Der Rattenfänger: understanding a Grimm brothers' fairy tale, imperfect tense
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand a Grimms brothers' fairy tale and respond to it using perfect and present tenses.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Use the imperfect tense in German to narrate past events, mainly in writing.
- Singular weak imperfect verbs add -te to the stem for ‘ich’ and ‘er, sie, es’ and an additional -st for the ‘du’ form.
- Strong verbs have an irregular stem including a vowel change, and don’t add -te; ‘du’ forms add -st to the stem.
- Oral retelling of fairy tales can be done in the perfect tense; simpler versions can be written in the present tense.
Keywords
Imperfect - German single-word past tense used mainly to narrate past events in writing; e.g., 'war', 'hatte', 'gab', 'fand'
Weak verb (imperfect) - forms the imperfect by adding -te to the stem ('ich', 'er', 'sie', 'es') and -test ('du')
Strong verb (imperfect) - forms the imperfect by changing the stem vowel, without the -te ending ('ich', 'er', 'sie', 'es'), but with -st ending ('du')
Common misconception
The only versions of Grimm brothers' fairy tales that exist are written in the imperfect tense.
There are many versions of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. Many are written in the imperfect tense but there are also simpler, modern adaptations written in the present or perfect tenses, especially in children's books.
Teacher tip
Many of the original Grimm brothers' fairy tales didn't have happy endings, just as 'Der Rattenfänger' doesn't. Teachers could encourage pupils either to write a happy ending for 'Der Rattenfänger', or a more authentically gruesome ending for a happy fairy tale they know.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'however, but'?
Q2.Match the German and English.
poem
danger
risk
river
money
advantage
Q3.Match the German and English.
to produce, producing
to close, shut
to pursue, drive
to separate, separating
to translate, translating
to distinguish, distinguishing
Q4.Match the German and English.
genuine, real
free
foreign, strange
same
artificial
natural
Q5.Write in English: 'Kannst du den Weg finden?'.
Q6.Write in German: 'I learn a new language'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which statement is correct?
Q2.'Die Kinder __________ dem Mann.' Choose the correct missing verb.
Q3.'He came into town' - 'Er in die Stadt'. Write the correct missing verb.
Q4.Write in English: 'ich fand eine Lösung'.
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: Der Rattenfänger: understanding a Grimm brothers' fairy tale, imperfect tense, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: Der Rattenfänger: understanding a Grimm brothers' fairy tale, imperfect tense, 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.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Storytelling: imperfect tense unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.