New
New
Year 9

Ambitions of famous young Germans: reading skills, questions, imperfect modals

I can deepen my vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills through extended reading and can use modal verbs in the imperfect to ask questions about goals and ambitions.

New
New
Year 9

Ambitions of famous young Germans: reading skills, questions, imperfect modals

I can deepen my vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills through extended reading and can use modal verbs in the imperfect to ask questions about goals and ambitions.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Vocabulary knowledge can be consolidated and deepened through longer reading texts.
  2. Skills for reading comprehension include strong vocabulary knowledge, close reading of questions and checking answers.
  3. Focus is required for longer texts, for questions across a number of texts and for questions in German.
  4. Imperfect forms of modal verbs are commonly used in speaking, for example in open questions about past experiences.
  5. Learning about the lifes of famous young Germans is a rewarding way of consolidating vocabulary and grammar knowledge.

Keywords

  • Imperfect - German single-word past tense used mainly to narrate past events in writing; e.g., 'war', 'hatte', 'gab’

  • Modal verb - verb of necessity or possibility ('must', 'can', 'want') used with a 2nd verb in infinitive, which goes to the end

  • Open question - question starting with a wh- word that has more information in the answer than yes/no

Common misconception

The imperfect tense in German is only used in writing.

Whilst the imperfect is largely used in writing, modal verbs are also used in speaking, along with verbs like 'war', 'hatte' and 'gab'.


To help you plan your year 9 German lesson on: Ambitions of famous young Germans: reading skills, questions, imperfect modals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The reading texts in Learning Cycle 2 can be adapted or modified as required for students of all levels. Task C2 can be used either for freer conversation for pupils using information from their personal experience or it can be scaffolded using the reading texts from Learning Cycle 2.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means 'both'?

alles
also
Correct answer: beide
noch
über

Q2.
Match up the sentence halves.

Correct Answer:ein weiterer,Beruf

Beruf

Correct Answer:eine weitere,Firma

Firma

Correct Answer:ein weiteres,Fach

Fach

Q3.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:Ausbildung (f),training

training

Correct Answer:Erfahrung (f),experience

experience

Correct Answer:Fußball (m),football

football

Correct Answer:Geld (nt),money

money

Correct Answer:Karriere (f),career

career

Correct Answer:Körper (m),body

body

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'She tries to fly at the weekend.'

1 - sie
2 - versucht
3 - ,
4 - am
5 - Wochenende
6 - zu
7 - fliegen

Q5.
Write in English: 'eine unmögliche Meinung'.

Correct Answer: an impossible opinion

Q6.
Write in German: 'I want to become a doctor'.

Correct Answer: ich will Arzt werden, ich will Ärztin werden, ich will Aerztin werden

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What is not an important element of tackling reading questions?

strong vocabulary knowledge
close reading of questions
checking answers
Correct answer: understanding every word
focus and concentration

Q2.
Which statements are correct?

The imperfect tense is mainly used in speaking.
Correct answer: The imperfect tense is mainly used in writing.
Correct answer: A small number of verbs are often used in the imperfect in speaking.
A small number of verbs are often used in the imperfect in writing.
Modal verbs are never used in the imperfect.

Q3.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:zuerst,first

first

Correct Answer:danach,afterwards

afterwards

Correct Answer:berühmt,famous

famous

Correct Answer:bekannt,well-known

well-known

Correct Answer:Preis (m),prize, price

prize, price

Correct Answer:Traum (m),dream

dream

Q4.
Write in German: 'he had to learn German'.

Correct Answer: er musste Deutsch lernen

Additional material

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