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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