Classroom activities we use during German lessons can vary from week to week. But some are part of our usual warm up. Like last week we started off discussing the homework. This classroom activity helps us to revise content from the previous lesson and shows if the students can do it on their own. It also gives students who missed that class a chance to catch up and ask questions.
As a reward a round of stickers, if possible scented ones, go a long way.
Homework
This week’s homework was to write sentences about your daily routine. It turned out only a few students were keen on sharing their work. But when they had to name verbs that match activities they do always/often/sometimes/occasionally/never, I couldn’t jot down the answers fast enough. All of a sudden, hands were shooting up in the air, students snapped with their fingers and called out wanting to be picked.
It’s amazing how a slightly different task can change the level of motivation in students.
Spelling Words
Another popular activity the students get excited about is writing old or newly learned words on the whiteboard. This gives everyone a chance to have a go and learn from each other how to spell.
It also serves the purpose of getting students moving, resetting their brains and making them think.
I find giving the students a good selection of coloured markers and letting them add little doodles, adds extra fun to the activity.
After coming across 20 odd versions of the four-letter word spät (meaning late) the previous week, we only had two in the recent lesson.
Intercultural understanding
Learning a language shouldn’t be all about grammar and vocabulary but creating an intercultural understanding.
My students live in Australia but are either born in Europe or have German speaking parents. We are lucky to have not only students from Germany in our class but also from Austria and Switzerland.
As some of them just recently headed back home, I asked them to bring along photos from their trips. One student showed us some images of Austria with its stunning mountain range. Another student presented a slideshow of Switzerland. We were transported to Lake Geneva and its surroundings:
- We climbed majestic mountains.
- We spotted one of the native animals, a cute alpine marmot (Murmeltier).
- We went on a paddle steamer trip across the lake.
- We visited the famous Castle de Chillon.
After seeing these wonderful images of Austria and Lake Geneva, I want to visit these parts of the world.
We also used this opportunity to look at maps and compare the population, area size,… of Austria, Germany and Switzerland with Australia and the rest of the world.
Among the classroom activities we use during German lessons this was one of my favourite ones.
