World Languages Department

Essential Knowledge and Skills

Students in German I are introduced to the present, future and perfect tenses of regular and irregular verbs: the nominative, accusative and datives cases; der-words and ein-words; German customs and geography. Students will introduce themselves, ask basic questions about family, free time activates, and school. Students also study the structure of German sentences and contrast these with those in English. Students will observe everyday student live in Germany by watching a video serial coordinated with their classroom work.

Indicators of Student Learning

Upon the completion of this course, students will:

Oral Communication

• Introduce themselves and answer questions about themselves and their interests.

• Use properly the present and future tenses of regular and irregular verbs.

• Use the future tense and the modal verbs when needed.

Listening Comprehension

• Understand basic instructions when taking tests or doing homework.

• Respond appropriately to questions and statements in German from the teacher and fellow students.

Writing

• Describe their free time activities.

• Answer simple questions about what they have read.

• Make a schedule of their classes.

• Write a short letter to family or friends about traveling.

Reading

• Read short dialogues and narratives.

• Use and interpret various realia in German, e.g. timetables, menus, and advertisements.

• Find German websites and distinguish which apply to class projects.

Culture

• Distinguish the proper form of address, du vs. Sie vs. ihr.

• Appreciate the differences in the school systems.

Technology

• Readily access the Internet for required syllabus, classroom procedures, project information, other online resources.

• Have the option of e-mailing assignments

• Contribute to the course blog

• Produce and share presentations using a LCD projector and/or Smartboard, along with all the proper audio and video connections.

Assessment

Upon the completion of this course, students will:

• Demonstrate competency in listening comprehension by responding appropriately to the teacher, fellow students, and classroom tapes.

• Demonstrate competency in speaking by carrying on a simple conversation on topics covered in class; by introducing themselves and others; by describing pictures and photographs in the classroom; by asking questions in class.

• Demonstrate competency in reading comprehension by answering questions and following directions in the texts and on tests and quizzes; by summarizing what they have read in the textbook and other materials; by answering basic comprehension questions about these reading.

• Demonstrate competency in writing-by-writing complete sentence answers to questions; by summarizing readings; and by composing short essays on chapter topics.

• Demonstrate competency in cultural differences by expressing differences in German and American customs and attitudes as simply “different” and not “better or worse.”