Wochen 1 und 2

What a great start to German at Craigburn in 2017!

During the first week, all classes from Years 3-7 explored the reasons behind why it is important to learn another language. The students first brainstormed and created a mind map in small groups before watching a clip of British students talking about why language learning was important to them. They then had a limited time (no more than half an hour in some cases!) to create a very short and raw iMovie clip talking about why it is important to learn a language. Some examples of these will be posted soon! All students did a great job and we had plenty of interesting discussions around the reasons and benefits of language learning.

The second week of German led us back into the German language, revising skills from last year and building upon this knowledge. The Year 3 students were introduced to the patterns of counting to 100 while the Year 4 and 5 students warmed up with a game of ‘Leute Bingo’ before problem solving and matching German questions and answers. The Year 6/7 students revised some basic skills before translating a piece of German text – fantastic work!

Where Frau Smith stayed in Germany – Lindau!

Over our summer I spent 5 1/2 weeks in Germany! My family and I travelled with a Year 10 school group on a school exchange, based mainly in LINDAU.

Lindau is a beautiful Bavarian town (southern Germany) and found on the edge of ‘Bodensee’ or Lake Constance. It is VERY close to other countries – Austria was a short 10 minute train ride away!

Here are some photos of Lindau Island. As we were there in the winter (and they had an unusually snowy start to January) we saw the town mainly in white.

Willkommen to 2017!

The new Australian school year has begun! And with the new year, we have a new room. German @ Craigburn has moved into a brighter and bigger space – with a view as well!

This year the Year 3-7 students will have 80 minute German lessons during Terms 1 and 3 and the Reception – Year 2 students during Terms 2 and 4.

I’m looking forward to an exciting term, after just have spent 5 1/2 weeks in Germany! I’m back with fresh ideas, authentic resources and am excited to share my experiences with the students.

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Lebkuchenmann

This week has seen the Weihnachten, or Christmas, focus start.

Classes began by watching a version of Hansel and Gretel in German. We watched it twice, once all the way through and the second time stopping and translating along the way. The part of the story we focussed on was the ‘Pfefferkuchenhaus’ or gingerbread house!

We spoke about how there is another term for a special gingerbread from Germany, called Lebkuchen. The Year 1s and 2s then watched a short video about Lebkuchen making in Nuremburg.

Finally, the students began to make their own Lebkuchenmann, which will eventually go home with a recipe to make your own Lebkuchen over the summer holidays!