24. Sep - Prokrastination

It's ironic that the title is procrastination and yet I'm doing this blog entry early.

We opened the class as usual with "Meine Woche." The highlight of the week was going to Brookfield Zoo and having pizza. Also there was giant, killer broccoli.

Volunteers presented their homework, and received points for doing so, and those who were absent but did the alternate assignment for the week likewise were given credit.

Our listening comprehension this week was the new song "Prokrastination" from Mirrellativegal.

We went over gern, lieber and am liebsten again for the final time, adding onto it not only how to express preference of things (using haben), but also of activities (using these words in conjunction with a verb). We touched on idiomatic use of lieben and hassen, how while these are commonly used in English, it is odd and improper to use them quite so casually in german, e.g. "ich liebe Käse" is going a little bit overboard.

We played kahoot, and it went smashingly.

Our main activity was a dialogue: in groups of 3, the students made roleplays of social interaction where they expressed their preferences and thoughts toward each other. There was much faux drama, and hilarity ensued.

Next week we wrap up "preferences" and will be heading into comparatives, followed by superlatives.

Homework ought to be reviewing of the notes from the past two classes to prepare for an itty bitty assessment next week.

For those absent, write out (and perform next week) a 3 person dialogue wherein 3 characters discuss their own preferences using gern, lieber and am liebsten, much as we did in class. This may be talking about things or (as we did) be made about characters so that it's nice and dramatic. Please make it no less than 15 complete sentences.

Mit Vergnügen

17.Sep - Erster Schultag des Jahres

Guten Tag!

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:

1. 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. 
2. Homework is an infrequent occurrence, hence any given assignment is that much more important to get done. I do not accept assignments later than the 2nd week after it is assigned (or after a student returns from an absence). 
3. 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 or contribute to a discussion, they may tally a point for themselves for that day, with the goal being to get at least 5 marks per day. 
4. 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. 
5. What I have done before to encourage absentee students to keep up with the content is to share the topics covered in class via this medium and then list recommended alternative activities or assignments to be completed at home. Should these not be done by absent students, then there is no direct penalty incurred, but they lose the opportunity for participation points, leave me with little to nothing to grade their performance on, and run the very real risk of lagging behind in content. So in the name of keeping pace with the class, and helping me list non-arbitrary or fabricated grades each semester, please do the alternative assignments in the event of absence.
6. We do a great deal that requires internet access, such as interactive games and research. When I advise that a wi-fi accessible device shall be needed, please endeavor to bring one. 

That being established, here is the run of our first day: 

It all began on a dark and stormy night, many years ago... skip forward, and this past school day was bright, sunny and cool. 

We started our time together with some brief introductory activities, such as playing a name memory game by tossing a ball around in a circle; repeat process with phrases "ich heiß..." and "du heißt..." both as a warm-up and for the sake of Herr Walker's sanity going forward. 

I then performed a "getting to know the teacher" presentation all about me, my time at the school, and my family. This segued into what shall be a weekly occurrence, a presentation of "Meine Woche." 

In essence, I present a slideshow about what I did that week auf Deutsch, the children take brief notes for themselves, and then either answer my questions afterward or posit questions of their own (for Mitmachen points and for listening comprehension and speaking practice). 

As is another weekly occurrence, we then had our Hörverständnis activity. These are normally either German podcasts, performing artists, songs, or TV/movie clips that are presented with accompanying question sheets to check comprehension. This week's was "Kochen mit Kimberly" from my favorite german podcaster, Mirellativegal. 

We next went into a lesson over this week's topic, Favorites. We covered proper usage of "gern," "lieber," and "am liebsten." 

As an example activity, each student made their own questionnaires and went around the room gathering answers. I provided a basic template, e.g. "Hast du _____ oder _____ lieber?" that they completed and then asked one another. The results were presented, and hilarity ensued, especially when they were asked to illustrate these results in poster form. 

The homework for the week was as follows:

über Snuggles!

Snuggles is the blue and pink pony mascot of our classroom. 

Use your own imagination (e.g. "make it up") to answer these questions in full sentences about Snuggles and her life. 

• Was hat Snuggles gern?
• Was isst Snuggles am liebsten?
• Was spielt Snuggles am liebsten?
• Wer ist Snuggles Lieblingsperson und warum? 

All answers to this and similar assignments should be rated G to PG. 

Recommended activities for absent students
Introduce yourself to Herr Walker. Write down answers to the following questions in full-sentences auf Deutsch. 

• Wie heißt du?
• Wie heißt deine Familie?
• Was machst du am liebsten in der Schule? Und in deiner Freizeit? 
• Hast du Ponys gern? Wenn nicht, warum nicht? 
• Was hast du lieber: essen oder schlafen? 
• Isst du lieber Spinner oder Sardinen? 
• Wie schmeckt eine Mischung von Sardinen, Nutella und Zimt? Gut oder nicht gut? 

Mit Vergnügen~

7.Mai - Presentations in Jeopardy

Today was rampant chaos.

Group presentations were done today over all the grammatical topics we have covered this school year. Each group or pair had visual aids, exercises and examples.

We finished up the "Meine Woche" presentations as well.

The day was brought to a close with a rousing game of Jeopardy covering, again, all that we have gone over grammatically and historically over the course of the year.

Those who were absent this week will need to present next time.

Mit Vergnügen

Demonstratively - 30.4 '16

Guten Tag,

Today we had a week presentation, followed by the 8th graders present regaling the rest of the class with practice of their end of the year speeches, accompanied by questions to ensure listening comprehension.

Later in the class, the 7th graders made their own speech drafts in much the same format and read them aloud as further speaking practice.

Our lesson for the day was over demonstrative pronouns, the use of the article in place of an antecedent word (e.g. "Der Hund schreibt einen Blogeintrag. Der ist ja so ein guter Schreiber!")

As outlined in the email entry, next week will be when the class does, in pairs, presentations reviewing what we have covered this school year.

Mit Vergnügen

16.April'16 - Die Merowinger

After the usual presentations of "Meine Woche," and a lovely podcast over "Tips für überraschungsbesuche," we had a lesson over the Merovingian dynasty or "Die Merowinger" and the beginning of the Frankish kingdoms.
As this is essential to understanding how Western Europe transitioned from a mix of roving tribes and Roman outposts to feudal kingdoms, we shall complete this unit next time and end the year with the Carolingian kingdoms and Charlemagne.

We also reviewed the genitive case and prepositions with a game, cleaned up the classroom in preparation for the visiting groups, and wrapped up with Red Rover outside to let off some steam.

Also, there were muffins.

Mit Vergnügen~

9.April '16 - Tests and Testing

Guten Tag!

Today, the 7th graders busied themselves for the first half of class doing their benchmark AATG proficiency exam to prepare them for the "real" one next year.

The 8th graders prepared their graduation speeches and presentation.

For the second half of class, we reviewed the genitive case and conducted experiments in abject insanity (Mad Libs).

2.April - Round and Round and Round We Go

The day began normally...

We started off by having a "Meine Woche" presentation from one of the students and then from me.
We then did a YouTube video about "Wie man eine Party sabotieren kann," which taught us such strategies for party ruining as "Sing a Disney villain song about the host" and "Faint whenever people stop paying attention to you" as well as my personal favorite, "Turn off the power and shove people into the cake when it's dark."

We continued our study of the dative case by going over "zu" and "nach" and how to give directions or state an intended course using them, including the common phrases "zu Hause" and "nach Haus."
We then took turns doing a blind obstacle course. The class stood in a line, and the leader (as well as a varying number of others) had to walk around the school in accordance with the directions given by someone else in line. No casualties.

We also began learning the Genitive case.

Next week will be a (benchmark) AATG exam for the 7th graders.

Mit Vergnügen