This week the Year 1/2 students have begun learning about how to introduce and describe their pets, or their ‘Haustier.’

We first used the Languages Online website to learn some new words and then put our learning to the test through some fun games.

Next we moved into surveying other children in our class to find out what pets they have. We had to ask the questions in German and record our information as we went.

The question we had to ask was, ‘Hast du ein….?’ (do you have a ….?) and the answer was to be ‘ja’ or ‘nein.’

Here are some photos of our learning this week:

Today Frau Kolenberg’s class enjoyed playing ‘Die Kleine Raupe Nimmersatt’ or The Very Hungry Caterpillar game!

Each group had a game board, a ‘Worterbuch’ or dictionary, counters, dice, pencil and paper.

Taking in turns, the players had to work their way around the game board, using their German words and numbers to score points.

Points were kept through tallies and the winner was the person with the most points at the end.

We had a great time playing and practicing our German language!

What a fantastic start our 13 new receptions have had in German at Craigburn!

During their first lesson the children learnt all about the ‘Schultuete.’ This is a special school cone that children are given on their first day of school in Germany. The cone is filled with all sorts of exciting treats – lollies, pencils, toys and other school supplies. Our receptions drew a picture of what they would like their Schultuete to look like. Here’s an example of one:

We have also been learning how to count to 10 in German. What a great effort the children have been putting in! We have been learning through games and activities on our interactive whiteboard. Children also have a copy of their numbers in their books that they can refer back to as the year progresses. Here is some of their fantastic work:

Another part of German the children get VERY excited about is watching ‘Schnappi, das Kleine Krokodil’ at the end of some lessons. Schnappi is a little German crocodile who the children, no matter their ages, seem to love. Here is one last photo of the new reception children ‘schnapping’ with their hands to the music.

Building on from learning the days of the week in German and sorting through which foods the caterpillar ate on each day, the Year 1/2 students are now developing their ability to construct sentences.

As a class we looked at each part of the sentence and used colours to help us place the words in the right order.

Next, we wrote the sentences ourselves in our German book, showing that we are now learning to be independent writers in German!

Choosing the right part of the sentence

Building sentences as a class

Colour coding makes sentences simple!

Putting whole sentences together

In German this term many of the junior primary classes are using the story, ‘Die Kleine Raupe Nimmersatt,’ more widely known as ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ as the basis for their language learning.

Here is an example of what Frau Prideaux/O’Keefe’s 1/2 class and Frau Kolenberg’s class are currently working on in their lessons.

Firstly, we listened to the story in German and tuned in to German language we already knew. We found we already knew lots of the numbers, colours and some of the days of the week.

We then focussed on the days of the week and completed an activity in our books which matched the foods the caterpillar ate on each day.

Next, we began creating our own ‘Worterbuch.’ This dictionary will contain all of the German words for the foods the caterpillar ate. Finally, we will use our new knowledge about days of the week and the foods to construct our own sentences, describing what happened on each day. What clever children!

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Frau Prideaux and Frau O’Keefe’s Year 1/2 class have been very clever!

As part of our inquiry in German we have been investigating how the weather in Germany is the same and different to the weather in Australia.

We have learnt that Australia is in the southern hemisphere and Germany is in the northern hemisphere. That means that when it’s winter in Australia, it’s summer in Germany!

Below you can see how clever our Year 1/2s are at writing in German. Their task was to create a comparative picture. On one half they needed to describe the weather in Germany and on the other, the weather in Australia at the same time of the year.

Have a look at the finished product!

The Year 1/2 students have a challenge! They are going to use the widgets on this blog to record the temperatures in Germany and Australia for a whole week!

We will then look at the information we have gathered and compare what the weather is like in Australia and what the weather is like in Germany.

Can you predict what the Year 1/2s might discover?

The parent information handout and table to record the temperature on can be found here:

Wie ist das Wetter?

Have you seen the display all about ‘Schultuetes’ in the German room yet? These special cones are SUCH an exciting part of beginning school for children in Germany and something they must look forward to for a very long time! The cones are filled with all sorts of goodies and have been a tradition in Germany for many years. Make sure you have a look at the photos in the display and the ‘Schultuetes’ some of receptions have created next time you’re in our German room.

Today Miss Harry’s class made some wonderful German flags using pencils, crayons, paper, a pipe cleaner and masking tape. We talked about the colours on the flag, made sure we knew both the German and English names for them (schwarz, rot und gelb) and brainstormed where we might see the flag flying. Gute Arbeit Kinder!

‘Herr Macdonald hat ein Farm, ia-ia-oh’

Do you know this song? I’ll bet you do!

In German we have been learning all about farm animals. We have learnt in lots of different ways – from matching activities, to games, to songs.

We even made finger puppets to help us learn ‘Herr Macdonald hat ein Farm!’

Jemma and Laurie with their puppets

Do you know the words in the Tagxedo below? See how many you can remember!