Guten Abend,
Today the Krampus came to carry us all away. Specifically, actually I was the only one to get carried off, come to think of it.
It began like any other day... we did Meine Woche, and then came the lesson over Krampus. We discussed who the Krampus is and how he differs from and intersects with Saint Nikolaus. Then, in lieu of the traditional and somewhat cliched, "Write Letters to Santa for Presents," we wrote letters to Krampus asking him to please not come and carry us away, because even though we're naughty there are other people in the class who are so much naughtier.
We had to pause for a while to practice the Weihnachtsprogramm, but after that and after lunch, we did a little planned exchange with the 8th graders.
The 8th grade had written letters to St. Nick to persuade him why they were the nicest in their class. We listened to them and then held a vote. Those who lost were carried way by Krampus, played by a student from our own 7th grade class.
We then read our letters about why, ok, we were naughty, but definitely not not the naughtiest, and then the one who was judged to be naughtiest (turned out to be me) got carried away by Krampus.
We wrapped up with "Schnappi das kleine Krokodil," a selection from a student, and then prepared for the Weihnachtsprogramm.
See you in January!
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
2. Dezember '17 - die Eisenzeit beginnt
Grüße alle!
This week we began our presentations over the iron age germanic tribes, kicking off with the Vandals and the Visigoths, two of my personal favorites. We then (finally) transitioned into our comparative cultural-historical unit over Ancient Germania and the Roman Empire. It took a bit, but we managed to grasp precisely why we, in a German school, care about Imperial Rome: all we know about the ancient Germans is what the Romans wrote down, accounts written by Romans about their encounters with said ancient tribes, and understanding the perspectives of primary source givers is essential when using said primary sources.
Frankly I was just proud that 7th graders were able to have even a rudimentary grasp of hermeneutics and use phrases like "primary source."
So we began, and I daresay for years to come they shall remember the fact that Roman public toilets had an unfortunate habit of catching on fire and/or exploding, and that while Imperial Romans probably smelled far better than ancient Germans, that the latter wouldn't be catching any plagues from tainted aquaducts or bath houses.We covered "alltagsleben" or everyday life in both the Empire and Germania today, and next we shall cover comparative religion in the Iron Age, followed by warfare.
We also began using the student-provided videos for listening comprehension exercises. We did "Lass jetzt los," also known as "Let it Go" from Frozen. I will continue vetting the student contributions and playing the ones that are viable and appropriate.
Next week I, unfortunately, have to answer the call of duty for my day job and will be off doing everything but having fun in another state. Frau Bodigor will continue our unit on the past tense, and next week a few more students (who have been informed of this ) will present their tribes.
Mit Vergnügen.
This week we began our presentations over the iron age germanic tribes, kicking off with the Vandals and the Visigoths, two of my personal favorites. We then (finally) transitioned into our comparative cultural-historical unit over Ancient Germania and the Roman Empire. It took a bit, but we managed to grasp precisely why we, in a German school, care about Imperial Rome: all we know about the ancient Germans is what the Romans wrote down, accounts written by Romans about their encounters with said ancient tribes, and understanding the perspectives of primary source givers is essential when using said primary sources.
Frankly I was just proud that 7th graders were able to have even a rudimentary grasp of hermeneutics and use phrases like "primary source."
So we began, and I daresay for years to come they shall remember the fact that Roman public toilets had an unfortunate habit of catching on fire and/or exploding, and that while Imperial Romans probably smelled far better than ancient Germans, that the latter wouldn't be catching any plagues from tainted aquaducts or bath houses.We covered "alltagsleben" or everyday life in both the Empire and Germania today, and next we shall cover comparative religion in the Iron Age, followed by warfare.
We also began using the student-provided videos for listening comprehension exercises. We did "Lass jetzt los," also known as "Let it Go" from Frozen. I will continue vetting the student contributions and playing the ones that are viable and appropriate.
Next week I, unfortunately, have to answer the call of duty for my day job and will be off doing everything but having fun in another state. Frau Bodigor will continue our unit on the past tense, and next week a few more students (who have been informed of this ) will present their tribes.
Mit Vergnügen.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
18. Nov '17 - Ich werde älter
Today was my birthday, and we celebrated by eating far too much sugar before starting the school day. It was glorious.
We started with a glorious account of "Meine Woche," in which everyone got to learn about dinosaurs since I spent last weekend at the Field Museum.
Our listening comprehension was "How to Be Vegetarier," an educational video by the glorious podcaster Mirrelativegal. It contained such tips as, "Esse kein Fleisch," "Kaufe kein Fleisch," "Koch kein Fleisch," and "vergiss dass du wirklich Fleisch essen will!" and a talking salami.
We went further into the Perfect or so-called "Spoken Past" tense and were interrupted by something glorious. The 8th graders dragged us away into a scavenger hunt throughout the school, the ending of which was to find my birthday presents, apparently. It was glorious.
About the Tribes Project. We will have time to finish (AND PRESENT) next class period. I went ahead and divided the pairs up into single workers to finish the content as well since I've been made aware that partner work outside of class hours is not going to work with this class' circumstances and schedules, which is ok: I remember middle school. It was chaotic and full of more activities and responsibilities than I thought imaginable at the time, so I completely understand the limitations of working outside of german school.
I will be sending out a reminder of the assignment and the assigned tribes as well as the expectations today.
Mit Vergnügen
We started with a glorious account of "Meine Woche," in which everyone got to learn about dinosaurs since I spent last weekend at the Field Museum.
Our listening comprehension was "How to Be Vegetarier," an educational video by the glorious podcaster Mirrelativegal. It contained such tips as, "Esse kein Fleisch," "Kaufe kein Fleisch," "Koch kein Fleisch," and "vergiss dass du wirklich Fleisch essen will!" and a talking salami.
We went further into the Perfect or so-called "Spoken Past" tense and were interrupted by something glorious. The 8th graders dragged us away into a scavenger hunt throughout the school, the ending of which was to find my birthday presents, apparently. It was glorious.
About the Tribes Project. We will have time to finish (AND PRESENT) next class period. I went ahead and divided the pairs up into single workers to finish the content as well since I've been made aware that partner work outside of class hours is not going to work with this class' circumstances and schedules, which is ok: I remember middle school. It was chaotic and full of more activities and responsibilities than I thought imaginable at the time, so I completely understand the limitations of working outside of german school.
I will be sending out a reminder of the assignment and the assigned tribes as well as the expectations today.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, November 11, 2017
11. Nov '17 - in the Club
Today was the first day since the last time we had class that we had class.
We began with a perennial classic song, "Familie bis ins Mark" from My Little Pony: die Freundschaft ist Magie. It's a magical song about the Apple Family and all the ties that bind them together as a family. We laughed, we cried, we did some serious soul searching as these cartoon ponies regaled us with their euphoric siren song.
For Meine Woche, I relayed the various locales I visited and stories I heard the weekend of my absence, when I was taking 'haunted history, fact and folklore' tours throughout Wisconsin.
Our lesson was an introduction to the perfect tense, commonly known as just "the past" or "the spoken past," depending on whom you ask. This will continue for a few weeks before we transition into the simple past/the preterit. I sent home a handout with each student in lieu of handwritten notes, since this topic is one of the more complex ones we cover.
We were going to present the Ancient Tribes work that the students did last week, but it seems some groups were not prepared or had simply left things at home, so this must be done next week or bust.
Class ended wth an interesting take on a Round Robin Story, one of those where each person writes a sentence (timed) and then passes it on to the next person. Our characters were ponies named Snuggles, Wuggles, Huggles, Buggles, and Steve.
Until next time.
Mit Vergnügen
We began with a perennial classic song, "Familie bis ins Mark" from My Little Pony: die Freundschaft ist Magie. It's a magical song about the Apple Family and all the ties that bind them together as a family. We laughed, we cried, we did some serious soul searching as these cartoon ponies regaled us with their euphoric siren song.
For Meine Woche, I relayed the various locales I visited and stories I heard the weekend of my absence, when I was taking 'haunted history, fact and folklore' tours throughout Wisconsin.
Our lesson was an introduction to the perfect tense, commonly known as just "the past" or "the spoken past," depending on whom you ask. This will continue for a few weeks before we transition into the simple past/the preterit. I sent home a handout with each student in lieu of handwritten notes, since this topic is one of the more complex ones we cover.
We were going to present the Ancient Tribes work that the students did last week, but it seems some groups were not prepared or had simply left things at home, so this must be done next week or bust.
Class ended wth an interesting take on a Round Robin Story, one of those where each person writes a sentence (timed) and then passes it on to the next person. Our characters were ponies named Snuggles, Wuggles, Huggles, Buggles, and Steve.
Until next time.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, October 22, 2017
21. Okt '17 - Haunted Bathrooms
Guten Tag,
Our day started out as usual with Meine Woche, which had an interesting story about a "haunted bathroom," that I'm sure your kids will share, as well as the saga of the mystery tuna.
Listening comprehension was "10 Tipps für faule Menschen" by Mirrellativegal. "Tipps damit ihr noch fauler werden könnt!"
Our lesson was over the Superlative, continuing off the Comparative that we had been covering over the last few weeks.
We discussed how superlative statements are, in essence, "the most something of all," e.g. "the biggest," "the strongest," "the prettiest," "the smallest."
Much like with comparatives, an adjective with only one main vowel is given an umlaut (ö, ä, ü).
For superlatives, also add an -ste at the end unless the adjective ends in s, z or ß
So we have, for instance:
größte (groß with an ¨, -te at the end since it already has an ß)
stärkste (stark with an ¨, and -ste at the end)
kleinste (klein with an -ste at the end)
A superlative noun (e.g. "The Prettiest," "The Strongest") is just the superlative adjective with the appropriate article and ending.
Der Beste (the best of all)
Der Kleinste (the smallest of all)
Alternatively, to say something is the most ____, use the phrase am ____sten.
"Ich bin am kleinsten" (I'm the smallest)
"Du bist am doofsten" (you're the dumbest)
Lastly, superlatives can simply be used like any other adjective, stuck in front of a word.
"Ich bin der schönste Pony in der Park" (I am the prettiest pony in the park)
"Sie ist die reichste Prinzessin in dem Land" (she is the richest princess in the land)
We did two activities with this, both of which went far more smoothly and quickly than I had anticipated. We held a class election for who was the Klügste, Schönste, Sportlischste, and the class was surprisingly in complete agreement on that. So yeah. That lasted about 5 minutes. Then we did a comparative-superlative rap, complete with beatboxing and some mild dance moves, whereupon we barged into the 8th grade room and rapped at them about how much cooler of a class we are than them. This was the first class ever to actually successfully RAP so that was nice.
Mit Vergnügen
Our day started out as usual with Meine Woche, which had an interesting story about a "haunted bathroom," that I'm sure your kids will share, as well as the saga of the mystery tuna.
Listening comprehension was "10 Tipps für faule Menschen" by Mirrellativegal. "Tipps damit ihr noch fauler werden könnt!"
Our lesson was over the Superlative, continuing off the Comparative that we had been covering over the last few weeks.
We discussed how superlative statements are, in essence, "the most something of all," e.g. "the biggest," "the strongest," "the prettiest," "the smallest."
Much like with comparatives, an adjective with only one main vowel is given an umlaut (ö, ä, ü).
For superlatives, also add an -ste at the end unless the adjective ends in s, z or ß
So we have, for instance:
größte (groß with an ¨, -te at the end since it already has an ß)
stärkste (stark with an ¨, and -ste at the end)
kleinste (klein with an -ste at the end)
A superlative noun (e.g. "The Prettiest," "The Strongest") is just the superlative adjective with the appropriate article and ending.
Der Beste (the best of all)
Der Kleinste (the smallest of all)
Alternatively, to say something is the most ____, use the phrase am ____sten.
"Ich bin am kleinsten" (I'm the smallest)
"Du bist am doofsten" (you're the dumbest)
Lastly, superlatives can simply be used like any other adjective, stuck in front of a word.
"Ich bin der schönste Pony in der Park" (I am the prettiest pony in the park)
"Sie ist die reichste Prinzessin in dem Land" (she is the richest princess in the land)
We did two activities with this, both of which went far more smoothly and quickly than I had anticipated. We held a class election for who was the Klügste, Schönste, Sportlischste, and the class was surprisingly in complete agreement on that. So yeah. That lasted about 5 minutes. Then we did a comparative-superlative rap, complete with beatboxing and some mild dance moves, whereupon we barged into the 8th grade room and rapped at them about how much cooler of a class we are than them. This was the first class ever to actually successfully RAP so that was nice.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, October 14, 2017
14.Okt '17 - Deutsches Sprachraum Part 1
Today began like any other day, with lots and lots of rain. It's rainy.
This lent a dramatic effect to pretty much everything I said, so it was rather welcome.
"Guten Morgen, Klasse!" *Thunder crash*
It was amazing.
We did "Meine Woche" as always, which mostly consisted of my complaining about how long it takes to rake leaves, and then used a seasonal classic, "Kein Vampir bleibt mehr hier" from My Little Pony for our listening exercise. This is apparently so memorable of a song that the 8th grade class next door, hearing what we were doing, begged Frau Bodigor to play it as well.
After a review of the comparatives, we went into a group research assignment. In partners, students compared two German speaking countries.
This took the rest of class.
For those not present, the assignment was as follows:
Pick any two from this list of countries to compare. Look up information about your chosen two countries to answer the questions below:
This lent a dramatic effect to pretty much everything I said, so it was rather welcome.
"Guten Morgen, Klasse!" *Thunder crash*
It was amazing.
We did "Meine Woche" as always, which mostly consisted of my complaining about how long it takes to rake leaves, and then used a seasonal classic, "Kein Vampir bleibt mehr hier" from My Little Pony for our listening exercise. This is apparently so memorable of a song that the 8th grade class next door, hearing what we were doing, begged Frau Bodigor to play it as well.
After a review of the comparatives, we went into a group research assignment. In partners, students compared two German speaking countries.
This took the rest of class.
For those not present, the assignment was as follows:
Pick any two from this list of countries to compare. Look up information about your chosen two countries to answer the questions below:
Deutschland
Österreich
die Schweiz
Belgien
Liechtenstein
Luxemburg
Slowakei
Brasilien
- Was sind die 2 Länder, die ihr vergleicht?
- Ist Deutsch die Hauptsprache oder eine Amtssprache?
- Welche andere Sprachen sprechen Leute in diesen Länder?
- Welches Land ist größer? (Land)
- Welches Land hat mehr Deutschsprecher?
- Welches Land ist reicher? (GDP, GNP, average income)
- In welchem Land sind Leute klüger? (Education level, average IQ)
- Welches Land hat besseres Essen? Warum? (opinion)
- Was ist etwas interessant über jedes Land? (opinion)
- Welches Land ist dein Lieblingsland und warum? (opinion)
The homework is to choose a German song (with video), podcast, or video for us to use at the beginning of class time. It should be between 2 and 5 minutes, school-appropriate, and you must explain auf Deutsch why you chose this one. Give me at least 3 reasons why.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, October 7, 2017
7. Oktober '17 - Comparatively Good
Guten Abend,
Today's class began as it usually does, with words.
To be more specific, we began with "Meine Woche," wherein I regaled the students with tales of this past weekend that I spent in Cape Cod for a wedding, and all the loveliness that entailed despite the fact that it rained the entire time and the ceremony was on the beach.
Our listening comprehension was a perennial classic, "Der Käse Song" from my favorite Austrian YouTuber, Michael Buchinger. The old timers in the audience will quickly realize it's a parody of a song from 1990. I'll leave it at that to let it be an age test for you. Hint: "that's where it is!"
Our lesson was beginning a unit on comparatives and superlatives, today being a deeper dive into "Comparatives" after Frau Bodigor (re)introduced the topic last week. While this topic is "new" to the school year, I know that everyone in the class has indeed learned about this in previous school years, a conclusion which was further reinforced by the relative ease with which they picked up the lesson and ran with it, so really this unit is more of a review and reinforcing of prior knowledge before we move on to more complicated things.
We talked about how to form comparative adjectives,which I have broken down into a few general steps (bearing in mind there are plenty of irregulars out there):
For "More"
Today's class began as it usually does, with words.
To be more specific, we began with "Meine Woche," wherein I regaled the students with tales of this past weekend that I spent in Cape Cod for a wedding, and all the loveliness that entailed despite the fact that it rained the entire time and the ceremony was on the beach.
Our listening comprehension was a perennial classic, "Der Käse Song" from my favorite Austrian YouTuber, Michael Buchinger. The old timers in the audience will quickly realize it's a parody of a song from 1990. I'll leave it at that to let it be an age test for you. Hint: "that's where it is!"
Our lesson was beginning a unit on comparatives and superlatives, today being a deeper dive into "Comparatives" after Frau Bodigor (re)introduced the topic last week. While this topic is "new" to the school year, I know that everyone in the class has indeed learned about this in previous school years, a conclusion which was further reinforced by the relative ease with which they picked up the lesson and ran with it, so really this unit is more of a review and reinforcing of prior knowledge before we move on to more complicated things.
We talked about how to form comparative adjectives,which I have broken down into a few general steps (bearing in mind there are plenty of irregulars out there):
For "More"
- Take a normal adjective and add an -er to the end
- If the adjective has one vowel (like "stark" or "groß") then add an umlaut
- use "als" to mean "than" in a comparative phrase
Ich bin groß becomes Ich bin größer als (I'm big... I'm bigger than...)
For "Less"
- nicht so {adjective} wie
Ich bin groß... Ich bin nicht so groß wie... (I'm big... I'm not as big as...)
For examples, each student was semi-randomly assigned a celebrity/iconic character to whom they would compare themselves in six ways. My favorites were "Ich bin nicht so reich wie Taylor Swift" and "Ich habe bessere Haare als Elvis."
After the break, we had arguments. Students broke up into pairs, chose a category in which they would declare their favorite thing (e.g. a food, music, a movie, a tv show, etc.) and then argue out loud about which one was better and why. This became oddly poetic and semi-surreal at times, especially with the two girls who chose category "Waffen" and argued about the virtues of "Words" versus "the bow and arrow." I feel like I should've written that down.
Next week, we begin the foray into our historical-cultural unit for the year. Please bring a wi-fi capable device that would make for easy reading and research, such as a tablet.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Welcome to the class, and welcome to the blog!
Willkommen in diesem neuen Schuljahr! This class is my favorite class, as it is the only class I teach, and accordingly it is the best (and worst) class of my entire annual repertoire.
Welcome to the 7th grade of the Danube Swabians Weekend German School!
A few notes about how class is run:
Welcome to the 7th grade of the Danube Swabians Weekend German School!
A few notes about how class is run:
- This blog is updated (and linked via email) weekly on either Saturday or Sunday following, depending on circumstances. Herein shall be outlined all pertinent class activities, topics covered, and most importantly, the occasional homework assignment.
- Homework is an infrequent occurrence, hence any given assignment is that much more important to get done. Usually it is only either 'extra credit' or as make up for not having been in class.
- In-class participation is graded as "Fleiss" each semester. Participation is tracked by each student individually via a Mitmachen Tabelle that I provided; each time they answer a question, contribute to a discussion, or participate in activities, I tally points for them for that day, with the goal being to get at least 5 marks per day. Doing the homework assignments provides equivalent participation points for those who were not in class.
- The vast majority of our work is in-class research, group projects, and creative activities. Accordingly, while we cover a great deal of material, it is less academic and more kinesthetic. Posting assignments to be done at home is challenging in that so much of what we do requires the classroom setting, so please attend as often as possible.
- We do a great deal that requires internet access, such as interactive games and research. Bringing a phone or tablet that can use the Wi Fi every day is highly recommended. I am not one of those teachers who confiscates phones, so long as they are not becoming a distraction.
We have begun the school year by getting to know one another a bit through some extremely creative and original games that of course I made up myself and didn't at all get off any teaching websites (that I'd be happy to share with you). On day one we played a game I call "Wie heißt du?" that is fun because it involves projectiles.
Each morning, we open the class up with a presentation I call "Meine Woche," wherein I describe in a German tirade all the interesting (or if it was a boring week, entirely fabricated) things that I have done this week, and the students summarize it back to me or answer questions. This is a so-called "ice breaker" as well as some listening comprehension.
After that, we go into listening comprehension exercises, wherein I play either a song, music video, or even podcast in German (typically off YouTube), and the students answer questions and talk about it. Week one it was a video from my favorite podcaster, Mirellativegal. This week, it was a new and creative take on the Cinderella story by one of my favorite bands, "Das Letzte Streichholz" by Oomph!
This week and last week we have been going over how to express preferences and likes using gern, lieber, and am liebsten either with "haben" (in the case of nouns) or with verbs (in the case of activities).
To practice this, we have gone around asking one another's preferences on different topics, and then presenting the results in poster form, and this past week we also did some elaborate role plays in class wherein groups of 3 discussed/argued about their made-up plans.
We also played a game of Kahoot over the topic.
We will be wrapping up that unit next week with a short assessment that will be done in class.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, April 29, 2017
29. April '17 - Story Time
Today we told stories! Or rather we finished up the presentations of fairy tales and poems, followed by each student presenting the tongue twisters that they had made for homework.
Next we engaged in an activity that I can as of now finally start calling a tradition, since it's the second year that we've done it: so-called 'Warm Fuzzies.' This activity involves every student in the class writing 1 nice thing about every other student. We then cut these out into little paper bits, collect them per person, and as such every student comes away from the activity with a nice little pile of compliments.
We followed this up with a video from Mirellativegal, and then got to the main event: introducing "Das Romische Rätselhafte Mordbankett" or "The Roman Murder Mystery Banquet." Yes, I had to invent the word "Mordbankett" for this. Apparently the Germans never had the need for the phrase, "Murder Banquet."
In two weeks on 5/13 (since we need to prepare a bit next week), we shall have our own Iron Age era themed equivalent of "Clue," basically. We shall bring food, wear costumes, and each portray a pre-assigned character. One of us will be gradually poisoning every one else over the course of the "evening," and the banquet guests (in an Imperial Roman villa) must figure out who it is... before it's too late. This usually last about an hour, and for the sake of learning no one is allowed for the duration to speak in anything but:
Next we engaged in an activity that I can as of now finally start calling a tradition, since it's the second year that we've done it: so-called 'Warm Fuzzies.' This activity involves every student in the class writing 1 nice thing about every other student. We then cut these out into little paper bits, collect them per person, and as such every student comes away from the activity with a nice little pile of compliments.
We followed this up with a video from Mirellativegal, and then got to the main event: introducing "Das Romische Rätselhafte Mordbankett" or "The Roman Murder Mystery Banquet." Yes, I had to invent the word "Mordbankett" for this. Apparently the Germans never had the need for the phrase, "Murder Banquet."
In two weeks on 5/13 (since we need to prepare a bit next week), we shall have our own Iron Age era themed equivalent of "Clue," basically. We shall bring food, wear costumes, and each portray a pre-assigned character. One of us will be gradually poisoning every one else over the course of the "evening," and the banquet guests (in an Imperial Roman villa) must figure out who it is... before it's too late. This usually last about an hour, and for the sake of learning no one is allowed for the duration to speak in anything but:
- German (because obviously)
- Latin (because Rome)
- Greek (because again, Rome)
- Aramaic (rare but it happened)
- Ancient Gaulic (if you know how to do this, I'm impressed)
Further details will be discussed next week, including the food and entertainment assignments. Each student must not only bring something, but also perform something as well for the sake of the partygoers.
Mit Vergnügen~
Saturday, April 22, 2017
22.April '17 - Märchen und Gefahr
Today was danger day, the day that tests us, taking us to our very limits, challenging us to move beyond what once we thought our highest boundaries. Today... we read fairy tales.
For the first hour of the day, we read aloud and discussed several German fairy tales, which of course, being German fairy tales, were weird beyond comprehension. There was a dwarf-killing talking bear who turned into a prince, shoe making elves who teleport into your house at midnight, and of course a wolf capable of devouring grandma whole and completely unscathed.
Once the madness was at an end, we next ran our annual obstacle course. With most of the class in a conga-style line with their eyes closed, one at a time a single student would call out commands (Nach rechts, nach links, vorwärts, rückwärts, halt) to guide them through the school, out the doors, around a field, etc.
We ended the day talking about proper pronunciation of common German syllables and running through some tongue twisters.
The homework for the week is for each to make up their own German tongue twister, at least 10 words long.
Mit Vergnügen
For the first hour of the day, we read aloud and discussed several German fairy tales, which of course, being German fairy tales, were weird beyond comprehension. There was a dwarf-killing talking bear who turned into a prince, shoe making elves who teleport into your house at midnight, and of course a wolf capable of devouring grandma whole and completely unscathed.
Once the madness was at an end, we next ran our annual obstacle course. With most of the class in a conga-style line with their eyes closed, one at a time a single student would call out commands (Nach rechts, nach links, vorwärts, rückwärts, halt) to guide them through the school, out the doors, around a field, etc.
We ended the day talking about proper pronunciation of common German syllables and running through some tongue twisters.
The homework for the week is for each to make up their own German tongue twister, at least 10 words long.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, April 8, 2017
AATG Day - 8.April '17
Today we spent most of the day taking the level 1 AATG exam.
For the rest of class, we went over and began what will be a series of in-class presentations for the next time we meet, 22. April.
The assignment is as follows:
Gedichte-Geschichte-Märchen Vorlesen
Pick out a poem, story, song or fairy tale to read out loud to the class. This must be between 5 and 10 minutes long when you read it.
Prepare 5 questions to ask the class to test their comprehension.
The questions may be in English (if about main ideas) or in German (if about specific details).
So far we have the following stories chosen:
For the rest of class, we went over and began what will be a series of in-class presentations for the next time we meet, 22. April.
The assignment is as follows:
Gedichte-Geschichte-Märchen Vorlesen
Pick out a poem, story, song or fairy tale to read out loud to the class. This must be between 5 and 10 minutes long when you read it.
Prepare 5 questions to ask the class to test their comprehension.
The questions may be in English (if about main ideas) or in German (if about specific details).
So far we have the following stories chosen:
- Peter: Rottkäppchen
- Samantha: Sneeweißchen und Rosenrot
- Anna U: Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse
- Emily: Frau Holle
- Sarah: Als der Nikolaus Kam
- Peter: Zum Ersten Tag als Rentner
You may not choose the same story as someone else.
These stories must be well-practiced so that they may be read aloud quickly and, most importantly, comprehensibly. Stumbling through and asking how to say words will greatly disrupt the experience and make it harder for the class to understand.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, April 2, 2017
1.April '17 - Teutoburg, No Tricks
The most fun thing about teaching on April 1st was that the class spent the entire day anticipating a prank that never came. That is the best kind of prank, you see: doing nothing at all and letting their minds run with it.
Today we did Teutoburg. I can say quite easily it was the best Battle of Teutoburg play I have seen to-date! We ran through it 3 times, recorded, and then had an encore performance for the 4th and 6th grade classes so the latter could see what to expect next year and, well, the former was just curious and wanted to know what all the noise was about.
After the break, we had a further lesson on the dative case, expanding it into a lesson on the accusative and the difference between the two.
NEXT WEEK WE ARE TAKING THE AATG LEVEL 1 EXAM. THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW. THIS IS A BENCHMARK AND A STUDY AID FOR NEXT YEAR'S LEVEL 2 EXAM THAT THEY WILL TAKE AS 8TH GRADERS. SO WHILE THIS TEST IS INDEED FOR REAL, IT IS INTENDED AS PRACTICE. PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP OR TABLET AND EARBUDS/HEADPHONES.
Mit Vergnügen!
Today we did Teutoburg. I can say quite easily it was the best Battle of Teutoburg play I have seen to-date! We ran through it 3 times, recorded, and then had an encore performance for the 4th and 6th grade classes so the latter could see what to expect next year and, well, the former was just curious and wanted to know what all the noise was about.
After the break, we had a further lesson on the dative case, expanding it into a lesson on the accusative and the difference between the two.
NEXT WEEK WE ARE TAKING THE AATG LEVEL 1 EXAM. THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW. THIS IS A BENCHMARK AND A STUDY AID FOR NEXT YEAR'S LEVEL 2 EXAM THAT THEY WILL TAKE AS 8TH GRADERS. SO WHILE THIS TEST IS INDEED FOR REAL, IT IS INTENDED AS PRACTICE. PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP OR TABLET AND EARBUDS/HEADPHONES.
Mit Vergnügen!
Saturday, March 11, 2017
11.März '17 - Pretty Pictures
We began our day like any other day, only this time with sugar. There was so much sugar. I had way too many cookie bars, so I brought them to class. The class ate their fill, so I gave it to the 8th grade. That class ate their fill, so I gave it to the 6th. Then the teachers. Then the parent volunteers.
After our sugar, we began the People of Teutoburg presentations. We ran through half the class, and the other half will present next week.
Most of the time was then spent with a review of the dative case, followed by our Unicorn Hunt (a scavenger hunt) wherein the class had to locate the unicorns I hid throughout the school, using only the riddles I made for them. Once found, they had to describe (in complete sentences with dative prepositions) where the unicorns had been.
After the break, we fulfilled our annual tradition of making a new Teutoburg mural. It's a beauty, really.
Starting next week, we will begin work on our Teutoburg play.
Mit Vergnügen
After our sugar, we began the People of Teutoburg presentations. We ran through half the class, and the other half will present next week.
Most of the time was then spent with a review of the dative case, followed by our Unicorn Hunt (a scavenger hunt) wherein the class had to locate the unicorns I hid throughout the school, using only the riddles I made for them. Once found, they had to describe (in complete sentences with dative prepositions) where the unicorns had been.
After the break, we fulfilled our annual tradition of making a new Teutoburg mural. It's a beauty, really.
Starting next week, we will begin work on our Teutoburg play.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, March 4, 2017
4.März '17 - Beginning Teutoburg
Guten Tag,
Today we opened with finishing out most of the "Meine Nächste Woche" Presentations, followed by my week as well.
We wrapped up the Future Tense unit with a pop quiz on the topic.
Then, we introduced our new unit over cases. First we are doing the dative case, the case used for stating spatial location.
Beginning a new aspect of our overarching historical unit, we read and went through a packet I made summarizing the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. We discussed the key figures in the event, and as homework each child present is doing independent research on said key figures as well.
In coming weeks, we will do our annual Teutoburgerschlacht mural as well as the class play and, of course, the Roman Murder Mystery Banquet.
Mit Vergnügen
Today we opened with finishing out most of the "Meine Nächste Woche" Presentations, followed by my week as well.
We wrapped up the Future Tense unit with a pop quiz on the topic.
Then, we introduced our new unit over cases. First we are doing the dative case, the case used for stating spatial location.
Beginning a new aspect of our overarching historical unit, we read and went through a packet I made summarizing the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. We discussed the key figures in the event, and as homework each child present is doing independent research on said key figures as well.
In coming weeks, we will do our annual Teutoburgerschlacht mural as well as the class play and, of course, the Roman Murder Mystery Banquet.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, February 19, 2017
18.Febuary '17 - Gewalt
Guten Tag,
Saturday was a day of action, of suspense, of death-defying feats of...saying things in German. Also, there was a troll.
We opened with roughly half the class that was present having prepared their "meine Nächste Woche" assignments (which I anticipated, since I had asked for everyone to have it ready), and thus also presenting them.
There was a short historical lecture from a guest speaker, Fr. Wiegert, who spoke about Schwäbisch history and culture as is tradition to do in the school on select occasions.
We had a review of the future tense, along with some basic exercises and practice on that topic, and them moved on after lunch to our main activity for the day. This one either goes very well or horribly, horribly wrong each year depending on the class. This time, it went quite well: "Eisenzeit Krieg" also known as "Ancient Pokebattles." In short, with an elaborate point system, a 20-sided dice, and a bunch of yelling things in German, we had a battle royale between two halves of the class via paper Roman legionnaires and germanic tribesmen. There was also a deus ex machina mechanic in the form of a troll that could only be summoned if a natural 20 was rolled.
It was enough to make the 8th grade class next door wonder if we needed therapy and/or the National Guard as a result of the enthusiastic yelling.
And that's our story.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday was a day of action, of suspense, of death-defying feats of...saying things in German. Also, there was a troll.
We opened with roughly half the class that was present having prepared their "meine Nächste Woche" assignments (which I anticipated, since I had asked for everyone to have it ready), and thus also presenting them.
There was a short historical lecture from a guest speaker, Fr. Wiegert, who spoke about Schwäbisch history and culture as is tradition to do in the school on select occasions.
We had a review of the future tense, along with some basic exercises and practice on that topic, and them moved on after lunch to our main activity for the day. This one either goes very well or horribly, horribly wrong each year depending on the class. This time, it went quite well: "Eisenzeit Krieg" also known as "Ancient Pokebattles." In short, with an elaborate point system, a 20-sided dice, and a bunch of yelling things in German, we had a battle royale between two halves of the class via paper Roman legionnaires and germanic tribesmen. There was also a deus ex machina mechanic in the form of a troll that could only be summoned if a natural 20 was rolled.
It was enough to make the 8th grade class next door wonder if we needed therapy and/or the National Guard as a result of the enthusiastic yelling.
And that's our story.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, February 11, 2017
11.Februar '17 - #quizlife
Guten Tag!
Today we started off with our quiz over modal verbs, as promised and predicted. This went seemingly well, and then we did a very very quick and uneventful "meine Woche" followed by a classic video from Mirellativegal.
Our lesson was over the future tense. This we will spent a couple weeks on -- not very many, because it's such a simple topic, using "werden" as a helping verb to make a statement into one of the future. The sentence structure is the same as with other tenses that require multiple verbs, SHIM with the "H" (helper) being "werden."
So "I will write my blog," Ich werde meinen Blogeintrag schreiben.
We did a little Wahrsagerei or what was really just silly Mad Libs in the future tense. I provided a subject, an object, and a place, and the kids had 30 seconds to make "predictions" about them.
Example: Hr Walker, ein Schaufel, Wrigley Field. Yielding results like, "Hr. Walker wird einen Schaufen in Wrigley Field finden" or "Hr Walker wird einen Schaufel in Wrigley Field essen" etc.
We did a very short lesson over comparative military strategy and armaments in the Iron Age, comparing Romans to ancient Germans. This will continue next week and segue into my famous, "Eisenzeitkrieg" game which is basically like playing Pokemon battle but with paper cutouts and a large amount of German vocabulary.
An upcoming assignment we shall be starting soon is "Meine Nächste Woche," similar to Meine Woche except in the future tense. I will send out assignments for that forthwith.
Mit Vergnügen
Today we started off with our quiz over modal verbs, as promised and predicted. This went seemingly well, and then we did a very very quick and uneventful "meine Woche" followed by a classic video from Mirellativegal.
Our lesson was over the future tense. This we will spent a couple weeks on -- not very many, because it's such a simple topic, using "werden" as a helping verb to make a statement into one of the future. The sentence structure is the same as with other tenses that require multiple verbs, SHIM with the "H" (helper) being "werden."
So "I will write my blog," Ich werde meinen Blogeintrag schreiben.
We did a little Wahrsagerei or what was really just silly Mad Libs in the future tense. I provided a subject, an object, and a place, and the kids had 30 seconds to make "predictions" about them.
Example: Hr Walker, ein Schaufel, Wrigley Field. Yielding results like, "Hr. Walker wird einen Schaufen in Wrigley Field finden" or "Hr Walker wird einen Schaufel in Wrigley Field essen" etc.
We did a very short lesson over comparative military strategy and armaments in the Iron Age, comparing Romans to ancient Germans. This will continue next week and segue into my famous, "Eisenzeitkrieg" game which is basically like playing Pokemon battle but with paper cutouts and a large amount of German vocabulary.
An upcoming assignment we shall be starting soon is "Meine Nächste Woche," similar to Meine Woche except in the future tense. I will send out assignments for that forthwith.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, February 5, 2017
4.Februar '17 - Schwarzfahren
Guten Abend,
We opened our class with "Meine Woche," which as usual followed the hilarity, chills, spills, and thrills of my weekly life. We somehow managed to survive all the excitement.
Our listening exercise involved a culture lesson, learning about how the German train system works and what this phenomenon known as "Schwarzfahren" is. In short, it's riding the train without a ticket, which is risky because of the plain clothes "Controllers" who roam the trains and randomly, out of nowhere could ask for your ticket at any time, and getting caught without a ticket is a 60 Euro fine. We watched a comedy video, "How to Schwarzfahren."
We wrapped up our unit on modal verbs and had some excitement with it: two teams squared off against each other on the board, "Gruppe 1" versus "Schwarzfahren." I chose neither of those names. Ironically, Gruppe 1 was the group of kids who'd been numbered as "2" when I divided up the room. I believe that irony was on purpose.
I will explain in the email summary just exactly what will be on the quiz we will have next week over modal verbs.
We played Kahoot to celebrate the end of the modal verbs, and then we wrapped up our lesson on comparative Iron Age religion. We reviewed and filled out a listening worksheet over Roman and Germanic mythologies and their ritual observance.
And that was our class! Everyone should come prepared next week for a quiz.
Mit Vergnügen
We opened our class with "Meine Woche," which as usual followed the hilarity, chills, spills, and thrills of my weekly life. We somehow managed to survive all the excitement.
Our listening exercise involved a culture lesson, learning about how the German train system works and what this phenomenon known as "Schwarzfahren" is. In short, it's riding the train without a ticket, which is risky because of the plain clothes "Controllers" who roam the trains and randomly, out of nowhere could ask for your ticket at any time, and getting caught without a ticket is a 60 Euro fine. We watched a comedy video, "How to Schwarzfahren."
We wrapped up our unit on modal verbs and had some excitement with it: two teams squared off against each other on the board, "Gruppe 1" versus "Schwarzfahren." I chose neither of those names. Ironically, Gruppe 1 was the group of kids who'd been numbered as "2" when I divided up the room. I believe that irony was on purpose.
I will explain in the email summary just exactly what will be on the quiz we will have next week over modal verbs.
We played Kahoot to celebrate the end of the modal verbs, and then we wrapped up our lesson on comparative Iron Age religion. We reviewed and filled out a listening worksheet over Roman and Germanic mythologies and their ritual observance.
And that was our class! Everyone should come prepared next week for a quiz.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, January 28, 2017
28.Jan '17 - Je mehr desto besser
We had a big old class today since we integrated with the 8th graders due to Fr. Carlander's absence.
It all started off quite normally: we did a video of 6 German riddles, did Meine Woche, and then proceeded to our different lessons.
The 8th graders worked on a packet of assignments while the 7th graders progressed further in their lesson on modal verbs.
We did "sollen" and "müssen," focusing primarily on the nuanced meaning of "should" and "must" respectively. Sollen is used not merely in the sense of "what ought to be done," but also in a sense of obligation or wisdom, e.g. "this is what you are obligated to do" as well as "this would be a good idea." Incidentally, this is reflected in Martin Luther's translation of the Bible, wherein he used "sollen" for the 10 Commandments.
Example: "Du sollst nicht töten" (thou shalt not kill).
Müssen is a little nuanced. Yes it can mean simply "must" as in what one has to do, but when used in the negative (muss nicht) it actually states what one "doesn't have to do."
Example: "Du musst nicht schlafen" doesn't mean "you are not allowed to sleep," but rather "you don't have to sleep."
After lunch, the 8th graders performed some presentations they had been working on, and then as a whole combined class we made our own "10 Commandments." Each student came up with 10, then selected their best 2, and we voted as a class on the total list. My favorite was, "Du sollst nicht Zwerge braten" (you shouldn't grill dwarves).
We finished up our comparative Iron Age Religion by talking about the Nordic-Germanic gods and how they were worshiped.
Mit Vergnügen
It all started off quite normally: we did a video of 6 German riddles, did Meine Woche, and then proceeded to our different lessons.
The 8th graders worked on a packet of assignments while the 7th graders progressed further in their lesson on modal verbs.
We did "sollen" and "müssen," focusing primarily on the nuanced meaning of "should" and "must" respectively. Sollen is used not merely in the sense of "what ought to be done," but also in a sense of obligation or wisdom, e.g. "this is what you are obligated to do" as well as "this would be a good idea." Incidentally, this is reflected in Martin Luther's translation of the Bible, wherein he used "sollen" for the 10 Commandments.
Example: "Du sollst nicht töten" (thou shalt not kill).
Müssen is a little nuanced. Yes it can mean simply "must" as in what one has to do, but when used in the negative (muss nicht) it actually states what one "doesn't have to do."
Example: "Du musst nicht schlafen" doesn't mean "you are not allowed to sleep," but rather "you don't have to sleep."
After lunch, the 8th graders performed some presentations they had been working on, and then as a whole combined class we made our own "10 Commandments." Each student came up with 10, then selected their best 2, and we voted as a class on the total list. My favorite was, "Du sollst nicht Zwerge braten" (you shouldn't grill dwarves).
We finished up our comparative Iron Age Religion by talking about the Nordic-Germanic gods and how they were worshiped.
Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, January 21, 2017
21.Januar '17 - Slightly morbid
Guten Tag,
Today we opened class with some riddles, 5 Rätsel entirely auf Deutsch that left the class scratching their heads in confusion... not because of the language, but because of the riddles themselves.
Try this one on for size:
"Ein Man baut ein blaues quadratisches Haus. All 4 Wände sind nach süden gerichtet. Es kommt ein Bär vorbei. Welche Farbe hat der Bär?"
We went over sentence structure once more (SHIV/SHIM) and applied it once again to the modal verbs. We quickly reviewed the overall list from last week, shown below, and then focused a bit on how to politely ask permission.
Wollen - Want
Sollen - Should
Müssen - Must
Können - Can
Dürfen - May
Möchten - Would Like
Last week we talked about how using möchten to express desire (I would like suchandsuch, please!) was by far the more polite way of doing so rather than using wollen (I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT). This week we covered the bane of all children: "Can I do suchandsuch?" "I don't know, can you?" and how that annoying bit of correction translates into German almost directly.
When asking permission, use dürfen instead of können, otherwise, like in English, you are literally asking whether or not you have the ability to do something.
We covered in-detail the conjugations of the verbs we've done so far (wollen, möchten, können, dürfen) and did some short roleplay with können/dürfen.
Our cultural historical unit continued with a lesson over the Roman Empire's religious habits, both the gods themselves (Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, etc.), observance (libations, prayer, sacrifice, etc.) and most importantly, syncretism and "the cultural identity." We covered in-depth how religion was less about metaphysics and internalized belief and more about "what one does," what it meant to be a good Roman. That this was why citizens and assimilated cultures were expected to (gradually) worship as the Romans did, for the sake of cultural conformity as opposed to any kind of "zeal" or "piety."
Syncretism is always my favorite to cover, the whole "You can worship your gods but slightly differently and also by the way they have the same names as my gods for now on" form of appropriation leading to assimilation. The illustration we did was this:
*me wearing a centurion hat*
"So you're a Roman now. I see you guys worship 'Odin,' huh? Well that's nice. We call him Mercury. You can keep worshipping Odin but be sure to call him Mercury. Also, teach your kids to say 'Mercury' from here on. K? Cool."
Next week we will cover the Germanic half of the comparison with the teutonic/nordic pantheon and religious practices.
I was asked again why we are learning about Rome. The point of this, of comparing Iron Age Rome and Iron Age Germania in all of their various facets of life is to emphasize two things:
~Mit Vergnügen
Today we opened class with some riddles, 5 Rätsel entirely auf Deutsch that left the class scratching their heads in confusion... not because of the language, but because of the riddles themselves.
Try this one on for size:
"Ein Man baut ein blaues quadratisches Haus. All 4 Wände sind nach süden gerichtet. Es kommt ein Bär vorbei. Welche Farbe hat der Bär?"
We went over sentence structure once more (SHIV/SHIM) and applied it once again to the modal verbs. We quickly reviewed the overall list from last week, shown below, and then focused a bit on how to politely ask permission.
Wollen - Want
Sollen - Should
Müssen - Must
Können - Can
Dürfen - May
Möchten - Would Like
Last week we talked about how using möchten to express desire (I would like suchandsuch, please!) was by far the more polite way of doing so rather than using wollen (I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT). This week we covered the bane of all children: "Can I do suchandsuch?" "I don't know, can you?" and how that annoying bit of correction translates into German almost directly.
When asking permission, use dürfen instead of können, otherwise, like in English, you are literally asking whether or not you have the ability to do something.
We covered in-detail the conjugations of the verbs we've done so far (wollen, möchten, können, dürfen) and did some short roleplay with können/dürfen.
Our cultural historical unit continued with a lesson over the Roman Empire's religious habits, both the gods themselves (Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, etc.), observance (libations, prayer, sacrifice, etc.) and most importantly, syncretism and "the cultural identity." We covered in-depth how religion was less about metaphysics and internalized belief and more about "what one does," what it meant to be a good Roman. That this was why citizens and assimilated cultures were expected to (gradually) worship as the Romans did, for the sake of cultural conformity as opposed to any kind of "zeal" or "piety."
Syncretism is always my favorite to cover, the whole "You can worship your gods but slightly differently and also by the way they have the same names as my gods for now on" form of appropriation leading to assimilation. The illustration we did was this:
*me wearing a centurion hat*
"So you're a Roman now. I see you guys worship 'Odin,' huh? Well that's nice. We call him Mercury. You can keep worshipping Odin but be sure to call him Mercury. Also, teach your kids to say 'Mercury' from here on. K? Cool."
Next week we will cover the Germanic half of the comparison with the teutonic/nordic pantheon and religious practices.
I was asked again why we are learning about Rome. The point of this, of comparing Iron Age Rome and Iron Age Germania in all of their various facets of life is to emphasize two things:
- The complexity and gravity of the decision made by the tribesmen not to assimilate (The Battle of Teutoburg)
- The uniqueness of Germany and German history in Western Europe
Germania's interactions with Rome in the first century AD determined the (would-be) country's path forward in ways we are still feeling to this very day. That is why we talk about Rome and Germania.
~Mit Vergnügen
Saturday, January 14, 2017
14. Januar '17 - Being Polite
Today we began with a "Meine Woche" presented by yours truly, and then did our listening comprehension with a video from Mirellativegal about "How to be Vegetarier," which gave us such insightful tips as "Esse kein Fleisch" and "Kaufe kein Fleisch."
Our lesson covered modal verbs, their proper sentence structure (similar to SHIP, modal verb is the helping verb and the main verb goes at the end) and their usage in proper discourse.
We covered how "dürfen" (may) is correctly used instead of "können" (can) when asking permission, and how "möchten" (would like) is the polite way of making a request in lieu of using "wollen" (want).
These are very similar to polite discourse in English.
We did some roleplaying with this, and at the end played a game of "Wer hat das Einhorn?" for Spaß.
The homework is that the kids must persuade me not to give them anymore homework. In 4 sentences, using the appropriate modal verbs, tell me:
Our lesson covered modal verbs, their proper sentence structure (similar to SHIP, modal verb is the helping verb and the main verb goes at the end) and their usage in proper discourse.
We covered how "dürfen" (may) is correctly used instead of "können" (can) when asking permission, and how "möchten" (would like) is the polite way of making a request in lieu of using "wollen" (want).
These are very similar to polite discourse in English.
We did some roleplaying with this, and at the end played a game of "Wer hat das Einhorn?" for Spaß.
The homework is that the kids must persuade me not to give them anymore homework. In 4 sentences, using the appropriate modal verbs, tell me:
- You would not like homework, and why
- Why I should not give homework
These will be read aloud in front of the class, and the more persuasive (and dramatic) the reasons and their presentation, the better.
Mit Vergnügen
Sunday, January 8, 2017
8. Januar '17 - And We're Back
With the chaos, havoc, mayhem, pandemonium, bedlam, and all-around shenanigans of the holidays finally past us, life and Deutsch Schule have resumed as normal.
For our first class of 2017, we began as we had in the past with "Meine Woche," though this time covering the entire holiday sweep, "Meine Feiertage." I wish I could say it was interesting, but I have a remarkably boring family.
Our listening comprehension for the day went a bit differently than usual. When I began handing out copies of our song to translate, "Familie bis ins Mark" from My Little Pony, someone lamented that it'd be so much more fun if we could just sing the song instead. So we did. We walked through the song text together as a class, and then sang through it a couple times (much to the surprise of students who walked in late, only to see us all singing a pony song).
The bulk of our work went into a review and wrap-up of our past unit over the past tense/present perfect. Students were divided up into 3 groups, each of which had to re-teach the class over one of the key points:
For our first class of 2017, we began as we had in the past with "Meine Woche," though this time covering the entire holiday sweep, "Meine Feiertage." I wish I could say it was interesting, but I have a remarkably boring family.
Our listening comprehension for the day went a bit differently than usual. When I began handing out copies of our song to translate, "Familie bis ins Mark" from My Little Pony, someone lamented that it'd be so much more fun if we could just sing the song instead. So we did. We walked through the song text together as a class, and then sang through it a couple times (much to the surprise of students who walked in late, only to see us all singing a pony song).
The bulk of our work went into a review and wrap-up of our past unit over the past tense/present perfect. Students were divided up into 3 groups, each of which had to re-teach the class over one of the key points:
- Syntax, "SHIP" (Subject, Helping Verb, In-between details, Past Participle)
- Strong vs. Weak verbs (forming the past participle)
- Haben vs. Sein (using helping verbs)
In each presentation, they had to make a poster, notes on the board, examples, and exercises. This was in lieu of a test or quiz on the topic.
Next week, we resume our learning about the Roman Empire and Iron Age Germany. There has been some confusion expressed as to why we are bothering with Rome when "it isn't German."
To further clarify, the bulk of what we know about ancient Germany comes from its interaction with Rome and the writings of such historians as Pliny and Tacitus. Understanding what was recorded (and what has since been discovered) about this ancient gaggle of tribes requires understanding the writers of the histories as well as the state of the world at that time.
For instance, understanding Germania's successful resistance against absorption by Rome (unlike pretty much all of the rest of Western Europe) requires understanding that this was not a struggle of "FREEDOM!" versus "THE EMPIRE," of a small band of noble warriors versus a monolothic empire of evil, but rather a nuanced struggle of economic opportunism versus cultural dissonance between loosely federated "farmers with sticks" and a civilization so advanced that they even had indoor plumbing.
In short, by understanding Rome, we understand what Germania was and wasn't, which better sets the stage for understanding the rest of German history.
Our next lesson is comparative religion in Imperial Rome and Iron Age Germany, or as I like to call it, "Planets versus Marvel Movies." I consider it a personal challenge each year to try to explain to 7th graders what polytheistic synchretism is.
To further clarify, the bulk of what we know about ancient Germany comes from its interaction with Rome and the writings of such historians as Pliny and Tacitus. Understanding what was recorded (and what has since been discovered) about this ancient gaggle of tribes requires understanding the writers of the histories as well as the state of the world at that time.
For instance, understanding Germania's successful resistance against absorption by Rome (unlike pretty much all of the rest of Western Europe) requires understanding that this was not a struggle of "FREEDOM!" versus "THE EMPIRE," of a small band of noble warriors versus a monolothic empire of evil, but rather a nuanced struggle of economic opportunism versus cultural dissonance between loosely federated "farmers with sticks" and a civilization so advanced that they even had indoor plumbing.
In short, by understanding Rome, we understand what Germania was and wasn't, which better sets the stage for understanding the rest of German history.
Our next lesson is comparative religion in Imperial Rome and Iron Age Germany, or as I like to call it, "Planets versus Marvel Movies." I consider it a personal challenge each year to try to explain to 7th graders what polytheistic synchretism is.
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