Months 1

Lesson Context

This is the children's first lesson on Months and the children will have fun learning them through games such 'disappearing months' and 'turn toss'. After learning them, there is a strong focus on combining this vocabulary with clothes into more complex sentences using the seperable verb, anhaben. The lesson will end with a 'who wants to be a millionaire' type quiz, where the children will translate sentences in German on the topics of months, weather and clothes.

Resources

Power point presentation

Hand outs which the children can take home for revision

Flashcards (Body and Clothes) for the starter activity. The 'clothes' vocabulary will be useful in this lesson, especially slide 22

'Corners' sheets put up around the classroom

Main Introduction

Slide 2

Communicate LO and SC

Slide 3 - Starter activity - Das Kartenspiel - revision of Body and Clothes

The children should know how to play the flashcard game by now so explain that they should be using the 'Lob' words on slide 3 and let them get on with it. The 'clothes' vocabulary will be useful in today's lesson as some children will be able to express what clothes they would wear in a certain month.

Slides 4 - 15 - The Months of the Year

Sag mir nach the months vocabulary on the slides and ask questions relating the months to weather and clothes. For example, you could ask the following:

Slide 4 - Ist es kalt in Januar?

Slide 5 - Es ist warm in Februar. Ist das Wahr?

Slide 6 - Wie ist das Wetter in März?

Slide 11 - In August die Sonne scheint. Was habe ich an?

Slide 12 - Wie ist das Wetter in September?

Slides 16 - 19 - Disappearing Months

Sag mir nach the months once more using slide 16 and then get the class to chant them without your help. Now go to slide 17 and see if the class can chant them with 4 months missing. Click again and repeat until you get to slide 19 and the class should hopefully be able to chant the months. Give the children a minute to memorise and practise on their own and then randomly select and reward children who are able to chant the months on their own

Slide 20 - Turn Toss

Challenge them to see if they throw der Frosch around the classroom, with each catcher saying the next month in the sequence. If someone says the wrong month, if der Frosch gets dropped or if anyone stands up, then the game is over and they have to start again. If the children do this easily, challenge them to go up to Dezember and then back down to Januar

*Note - Something I found that works really well - If the class is getting loud, the person who has der Frosch can hold him in the air with one hand. This means 'everyone be quiet so I can think'

Slide 21 - anhaben

Use this slide to reinforce the children's knowledge of the separable verb - anhaben. Some of the children may already be familiar with using it from the 'wer bin ich' card activity in the Zeit für Deutsch sessions. Challenge the children to create a sentence, putting a month where number 1 is and an item of clothing for number 2. Say an example such as 'In Januar habe ich der Pullover an'. Give the children a minute to practise and reward randomly selected children if they are able to do this.  

Slide 22 - Months, Clothes and 'anhaben'

This slide makes the activity visually very clear.  Tell the children that you will be randomly selecting 3 children to compete against each other and the winner will win a reward. You will give each child 1 minute to say as many sentences as they can in the format given on the slide. The children have this slide on their hand outs and also encourage the children to use the clothing vocabulary in their flashcards.  

Slide 23 - Corners

Have 'März', 'Juli', 'Oktober' and 'Dezember' placed on the wall around the classroom. Now randomly select 2 children to compete against each other. You say and item of clothing in German and the first child to walk to a month appropriate to that clothing wins. If they are able to say a sentence in German they will also win a reward. For example - you say 'Der Pullover' - A child could walk to 'Dezember' and then say 'In Dezember habe ich der Pullover an'

Plenary - Slides 19 - 38 - Wer wird Millionär?

'Zusammen' activity. Children to work with a partner using a wipe board and pen but today we will using the 'who wants a be a millionaire' style slides, just as we did in 'Clothes 1'.  

• Say the English and bring up the four possible German answers
• The children work together quietly to write the correct letter on their wipe boards - A, B, C or D
• After the time limit the children reveal their answers simultaneously
• Repeat for the next question

*Extension - Get the children to write the German before any of the options appear.

*Note - I feel it helps learning to let the children have a 'break' after question 3 so that they can look and learn from their sheets. Go back to the quiz after 2 minutes 'break'.

Assessment and Evidence

Observe and ask questions

Refer back to the success criteria after the 'wer wird Millionär' activity

Check achievement of the Success Criteria by questioning randomly selected children (using lollipop sticks)  

*Thanks to Abi Lewis, a student teacher who helped plan and deliver this lesson.