This morning began like any other morning, only it was today instead of any of those other days. It's a subtle difference, but an important one, because any other morning would not have been today.
This day, being today, began with our going over a delightful Deutsch podcast from Mirella called "Ich ärgere meine Katzen" which was full of cuteness.
The groups (or group members) that did not present their Iron Age tribe presentations presented today, so that all present presently have presented.
We spent some time making our own BINGO cards to ensure actual randomness, and then after the break we played BINGO as a review of the perfect tense.
The homework is to produce a 10 sentence description (perfect tense) of what transpired over Thanksgiving.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
21.November ' 15 - Schneeeeeeeee
Thank you to those who informed me in advance they were not able to come due to today's weather or other circumstances.
The 2 groups that did not present today will need to be ready to present next week.
We retook the Comparatives quiz, and I will use the highest of the 2 grades for each student. Some time was allotted to get settled, and then 3 groups presented their Iron Age Germania presentations.
After the break we played Kahoot and engaged in a word scramble game with the "perfect" tense.
The 2 groups that did not present today will need to be ready to present next week.
We retook the Comparatives quiz, and I will use the highest of the 2 grades for each student. Some time was allotted to get settled, and then 3 groups presented their Iron Age Germania presentations.
After the break we played Kahoot and engaged in a word scramble game with the "perfect" tense.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
14.November '15 - Schni Schna Schnappi
Schni Schna Schnappi, Schnappi Schnappi Schnapp.
As usual, we opened with Meine Woche and experienced all the joy that entails.
Then our cultural/listening comprehension of the day was Schnappi das kleine Krokodil, which was far more of a hit than I ever could have anticipated. We were going "schni schna Schnappi, Schnappi Schnappi schnapp" all day.
We went through the Perfect again, and did some exercises with it to help cement the idea. A handout was passed out as well to supplement the notes and assist those who were not present last week.
The comparative and superlative quiz was passed back, and I will happily host a retake for anyone who believes they could do better on a second try.
After the break, we broke into our groups once again to continue (and hopefully finish) the group projects over Iron Age Germanic tribes. Any groups that did not complete their assignment should know what each group member is doing during the week to make certain that the presentation will be complete for next class period.
Also, there was a fire drill. Much fun was had.
Mit Vergnügen!
As usual, we opened with Meine Woche and experienced all the joy that entails.
Then our cultural/listening comprehension of the day was Schnappi das kleine Krokodil, which was far more of a hit than I ever could have anticipated. We were going "schni schna Schnappi, Schnappi Schnappi schnapp" all day.
We went through the Perfect again, and did some exercises with it to help cement the idea. A handout was passed out as well to supplement the notes and assist those who were not present last week.
The comparative and superlative quiz was passed back, and I will happily host a retake for anyone who believes they could do better on a second try.
After the break, we broke into our groups once again to continue (and hopefully finish) the group projects over Iron Age Germanic tribes. Any groups that did not complete their assignment should know what each group member is doing during the week to make certain that the presentation will be complete for next class period.
Also, there was a fire drill. Much fun was had.
Mit Vergnügen!
Saturday, November 7, 2015
7. Nov '15 - Eisenzeit
Guten Tag,
Today began like any other Saturday, with a sunrise and then German school.
Firstly we did our listening comprehension exercise, using a German translation of the classic "What does the Fox Say?" (Wie macht der Fuchs denn) as was found by one of the students as a previous homework exercise (the one where they looked for videos in German). And of course we simply had to view the original afterward!
We then went into a lesson/review (for some) on the Perfect tense, using both my instruction as well as a video by one of my instructional podcasters, Deutsch Für Euch (here) . Up until the pause, we then worked on short little essays over silly or embarassing things we did in the past.
After the break, we began the first of our historical studies for the year, this one being over the ancient germanic tribes of the Iron Age, the first germanic people groups we have record of in what is now Germany and its confines. The class divided up into groups to research the 5 main tribes identified by Imperial Roman historians Tacitus and Pliny (Elder). Next week they will use what they gathered to make presentations over their tribes.
Once the tribal unit is done, we will eventually move on to the later centuries (up to the "sacking" of Rome) and the Holy Roman Empire. My goal in this is to cover how Germany came to become a country (up until the pronouncement of the German Empire) as this sort of in-depth background on Germany is unheard of in most schools.
The homework was simply to finish any incomplete research on their assigned tribe from today.
Mit Vergnügen
Today began like any other Saturday, with a sunrise and then German school.
Firstly we did our listening comprehension exercise, using a German translation of the classic "What does the Fox Say?" (Wie macht der Fuchs denn) as was found by one of the students as a previous homework exercise (the one where they looked for videos in German). And of course we simply had to view the original afterward!
We then went into a lesson/review (for some) on the Perfect tense, using both my instruction as well as a video by one of my instructional podcasters, Deutsch Für Euch (here) . Up until the pause, we then worked on short little essays over silly or embarassing things we did in the past.
After the break, we began the first of our historical studies for the year, this one being over the ancient germanic tribes of the Iron Age, the first germanic people groups we have record of in what is now Germany and its confines. The class divided up into groups to research the 5 main tribes identified by Imperial Roman historians Tacitus and Pliny (Elder). Next week they will use what they gathered to make presentations over their tribes.
Once the tribal unit is done, we will eventually move on to the later centuries (up to the "sacking" of Rome) and the Holy Roman Empire. My goal in this is to cover how Germany came to become a country (up until the pronouncement of the German Empire) as this sort of in-depth background on Germany is unheard of in most schools.
The homework was simply to finish any incomplete research on their assigned tribe from today.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, October 24, 2015
24.Oktober '15 - Prinzessinschlacht
This morning opened with "Meine Woche," followed by our video and listening comprehension of the day, courtesy of my favorite German podcaster, mirrelativegal.
Most of our time was focused on the princess project, where our groups (though roughly half the class was present, we had enough to continue working) made reasons, and persuasive posters, as to why their Princess of Equestria was the best.
Once completed, we campaigned throughout the other classrooms, going from 6th all the way down through 2nd grade to get votes for each group. It ended up being a tie between Princesses Celestia and Luna.
Next week we are done talking about different adjective forms. I distributed more copies of the handouts from previous weeks in case of absence or forms being lost.
We shall be doing summative assessments to see how well the topic went.
Oh, and costumes are encouraged for next week, Halloween!
Mit Vergnügen
Most of our time was focused on the princess project, where our groups (though roughly half the class was present, we had enough to continue working) made reasons, and persuasive posters, as to why their Princess of Equestria was the best.
Once completed, we campaigned throughout the other classrooms, going from 6th all the way down through 2nd grade to get votes for each group. It ended up being a tie between Princesses Celestia and Luna.
Next week we are done talking about different adjective forms. I distributed more copies of the handouts from previous weeks in case of absence or forms being lost.
We shall be doing summative assessments to see how well the topic went.
Oh, and costumes are encouraged for next week, Halloween!
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, October 17, 2015
17. Oktober '15 - Kein Vampir
Guten Tag!
Today we had ponies.
We opened up with my week and questions over it, as usual. Then, after we turned in the homework, we went with today's listening and language comprehension exercise, this video
Our topic of learning today was the superlative, how to form adjective statements about the *most* something (biggest, smallest, coolest, best...). Our activity to go with it was part 2 of last week's "Deutsches Sprachraum" activity, where students either alone or in pairs researched which German speaking countries were the highest in different categories, e.g. landmass, population, most native German speakers, national economy, etc. We discussed and played a Kahoot over it as well.
After lunch, which was an exciting pizza lunch, we went into a project that will continue into next week, "The Princess Games: Election 2015." After a presentation over each Princess of Equestria (also from My Little Pony), students were asked to answer independently several questions over which princess, in their opinion, was the highest in various different categories, as well as which was their favorite overall.
Then, the class was divided into 4 political parties, each one representing a princess. Next week, they will consolidate their arguments in favor of each princess, and we will go throughout the younger grade levels to let them hear our arguments and vote, which princess is the school's official favorite.
And now for the homework:
Mit Vergnügen~
Today we had ponies.
We opened up with my week and questions over it, as usual. Then, after we turned in the homework, we went with today's listening and language comprehension exercise, this video
Our topic of learning today was the superlative, how to form adjective statements about the *most* something (biggest, smallest, coolest, best...). Our activity to go with it was part 2 of last week's "Deutsches Sprachraum" activity, where students either alone or in pairs researched which German speaking countries were the highest in different categories, e.g. landmass, population, most native German speakers, national economy, etc. We discussed and played a Kahoot over it as well.
After lunch, which was an exciting pizza lunch, we went into a project that will continue into next week, "The Princess Games: Election 2015." After a presentation over each Princess of Equestria (also from My Little Pony), students were asked to answer independently several questions over which princess, in their opinion, was the highest in various different categories, as well as which was their favorite overall.
Then, the class was divided into 4 political parties, each one representing a princess. Next week, they will consolidate their arguments in favor of each princess, and we will go throughout the younger grade levels to let them hear our arguments and vote, which princess is the school's official favorite.
And now for the homework:
Homework: Find a GERMAN LANGUAGE song, video, or podcast
you want us to cover in class some week. Copy the URL (or bring the CD or
video) and write:
·
How you found it
·
Who it’s by and what it’s about
·
What you think can be learned from it
Mit Vergnügen~
Saturday, October 10, 2015
10.Oktober '15 - Käse Lied
Guten Tag,
Today, we learned about cheese.
First of all, we went over my week, as is our long-standing tradition in this class. Then came the cheese, namely in the form of this video from my favorite Austrian Youtuber, Michael Buchinger.
We used his "Käse Song" as our listening comprehension for the day.
We presented the homework, and the comparisons between students and celebrities were simply priceless.
After our short review over the comparative from last time, we went into groups to make songs/raps/ballades comparing any two things that the groups desired.We had some wonderful highlights, such as the 3 girls who compared kids and adults to the tune of "Happy Birthday."
Lunchtime, the Stammtisch happened, and it was epic.
After the break, we had a research project, wherein partner pairs, using a sheet of questions and prompts, compared 2 German-speaking countries (of their choice, from a list I made) and there was much education everywhere!
The homework:
Today, we learned about cheese.
First of all, we went over my week, as is our long-standing tradition in this class. Then came the cheese, namely in the form of this video from my favorite Austrian Youtuber, Michael Buchinger.
We used his "Käse Song" as our listening comprehension for the day.
We presented the homework, and the comparisons between students and celebrities were simply priceless.
After our short review over the comparative from last time, we went into groups to make songs/raps/ballades comparing any two things that the groups desired.We had some wonderful highlights, such as the 3 girls who compared kids and adults to the tune of "Happy Birthday."
Lunchtime, the Stammtisch happened, and it was epic.
After the break, we had a research project, wherein partner pairs, using a sheet of questions and prompts, compared 2 German-speaking countries (of their choice, from a list I made) and there was much education everywhere!
The homework:
- Make a picture, either of a German-speaking country or of that country's flag
- On the picture, give me 5 facts about that country compared to Germany
- The prettiest will be put on the wall!
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, October 4, 2015
3.Oktober '15 - Wiedervereiningungstag
Today was the day that we celebrated the reverse-mitosis of Germany!
As you all know, of course we all wore varying degrees of black, red, and gold today, for starters. We also had a lesson a substantial portion of which was devoted to the history of post-war division and reunification of Germany.
What had been planned as a short and sweet primer or reminder on this part of Germany's history ended up being extended into quite a bit of detail once it became apparent that the 7th grade class was unfamiliar with this topic.
So, to begin we watched this video. We then had a detailed discussion and lesson wherein the 8th graders, who were more familiar with the history, greatly assisted in filling out a chart and concept web over the following:
For the remainder of the day, we covered my originally intended topic of comparative adjective formation.
The homework is that each student present was assigned a celebrity figure from a list made by the class, and the assignments for individuals were voted on by the class, such that each person would compare his/her self to the person they had assigned.
For 7th graders, they must compare themselves in at least 5 ways to their celebrity assigned.
For 8th graders, they must compare themselves in at least 10 ways.
Mit Vergnügen~
As you all know, of course we all wore varying degrees of black, red, and gold today, for starters. We also had a lesson a substantial portion of which was devoted to the history of post-war division and reunification of Germany.
What had been planned as a short and sweet primer or reminder on this part of Germany's history ended up being extended into quite a bit of detail once it became apparent that the 7th grade class was unfamiliar with this topic.
So, to begin we watched this video. We then had a detailed discussion and lesson wherein the 8th graders, who were more familiar with the history, greatly assisted in filling out a chart and concept web over the following:
- The reasons behind post-war division of Germany
- How Germany was divided
- The differences in lifestyle between East and West Germany
- How and when the Berlin Wall came up and its effects on Berliner life
For the remainder of the day, we covered my originally intended topic of comparative adjective formation.
The homework is that each student present was assigned a celebrity figure from a list made by the class, and the assignments for individuals were voted on by the class, such that each person would compare his/her self to the person they had assigned.
For 7th graders, they must compare themselves in at least 5 ways to their celebrity assigned.
For 8th graders, they must compare themselves in at least 10 ways.
Mit Vergnügen~
Sunday, September 27, 2015
26.Sep '15 - Kochen mit Sardinen und Nutella
Guten Tag,
Gestern haben wir viel Spaß gehabt! Es wurd gequatscht, geschrieben, gelernt, gesehen, und Deutsch gesprochen. Ich habe's mir gewünscht, es war auch unter uns etwas essen worden, aber leider hat niemand Snacks mitgebracht.
The day began as it tends to, with Herr Walker talking about something. He has an interesting habit of doing that.
This week we introduced the "Mitmachen Tabellen," where students gauge their own participation (with my prompting) in each class period. Whenever someone volunteers to do something, or makes an honest attempt to answer a question, they get to write a point on their sheet; the goal is to get at least 5 points per day. These sheets are taken up every quarter, and based on their score, I determine their "Fleiss" (effort, participation) grade at semester's end.
As is uns gewöhnlich, we started with Meine Woche which is always nice for working up Mitmachen points.
Then, we did our listening comprehension for the day, a satirical "cooking show" by one of my favorite German podcasters called, "Kochen mit Kimberly." This week's recipe (a conglomeration of Twitter follower-suggested ingredients) was "Nutella-Ingwer-Sardinen Suppe" which was exactly what it sounded like.
To review (and wrap up) the lesson from last week over expressing preferences, we did a Kahoot on the topic, whereupon the winner was "Grape Juice." We then reviewed the previous week's content and covered use of gern, lieber, and am liebsten with haben (to refer to objects and people) and verbs (to refer to preferred activities).
After lunch, we paired/trioed up and made and presented dialogues as an in-class assessment and wrap-up of that lesson. This was an easy topic to start the year with and to help me gauge the Sprachkenntnisse of the new 7th graders.
I'm not certain whether we will have a combined 7th and 8th again next year or whether there will be another teacher with a separate class--as soon as I know for sure, I will let you know, because I have been asked several times so far this year.
As this week was a wrap-up, there was no homework assigned.
~Mit Vergnügen
Gestern haben wir viel Spaß gehabt! Es wurd gequatscht, geschrieben, gelernt, gesehen, und Deutsch gesprochen. Ich habe's mir gewünscht, es war auch unter uns etwas essen worden, aber leider hat niemand Snacks mitgebracht.
The day began as it tends to, with Herr Walker talking about something. He has an interesting habit of doing that.
This week we introduced the "Mitmachen Tabellen," where students gauge their own participation (with my prompting) in each class period. Whenever someone volunteers to do something, or makes an honest attempt to answer a question, they get to write a point on their sheet; the goal is to get at least 5 points per day. These sheets are taken up every quarter, and based on their score, I determine their "Fleiss" (effort, participation) grade at semester's end.
As is uns gewöhnlich, we started with Meine Woche which is always nice for working up Mitmachen points.
Then, we did our listening comprehension for the day, a satirical "cooking show" by one of my favorite German podcasters called, "Kochen mit Kimberly." This week's recipe (a conglomeration of Twitter follower-suggested ingredients) was "Nutella-Ingwer-Sardinen Suppe" which was exactly what it sounded like.
To review (and wrap up) the lesson from last week over expressing preferences, we did a Kahoot on the topic, whereupon the winner was "Grape Juice." We then reviewed the previous week's content and covered use of gern, lieber, and am liebsten with haben (to refer to objects and people) and verbs (to refer to preferred activities).
After lunch, we paired/trioed up and made and presented dialogues as an in-class assessment and wrap-up of that lesson. This was an easy topic to start the year with and to help me gauge the Sprachkenntnisse of the new 7th graders.
I'm not certain whether we will have a combined 7th and 8th again next year or whether there will be another teacher with a separate class--as soon as I know for sure, I will let you know, because I have been asked several times so far this year.
As this week was a wrap-up, there was no homework assigned.
~Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, September 19, 2015
19.September '15 - Vorstellen und Obst werfen
Welcome to another exciting episode of the Chicago Donauschwaben!
Today's class period began with an acquaintance building activity, as is the grand tradition of academia on the first day and a mainstay of teachers who must learn the names of a dozen people as quickly as they can. There was dialogue, a sparkling ball that no one (myself included) was particularly good at catching, and just enough laughter to start the day off right.
Both as another acquaintance builder and as a lead-in to our lesson, the students all filled out short questionnaires over their likes/preferences auf Deutsch and then went around asking for one another's likes/preferences and logging them down, which we then shared as a class.
We then engaged in what I hope to make a tradition, "Meine Woche" wherein I conduct a presentation auf Deutsch summarizing the highlights of my week, including plentiful pretty pictures and anectdotes, and the kids answer questions back to me about what they believe they heard.
After a short break, we watched a video in response to which the students were tasked with answering comprehension questions, including learning from context such vocabulary as "Freizeit" and the grammar point, the use of "gern" "lieber" and "am liebsten."
After lunch, we spoke about the grammar a bit, including taking notes and doing examples.
From this, each student made their own questions, and we went once more around the room asking one another about likes and preferences.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for..... The Homework!
Today's class period began with an acquaintance building activity, as is the grand tradition of academia on the first day and a mainstay of teachers who must learn the names of a dozen people as quickly as they can. There was dialogue, a sparkling ball that no one (myself included) was particularly good at catching, and just enough laughter to start the day off right.
Both as another acquaintance builder and as a lead-in to our lesson, the students all filled out short questionnaires over their likes/preferences auf Deutsch and then went around asking for one another's likes/preferences and logging them down, which we then shared as a class.
We then engaged in what I hope to make a tradition, "Meine Woche" wherein I conduct a presentation auf Deutsch summarizing the highlights of my week, including plentiful pretty pictures and anectdotes, and the kids answer questions back to me about what they believe they heard.
After a short break, we watched a video in response to which the students were tasked with answering comprehension questions, including learning from context such vocabulary as "Freizeit" and the grammar point, the use of "gern" "lieber" and "am liebsten."
After lunch, we spoke about the grammar a bit, including taking notes and doing examples.
From this, each student made their own questions, and we went once more around the room asking one another about likes and preferences.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for..... The Homework!
- 5 written full sentences auf Deutsch
- Something you like to do
- Your favorite thing to do
- What you like to eat
- Your favorite thing to eat
- Something nice about Sean der Schaf (class mascot)
Mit Vergnügen~
Sunday, May 17, 2015
16.Mai '15 - Abschlusstag
In all honesty, this is my favorite day of the year. I always look forward to the day when I get to see former students up on stage, talking to dozens of witnesses about all the experiences they had in German school, all the while using the knowledge they have acquired over years upon years of Saturday sessions to express those very sentiments.
Also, the food is always great.
Thank you all for an excellent school year. I look forward to the years to come.
Once more with feeling...
MIT VERGNUGEN~
Also, the food is always great.
Thank you all for an excellent school year. I look forward to the years to come.
Once more with feeling...
MIT VERGNUGEN~
Saturday, May 9, 2015
9. Mai '15 - Die Schlacht
Today we made history; or rather, we made a picture of history (plus ponies, cartoon characters, and gratuitous fire).
We had a mixed class of 7th and 8th grade today, and we all had projects to work on. The 8th graders finished up their graduation speeches and, for reasons that become immediately apparent when it's revealed that the theme of their presentation is "Memory Lane," they made a giant car out of cardboard.
The class we all know and love, our 7th grade, discussed and then immediately set to work on this year's mural of the Battle of Teutoburg. The planning, creation, and clean-up took the entire day, allowing time for lunch and for hunting down (and then later returning) all of the manifold supplies required for such a work of art.
On a related note, once my student teaching is done (it takes up just slightly more than all the time I have), I will edit down the video made two weeks ago and post it here for all to enjoy.
Next week will be the final meeting of German school for the 2014-15 school year. I hope to see everyone there!
~Mit Vergnügen
We had a mixed class of 7th and 8th grade today, and we all had projects to work on. The 8th graders finished up their graduation speeches and, for reasons that become immediately apparent when it's revealed that the theme of their presentation is "Memory Lane," they made a giant car out of cardboard.
The class we all know and love, our 7th grade, discussed and then immediately set to work on this year's mural of the Battle of Teutoburg. The planning, creation, and clean-up took the entire day, allowing time for lunch and for hunting down (and then later returning) all of the manifold supplies required for such a work of art.
On a related note, once my student teaching is done (it takes up just slightly more than all the time I have), I will edit down the video made two weeks ago and post it here for all to enjoy.
Next week will be the final meeting of German school for the 2014-15 school year. I hope to see everyone there!
~Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, April 25, 2015
25.April '15 -- Die Nacht vor der Schlacht
Guten Tag,
Today we filmed our penultimate summative activity, "die Nacht vor der Schlacht" or "Twas the Night Before Teutoburg," portraying one of many possible interpretations of what probably happened between Publius Q. Varus, Arminius, and Segestes before that fateful clash between a ragtag coalition of Teutonic tribes and and 3 entire legions of Augustus' finest.
There were some casualties of filming:
Today we filmed our penultimate summative activity, "die Nacht vor der Schlacht" or "Twas the Night Before Teutoburg," portraying one of many possible interpretations of what probably happened between Publius Q. Varus, Arminius, and Segestes before that fateful clash between a ragtag coalition of Teutonic tribes and and 3 entire legions of Augustus' finest.
There were some casualties of filming:
- An entire roll of duct tape
- 5 plastic shot glasses
- A Christmas candle
- my dignity as a filmmaker
But the result was incredible. Once I have permission from all parents to post, the video (and outtakes!) will be displayed online.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, April 18, 2015
18.April '15 - Prüfungtag
Despite some technical difficulties, all managed to take the AATG exam and finish within the time limit this morning, both in the 7th and 8th grade classes.
With the test behind us, the class went over the historical figures they had looked up for homework: Arminius/Hermann, Segestes, and Publius Quinctillius Varus, two rival Germanic tribal chieftans and the Roman governor of Germania, respectively.
We discussed the background of each and how they interacted with one another in order to prepare us for next week's activity. As has become tradition, one of our two culminating activities for the year is a short play, "Die Nacht vor der Schlacht" or "'Twas the Night Before Teutoburg." We will practice, and film, the play next week.
Each student is requested to bring either:
With the test behind us, the class went over the historical figures they had looked up for homework: Arminius/Hermann, Segestes, and Publius Quinctillius Varus, two rival Germanic tribal chieftans and the Roman governor of Germania, respectively.
We discussed the background of each and how they interacted with one another in order to prepare us for next week's activity. As has become tradition, one of our two culminating activities for the year is a short play, "Die Nacht vor der Schlacht" or "'Twas the Night Before Teutoburg." We will practice, and film, the play next week.
Each student is requested to bring either:
- Furs or furry looking cape-like objects, including furry bathrobes
- White sheets for togas
- Plastic food
- Plastic medieval weaponry
Once filmed, the skit will be posted here online.
Viel Glück und viel Spaß!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
11.April '15 - Pause vorbei
Guten Tag,
Our day began rather normally with a song and a listening comprehension exercise, one that touched on the topic we had covered just before the break, the perfect or spoken past tense.
We reviewed formation of the perfect, and using this talked briefly about what we had all done over the Spring Break.
After the PAUSE, wherein the class took their turn cleaning up the lunch room (yay for not taking out the garbage anymore!), we diagrammed out the following concepts based on what we had learned so far this year in our cultural unit:
Our day began rather normally with a song and a listening comprehension exercise, one that touched on the topic we had covered just before the break, the perfect or spoken past tense.
We reviewed formation of the perfect, and using this talked briefly about what we had all done over the Spring Break.
After the PAUSE, wherein the class took their turn cleaning up the lunch room (yay for not taking out the garbage anymore!), we diagrammed out the following concepts based on what we had learned so far this year in our cultural unit:
- Advantages of living in Imperial Rome
- Advantages of living as a tribe in Magna Germania
- What both stood to gain from interacting with each other
And then we had Singprobe.
The homework for this week, both for those present today and for those who will be present next week, is as follows and will assist us in the activity I have planned for us.
"Who's Who? Of Teutoburg"
-Choose one of the following characters from history:
- Publius Quinctilius Varus (Governor)
- Segestes
- Arminius
All of these played a role in the failed colonization/invasion (which one it was is a matter of opinion) of Germania by the Romans.
Describe auf Deutsch your chosen person while answering the following questions:
- Woher kommt er?
- Was hat er gedacht, wenn die Römer in Deutschland einkammen?
- Was war sein Job/was hat er hier gemacht?
- Was hat er gemacht, das macht diesen Konflikt besser or schlimmer?
Completion of this assignment will greatly aid us in completing our goals for this unit in the few weeks we have remaining.
Monday, March 23, 2015
21.März'15 - Perfekt World
Bonjour tout les monde,
Saturday's class shall be our only class for the next 3 weeks; 28th March and 4th April are free for Spring Break and Easter.
We covered two primary topics in class this period:
-The perfect (past tense, written)
-Tribal warfare
Two of my favorite topics!
We discussed how to form the past tense using haben or sein as a helping verb, followed by the past participle at the end of the sentence. Whether haben or sein is used depends primarily on whether the verb being put in the past is transitive (takes an object) or intransitive (takes no object). Verbs that use haben are typically transitive, and the intransitive verbs (being, location, movement) take sein.
Ich bin gerannt (I ran)
Ich habe Baseball gespielt (I played baseball)
Movement, location, or being doesn't typically take an object, so they are intransitive. Everything else is typically transitive as objects are taken, "stuff is done to things."
Our cultural unit was over tribal warfare in Iron Age Germania, namely how and why it was that there was no such unified "Germany" in those days and instead were just a gaggle of mostly hostile, insular tribes. We discussed such ideas as regional language shifts, and how geography affects lifestyle, habits, traditions, beliefs and technology. I was very impressed at how the kids were able to list reasons for tribes to grow apart or develop differently from one another without my needing to prompt them.
The day ended on a high note as we took out the garbage without any squirrel-related incidents.
Frohe Oster and schöne Frühlingspause!
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday's class shall be our only class for the next 3 weeks; 28th March and 4th April are free for Spring Break and Easter.
We covered two primary topics in class this period:
-The perfect (past tense, written)
-Tribal warfare
Two of my favorite topics!
We discussed how to form the past tense using haben or sein as a helping verb, followed by the past participle at the end of the sentence. Whether haben or sein is used depends primarily on whether the verb being put in the past is transitive (takes an object) or intransitive (takes no object). Verbs that use haben are typically transitive, and the intransitive verbs (being, location, movement) take sein.
Ich bin gerannt (I ran)
Ich habe Baseball gespielt (I played baseball)
Movement, location, or being doesn't typically take an object, so they are intransitive. Everything else is typically transitive as objects are taken, "stuff is done to things."
Our cultural unit was over tribal warfare in Iron Age Germania, namely how and why it was that there was no such unified "Germany" in those days and instead were just a gaggle of mostly hostile, insular tribes. We discussed such ideas as regional language shifts, and how geography affects lifestyle, habits, traditions, beliefs and technology. I was very impressed at how the kids were able to list reasons for tribes to grow apart or develop differently from one another without my needing to prompt them.
The day ended on a high note as we took out the garbage without any squirrel-related incidents.
Frohe Oster and schöne Frühlingspause!
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, March 8, 2015
7.März '15 - die schönsten
Today's class period opened like any other day, with a choreographed dance routine involving 17 bengal tigers, a can of green beans, and a few hundred roman candles.
Actually no, just kidding. Frau Rill said our insurance covers neither pyrotechnics nor exotic animals, so that got vetoed outright.
Instead we did listening comprehension with "Am Besten Sein" by Juli and used this as a segue into our lesson over superlative adjectives. This was followed by an activity I'm very proud of having thought up, namely our having a school-wide election.
That's right! Those present divided into competing pairs, which coincidentally became the two boys against each other, and the two girls against each other, competing for the titles of "Die Schönste Haare" and "Der Klügste" (prettiest hair and the cleverest--they chose what to compete for themselves). They made posters, composed speeches, and then we all went from classroom to classroom to hold a debate campaign. Each class heard out the candidates and voted whom they found the most convincing.
In the end, the girls tied for prettiest hair, and a boy was declared the cleverest mostly because he had an awesome poster that was covered in feathers, and let's be honest, who doesn't like feathers?
Next week, the class will be taking a practice version of the AATG proficiency test as a sneak peak and benchmark for the test they will take for real in 8th grade, so please let me or Frau Lussem know if your child will not be present.
-Mit Vergnügen
Actually no, just kidding. Frau Rill said our insurance covers neither pyrotechnics nor exotic animals, so that got vetoed outright.
Instead we did listening comprehension with "Am Besten Sein" by Juli and used this as a segue into our lesson over superlative adjectives. This was followed by an activity I'm very proud of having thought up, namely our having a school-wide election.
That's right! Those present divided into competing pairs, which coincidentally became the two boys against each other, and the two girls against each other, competing for the titles of "Die Schönste Haare" and "Der Klügste" (prettiest hair and the cleverest--they chose what to compete for themselves). They made posters, composed speeches, and then we all went from classroom to classroom to hold a debate campaign. Each class heard out the candidates and voted whom they found the most convincing.
In the end, the girls tied for prettiest hair, and a boy was declared the cleverest mostly because he had an awesome poster that was covered in feathers, and let's be honest, who doesn't like feathers?
Next week, the class will be taking a practice version of the AATG proficiency test as a sneak peak and benchmark for the test they will take for real in 8th grade, so please let me or Frau Lussem know if your child will not be present.
-Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, February 28, 2015
28.Februar '15 - Prüfungszeit
The Day of Reckoning has come. The test has arrived!
Today we had a test: nothing fancy, just an end to our unit over comparatives and the simple past.
This took a substantial amount of time, proctoring and then going over the test, which included an essay portion as well.
We did our usual listening comprehension to start the day off, and did part 1 of the test, which we then went over as a class up until lunch.
After lunch, we did the second part, which was the short story portion (a bit more creative than an essay).
The day ended with a comparing game wherein different toys were compared in a team vs. team race.
The homework is as follows:
With the help of the handout from last week, as well as independent research, compose a poem about an ancient Germanic/nordic hero or deity. It may be a fictional one (like Siegfried from Wagner's Ring Cycle) or an authentic one (from the actual myths).
Today we had a test: nothing fancy, just an end to our unit over comparatives and the simple past.
This took a substantial amount of time, proctoring and then going over the test, which included an essay portion as well.
We did our usual listening comprehension to start the day off, and did part 1 of the test, which we then went over as a class up until lunch.
After lunch, we did the second part, which was the short story portion (a bit more creative than an essay).
The day ended with a comparing game wherein different toys were compared in a team vs. team race.
The homework is as follows:
With the help of the handout from last week, as well as independent research, compose a poem about an ancient Germanic/nordic hero or deity. It may be a fictional one (like Siegfried from Wagner's Ring Cycle) or an authentic one (from the actual myths).
- 15 lines, rhyming in some form or other (pick a poetic form and stick with it)
- Describe the character you chose, including things they have done (simple past) and comparisons to other characters as to why they are better (e.g. "Thor ist stärker als Loki!" and so on)
Saturday, February 21, 2015
21.Februar '14 - der Ritus
Syncretism was the word of the day.
For our opening act, we listened to a reading of Rumpelstilzchen from online, but there were network issues so this didn't go as well as had been hoped, i.e. we had audio only but not the intended subtitles. But in any case, we listened to this and then answered questions about the plot for a listening comprehension exercise.
Our main topic of conversation for the day was comparative Iron Age religion. We discussed the Roman pantheon and everyday state-endorsed ritualism as well as the practice of polytheistic syncretism (altering or adopting indigenous beliefs for the sake of cultural assimilation); this was contrasted to the Germanic pantheon shared with the Nordic regions, and their customs in this religion.
After lunch, we reviewed comparative adjectives and the simple past, because next week there is a quiz over both before we move on to another unit.
Be sure to study the handouts and examples over both comparative adjective formation/phrases and the simple past to be prepared for next time.
Mit Vergnügen
For our opening act, we listened to a reading of Rumpelstilzchen from online, but there were network issues so this didn't go as well as had been hoped, i.e. we had audio only but not the intended subtitles. But in any case, we listened to this and then answered questions about the plot for a listening comprehension exercise.
Our main topic of conversation for the day was comparative Iron Age religion. We discussed the Roman pantheon and everyday state-endorsed ritualism as well as the practice of polytheistic syncretism (altering or adopting indigenous beliefs for the sake of cultural assimilation); this was contrasted to the Germanic pantheon shared with the Nordic regions, and their customs in this religion.
After lunch, we reviewed comparative adjectives and the simple past, because next week there is a quiz over both before we move on to another unit.
Be sure to study the handouts and examples over both comparative adjective formation/phrases and the simple past to be prepared for next time.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, February 14, 2015
14.Februar '15 - Eichhörnchenangriff
Today began like any other day, and by that I mean it was nothing like any other day because the heat was broken in the school's section of the building, so most classes relocated to the big hall, and our class relocated to the office and spent the duration of the day sitting around the conference table. It was an interesting change of pace, all told. Having everyone around one big table was actually very handy; I can see why King Arthur did it.
We did listening comprehension with "Nichts Bringt Mich Runter" by Ich & Ich, picked out the verbs in their various forms and set them all into the simple past.
Following this we added onto the simple past notesheet with some helpful hints and formulae for guessing what an unfamiliar verb's form in this tense might be.
Also, we had a tea break.
After lunch, we played a game involving spontaneous utterance of adjectives followed by the tossing of a projectile to which the catcher of which had to respond with the comparative adjective form, e.g. "Stark!" (TOSS!) (CATCH!) "Stärker!"
As a reward to those in attendance for having soldiered through the derailment of the morning and the accordingly somewhat altered lesson, we ended the day with a game of cards (auf Deutsch) the prize for which was Valentine's Day chocolate and animal crackers.
And now, the homework: 1 page (typed, 12 pt font, single-spaced!) essay over the following
We did listening comprehension with "Nichts Bringt Mich Runter" by Ich & Ich, picked out the verbs in their various forms and set them all into the simple past.
Following this we added onto the simple past notesheet with some helpful hints and formulae for guessing what an unfamiliar verb's form in this tense might be.
Also, we had a tea break.
After lunch, we played a game involving spontaneous utterance of adjectives followed by the tossing of a projectile to which the catcher of which had to respond with the comparative adjective form, e.g. "Stark!" (TOSS!) (CATCH!) "Stärker!"
As a reward to those in attendance for having soldiered through the derailment of the morning and the accordingly somewhat altered lesson, we ended the day with a game of cards (auf Deutsch) the prize for which was Valentine's Day chocolate and animal crackers.
And now, the homework: 1 page (typed, 12 pt font, single-spaced!) essay over the following
- You are a stranger in a strange land! Either a Roman legionnaire who just visited a Germanic village, or a German tribesman who just visited Rome for the first time; either way, now you are home recounting to your friends your time spent there.
- Using your knowledge of the differences between the two Iron Age cultures, describe what you saw from the perspective of your character.
- Focus on the differences in the areas we have gone over (areas you have handouts on), such as: clothes, food, homes, technology, jobs, grooming, personal, and shopping habits.
- Since you're doing comparisons, there should be plenty of chances to use comparatives
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, February 8, 2015
7.Februar '15 - Free Elephant with a Purchase of Equal Value
Guten Tag!
We had a rather small class, as many were out either performing in musical events or practicing for a play, but still we had a good time.
First we presented the homework, the for-sale ads from those who did the assignment, and then we went over a previous listening comprehension exercise, "Ein Elefant für dich" by Wir Sind Helden, this time with the aim of highlighting all the adjectives from the lyrics and then putting them into their comparative forms.
We then each took a Roman off the wall and individually came up with a list of adjectives describing them. The Romans were then placed on the board, their adjectives listed out, and then we had a class discussion comparing them, e.g. both "Julia" and "Aurelius" were listed as being "stark," so we discussed who was "stärker" and why. This lasted a while, and then after the break we went around comparing ourselves to one another as well.
Finally, we made back stories for our Romans using the simple past.
Those who were not present in class today, please make an ad (last week's homework) as well as a short back story, about 10 sentences long, about the Roman or German you made and placed on the wall earlier. These should be in the simple past, simple descriptions of how they were as a person, what they would do (job, hobbies, etc.) and how they met their end (we had a statistically anomalous number of bear attacks for ours).
Mit Vergnügen
We had a rather small class, as many were out either performing in musical events or practicing for a play, but still we had a good time.
First we presented the homework, the for-sale ads from those who did the assignment, and then we went over a previous listening comprehension exercise, "Ein Elefant für dich" by Wir Sind Helden, this time with the aim of highlighting all the adjectives from the lyrics and then putting them into their comparative forms.
We then each took a Roman off the wall and individually came up with a list of adjectives describing them. The Romans were then placed on the board, their adjectives listed out, and then we had a class discussion comparing them, e.g. both "Julia" and "Aurelius" were listed as being "stark," so we discussed who was "stärker" and why. This lasted a while, and then after the break we went around comparing ourselves to one another as well.
Finally, we made back stories for our Romans using the simple past.
Those who were not present in class today, please make an ad (last week's homework) as well as a short back story, about 10 sentences long, about the Roman or German you made and placed on the wall earlier. These should be in the simple past, simple descriptions of how they were as a person, what they would do (job, hobbies, etc.) and how they met their end (we had a statistically anomalous number of bear attacks for ours).
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, January 31, 2015
31.Jan'15 - 10 Denarii für den Esel aber keine einzige Münze mehr!
The alternate title for today was going to be "Wirtschaftwunder" but that wasn't near as funny.
Today we focused on economics! No, I didn't spend 3 hours playing Monopoly with them (no one could pay me enough to play Monopoly), I promise.
We began with the song "Millionär" by Die Prinzen, not only going through the lyrics for listening comprehension, but also dividing up in pairs and highlighting all the adjectives in the song, and then putting them into their comparitive forms as a class, e.g. "groß" to "größer" and "reich" to "reicher" etc.
As planned, we then did a comparison on the board between the Imperial Roman Empire and Iron Age Germania, with each student coming up, selecting an adjective from the board and putting it (in comparitive form) in the column they thought appropriate, for Rome or for Germany. We then put these all into sentences on a handout that was labelled, "Wir denken" and "Wir wissen." Their opinions expressed on the board were all recorded under "Wir denken."
We then discussed briefly how reality may differ or be similar to the opinions they wrote on the board, and these went under "Wir wissen" on the handout. Mostly, the kids were spot on! "Rome war größer/bevölkerter/reicher/stärker als alter Deutschland" is indeed right; there was some discussion on the points regarding "religiöser" and "erfolgreicher" (what does it mean to be successful? We managed to avoid getting into 'trans-national synchretism versus tribal polytheism' thankfully!)
After the break, we went through and filled out/discussed a handout over how economics worked in Imperial Rome and in Eisenzeit Deutschland/Magna Germania.
When the day was done, we cleaned up, and spent the final 10 minutes playing basketball, which is becoming a thing on days when the weather is nice.
And now the Hausaufgabe:
Create an advertisement!
Today we focused on economics! No, I didn't spend 3 hours playing Monopoly with them (no one could pay me enough to play Monopoly), I promise.
We began with the song "Millionär" by Die Prinzen, not only going through the lyrics for listening comprehension, but also dividing up in pairs and highlighting all the adjectives in the song, and then putting them into their comparitive forms as a class, e.g. "groß" to "größer" and "reich" to "reicher" etc.
As planned, we then did a comparison on the board between the Imperial Roman Empire and Iron Age Germania, with each student coming up, selecting an adjective from the board and putting it (in comparitive form) in the column they thought appropriate, for Rome or for Germany. We then put these all into sentences on a handout that was labelled, "Wir denken" and "Wir wissen." Their opinions expressed on the board were all recorded under "Wir denken."
We then discussed briefly how reality may differ or be similar to the opinions they wrote on the board, and these went under "Wir wissen" on the handout. Mostly, the kids were spot on! "Rome war größer/bevölkerter/reicher/stärker als alter Deutschland" is indeed right; there was some discussion on the points regarding "religiöser" and "erfolgreicher" (what does it mean to be successful? We managed to avoid getting into 'trans-national synchretism versus tribal polytheism' thankfully!)
After the break, we went through and filled out/discussed a handout over how economics worked in Imperial Rome and in Eisenzeit Deutschland/Magna Germania.
When the day was done, we cleaned up, and spent the final 10 minutes playing basketball, which is becoming a thing on days when the weather is nice.
And now the Hausaufgabe:
Create an advertisement!
- You are a Roman city-dwelling citizen back in the 1st century, looking to sell something of yours
- It must be something they would've actually had, e.g. clothes, jewelry, animals, weaponry/armor, carts, chariots, slaves, land, property, etc.
- In a half-page (at least) describe the item you wish to sell, why it is an appealing item (e.g. "Dieser Esel frisst nicht viel und arbeitet gut den ganzen Tag!")
- List acceptable forms of payment, which we went over in class (either a specific price in Roman coins, or what items you will accept in barter)
- Give contact info of some kind, e.g. your name and where you live (NO PHONE NUMBERS OR EMAIL ADDRESSES! This is 2000 years ago!)
- Make it pretty
Sunday, January 25, 2015
24.Januar '15 - Du tanzt den Pony Pokey!
Der linke Huf muss rein, der linke Huf muss raus. Der linke Huf muss rein, und dann schüttelst du ihn auf. Du tanzt den Pony Poky und schaust nach den anderen aus! Ja darauf läuft es hinaus!
This class period opened with a more challenging exercise than usual; instead of simply listening to a song, filling in the blanks in the lyrics and trying to interpret an overall idea of what it was about, we had a full transcript of a song and were translating and interpreting it in groups. At the end, I showed the video the song came from (My Little Pony) and we compared the interpretations to the source material.
The reason I think this was a nice exercise, and why we'll do it again in the future, is because it stresses the importance of context and idiom. There was a word, for example, "neigen" whose first dictionary entry was "to tend toward" with other following definitions being "to nod," "to bow," to incline." The challenge set before the kids was then to look at the whole line, "Du neigst den Kopf," and figure out which was the most likely meaning instead of blindly copying in a word.
We also had idiomatic phrases, such as "Darauf läuft es hinaus!" which instead of translating each word directly (good luck with that), became apparent as to their intention when they were presented in context; when sung, it's immediately obvious that phrase is basically "That's what it's all about!"
This song was a variation on the Hokey Pokey, by the way.
I am also very much hoping that such exercises as these will break dependence on (and confidence in!) Google translate, because attempts at using that with this were a dismal failure.
We also went over the Simple Past in some more detail, playing a story-creation game based on it, and began a lesson on Comparitives, and afterwards we discovered that I am terrible at basketball.
As last week's homework lead to some confusion, I shall re-issue it.
Hausaufgabe:
This class period opened with a more challenging exercise than usual; instead of simply listening to a song, filling in the blanks in the lyrics and trying to interpret an overall idea of what it was about, we had a full transcript of a song and were translating and interpreting it in groups. At the end, I showed the video the song came from (My Little Pony) and we compared the interpretations to the source material.
The reason I think this was a nice exercise, and why we'll do it again in the future, is because it stresses the importance of context and idiom. There was a word, for example, "neigen" whose first dictionary entry was "to tend toward" with other following definitions being "to nod," "to bow," to incline." The challenge set before the kids was then to look at the whole line, "Du neigst den Kopf," and figure out which was the most likely meaning instead of blindly copying in a word.
We also had idiomatic phrases, such as "Darauf läuft es hinaus!" which instead of translating each word directly (good luck with that), became apparent as to their intention when they were presented in context; when sung, it's immediately obvious that phrase is basically "That's what it's all about!"
This song was a variation on the Hokey Pokey, by the way.
I am also very much hoping that such exercises as these will break dependence on (and confidence in!) Google translate, because attempts at using that with this were a dismal failure.
We also went over the Simple Past in some more detail, playing a story-creation game based on it, and began a lesson on Comparitives, and afterwards we discovered that I am terrible at basketball.
As last week's homework lead to some confusion, I shall re-issue it.
Hausaufgabe:
- Choose an online news article (it may be sports, world events, science, entertainment, religion, etc. but something from a journalistic source)
- Summarize it in about 10 sentences (not translate: summarize, as in your own words) using the simple past (not the present tense).
- Cite the source
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, January 18, 2015
11. Jan '14 - The Past is Never Simple
The title is a joke on the simple past, because that's what we learned about. It's also deeply philosophical and shows my wisdom.
The Züngenbrecher returned for another round, this time with a more or less full class to very satisfying results, and there were also sugary treats and sparkling projectiles involved, both of which tend to add to the fun of an activity.
The primary lesson of the day, once we finished going over specific phonemes and how to pronounce them, was the preterit, also known as the simple past. We talked about its common usage and went over specific examples, e.g. "war" (was) and "hatte" (had).
In short:
The Züngenbrecher returned for another round, this time with a more or less full class to very satisfying results, and there were also sugary treats and sparkling projectiles involved, both of which tend to add to the fun of an activity.
The primary lesson of the day, once we finished going over specific phonemes and how to pronounce them, was the preterit, also known as the simple past. We talked about its common usage and went over specific examples, e.g. "war" (was) and "hatte" (had).
In short:
- Some extremely common, everyday verbs are used in spoken German in their preterit form and are easily understood, e.g. "ich schwamm" or "es war....", "ich hatte..."
- Aside from those exceptions, the preterit is used primarily in written communication, e.g. books, articles, magazines
So when speaking, someone will say, "Ich habe Wurst gegessen" whereas in a letter they may write, "Ich aß Wurst." Or, "Obama ist nach Deutschland geflogen" out loud but "Obama flog nach Deutschland" in a news article.
Which brings us to this week's homework:
- Pick a news article from online and summarize it in at least 10 sentences.
- This should not be a translation. I simply want a summary of it in the simple past.
- This can be local, national, international, or even entertainment news, so long as you cite the article on the assignment so I can check for accuracy of the summary.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, January 10, 2015
10.Jan '14 - Gebrochene Zünge
For the first class of the new year, we had surprisingly (but understandably) sparse attendance. It was just the girls and I, so we made the most of it and spent the day working on something that required honing but would not cause the rest of the class to fall behind: pronunciation.
We went through a list of tongue twisters or Züngenbrecher that I have on hand, and went over the individual phonemes of German that make them as difficult as they are.
These are the usual problem sounds for growing speakers, such as ü, ö, ei and ie, z, ß and ä.
We also threw shiny objects at each other and played "popcorn" before making and reciting our own Züngenbrecher and making one as a class.
And that's a wrap! Fun and speaking were had by all.
Mit Vergnügen~
We went through a list of tongue twisters or Züngenbrecher that I have on hand, and went over the individual phonemes of German that make them as difficult as they are.
These are the usual problem sounds for growing speakers, such as ü, ö, ei and ie, z, ß and ä.
We also threw shiny objects at each other and played "popcorn" before making and reciting our own Züngenbrecher and making one as a class.
And that's a wrap! Fun and speaking were had by all.
Mit Vergnügen~
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