expense paid 3-day trip to Honolulu.
Actually we did a song, "99 Luftballoons" by Nena, as it was requested every other time I played a song for them, so we went ahead and did it.
We went over the modal verbs we've covered so far, "wollen" and "können," using a dialogue about Roman arsenals wherein the class discussed what ordinances or armor would be required for different tasks of their own making, and we added "dürfen" to the mix as well, going over the differences in usage between "können" and "dürfen" (can vs. may).
Before the break, we also filled out labelled diagrams of a typical Roman legionnaire from the 1st century AD.
After the break, we made our own legionnaires to hang up on the wall as well.
We spent some time cleaning up the classroom at the end, and then we called it a day.
Please remember there is no class next week due to Thanksgiving.
Mit Vergnügen!
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
15.Nov '14 - No I don't speak Spanish
But I can fake it.
Today was a good day, and it began with the re-take of the vocabulary quiz, which was also the first-take for a couple of students. It went substantially better this time.
We went over the modal verb "Können" and had with it a competition I called "Kochenquatschen" which is basically where each group of students drew 3 food words out of a hat, and they had to come up with a feasible (not necessarily palatable) dish from the results, and run up and write "wir können _____ kochen!" with it. My favorite was when tomatoes, rice, and beer became Spanish Rice with beer sauce. That actually sounds really good. Of course, we also had "roast beef and grapes smoothie" which I'd prefer not to think about.
After lunch, we made Romans, dressed them, and hung them up on the wall to match our set of Teutons. In a future class, we will make legionnaires as well, culminating eventually in our own remake of the Battle of Teutoburg at the end of the year.
The homework is as follows:
Describe a typical Roman citizen (plebeian or patrician) including their appearance and what they are wearing. Include clothing vocabulary from the "Eisenzeit Kleider" handout as well as the proper dative prepositions (e.g. a hat goes "auf" the Kopf but a tunic goes "an" the body).
Mit Vergnügen
Today was a good day, and it began with the re-take of the vocabulary quiz, which was also the first-take for a couple of students. It went substantially better this time.
We went over the modal verb "Können" and had with it a competition I called "Kochenquatschen" which is basically where each group of students drew 3 food words out of a hat, and they had to come up with a feasible (not necessarily palatable) dish from the results, and run up and write "wir können _____ kochen!" with it. My favorite was when tomatoes, rice, and beer became Spanish Rice with beer sauce. That actually sounds really good. Of course, we also had "roast beef and grapes smoothie" which I'd prefer not to think about.
After lunch, we made Romans, dressed them, and hung them up on the wall to match our set of Teutons. In a future class, we will make legionnaires as well, culminating eventually in our own remake of the Battle of Teutoburg at the end of the year.
The homework is as follows:
Describe a typical Roman citizen (plebeian or patrician) including their appearance and what they are wearing. Include clothing vocabulary from the "Eisenzeit Kleider" handout as well as the proper dative prepositions (e.g. a hat goes "auf" the Kopf but a tunic goes "an" the body).
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, November 8, 2014
8.November '14 - Kleider Machen Leute
If you get the reference in the name of this post, then your German professors must have had the same assigned reading list as mine.
Today started out like any other day Actually, we had a quiz. This quiz did not go as well as I'd hoped; so, since only half the class was in attendance today in any case, I'm allowing for a retake next week. Those present today were sent home with their corrected quiz to use as study material.
Those who were not present today, so for whom next week would be the first time taking the quiz, for the sake of fairness you will have the option of having a second go if you aren't satisfied with how well you do next Saturday.
With that done, we continued with our song of the day, which was "Sie erfasst mein Herz" by Elis--an old favorite.
Our biggest activities were filling out an anatomy chart, learning the vocabulary for the teile of the körper (head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, chest, neck, hair, teeth, fingers, toes). Right after, we had a short lecture and filled out a comparative handout over clothing in Iron Age Germany and Imperial Rome. Then we made our own ancient Germans, complete with clothing, and hung them on the wall. Later we will do the same with Roman legionnaires, as you can still see on display from last year's class.
Cleanup took a while (FEATHERS EVERYWHERE!) and there was also candy.
Remember that the retake of the vocab quiz is next week!
Mit Vergnügen~
Saturday, November 1, 2014
1.November -14 - Tag der Toten!!!!!!!
Frohen Tag der Toten!
I don't think that many people actually celebrate that here, but it's the thought that counts.
Today we started with a song that fit the "Halloween-esque" feeling that's still about the place the day after Hallow's Eve, probably because there's still plenty of candy to eat, everyone's decorations are still up, and no one gets very much sleep that night and so the memories of the evening are still plenty fresh. We did "Das Tier in Mir (Wolfen)" by E Nomine, a lovely tune about a werewolf waxing hungry and talking all about how he wants to grab a bite.
The wolf's share of our time was spent filling out vocabulary sheets over Iron Age weaponry and armor, along with a short lecture over how this weaponry was used, including an overview of Roman military tactics versus Teutonic lack thereof. One student actually knew both the "Testudo" and Phalanx formations of the top of his head. Now that was impressive. No one knew what ballistae were, though. Be content in the knowledge that I am amending your children's lack of education on historical siege weaponry (I blame public schools, leaving out the fun stuff).
Oh yes, and we made weaponry to decorate the class with, e.g. aluminum foil swords and the like.
Post lunch, we went back over the Dative Case, covering in more depth what we touched on last week, including completing a handout over it and playing "Wo ist mein Schuh," a perennial classic wherein we hide each other's shoes throughout the classroom and have to search for them. Once found, we declare the location aloud, "Mein Schuh ist auf dem Kabinett?!" and so on.
To end the day, we cleaned up, took out the trash for the school, and played "Hast du mein Obst?" (another classic) outside for a little bit before heading out.
As a reminder, the homework for this week is studying for the quiz we will have next week. Review sheets were handed out last week.
Mit Vergnügen
I don't think that many people actually celebrate that here, but it's the thought that counts.
Today we started with a song that fit the "Halloween-esque" feeling that's still about the place the day after Hallow's Eve, probably because there's still plenty of candy to eat, everyone's decorations are still up, and no one gets very much sleep that night and so the memories of the evening are still plenty fresh. We did "Das Tier in Mir (Wolfen)" by E Nomine, a lovely tune about a werewolf waxing hungry and talking all about how he wants to grab a bite.
The wolf's share of our time was spent filling out vocabulary sheets over Iron Age weaponry and armor, along with a short lecture over how this weaponry was used, including an overview of Roman military tactics versus Teutonic lack thereof. One student actually knew both the "Testudo" and Phalanx formations of the top of his head. Now that was impressive. No one knew what ballistae were, though. Be content in the knowledge that I am amending your children's lack of education on historical siege weaponry (I blame public schools, leaving out the fun stuff).
Oh yes, and we made weaponry to decorate the class with, e.g. aluminum foil swords and the like.
Post lunch, we went back over the Dative Case, covering in more depth what we touched on last week, including completing a handout over it and playing "Wo ist mein Schuh," a perennial classic wherein we hide each other's shoes throughout the classroom and have to search for them. Once found, we declare the location aloud, "Mein Schuh ist auf dem Kabinett?!" and so on.
To end the day, we cleaned up, took out the trash for the school, and played "Hast du mein Obst?" (another classic) outside for a little bit before heading out.
As a reminder, the homework for this week is studying for the quiz we will have next week. Review sheets were handed out last week.
Mit Vergnügen
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