Ambitions of famous young Germans: reading skills, questions, imperfect modals
Lesson details
Learning outcome
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.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Vocabulary knowledge can be consolidated and deepened through longer reading texts.
- Skills for reading comprehension include strong vocabulary knowledge, close reading of questions and checking answers.
- Focus is required for longer texts, for questions across a number of texts and for questions in German.
- Imperfect forms of modal verbs are commonly used in speaking, for example in open questions about past experiences.
- Learning about the lives 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'.
Teacher tip
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.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'both'?
Q2.Match up the sentence halves.
Beruf
Firma
Fach
Q3.Match the German and English.
training
experience
football
money
career
body
Q4.Order the words to say: 'She tries to fly at the weekend.'
Q5.Write in English: 'eine unmögliche Meinung'.
Q6.Write in German: 'I want to become a doctor'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is not an important element of tackling reading questions?
Q2.Which statements are correct?
Q3.Match the German and English.
first
afterwards
famous
well-known
prize, price
dream
Q4.Write in German: 'he had to learn German'.
To help you plan your 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...
To help you plan your 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 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 Past ambitions and future goals: past, present and word order unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.