Introducing German

Deptartment of Germanic Studies
University of Texas at Austin

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You are here: Home / Materials / Lesson Plans / Deutschbuch 1 / Lesson 1

Lesson 1

Greetings, introducing oneself using new German names, asking “Wie geht’s”, saying goodbye.

Objective:

to introduce oneself and greet others

Materials:

Pages 1-3 of Das Deutschbuch (Seite1.pdf, Seite2.pdf, Seite3.pdf); nametags

Procedure:

A. The German-speaking world (approx. 8 min)
You can start by asking the students what they know about the German-speaking world (including names of cities, states, neighboring countries) and the Germany-Texas connection (i.e. towns in Texas with German names). Ask them to say everything they associate with Germany. You could also ask them if they know some people with German names (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mozart, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis-born in Czechoslovakia and became Swiss, Claudia Schiffer, Bach, etc.), dogs with German names (Weimeraner or Dachshund) or towns in Texas with a German origin (New Braunfels, Gruene, Boerne, Weimar, and Fredericksburg). ***interesting fun facts–Germany is approx. the size of the state of Montana and has a population equal to the number of people living west of the Mississippi River*** For a geography lesson, help the students label the map on the front of their Deutschbuch with the country and capital names. If the students seem to be enjoying this topic, refer them to page 3 in Das Deutschbuch and see if they recognize these products, foods, car models, Christmas traditions, and fairy tales.

B. Greetings (approx. 2 min)
Write the four greetings on the board: Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, Gute Nacht Also write: Ich bin _________________. Then introduce yourself by saying: Guten Tag! Ich bin (your name).

C. Names (approx. 10 min)
Read the list of names quickly aloud from Das Deutschbuch telling them to pick and write down their top 3 choices. Then, at random, ask students what name they want. As they tell you the name, hand them a nametag and ask them to write on it the name they will use for the rest of the unit. They should also write their American name and German name on the front cover of Das Deutschbuch.

D. Introductions (approx. 10 min)
Introduce yourself again, this time adding that you are Lehrer or Lehrerin. Provide them with the word Schüler and Schülerin. Guten Tag, ich bin (your name). Ich bin (Lehrer/Lehrerin). Wer bist du? Make sure that you model the response as often as possible. For example, after the student responds: Ich bin (student says his or her name), you should follow up with something like: Gut, und ich bin (your name). It is also a good idea to prompt the students by pointing to your own nametag, saying: Ich bin (your name), and then point to their name tag, asking: Wer bist du? Make sure you also model shaking hands as you greet the students. Review the names of students by asking where or who various students are: Wer ist das? Er/sie ist _____________. Bist du ___________?
Note: Students can then respond either affirmatively or negatively. You will need to help students come up with ja and nein the first few times. Another option: Circulate around the classroom, tapping/ pointing to students, saying: Ene, mene, mu, und wer bist du?

E. Farewells and Wie geht’s? (approx. 5 min)
Review greetings from earlier. Write various ways to say good-bye on the board: Auf Wiedersehen! Tschüs! Then have the students turn to page 2 of Das Deutschbuch. Do the activity on Grüssformeln. Introduce Wie geht’s?. This is found on page 2 of Das Deutschbuch.

F. Geheimagent–007 (approx. 10 min)
Play this game at least twice. The first time instruct the students to greet each other and ask each other their names. Give an example on the board: Guten Tag! Wer bist du? Ich bin_____. The second time have the students ask each other how it is going: Wie geht’s?

Sample Student Work

Prof. Kit Belgum
belgum@austin.utexas.edu

Dept. of Germanic Studies
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
phone: (512) 232-6375
fax: (512) 471-4025