First Step auf Deutsch 110: A Birthday Picnic Lesson Plan

Before Viewing the Video Lesson 1. Tell the students that this is the last program in the First Step auf deutsch series. Review the things that they have learned this year. Use the First Step auf deutsch suitcase folder for this review. The students will probably be very surprised at all that they have learned. 2. Ask the students how old they are. What do they think would be the ideal birthday party? In today’s lesson, it is Lindsay’s birthday, and her friends give her a surprise birthday picnic in Frau Falcone's living room. Ask the students to listen for birthday words. 3. Find out the students’ favorite sports. Take a poll, and then create a graph on the board. Leave this up for a follow-up activity.

Description of the Video Lesson Today is Lindsay’s birthday, and Frau Falcone has gotten her a birthday torte. They talk about how many candles they need for Lindsay’s torte, and Frau Falcone asks the other children about their ages. They reply with, “I am ____years old,” and they ask Frau Falcone about her age. She counts by 10’s to twenty, then laughs and says that it is a secret. They decide to have a birthday “picnic party” in the living room because it’s raining outside and they cannot go to the park. A blanket has been put on the floor along with gifts and balloons. When Lindsay arrives, they all hide, then jump out and say, “Ueberraschung!” (Surprise!). They light the ten candles on the birthday cake, and then they all sing. Frau Falcone tells Lindsay to close her eyes and make a wish, and then open her eyes and blow out the candles. Frau Falcone then tells them that they are going to play a German birthday game wherein a child is blindfolded and must find where a bowl, which covers a piece of candy, is hidden. “Heiss” (hot) and “kalt” (cold) are used to direct the child toward the bowl. Frau Falcone mentions to the children how, were it not raining at the park, they would have seen many different sports being played. She questions the children about their favorite sports. They like bike riding, basketball, baseball, American football, and soccer. She explains that soccer is called das Fussballspeil in German-speaking countries, and American football is known as das amerikanische Fussballspeil. The children decide to play soccer. Emily scores a goal and says,“TOR!” which means “goal.” die Torte die Blumen der Baum das Fahrrad

Follow-up Activities 1. Use the First Step auf deutsch Again video lesson to review the emphasized vocabulary and conversations. 2. Who had a birthday party in the program? What kind of party was it? Review the words related to a birthday party. “Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag” means “Happy Birthday” in German. What do the students think was different/the same about birthday parties in Germany and the U.S.? 3. Using different types of balls, discuss the words related to sports. Refer back to the graph previously made and change the sports names to German names. 4. View the video lesson again so that students can respond and practice with the children on the lesson.

Supplemental Activities 1. In PE, play the different sports learned in the program. Ask the PE teacher to explain the differences between sports in the United States verses sports in other countries of the world. 2. Invite a high school soccer coach to your class to explain the popularity of soccer throughout the world. Ask them to talk about some of the players who are well known throughout the world. Why is soccer so popular in other countries and just beginning to grow in popularity here? 3. In Music class, sing the “Happy Birthday” song as it is sung in German-speaking countries if possible. Listen to German music, and talk about the rhythm and the types of instruments used. 4. Have a party to celebrate learning German. Serve German food as part of the celebration, and afterwards, play a game of soccer. 5. Your students have just taken their first step in learning a second language. Everyone is so proud when a baby takes his or her first step, so celebrate these first steps. Plan some type of activity or program with their parents and with other classes in order to share what your students have learned. Everyone should be very proud of what they have learned. They should feel comfortable with hearing the German language spoken. The students will be able to recognize and say many different words and even some sentences. As your students continue in their study of German with Next Step auf deutsch, they will start using the words in more sentences. They will also add verbs and adjectives to their sentences. Remember to review the vocabulary words as much as possible in class during the rest of the year. Encourage the students to use the language. Give them many different opportunities to experience the language even after you have finished viewing the lessons in First Step auf deutsch.

Culture

Soccer is the most important sport in German-speaking countries. It could be considered the national sport, just like baseball is in the United States. The World Cup and other international soccer matches demonstrate national loyalty throughout the world. Soccer players are considered role models and heroes. Other popular sports include tennis and other athletics.

Information for the Teacher

The German word for soccer is das Fussballspeil. Students may be confused since it is so similar for our word football. Football, as we know it, is called das amerikanische Fussballspeil.