Compare school experiences: possessive adjectives 'unser' and 'ihr'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use possessive adjectives 'unser' and 'ihr' to describe school experiences for different people.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [er] is usually stressed when it's part of the first syllable of a word or a single syllable word e.g. Herz, er, lernen.
- [er] is most often unstressed when it is is at the end of a word e.g. Bruder.
- Adding the suffix -heit to certain (though not all) adjectives creates nouns, usually meaning adjective + -ity or -ness.
- 'Unser' and 'ihr' are possessive adjectives; 'unser' means 'our' and 'ihr' means 'their'.
- Possessive adjectives 'unser' and 'ihr' change their spelling to agree with gender of the noun and the case.
Keywords
Suffix - a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or how it is used, e.g. '-heit'
Possessive adjective - word that goes before a noun to show ownership or belonging
Common misconception
There is only one word in German for 'our' and 'their', just like in English.
Possessive adjectives like 'unser' and 'ihr' change the spelling according to the gender of the noun and the case that is needed e.g. 'unser Hund', 'unsere Katze'; 'ihr Vater', 'ihre Mutter'.
Teacher tip
Speaking Task D3 requires students to work in pairs. For each stage (there are two to allow both partners to do both roles), one student needs to be facing away from the board before showing the task slide.
Equipment
A mini whiteboard and pen, together with pen and paper for taking notes, would be useful, if available.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following words is a verb?
Q2.Match the German possessive adjective to the correct English meaning.
my
your (informal)
his
her
Q3.Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence in the present tense. Start with 'ich'
Q4.Put this sentence in order. Start with 'ich'
Q5.What does 'ihm' mean in this sentence? Ich gebe ihm ein Bild.
Q6.Match the German word to its English meaning.
rather
instead of
particularly
more
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the German words to their English meanings.
to explain, explaining
to allow, allowing
to tell, telling
gave, given
history, story
truth
Q2.Match each German word to its English meaning.
our
their
alone
however
without
Q3.In which word is the syllable [er] most likely to be stressed?
Q4.Add the correct suffix to the adjective 'wahr' (which means true) to turn it into the noun meaning 'truth'.
Q5.There is only one word in German for 'our', just like in English. True or false?
To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: Compare school experiences: possessive adjectives 'unser' and 'ihr', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: Compare school experiences: possessive adjectives 'unser' and 'ihr', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Last year or this year: present and perfect tenses unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.