Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Why Comics? GCSE (age 14-16) German Lesson Plan: Reading and Writing

Introduction Looking to engage your students in contemporary human rights and social issues? Based at SOAS

University of London, Why Comics? Education Charity brings contemporary humanitarian and social issues into the classroom (such as racism, conflict, migration, trafficking and climate change) through interactive literary comic books based on real-life testimony.

Our free easy-to-use Key Stage 2-5 resources build empathy and enhance learning for 7-18-year-old students and teachers alike, alongside UK national-curriculum relevant lesson plans to support multiple subjects.

Each sample UK National Curriculum based Lesson Plan is provided as a Word.doc – so you can use it as a building block. Please feel free to adjust the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs, all the content is only suggested.

Our innovative resources help enhance learning to support multiple subjects (such as English, ESOL, Personal, Social, Health and Economic [PSHE] education, Citizenship Studies, Art, Media Studies and Geography). Our support materials are intended to inspire teachers and enhance teaching practices and different ideas.

Why Comics? resources are embedded with a wealth of age-appropriate contextual multimedia (such as news articles, maps, videos, infographics and reports) to educate and inspire pupils across a wide demographic.

Our materials encourage learners to make connections between their own lives and the lives of others throughout the world, promoting critical and reflective thinking on vital global themes. In this way, Why Comics? can help combat racism and intolerance in schools.

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you. Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

Table of ContentsIntroduction..........................................................................................................................................2

UK National Curriculum Modern Languages requirements.....................................................................3

Why Comics? German Lesson Plan: Reading about social issues within an unfamiliar setting.................4Aims................................................................................................................................................................4Learning objectives..........................................................................................................................................4

Lesson plan 1.........................................................................................................................................5

Follow-up Lesson Plan...........................................................................................................................8Aims................................................................................................................................................................8Learning objectives..........................................................................................................................................9

Lesson Plan 2.........................................................................................................................................9

Feedback.............................................................................................................................................10

Future Plans.........................................................................................................................................11Who backs Why Comics? - About PositiveNegatives.......................................................................................11

UK National Curriculum Modern Languages requirements: [Source: UK Gov GCSE Modern Languages Subject content and assessment objectives ]

Through studying a GCSE in a modern language, students should develop their ability and desire to communicate confidently and coherently with native speakers in speech and writing. The study of a modern language at GCSE should also broaden students’ horizons and encourage them to step beyond familiar cultural boundaries and develop new ways of seeing the world.

GCSE specifications in a modern language should enable students to:

deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary in order for them to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a wide range of contexts

acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through their ability to understand and respond to a rich range of authentic spoken and written material, including literary texts

develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where the language is spoken

make appropriate links to other areas of the curriculum to enable bilingual and deeper learning, where the language may become a medium for constructing and applying knowledge

develop language learning skills to prepare them for further language study and use in school, higher education or employment.

Context and Purposes:

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

students will be expected to understand different types of written language, including relevant personal communication, public information, factual and literary texts, appropriate to this level

language contexts will be organised in a specified number of broad themes, addressing relevant matters relating to: identity and culture, lifestyle, values and beliefs; environment, local, international and global areas of interest; current and future study and employment

literary texts can include poems, letters, short stories, extracts and excerpts from abridged and adapted essays, novels or plays from contemporary and historical sources

Scope of Study – Reading: understand and respond to written language

understand general and specific details within texts using high frequency familiar language across a range of contexts

identify the overall message, key points, details and opinions in a variety of short and longer written passages, involving some more complex language, recognising the relationship between past, present and future events

deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer written texts from a range of specified contexts, including authentic sources involving some complex language and unfamiliar material, as well as short narratives and authentic material addressing a wide range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes

demonstrate understanding by being able to scan for particular information, organise and present relevant details, summarise, draw inferences in context and recognise implicit meaning.

Please note teaching notes are in purple.

Relevant Resources: Dana's story in English (Syrian mother fleeing ISIS persecution with two young sons) and in German.

Why Comics? German Lesson Plan: Reading about social issues within an unfamiliar setting

Here is a suggested introductory lesson plan about reading in a foreign language using the subject of social issues through the personal story of the chosen comic protagonist. The lesson is 50 mins long consisting of a reading in class, followed by focus group work and an assigned homework. The class can either read the comic collectively via projector, or at home via the web (www.whycomics.org/comics/).

This lesson allows students to practice detailed understanding of written material in German and to develop their synthesising skills through group elaboration.

Students will learn to examine details about unfamiliar locations and subjects using information provided by Why Comics?.

Reading about social issues: Learning through literary comics

Aims:

This session will explore the social issues embedded in your chosen comic:

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Students will examine the general and specific details of the story Students will reflect on the fluid relationship between past and present Students will learn about historical/contemporary themes while enriching their vocabulary

through unfamiliar material Students will work in groups to summarise and creatively present the story in a foreign language.

Learning objectives:

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

Explain the synopsis of the chosen comic in detail Recognise the relationship between past, present and future events Identify and assess key information and the correct use of past and present tenses Gain a wider awareness of culture and identity of the countries were the language is spoken (if

relevant) Use new vocabulary and summarising skills aptly

Lesson plan 1:

1. Read through your chosen comic as a group. Project the story in class and go through the comic panel by panel. Ask different pupils to read out each page. (20 mins)

2. Divide the class into groups. If you are able to print the comic out, each group will focus on two consecutive pages of the chosen comic. Students will underline new words, orally summarise the given pages and discuss the use of different tenses and the relationship between past and present. (25 mins)NB If you are just using a projector: choose two pages and get students to orally summarise the given pages and discuss the use of different tenses and the relationship between past and present. (25 mins)

3. Assign the class a homework: Ask the class to summarise the comic in 200 words using present and past tenses accordingly. (5 mins)

Teacher’s Notes[Source: BBC Bitesize ]

Introduce or revise the Preterit or Imperfect and assess its relationship to the Present, making use of examples from the chosen comic.

Das Präteritum (Imperfect tense or Preterit) is used to describe a particular event in the past, which no longer has a link to the present. It is mainly used to write reports, articles or novels.

N.B.: Don't use the imperfect tense too often! It's a common mistake made by English speakers. The perfect tense is more usual in German.

To form the imperfect tense with regular verbs:

1. Take off the -en or -n at the end of the infinitive to find the stem, e.g.: spielen > spiel-

2. Add the regular endings for the imperfect tense

This table shows the regular endings for the imperfect tense:

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Pronoun Stem Ending Full forms

ich spiel- -te ich spielte – I played

du spiel- -test du spieltest – you played

er/sie/es spiel- -te er/sie/es spielte – he/she/it played

wir spiel- -ten wir spielten – we played

ihr spiel- -tet ihr spieltet – you played

Sie spiel- -ten Sie spielten – you played

sie spiel- -ten sie spielten – they played

Irregular verbs work in a very similar way to regular verbs. However, if the verb is irregular, you need to use the irregular verb stem then add slightly different endings. The irregular imperfect verb stems can be found in a dictionary or on an irregular verb list. For example, if you check the verb trinken (to drink), you will find that it is an irregular verb and that the irregular imperfect stem is trank. Then you need to add the imperfect endings to the imperfect stem.If you look at the following table, you can see that the first and third person singular forms - 'I' and 'he/she/it' - don’t need an ending added to the stem at all.

Pronoun Stem Ending Full forms

ich trank- - ich trank – I drank

du trank- -st du trankst – you drank

er/sie/es trank- - er/sie/es trank – he/she/it drank

wir trank- -en wir tranken – we drank

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Pronoun Stem Ending Full forms

ihr trank- -t ihr trankt – you drank

Sie trank- -en Sie tranken – you drank

sie trank- -en sie tranken – they drank

To form modal verbs in the past, it is much more common to use the imperfect tense than the perfect tense. The modal verbs are wollen, sollen, müssen, mögen, dürfen, können.The imperfect endings for the modal verbs follow this structure:

pronoun + stem + ending: -te; -test; -te; -ten; -tet; -ten

E.g. ich + woll + t e ich wollte (I wanted)

Umlauts are dropped from the stem of the modal verbs if they had one in the infinitive form, e.g.:

müssen (to have to) > er musste – (he had to)

können (to be able to) > sie konnten – (they could)

Preterit forms of sein:

Pronoun Imperfect form Translation

ich war I was

du warst you were (singular, informal)

er/sie/es war he/she/it was

wir waren we were

ihr wart you (plural) were

sie waren they were

Preterit forms of haben:

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Pronoun Imperfect form Translation

ich hatte I had

du hattest you had (singular, informal)

er/sie/es hatte he/she/it had

wir hatten we had

ihr hattet you (plural) had

sie hatten they had

Es gibt (present tense) means “there is” or “there are”. It is almost always used in the imperfect tense rather than the perfect tense.The imperfect form of es gibt is es gab. It means “there was” or “there were”. For example:

Als meine Mutter jünger war, gab es einen Freibad im Dorf. – When my mother was younger, there was an outdoor pool in the village.

Es gab gestern Abend viele Leute auf der Party. – There were lots of people at the party last night.

Please help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire after you have used our materials for our funders. This helps ensure that our great resources remain free.

Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you.

Follow-up Lesson Plan

Descriptively Writing: Learning through literary comics

Aims:

This session will focus on lifestyle. Students will practice creative descriptive writing using the information from the same chosen comic.

Students will think of lifestyle and working conditions in a different cultural area Students will debate the differences to their own lifestyle (if applicable) Students will make a plan to write a descriptive piece Students will write a descriptive piece about the lifestyle found in the comic

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Learning objectives:

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

Understand living conditions in geographically distant spaces Explain the difference between different lifestyles in a foreign language Understand how to plan and structure a descriptive piece of writing Write a creative account of the character’s lifestyle

Lesson Plan 2:

1. Summarise the previous lesson: recap on your chosen comic and what the class discussed. (5 mins)

2. Use some of the interactive resources tabs on each digital comic page to provide the class with contextual facts and further information on your chosen comic. (15 mins)

3. Classroom Discussion: Ask the class to discuss the difference between the students’ lifestyle and the characters’ lifestyle using the present and past tense. Briefly introduce relevant vocabulary and explain how to structure a written description. (20 mins)

4. Homework - Individual writing: Every student will write her/his own brief description of the lifestyle embedded in the story. (5 mins)

Teacher’s Notes[Source: BBC Bitesize ]

Hilfsvokabeln - Helpful vocabulary:

ich wohne... – I live... ich wohne mit meiner Familie... – I live with my family... in einem Dorf – in a village in einer Stadt – in a town in einer Großstadt – in a city auf einer Insel – on an island in einem Vorort von... – in a suburb of... auf dem Land – in the country in den Bergen – in the mountains an der Küste – on the coast in der Nähe von – near to auf das Land (phrase) – to the country/countryside (literally: on the country) das Ausland (nt) – abroad, foreign countries die Fernreise (f) – long distance/long haul trip gern (adv) – gladly, willingly – when used with a verb, it means you like doing something, e.g. ich

singe gern – I like singing die See (f) – sea, seaside – do not confuse with der See (m) – lake verbringen (v) – to spend (time) dunkel – dark eng – cramped, narrow hell – light

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

mittelgroß – medium sized ordentlich – tidy sauber - clean schmutzig – dirty unordentlich – untidy Ich denke, dass... – I think that... (dass will send the verb to end) Ich glaube, dass... – I believe that... (dass will send the verb to end) Ich würde sagen, dass... – I would say that...(dass will send the verb to end) Meiner Meinung nach... – In my opinion... (verb must come next – verb as the second idea) anstrengend (adj) – tiring basteln (v) – to do arts and crafts entspannend (adj) – relaxing das Klavier (nt) - piano lieber (adv) – preferably die Mannschaft (f) – team spannend (adj) – exciting zeitraubend – time consuming The following phrases are also useful. als ich jünger war – when I was younger als Kind – as a child in der Grundschule – in primary school ich habe es aufgegeben – I gave it up ich mache das nicht mehr – I don’t do that any more austauschen (v) – to exchange äußern (v) – to express bekommen (v) – to get/receive bleiben (v) – to stay eigen (adj) – own einfach (adj) – easy die Flucht (f) – escape die Freundschaft (f) – friendship Freundschaften schliessen (v) – to make friends gleichzeitig (adv) – at the same time die Nachricht (f) – message teilen (v) – to share die Unterhaltung (f) – entertainment

Feedback

Please help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire for our funders. This will help keep our great resources free. We will be happy to hear about how it works in the classroom, and are keen to receive any comments or feedback.

We are particularly interested if you would like to receive more resources like this. If so please include on the SurveyMonkey questionnaire which topics you would like us to cover (e.g. Divorce, Migration, Racism/Prejudice, Cyber/Bullying, Identity, Memory, Racism, Conflict, Natural Disasters, Human Trafficking/Slavery,

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Why Comics? GCSE German Lesson Plan

Asylum/Refugees, Homelessness, Climate Change, Remittances & Migrant Workers, and Drug Trafficking & Addiction).

We are also interested to have feedback from pupils so if it is possible, please pass on the SurveyMonkey questionnaire link to them as well. Many thanks again, your help is most appreciated.

Future Plans

Over the coming year, we’re intending to expand our bank of database for KS2 (age 7-11) and KS3 (age 11-14) and KS4-5 (age 14-18) and their teachers, and produce national curriculum based accompanying lesson plans for multiple subjects. You can view all our resources on our Teachers Resources page.

We will continue to design and test our resources to ensure that they are made by teachers for teachers.

If you would like any more information or would like to be involved further, please contact info@whycomics.org. Thank you.

With very best wishes,

Dr Benjamin Dix

Director: Why Comics? Education CharitySenior Fellow: SOAS University of London

Web: http://www.whycomics.org/Email: info@whycomics.org Twitter and Instagram: @WhyComicsOrg Facebook: Why Comics? Education Charity

Why Comics? Education Charity is based at the Faber Building, SOAS University of London.Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

Who backs Why Comics? - About PositiveNegatives

The award-winning non-profit PositiveNegatives produce literary comics, animations and podcasts about contemporary social and human rights issues. We combine ethnographic research with illustration and photography, adapting personal testimonies into art, education and advocacy materials. Since 2012, PositiveNegatives has worked extensively for over four years for an array of international organisations such as United Nations (UN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Open Society Foundations (OSF), The Nobel Peace Centre, The Guardian, BBC, and with leading academic institutions such as; Harvard South Asia Centre, SOAS University of London and University of Sussex.

Our work endeavours to combine literature, journalism and education. Visual story-telling engages audiences of all ages, backgrounds and levels of literacy. Approaching subjects like conflict and forced migration through the prism of personal narratives emotionally engages general readers and students alike. We have developed comics from research, policy papers and first hand testimonies for organisations such as these and many more. Each comic has reached millions of viewers, and many have been translated into multiple languages reaching diverse international stakeholders

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