Sample chapter Early Start German Pack 1

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1.9 Wie ist das Wetter?

9. Wie ist das Wetter?

What’s the weather like?

In this section pupils learn to talk about the weather. As part of your class routine, children can do their daily local weather report in German.

Using the internet, they can also observe the changing weather in Germany from day to day - perhaps comparing with the climate patterns in your own country.

Children can build on their knowledge about different places and regions in Germany from chapter1.7. This links with images of christmas in chapter 1.15.

DVD / VIDEO: film 9 8 phrases to describe weather are introduced: Good weather - The Lorelei enjoys nice weather: Lorelei: “Es ist schön.”

Bad weather -The Lorelei sits on her rock in horrible weather: Lorelei: “Es ist schlecht.”

Wet weather: Animation: Es regnet.

Child saying that it is raining: “Es regnet.”

Cold weather: Animation: Es ist kalt.

Child saying that it is cold: “Es ist kalt.”

Warm weather: Animation: Es ist warm.

Child saying that it is warm: “Es ist warm.”

Sunny weather: Animation: Es ist sonnig.

Child saying it is sunny: “Es ist sonnig.”

Windy weather: Animation: Es ist windig.

Child saying that it is windy: “Es ist windig.”

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

Wie ist das Wetter?

What’s the weather like? es ist schön es ist schlecht es ist warm es ist kalt es ist sonnig es ist windig es regnet es schneit

-

it’s nice it’s nasty it’s warm it’s cold it’s sunny it’s windy it’s raining it’s snowing

CD Track 33

Scene from film 9: Girl on Rhine steamer -“Es ist windig.”

Snowy weather: Animation: Es schneit.

Child saying that it is snowing: “Es schneit”.

Question & answer: We hear the question “Wie ist das Wetter?” and the replies ... ...children out and about in Boppard on a nice day: “Es ist schön.” ... at the swimming pool: “Es ist warm.” ... using sun protection cream and playing under a sunshade: “Es ist sonnig.”

Scene from film 9: Lorelei on her rock-“Es ist schlecht”.

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E a r l y S t a r t G erman Pack 1 ... flags flying in the wind:“Es ist winding.” ... snowdrifts and skiing: “Es schneit.” ... snowboarding on a winter’s day: “Es ist kalt.” ... children taking part in a running race in the pouring rain: “Es regnet.”

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

“ ” as in warm windig Wetter Heard before in:

wohnst wie

“ ” as in sonnig Heard before in:

windig ich nicht Leipzig

“ ”[an example in English is dish] as in...

schön schlecht schneit

“ ” as in schön Heard before in:

Scene from film 9: “Es schneit.”

CD Track 33

Asking what the weather is like today: “Wie ist das Wetter heute?” ... rambling in the countryside:“Es ist schön heute.” ... eating icecream; buildrers working in the heat; riding on the “nautic jet”: “Es is warm heute.” ... wearing sunglasses: “Es ist sonnig heute.” ... horrible weather - hail and sleet falling: “Es is schlecht heute.” ... people with umbrellas: “Es regnet heute.” ... trees blowing in the wind: “Es ist windig heute.” ... huge snowdrifts: “Es schneit heute.”

M

zwölf

Activities 1. Warm up You could start the lesson with a large map of Germany, and talk about what children think the weather might be like in different parts.

Which parts will be warmest in summer? What would it be like in the Bavarian Alps or other mountains in winter? See “talking point”.

2. Watch the film ❑ Watch film 9: “Wie ist das Wetter?” to introduce the new words.

DVD MARKERS

3. Get used to the sounds

1. Weather phrases - introduces new words 2. Germany in different weather - reinforcement 3. What’s the weather like today?

- new phrase with previous words 4. Written words

❑ Echoing: Make flashcards from the weather pictures on the activity sheets -or display on the OHP/whiteboard.

Show each picture and say what kind of weather is represented, e.g. “Es ist kalt”. Pupils echo the phrase. Look out of the window and say what the weather is actually like today, e.g. “Es ist windig”. Pupils echo the phrase.

Can they spot the different structures? Most are like: “es ist sonnig” (it is sunny), but a few are like:“es regnet” (it rains).

Use the skip key on your remote control

Planning your lessons Before watching the film, talk about the patterns of weather in Germany compared with where you live.

Children will need plenty of activities to get used to the different structures introduced in the film.

4. Respond with understanding ❑ Make copies of the weather pictures activity sheets and give ONE picture to each pupil.

You call out, e.g. “Es ist sonnig”; pupils with the “it’s sunny” card hold up it for everyone to see.

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1.9 Wie ist das Wetter?

Some extra visual clues may help pupils at this early stage, e.g. shiver as you say “Es ist kalt” and fan yourself as you say “Es ist warm”. ● To make this into a game, divide the class into two teams. Each team has an identical set of weather pictures (one for each child).

When you call out the weather, e.g. “Es schneit”, the pupils holding the snow picture try to be first to jump up and echo “es schneit”.

By using pictures as well as “props”, you can tell whether pupils understand the phrases.

Some items in the dressing up boxes may be appropriate for more than one kind of weather. ❑ Make multiple copies of the weather pictures from the activity sheet. Give a picture to each child in the class. Move around the room asking each pupil, “Wie ist das Wetter?”. Pupils respond according to the picture they hold.

For these activities, collect a large box of dressing-up “props” linked with weather, e.g. wellies, kite, sunglasses, beach hat, fan, woolly hat, gloves, scarf, umbrella ...

5. Working in pairs ❑ Pupils can use multiple copies of the pictures on the activity sheet to play “snap”. ❑ Pupils can use their puppets to have conversations about the weather.

❑ Dressing-up box activities: You say what the weather is, e.g. “Es ist kalt”.

Pupils take it in turns to go to the box and choose any items that represent “it’s cold”.

When a child has put on, for example, the woolly hat and gloves, s/he says: “Es ist kalt”.

6. Watch the film again ❑ Show film 9: “Wie ist das Wetter?” again.

Pupils may notice some children say “-ig” rather than “-ich” at the end of words like:“windig” this is a regional accent.

7. Look again at sounds ❑ Now that the new words and sounds are familiar, play either “listen to the sounds” or “find the sound” (see chapter 1.2).

Introducing the written word When pupils are familiar with hearing and saying the new words, show the final part of film 9, which repeats them with text on-screen. ❑ Play “word snake” Display on the board, OHP or whiteboard, a sentence with the spaces and punctuation removed, e.g. “Esistwarmheute”.

Ask the class to help you put them back, then you say the sentence: “Es ist warm heute”.

When children have got the idea, give them other “word snakes” to do in pairs.

■ You ask “Wie ist das Wetter?”

Pupils take turns to go to the box and select one or more items. The rest of the class then has to guess what weather they are trying to show.

■ Prepare two boxes, each containing the same set of props to do with weather: e.g. an umbrella, sunglasses, gloves....

Next to each box, arrange sets of weather pictures (use the flashcards, or cut out pictures from magazines); place them face up on tables.

Divide the class into two teams. You call out, for example, “Es ist sonnig”. A pupil from each team runs to the box, selects an appropriate item, e.g. a pair of sunglasses, picks up the picture representing “Es ist sonnig” from the table and brings it to you.

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ❑ Daily routines: “What’s the weather?”

Ask pupils“Wie ist das Wetter?” each morning as part of your routine of greetings, taking the register, asking the date, etc. ❑ Geography/science: Pupils can announce their daily weather readings in German, e.g.

“Es ist warm heute. Es ist 30 grad.” (See “extra words and phrases”).

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E a r l y S t a r t G erman Pack 1 ❑ Geography/Technology - a weather dial: Pupils can design and make a weather dial for the class weather board (and a game).

They cut a large circle from card, and divide it into segments like slices of a cake - illustrating each segment with different weather symbols.

Fix a “pointer” in the centre to turn like a clock hand, and set it to indicate today’s weather.

Prepare a large map of Germany (you could enlarge the map from ch.1.7). Label towns that are relevant to your pupils. Make sets of weather symbols from the activity sheet, laminate them to withstand regular use, and find a way to stick them to the map (e.g. velcro). temperature

rain

cloudy

sunny

snow

stormy

windy

The dial can also be used for a game, played in pairs. One pupil spins the pointer and asks the other, “Wie ist das Wetter?”

Pupils take it in turns to be TV weather presenters. As they place symbols on the map, they say “In Berlin es ist sonnig..”, etc.

If you need to prompt anyone, you can ask, “Wie ist das Wetter in Berlin heute?” In their “TV presenter” role, pupils can greet the viewers and say goodbye in German.

❑ Daily routine/ICT/Geography: “Wie ist das Wetter?”

Pupils can use the internet to research what the weather is like in Germany - possibly focusing on a town or area you have links with.

❑ Music: singing about the weather: Pupils could write a weather song to a familiar tune, e.g. “Frère Jacques”: “Es ist sonnig, es ist windig,...” Discuss possible rhymes, and how syllables fit with the tune. ❑ Drama: Play “the miming game” Pupils work in pairs. Give each pair a picture showing a kind of weather. They have 5 minutes to prepare a mime to represent this weather.

They can use speech only if it is in German (e.g. greetings, asking someone how they are) but NOT, of course, to say what the weather is!

Each pair performs their mime to the rest of the class, who guess what the weather is.

EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES 1

Find today’s weather in Germany on the Internet.

See www.earlystart.co.uk for a link to the official German weather web site.

Ask your partner school to send photographs and pictures which show their town and surrounding areas at different times of year.

■ Ask pupils to compare the two climates.

es ist heiß es ist naß es ist wolkig es ist neblig es donnert es blitzt regnet es? ist es schön?

❑ Geography: TV weather presenters Pupils will be familiar with the way weather forecasters use symbols to show what the weather is like in different parts of the country.

- it’s hot - it’s wet - it’s cloudy - it’s foggy - there’s thunder - there’s lightning - is it raining?

- is it nice?

CD Track 33 90

1.9 Wie ist das Wetter?

OSTZEE

Talking point

NORD

ZEE

Germany’s climate Continental weather inland As you go inland towards the centre of Europe, the weather gets more extreme: summers can be baking hot, and winters freezing cold.

Much of Germany has “continental” weather like that.

Milder weather towards the coast The North and West of Germany tend to be rainier and milder: as you get nearer the North Sea coast (towards Köln and Bremen), the winters are not so cold and the summers not so hot.

Berlin

Bremen

Köln

München ALPS

MAP of GERMANY: height above sea-level, and some cities.

= over 1500 m (mountains) = 300 - 1500 m = under 300 m (much is flat plain) Winds blowing from the sea are not only moist, bringing rain, but also carrying milder temperatures to North Germany.

Eastern Germany The Ostzee (Baltic Sea) is shallower, and there can be ice on the sea in cold winters: the weather is not so mild on the Baltic coast.

So eastern Germany (towards Berlin) has a more “Continental” climate: we see a typical hot summer in Berlin.

A mild winter in Boppard: people walk in the rain by the Rhine. Germany gets wetter and milder as you go North.

This is the effect of the Nordzee (North Sea) and the Atlantic Ocean. The deep seas are slow to heat up, and slow to cool down compared with land surfaces. While central Europe heats up quickly in summer, the sea stays quite cool.

In winter, central Europe gets bitterly cold; the deep sea gets chilly but remains unfrozen.

Freezing in Bavaria: people in central Europe have to be well-prepared for cold and snowy winters.

A hot summer in Berlin: people dance in the streets during the July “Love Festival” (see Ch.1.7).

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E a r l y S t a r t G erman Pack 1 Health conscious It can get very sunny and hot in German summers, especially in the south towards Munich, where people like to sit outside like in Italy (which is quite close).

Winter snow in the mountains: a Christmas card scene...

In North Germany, we see children and parents completing a keep-fit fun-run through town streets in the mild summer rain!

Mountains As go climb higher in the mountains, it gets cooler whatever the season. In the mountainous regions (like the Alps in Bavaria) there is lots of snow in winter, and lakes and canals freeze with temperatures well below freezing.

People make their houses with steep-sloping roofs, so the snow slides off; and all bunched up with thick walls, so they keep warm inside.

Skiing is a popular sport; many Germans also take summer walking holidays in the mountains.

■ What can you do to enjoy a cold winter?

■ Make a listof the good points and bad points about cold, snow and ice.

■ What can people do to prepare themselves so that they can carry on doing everyday things even when it is very cold?

■ Talk with the class about why it can be dangerous to risk getting sun-burnt in hot summers.

What precautions can you take?

See www.earlystart.co.uk for more information and links to official advice. You could talk with children about what policy your school could have about risks of sun-burn and also icy days.

Fun-run: parents and children finish in the summer rain.

Mountain snow: a chance for winter fun and sport.

Sunburn: a net curtain protects a family from harmful rays.

Many Germans are as conscious of keeping themselves fit and healthy as they are of looking after the environment. Government officials warn parents to protect children’s skin with sun-block, and not to stay out in the fierce midday sun for too long.

Children need sun-block cream in the strong summer sun.

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Wie ist das Wetter?

This page may be photocopied for classroom use

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

Š 2005 Early Start Languages

Wie ist das Wetter?

This page may be photocopied for classroom use

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

Š 2005 Early Start Languages

Wie ist das Wetter?

This page may be photocopied for classroom use

Ich heiße.........................

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© 2005 Early Start Languages