Was machen sie online? Revisiting vocabulary, describing pictures
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use a range of thematic and high-frequency vocabulary and I can describe photos in the context of life online.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- A strong knowledge of vocabulary is key to all language skills. It can be helpful to categorise words by theme.
- When describing a photo, use the acronym PALM. It stands for People, Action, Location, Mood.
- When describing a photo in German, translate the English present continuous with the German simple present.
- To make a photo description more interesting and complex, add your own impressions (opinions, thoughts and reasons).
Keywords
PALM - an acronym to summarise what to include in a photo description: People, Action, Location, Mood
Simple present - describes habitual events in the present: ‘I do’
Present continuous - describes events happening right now: ‘I am doing’
Common misconception
We need to use the present continuous in German when describing photos.
There is only one present tense in German. The present continuous in German is the same as the simple present, so 'sie essen' means 'they eat' and 'they are eating'. When translating English present continuous sentences, use the simple present.
Teacher tip
Repeating speaking activities such as the photo description immediately, once or more, will help improve fluency and deepen knowledge. Students taking the Edexcel exams only need to describe one of two given photos, whereas AQA requires mention of both photos.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which words are verbs?
Q2.What German verb is the noun 'Verlust' linked to?
Q3.Match the German and English.
degree
second
climate change
snow
worry
star
Q4.Match the German and English.
to let, allow
to snow, snowing
to search for, look for
to pollute, polluting
to count, counting
to destroy, destroying
Q5.Write in English: 'Wir müssen die Erde retten.'
Q6.Write in German: 'I bought flowers'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which nouns are linked to the theme of 'the environment'?
Q2.Order the statements according to the acronym PALM.
Q3.Which sentence means 'He is reading a book.'?
Q4.Write in German: 'in my opinion'.
To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Was machen sie online? Revisiting vocabulary, describing pictures, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Was machen sie online? Revisiting vocabulary, describing pictures, 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 4 German lessons from the Communication and the world around us: die weite Welt unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.