G2.06 subjects v14

2.6 Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

6. Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

What’s your favourite lesson?

This section introduces a theme of ‘likes and dislikes’, starting with school subjects, that will be continued later with leisure activities and food.

Here we have included five basic subjects that are taught in primary schools in many countries. (See this chapter’s “talking point” for more information about the curriculum in German primary schools.)

Some pupils will progress to add more names of subjects to their German vocabulary (see “extra words”).

In the next chapter, pupils will learn to tell the time in German, so they will also be able to talk in German about their school timetable and their day-to-day routine.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES Likes / dislikes gern - you use to say, ‘I like...’ nicht gern - you use to say, ‘I don’t like...’

Was hast du gern?

What (subjects) do you like?

(Literally: “What have you gladly”)

Ich habe (Englisch) gern I like... (English)

(Literally: “I have (English) gladly”)

Ich habe (Musik) nicht gern I don’t like... (music)

(Literally: “I have (Music) not gladly”)

Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

What’s your favourite subject?

DVD: film 6

Mein Lieblingsfach ist... (Musik)

Naming 5 lessons in the German school: These lessons are at the Weiherhof-Realschule: PE/Sport: The class jogs around the playground.

Frau Schindler: “Alle laufen. Laufen langsam.”

(Everybody’s running, running slowly.)

Sport.

Frau S: “Erst wenn ich pfeife, wird überholt.”

(Only when I whistle, may you overtake).

My favourite subject is... (music)

Subjects Sport - PE (sport) Mathe - maths Musik - music Englisch - English Kochen - cooking/cookery ich koche - I cook das Lieblingsfach - favourite subject Comments Das ist schwer - that’s hard/difficult ...einfach ... easy/simple Flashcards CD 6

Film 6: “Sport”- jogging round the playground.

Frau Schindler: “Nur einen Platz überholen.”

(Overtake just one place) Cookery: A class prepares vegetables:

Kochen.

They recycle left-overs in a compost bin.

Frau Bahner is served the final dish: “Danke schön. Das reicht. Danke.”

(Thank you. That’s enough. Thanks).

Film 6: “Kochen” - preparing vegetables.

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Early Start German Pack 2 Jan W: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Sport.”

Philip: “Ich koche gern.”

Winder: “Ich koche nicht gern.”

Katherine: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Kochen.”

Maths teacher writes a sum on the board: “ ... plus 9 Euro plus 9 Cent...”

Lukas: “Ich habe Mathe gern.”

Angelika: “Ich habe Mathe nicht gern.”

Michelle: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Mathe.”

Lea: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Englisch.”

Hussein: “Ich habe Englisch nicht gern.”

Depika: “Ich habe Englisch gern.”

Film 6: “Mathe” - money sums with euros.

Maths: The teacher writes a sum on the board:

Mathe.

Teacher: “5 Euro 36, plus 12 Euro 32, plus 9 Euro und 18 Cent ist gleich....” (equals) (5,36 € + 12,32 € + 9,18 € = ) (More about Euros in Ch.2.12) English: The class greets Frau Schindler in English and sings “London’s burning”: Englisch.

Film 6: Hussein -“Englisch ist schwer”.

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Hussein: “Englisch ist schwer”(hard/difficult.)

Depika: “Englisch ist einfach” (easy/simple.)

Question and answer: Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

Jasmin: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Musik.”

Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

Marah: “Mathe.”

Was hast du gern?

Daniel: “Musik.”

Und du, was hast du gern?

Leon: “Sport.”

Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

Rana: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Musik.”

Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

Depika: “...Ist Englisch.”

Film 6: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Musik”.

PAUSE - the next part, 2, is about 'Likes and dislikes'

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Music: The class sings from songsheets:

Musik.

Likes and dislikes: A cartoon boy represents “What do you like?”: Was hast du gern?

Another represents “What don’t you like?”: Was hast du nicht gern.

Children say what they think of subjects: Daniel: “Ich habe Musik gern.”

(I like music).

Ines: “Ich habe Musik nicht gern.”

(I don’t like music).

Rana: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Musik.”

(My favourite subject is music).

Tara: “Ich habe Sport gern.”

Jan S: “Ich habe Sport nicht gern.”

PAUSE - part 3 is ‘Question and answer’

PAUSE - part 4 is a reminder

Likes and dislikes 2: We see the cartoons representing “Was hast du gern?” and “Was hast du nicht gern?” again.

Children saying which lessons they like and dislike as we see the lesson taking place.

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2.6 Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

“Ich habe Englisch gern.”

“Ich habe Englisch nicht gern.”

“Ich habe Musik gern.”

“Ich habe Musik nicht gern.”

“Ich habe Sport gern.”

“Ich habe Sport nicht gern.”

“Ich koche gern.”

“Ich koche nicht gern.”

“Ich habe Mathe gern.”

“Ich habe Mathe nicht gern.”

Maths teacher asks girl to work out the cost of tulips: “..dies sind die 20 Tulpen, mal 24 Cent.”

(...those are the 20 tulips x 24 cents.)

3. Get used to the sounds 1

❑ Echoing: Show the class the Flashcards CD, and ask them to echo the names of the subjects.

Then switch the sound off, so children say it from memory. You could start with text switched off, so children are familar with the sound of words before seeing them written.

You can jumble the order if you want.

NOTE: for a multiplication sign, Germans use a dot, der Punkt, not “x” (see Ch.2.12).

M

Click to switch sound on/off

DVD MARKERS

1. School subjects 2. Gern / nicht gern - subject likes/dislikes 3. Question and answer 4. Gern / nicht gern - reminder

Flashcards CD 6: Naming the school subjects.

You could focus on how particular words are pronounced (see ‘Key Sounds’ box).

You can also do this with flashcards made from the activity sheet, or displayed on an OHP.

5. Written words

Use the skip key on your remote control

Planning your lessons

KEY SOUNDS

Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds: where have you heard them before?

Before showing film 6 to introduce the new vocabulary, use a warm-up activity to remind children of the language they know from Pack 1 for expressing preferences (‘my favourite colour/pet’).

After showing the film, help children towards confidence in naming school subjects in German. Then you can extend it to talking about their likes and dislikes (Ich habe... gern/ nicht gern), and also favourites (Mein Lieblingsfach ist...), and even extend to saying which two they prefer, and giving simple reasons.

Englisch, schwer, Sport heard before in Schule as in...

as in... Lieblingsfach,

Musik heard before in hier, Tier

[An example in English is meet ]

Activities

as in... Lieblingsfach,

koche,

einfach heard before in Mittwoch

1. Warm up

In Pack 1, Ch.1.13 and 1.14, children learnt how to talk about their favourite colours and pets; “Mein Lieblingsfarbe/-tier ist...” You could revise this now as preparation for learning the words for more “likes and dislikes”.

[Similar to loch in English] as in... nicht,

heard before in rechts,

ich, windig

[Sounds like saying loch but softer]

2. Watch film 6, part 1

❑ Watch film 6: “Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?” to introduce the new words. On first showing, you may want to pause after the first section.

Click to switch text on/off

(Listen to the native speakers - try to copy their typically German sounds.)

Flashcards CD 6

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Early Start German Pack 2 ❑ Grammar point: Ask children, ‘In English, how do we talk about subjects; do we say: ”I have maths” or “I have the maths”?’

Ask them to observe how Germans in the film speak about subjects. (You never hear them use an article, and it isn’t used in most contexts.)

Click to switch between LIKE / DISLIKE

4. Respond with understanding 1

❑ Each child has a copy of the Activity Sheet, cut into small flashcards. When you name a subject, e.g. “Musik”, they hold up that card. ❑ Play “mime the activity” Agree a specific action to represent each of the five school subjects seen in the film, e.g.: Mathe - mime tapping calculator keys; Sport - jump up and down on the spot; Musik - mime playing an instrument;

Kochen - mime stirring a bowl;

Englisch - mime “London’s burning” song.

You name a subject, e.g. “Musik”; pupils perform the agreed action.

Flashcards CD 6: Likes and dislikes with school subjects.

“How do we say that word?”, pointing at “Sport” or “habe”. Refer to the ‘Key sounds’ box for new words you could highlight, and examples of where children have heard that sound before.

Continue with each of the school subjects; you can choose a display in “jumbled” order.

You can also do this with flashcards made from the activity sheet, or displayed on an OHP.

7. Respond with understanding 2

5. Watch film 6, part 2

❑ Invite seven confident pupils to come to the front of the class. Give five of them one of the pictures of school subjects and the remaining pupils the “gern” and “nicht gern” symbols.

When you say, e.g. “Ich habe Sport gern”, the pupil with the picture of children doing Sport holds it up for everyone to see, and the child with the “gern” symbol holds up his/her picture. The rest of the class echoes the phrase. ❑ Play “true or false?”

Show ‘Likes and dislikes’ from the Flashcards CD, with both sound and text switched off.

As it shows each picture and symbol, you say either the correct phrase, e.g. “Ich habe Mathe

❑ Watch part 2 of film 6 to introduce how to express likes, dislikes and preferences for school subjects.

6. Get used to the sounds 2

❑ Echoing: Show ‘Likes and dislikes’ from the Flashcards CD, which shows pictures of subjects plus a “happy” or “sad” symbol.

With the text switched off (at first), ask children to echo the phrase, e.g. “Ich habe Sport gern”.

Then switch the sound off, so children say it from memory - with as much expression in their voices and faces as they can!

With the text on, you can ask children to read aloud a word from the phrase displayed, e.g.

2

HOW GERMAN WORKS 2: Likes and dislikes with ‘gern/nicht gern’ You also hear children say:

The film shows a very common and easy way to say in German what you like or dislike, which is to use the adverb gern = ‘gladly’. With school subjects, you can say, for example:

Ich koche gern (‘I cook gladly’)

which is OK too.

Ich habe Mathe gern. (literally: ‘I have maths gladly’.)

’gern/nicht gern’ is very useful. In later sections, children will also use this way of saying what they like with leisure activities and with foods.

To say what you dislike, add nicht to make the phrase negative:

Ich habe Mathe nicht gern. (literally: ‘I have maths not gladly’.)

NOTE: as an adverb, ‘gern’ always needs a verb you must be doing something ‘gladly’.

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2.6 Was ist dein Lieblingsfach? gern”, or a different phrase. If what you say is correct, pupils echo the words; if it is incorrect, they remain silent.

Sometimes you could show the correct “gern/ nicht gern” symbol with the wrong activity picture; at other times you could show the correct picture and the wrong symbol.

Puppet replies: “Ja, ich habe Sport gern”.

Now show the picture of Maths.

Puppet asks you, “Hast du Mathe gern?”

You reply: “Nein, ich habe Mathe nicht gern”.

Puppet says, “Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?”

You reply: “Mein Lieblingsfach ist... Englisch!”

Repeat this question and answer sequence with the pupils. Either you or the puppet can ask the questions. The children reply, “Ja, ich habe... gern” or “Nein, ich habe...nicht gern”. At this early stage, it is a good idea to show the appropriate pictures. ❑ Make multiple copies of the school subject pictures. Each child in the class selects ONE picture of a subject s/he likes doing.

Demonstrate what to do with the puppet: you and the puppet each choose a picture -which (for the game) is the only lesson you like.

If yours is the maths picture, say to the puppet “Ich habe Mathe gern. Was hast du gern?”

If the puppet has chosen a different picture, e.g. English, he says, “Ich habe Englisch gern.”

If he has chosen the same picture, he says, “Ich habe Mathe gern.”

Now ask everyone to move round the room and repeat the question-and-answer dialogue with as many people as possible.

It works well if you and the puppet join in.

When everyone is familiar with the new vocabulary, you can introduce a wider range of school subjects (see “extra words and phrases”) and repeat some of these activities. ❑ Play “mime the activity” Use the agreed actions for each of the five school subjects as before.

8. Working in pairs

When you call out “gern”, pupils perform the agreed action in a “happy” way. But when you call out a phrase using “nicht gern”, they act as if they really don’t like doing it!

❑ Give each pair multiple copies of: n the“gern”/“nicht gern” symbols; n pictures of school subjects.

They take it in turns to select a symbol and a picture and to say the combination.

❑ Play‘gern/nicht gern’with the class puppet Show the PE-lesson picture from the Flashcards CD, with the text / sound switched off, or use the printed flashcard.

❑ Activity sheet: Give everyone a copy of the “gern / nicht gern” activity sheet.

For each picture, you say, for example, “ Ich habe Mathe gern” or “Ich habe Sport nicht gern”.

Pupils draw the appropriate happy or sad face in the circle. ❑ Play “snap” Pupils can cut out the school subject pictures, pool their sets and use them to play “snap”.

The game should include saying the lesson as the card is played.

They could make ‘smiley’/’sad’ cards for like/ dislike. Each player then puts down two cards, face + subject, and says the appropriate phrase.

Use your class puppet to demonstrate the following question and answer sequence: Ask the puppet, “Hast du Sport gern?”

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Early Start German Pack 2 words for subjects.

Children can record the results of their survey on a spreadsheet and display it as a graph.

You could ask a German school to do a similar survey, swap results, and talk about and compare the two sets of results. ❑ Classroom routines - preferences:

In any lesson, you can ask individuals whether they like that subject: “Hast du Mathe gern?”. ❑ Art and design: Pupils make pictures of themselves doing their favourite school activities for a frieze. This could be labelled in German - “Ich habe Sport gern”, “Mein Lieblingsfach ist Musik”, etc.

❑ Play “pairs” Each pair of pupils has a complete set of pictures of school subjects. They shuffle them and arrange them out face down on the table.

They take it in turns to turn up two cards. If a pupil reveals two identical pictures, s/he must say what the activity is to keep the cards, e.g. if two of the maths pictures are turned up, the pupil says “Ich habe Mathe gern” (or, simply, “Mathe”). If the pictures do not match, they should be turned down again in the same place and it is the next pupil’s turn.

Recording and assessment

Children can record their achievments to date with “can-do” statements (after Ch.2.18).

Talking point 1 EVERYDAY LIFE IN GERMANY The primary curriculum in Freiburg

9. Look again at sounds

❑ Now that the new words and sounds are familiar, play either “listen to the sounds” or “find the sound” (both described in Ch.2.1).

The basic subjects There is no national curriculum in Germany; guidelines for subjects taught in schools are decided in each of the 16 federal states (Länder ), leaving some freedom for headteachers and schools. Freiburg is in the state of BadenWürttemberg.

The subjects studied vary slightly between the states, but they have been trying to make them similar to reduce difficulties for families that move. All children from the age of six study six basic areas: n German - similar to UK literacy lessons. n Mathematics - (numeracy) n Man, nature and culture (Mensch, Natur und Kultur - MNK) - in these “factual studies” children learn about geography, history, sciences and ICT as well as music and art. n Movement, play and sport (Bewegung, Spiel und Sport - BSS) - fitness, games and sports such as football and swimming. n Religion - Parents choose whether children go into classes on Catholic or Protestant Christianity; in Berlin they also have an option of lessons on Islam. Non-religious parents can opt for an alternative ‘ethics’ lesson.

Introducing the written word

When pupils have had plenty of exposure to the sounds of the new words and phrases, you may like to show them the final sequence of film 6: “Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?”, in which each of the key phrases are repeated with text superimposed on the pictures.

You can also use the Flashcards CD with the text switched on. ❑ Play “word-picture match 1 and 2” (described in Ch. 2.1).

Extension activity

❑ Talk about more subjects Pupils can find out more German words for subjects that are relevant to them; see “extra words and phrases”. You could help them find words they want in a bilingual dictionary.

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Survey - ICT: Pupils can find out from each other what school subjects they like and don’t like. See “extension activity” for adding more

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2.6 Was ist dein Lieblingsfach? n First foreign languge - in Freiburg, as in most of Germany, children first learn English. In areas of Baden-Württemberg bordering France they learn French, and, by agreement, the French children across the border learn German.

EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES MORE SCHOOL SUBJECTS Kunst Gemeinschaftskunde Geographie Geschichte Informatik Deutsch Religion Naturwissenschaft

THE SCHOOL DAY

“Simon says” - most German children learn English at primary school

The 10-year-olds seen learning English in film 6 have already had 4 years of English lessons, because they started in Grundschule at age 6.

In some other states, they start English at 8.

These children also hear a lot of English around them out-of-school. They watch American and TV movies (with either German subtitles or dubbed soundtrack), listen to pop songs with English lyrics, and surf websites in English.

The children in Realschule will start learning French as their second foreign language.

Timetable Ch.2.7, “Wie spät ist es?”, looks at the times of lessons and the school day. After age 8, some subjects are taught by other teachers who come to the class ‘home room’. Children go to special rooms for sport, music, cookery, etc.

Tests, marking and assessment Germany has no national tests, SATs or school “league tables”, but children are regularly tested in the classroom. Marks are based on teachers’ ongoing observation of the pupil’s oral contributions, plus regular written tests from age 8 onwards; and practical tests in subjects like art, sport and music.

Teachers grade performance in each subject on a nationally-agreed 6-point scale, where: 1 = “sehr gut”, “well above the standard required by the curriculum”; 4 = adequate, “shows deficiencies, but on the whole still meets the required standard”.

5 = poor,”suggests the basic knowledge is there, and deficiencies could be made up in time”; 6 =unsatisfactory, ”basic skills are incomplete”.

These marks influence teachers and parents

- art/ drawing - citizenship - geography - history - ICT - German - RE - science

mein Stundenplan das Klassenbuch die Pause das Mittagessen

- my timetable - the register - break /playtime - lunchtime

Flashcard CD 6

Inter-cultural understanding

■ Pupils can swap information with their German partner school about the subjects they learn and their favourites. To avoid complicated language, use drawings, photographs or video of the activities.

■ You could extend this and ask pupils to make a picture/photo /video diary to present a typical day at school and after.

Exchange diaries with your German partner school. Ask pupils to try to write the captions carefully in simple English that their German counterparts can understand.

■ When the German photo diaries arrive, pupils can enjoy the challenge of reading the German text - with help from you, a bilingual dictionary, and clues from the pictures. when they discuss which school a child should go to after Grundschule.

Sitzenbleiben Teachers look at marks across the subjects in mid-year and end-of-year reports. A child can make up for 5’s or 6’s with some balancing 1’s and 2’s, otherwise they might have to stay down and repeat that year - “Sitzenbleiben ”. About 1.8% of children nationally have to do this.

■ Do children think the threat of “Sitzenbleiben” is a good incentive to work hard?

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Ich heiĂ&#x;e .............................

Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?

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