Das Wattenmeer: present tense weak and strong verbs, reflexives
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use a range of weak, strong and reflexive verbs in the present tense to understand texts about and to describe new places.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Weak verbs in the present tense follow a regular pattern of changes, like 'lernen'.
- Strong verbs in the present tense change their vowel in the verb stem in the 'du' and 'er, sie, es' forms.
- Strong verb stem changes in the present tense are: e to i, e to ie, and a to ä.
- Use reflexive pronouns with reflexive verbs. They often relate the action to the subject of the sentence.
- Some verbs have a different meaning when they are used as reflexive verbs, e.g., ‘anziehen’ and ‘sich anziehen’.
Keywords
Weak verb - a verb that follows a regular pattern of changes
Strong verb (present tense) - a verb which changes its vowel in the verb stem of some of its forms
Reflexive - describes an action where the subject and object of the verb are the same, used with reflexive pronouns
Common misconception
Verbs have the same meaning whether they are used reflexively or non-reflexively.
Some verbs have the same or similar meanings when used reflexively and non-reflexively, e.g. nennen, to call; sich nennen, to call oneself. However, some verbs completely change their meaning, e.g. anziehen, to attract; sich anziehen, to get dressed.
Teacher tip
As a follow-on to Task A1, and to consolidate the new vocabulary, students could make up their own true/false statements about a place they are familiar with, or based on a photo, for their peers to answer.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The verb 'stellen' can mean ...
Q2.Match the German and English.
excursion, trip
mountain
coast
opposite
bill, calcuation, invoice
ship
Q3.Match the German and English.
to perform, performing
to take in, record, include
to excite, upset, annoy
to appear, occur, perform
to lose weight, decrease, reduce
to increase, put on weight
Q4.Order the words to say: 'I am not spending any money today.'
Q5.Write in English: 'Er reist in die Hauptstadt.'
Q6.Write in German: 'You (plural, informal) eat in the café.'
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the pronouns and verbs.
mache
machst
macht
machen
Q2.Which vowel changes occur in strong verb stems in the present tense 'du' and 'er, sie, es' forms?
Q3.Match the German and English.
to attract
to get dressed
to lose
to get lost
Q4.Order the words to say: 'I get dressed.'
Q5.Translate into German: 'He lies (himself) down in the sand.'
To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Das Wattenmeer: present tense weak and strong verbs, reflexives, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Das Wattenmeer: present tense weak and strong verbs, reflexives, 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 My neighbourhood: Mein Wohnort unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.