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.
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