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.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
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~
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