Deutsch 2: Wo fangen wir an?
During this blog series, we’re blogging on the theme of back to school! We hope it helps you ease back into your classroom and sparks ideas for you!
For German 1 students, language is new and shiny, so what do we do for German 2 students for whom the shine may have worn off? Preparing for German 2, is the level I struggle with the most when planning and preparing. Since I will be heading back to school in a couple of weeks, I am already thinking about how I am going to get my level 2 students rolling.
Here are a few things I think about when planning the first weeks back for my German 2 classes:
Schedule Playtime! A class that plays together, learns together! I use the week to get them reconnected to me as their teacher and to their classmates through play. I plan lots of activities that get them talking, moving around the classroom, and laughing. This could be a song, a story, a game, or an engaging Partnerarbeit (Mini-Detektiv, anyone?). This year I will be using Die Untersuchung ( FREE DOWNLOAD) as a way to re-introduce myself to my students!
Get them talking. I take every opportunity to get my students up, out of their seats, moving around my classroom, and talking to each other. An easy way I do this is with our Question Cards (found in our No-Prep and Extension Materials Bundles). Armed with pre-made questions, students can mingle and chat with each other freely. For German 2, I use the entire set of German 1 cards and as my students walk into the classroom they grab 5-6 cards from a bucket. Once the bell rings, I tell my students how many classmates they need to talk to, and they are off chatting away! I also grab a few cards and mingle with my students — it is a fun way for me to reconnect with my students and take notes on areas they need to review.
Limit Review German 2 students often come into class feeling as if they have forgotten everything! The truth is, however, that they just need a quick refresh. I don’t spend much time reviewing German 1 materials because I don’t want to overwhelm them with all the things they may have forgotten, I want to keep them moving forward and review the major things, while also teaching new content. Even though all my level 2 students completed level 1, the students in my German 2 classroom are at very different places with what they retained, and how much they may have practiced over the summer. Taking too much review time can disengage those students who are ready to learn new material, and can overwhelm those who have forgotten much of what was taught. Trying to re-teach all of German 1 in a week or two is probably not the best for students (or teachers!!). I try to review only what I feel is necessary to get them moving onto the new content. Personally, I find that a quick verb and word order review is all my students need during the first weeks of school. As I notice where their learning gaps are, I will fill in the holes with a review that can be supported by new material!
Give minimal corrections. I encourage my students to speak freely, especially during the first weeks back at school, this helps them regain the confidence that they had as German 1 students, while also letting me make notes of where they are struggling, and need some extra review in the future. My students often come into level 2 with an awareness of what skills they are lacking or struggling with, they can be self-conscious about these gaps. I want to encourage communication, and find that coming at my students with loads of corrections, doesn’t help. I just try to get them talking the first week, and we have the entire year to work out the kinks!
I am so excited to use our Hallo Freunde! Notebook and extension materials to get my German 2 students started on the right foot this year! Check out what I have planned for the first week!
Don’t forget to snag your FREE DOWNLOAD of Die Untersuchung!
Join us next week as Kimberly and I talk about what the year ahead looks like in our classrooms!
