First Day Activities: UNO spielen

I don't remember where I got this idea or where I heard the suggestion from, but I remember the idea very distinctly: Don't let the kids walk out of Day One without a chance to use the language.

Not a terribly difficult task for your upper level, returning students. For day one of level one? It's a little trickier to give them something that's practical and engaging.

The suggestion/idea I came across years ago was UNO. Most students are familiar with the game, the rules are pretty straight forward, and the language required is pretty basic. Numbers 0-9, four colors, and a few other phrases, and then students are playing and actively using the language.

This year for my Deutsch I students, I made vocabulary sheets to help them with these words (including pronunciation notes) and divided them into groups to play. They were super excited... and were absolutely aghast when I mentioned the punishment for any student I caught using English. I gave all of the student groups one of the black boxes of cards, but kept a red one for myself - they have different backings but the same shape; the punishment for speaking English was I would give them an additional card.

The different colors helped me keep track of the sets, so I could easily put my red set back together at the end of class. It also made a manageable punishment that would only really matter if it added up.

I also like this activity because I always find the pacing of the first week can be hard - you can't account for all the interruptions with assemblies, you don't know the pace of this specific class during this time slot, etc - and after they learn the routine of playing the game in German, it's an easy way to fill the last few minutes of class.

What first day activities do you do that help get your students speaking the language ASAP?

EDIT: For anyone interested, you can get my copy of the vocab list here!

- Frau Leonard

The Amazing Race!

Today my German 1 students played The Amazing Race. It's a fun review activity to wrap up the year, review for finals, and take advantage of warm weather. It's an activity I purchased a few years ago on Teachers Pay Teachers (Spanish version), so while I can't share the version I use, I'm going to talk about it and encourage you to check it out!

Basically it follows the premise of the reality show - students are competing in teams to accomplish various challenges. Accomplishing a task earns them the next task and so on until they're the first group through the "race." Each challenge reviews a specific vocabulary, culture, or grammar topic we've done this year.

Materials I need:
- Challenges printed out and ready to go (this year I color coded them for my own sanity)
- Sidewalk chalk & sidewalk space to write
- Outdoor space large enough for the whole class to spread out but small enough you can easily keep track of everyone
- Envelopes to organize each group's materials (not necessary and something I tried out this year - I included a pen and a pencil plus their first challenge, this way students didn't need to bring anything outside with them; I also asked students to put their completed challenges in the envelope so there wasn't any loose paper flying around
- Clipboard and pen

Students reviewed: verbs, the alphabet, geography, school/classroom vocab, numbers, and plural forms. Some of their challenges involved running, drawing, jumping jacks, and push ups.

All in all, I think it was a fun day :) Students got to run around outside while getting in some review, and it allowed me to see areas where the class struggled (the alphabet, geography, and plural forms were HUGE problem areas for the class as a whole, whereas they breezed through the verbs and school vocab). I found a few areas where I could make some tweaks to hopefully get a few more successful teams next year!

- Frau Leonard

The Bluffing Game: Full Class Review

As any of my readers might know, I like to incorporate games into instruction as often as possible. It helps keep students engaged in the lesson while breaking up the monotony of students' school days. One game I like to do with students is generally called The Bluffing Game.

Overview:The Bluffing Game is a full class activity that has students both work with teams and on their own to practice vocab, culture, or grammar topics. This is a good practice activity that you can do mid-way through the unit or at the end as a review.

What You'll Need:Questions/activities for the class. You'll want at least 18 questions along with a bonus question (I tend to do translations as the last question). I tend to find it easiest to have all the questions in a Power Point so that it's easier for the students to see the questions.

Types of questions might include:
- Defining words (based on Target Language descriptions)
- Sentence completion
- Changing words: making them singular/plural, changing the case, changing the subject, changing the tense, changing the article, etc
- Identifying features of words (for example Case, Number and Gender for nouns)

I try to do multiple question types during each game to hit on a couple different topics.

For lower level classes, I like to give students a worksheet to complete the questions/activities. This way students are responsible for paying attention even if they're not actively participating to the game.

How to Play:
As I go through how to play this game, I will be using this Latin Adjective Review. It's designed for a Level 1 Latin class that is learning Adjective/Noun Agreement for 1st and 2nd Declension Nouns. I use this worksheet to go along with the game.

1. Divide the class into 2-3 teams (depending on the size).  Each team will be gaining or losing points together, but students are responsible for their own answers.

2. Each question will be presented one at a time. The entire class will get to see the question, but only one team at a time will get a chance to answer.

Present the first time with their first question.

Even though only the first team will get a chance to answer this questions for points, all students should write down their answer on their worksheets. Students are not allowed to use their notes or talk to each other - this part is an individual practice of the skills in this unit.

After giving students time to respond to the question, it's time to reveal the answer...

3. The next part is ONLY directed at the first team. Tell students that if they think they know the answer, they should stand up. Students aren't allowed to discuss with their group members a plan, they either stand up or they stay seated. If they stand up, though, they might be required to give their answer to the class. Write down the number of students who are standing on the board.
Tell the students who are standing that they should NOT call out an answer unless YOU ask them to.

4. This part is ONLY directed at the NEXT team. Ask these students to pick one of the students who is standing to answer. They can discuss with their group who they want to answer. When they've made their final decision, they tell you and then YOU ask that that student to reveal their answer.
If students who are standing call out an answer before YOU ask them to, that's an automatic wrong answer. Make sure you emphasize this to students beforehand.

5. The student reveals their answer, then you put the correct answer on the board for everyone to see.

If their answer is correct, their team gains points for each person who stood up. If their answer is incorrect, their team loses those points. So if seven students stood up, the team would gain seven points for a correct answer and lose seven points for an incorrect answer.

6. Move on to the next team. The process repeats with a new question for the next team. Cycle through all the teams until you're out of questions (though make sure each team gets the same number of questions). Keep track of the points on the board.

7. Strategy: It's called the Bluffing Game for a reason - students don't actually need to know the correct answer to help their team gain points. If they stand up confidently, they're less likely to get picked. If they hesitate and make a show of being uncertain, it might increase their chances of being called to answer. Let students know this as you go through more rounds. It adds an extra bit of fun for students :)

8. At the end of the game, I like to include a bonus round. This is usually a short translation. Students wager the points they have - if they get the sentence completely correct, they'll get that many points, but if there's even one error, they'll lose that many points. Students need to wager before they get to see the sentence.

Note: For teams that are in the negatives, tell them you'll boost them to +5 points if they get it right (or some other positive number, just so they're still in the game). 

Once wagers are in, show the class the sentence. At this point, students are allowed to work with their group and use their notes. They only need to submit one answer per team. 

9. Once all the teams have submitted their sentence, reveal how each team did and determine the winner.

Hopefully this is a game your students will enjoy playing - I know mine tend to get pretty competitive with it! Let me know if you have any questions or if you try it out and have recommendations for tweaks!

- Frau Leonard

Berlin Airlift Activity

This week our school had a World Language Fair in the evening.  Each of the languages at our school - French, German, Latin and Spanish - had students create displays and activities related to the language and culture that they're learning about.

One of the activities we did in the German area related to the Berlin Airlift.  The premise of the game was that students were trying to fly supplies into Berlin during the blockade.  We had a model Berlin set up and students made paper airplanes for the supply run.

I used the Brandenburger Tor model my students created last year, then made a "blockade" using a wall of index cards.

Here's how the activity worked:

• If a student wanted to play, they first made a paper airplane.  We also had a few pre-made ones for anyone (like me) who doesn't really know how to make a paper airplane.
  
• Students then took a short quiz on the Berlin Blockade.  There were seven multiple choice questions, all of them pretty basic.
  Questions included: How many sectors was Germany divided into after WWII?  How many people lived in Berlin during the time of the blockade?  What country controlled Berlin at the time?  How many supply runs were made during the blockade?  How long did the blockade last?
  Again, since this wasn't in class and based on a unit, they were multiple choice questions.  Most students got at least three correct.
  
• We had three lines marked at different distances from the Berlin table.  If students got 5+ questions right, they got to stand behind the closest line.  If they got 2-4 right, they were behind the second line.  If they got 1 or fewer right, they were behind the last line.  Students got three chances to try and get their airplane into Berlin.  They had to get it OVER the blockade wall but it had to land ON the table.  

There were prizes for students who managed to land it in the correct area.  Even when students didn't win, they had a lot of fun just trying to fly their planes.  A lot of students came close, but most fell very short or overshot the table completely.  Overall, it was just a quick, fun stop for students who attended our fair.

If you're looking for an informative activity to do at a fair, or if you talk about East Germany with your students, this is a quick, fun activity to do with them.

- Frau Leonard

BINGO as a Review Game

As often as possible, I like to incorporate games into our daily activities.  If I can trick the kids into being engaged in what we're doing, I'm all for it.  An all time favorite game of mine is Bingo.  Find Someone Who / Person Bingo is an activity we'll do throughout the year, but it's not really my favorite version of the game.  

Background: Find Someone Who

This is a get to know you ice breaker type activity that's usually done at the beginning of the school year.  Students have a bingo grid with a variety of phrases like, "has long brown hair," "has two cats," "can name three NFL teams."  Students have to go around the room and find other students who fit these descriptions.  At the end, you play bingo with the grid - use cards or a name generator to randomly call student names.  Students try to get 4 or 5 in a row (depending on the grid size) using the names that are called.

I do these throughout the year as we get new vocab.  For example: if we're learning about chores, they boxes will have phrases like: "Cooks for his/her family;" "Makes his/her bed in the morning;" and "Walks the dog."

A Different Variation

During a PD Workshop a few years ago, a colleague introduced a variation to Bingo that I've really liked using.  In this version (very much like Find Someone Who), students play bingo at the end once they've done all the prep work.  The main difference is the prep work requires them to show that they know something about the topic at hand.

The first part is basically a quiz.  You have a variety of questions - multiple choice, short answer, verb conjugation, etc. - related to your topic.  As a class, you go through the questions one by one.  Students answer the questions on their sheet, but don't work together.  I usually let students use their notes, but it depends on the activity.  

Here's what a student worksheet would look like:

Bingo board up top, room for answers below

Questions could be anything from trivia questions to coming up with a word based on a definition/description to conjugating verbs.  Here's an example from a Latin cultural one we did based on slavery in Ancient Rome:

After students write their answers to each question, they trade papers with a partner.  Go over the answers as a class.  I usually only have students identify if the response is correct or incorrect - since we often do multiple choice questions or the prompt is no longer there, it doesn't make a lot of sense to write out the correct answer. 

Now students get to set up their bingo board.  I usually do a 4 x 4 grid.  Students aren't guaranteed to be able to use the whole grid, though.  Students have to earn each square that they use.  That means for their 16 boxes, they needed to get 16 correct answers in the prep activity.  

I always include more than 16 questions - usually in the range of 20-25.  This gives students a lot of wiggle room to get as close to 16 as possible.  I also give students a minimum of 5 boxes (for students who got less than six correct).  

You'll have to walk students through setting up their game board:

1. Ask students who got 16+ correct answers to raise their hand.  Congratulate them and tell them they can skip the next step (skip directions for step 2, they start again at step 3).

2. Tell students to take the number 16 and to subtract from it the number they got correct.  I always model with the number 12.  16 - 12 = 4.  That means I have to cross out 4 bingo squares on my board - I won't be able to use those during the bingo game.  I have a sample bingo board on display and go through the process of actually crossing out four boxes. 

Example of a board once I've blocked out four squares:

Notice this is a TERRIBLE board set up - there's only one place I can even win!  I point this out to students so that they'll think strategically - they need 4 in a row to win, so they should make sure to leave themselves as many ways as possible to win.

3. Students now fill out the numbers 1-4 in each COLUMN.  They can put the number in any order they want, but they can't repeat a number within the COLUMN.  I go through this with my sample board, putting the numbers 1-4 in a random order for the first column.  I point out that I've crossed out some boxes, so in those columns I won't be able to put in all four numbers - as I fill in those columns, I'll point out that in one column I left out a 2 or in another I left out a 1 and a 4.

4. Students now get to play bingo.  Call out squares by letter and number (R1).  Students need four in a row to win (I do vertical, horizontal, diagonal, four corners, and postage stamp).  We usually do two rounds or until there's about 3-8 winners (depending on class size).

I've found this way of playing bingo works pretty well.  Students are getting to play a game, but they're also practicing a skill or topic.  They're earning better board set-up through their work, which I think motivates them a little more than when they're doing the interviews for Find Someone Who.  

- Frau Leonard

Das Rad von Glück: Wheel of Fortune Game

A few years ago at the MFLA Fall Conference I attended a session that talked about games (and drills and how to organize class time... it was a really good session), and one game that really stuck with me is Wheel of Fortune.

**Edit**
I have since found my notes from that conference.  Credit goes to Tyrone F. Parker with Baltimore City Public Schools, as he is the one who first introduced me to this game.

Overview:

Wheel of Fortune - or Rad of Glück as we call it in my German classes - is based on the game show of the same name.  It's a great end of class game if you have an extra five minutes and a great game right after beginning students have learned the alphabet.

What You'll Need:

A deck of cards and your chalkboard.  I'd recommend having different colored markers or chalk, one per each group playing, but this is optional.

How to Play:

1. Divide the class into 2-3 teams (depending on the size).  Each team will work together to try and solve the phrase.

2. Put a phrase on the board the same way you would for hangman (one space for each letter).  I usually have a phrase that uses whatever grammar or vocabulary topic we're currently focusing on.  

3. Each team starts their turn by "spinning the wheel."  One team member volunteers to "spin" by drawing a card from the deck.  This card determines how many points they can get this round.  Each card is worth its face value (2 of diamonds is worth 2 pts, 4 of hearts is worth 4 pts, etc.).  I have Aces worth 1 pt and all face cards worth 10 pts.  I also keep the Jokers in - if a team draws a Joker, their team loses the rest of that turn.

Pick a card - any card!

This team drew a 4 - that means any letter they guess will be worth 4 pts

4. Once the point value for the turn has been determined, the team gets a chance to guess a letter.  They can guess any consonant.  If that consonant is in the phrase, write it in each time it appears (just like hangman).  For each instance of that letter in the phrase, they get however many points they drew.  

For example: My group draws the 5 of clubs.  We guess the letter "t" and there are three t's in the phrase.  My group gets 5 x 3 = 15 points for this round.

Record the letter and point values for each round, plus how many points each team earned

Optional: Different ColorsI use a different color for each team - I write all the letters they guess in the same color.  It makes it easier for me just in case I forget to put in a letter - I can still figure out which team guessed it and then give them points.

5. Keep going through each group until the puzzle is solved.  They draw one card and guess one letter per turn.

6. Vowels: Just like in the game show, groups will need to buy vowels.  At the beginning of their turn, a team must forgo drawing a card and say they want to buy a vowel.  It costs 5 points (doesn't matter how many are in the puzzle - it's a flat fee).  They choose a vowel and all instances of that vowel in the phrase are written in.

Note: I make groups specify that they want to buy a vowel at the beginning of their turn so that they don't draw a card, determine it's not worth very many points and then decide to buy a vowel.

7. Solving the Puzzle: Groups can also forgo drawing a card and guessing a letter for a chance to solve the entire puzzle.  They must have the entire phrase ready - not just one or two words.  If students get the puzzle right, I give them 2 pts for each letter that was missing.  

This team solved the puzzle, giving them 2 pts for each missing letter - a total of 14 points

*Update* 4/4/19

I have recently made a template I can use on the board for the game - it makes it easy both me and students to keep track of teams/point values and it looks a whole lot nicer than scribbles on the board ;)

If you'd like the template, click here - to save a copy, go to "File" and then "Make a Copy." Let me know if you end up playing!

- Frau Leonard

Numbered Heads: Moving Forward

Numbered Heads is a game I learned really early on in my teaching career that I've done a lot of over the years.  It's a fun game and I think it definitely has some pros, but lately I've been trying to work around and I think I might have a solution.

How it Works

I did my student teaching with a French teacher who used the game Numbered Heads as a review activity.  Her classes would always play it the day before a quiz and they really seemed to like it.  

Basically, the game is a translation game that's pretty simple to run.  Students are divided into groups of 4-6.  Students divide out the numbers so that each group member has a different one (i.e. one student is number 1, another is 2, etc).  

Each student needs a piece of paper.  The teacher gives the students a sentence to translate.  Obviously there is usually a vocabulary or grammar structure that is being focused on (example: if we're learning about stem-changing verbs, there will be a stem-changing verb in each sentence).  

I usually have students work individually for about 30 seconds as they try to translate this sentence.  Then I let them work with their group to refine their answers.  But no matter what, each student needs to have a copy of the sentence on THEIR OWN piece of paper.

When time is up, I randomly call one of the numbers.  I like to have groups of six so that I can use a di to call the numbers.  The student from each group with that number runs to the board and writes their group's translation.  Each group has a team name that's on the board - this way groups always know where to write and there's no fighting for space.

After all the sentences are up, I go through and award points for accuracy.  I give up to 3 points for a completely (or MOSTLY) accurate sentence.  If there are verb, case, gender, word order, etc. errors, groups won't get as many points.  The more errors, the fewer points they earn.  

I also award a "bonus point" to the first team to get everything correct (so it's possible for 4 points to be awarded).

The Problem

My mentor teacher was very "old school" in her approach to teaching.  She was very effective, but newer trends like immersion weren't really something she employed.  So the idea of doing a strictly translation based game was actually a lot of fun to her.  For me, not so much.

Don't get me wrong - I'm the type of nerd who thinks translating is fun - but it never really felt like a "best practice."  We're not supposed to be teaching language like this anymore, right?  It's supposed to be immersion, we're not supposed to have English, we're not supposed to be trying to get kids to think of the language as "this word = this word" type of thing.  I've weeded out translation from my lessons and teaching in so many areas... but it still survives through this game - a game I like and that the students enjoy - and it drives me crazy.  

Granted, I also teach Latin and I think it's a great game for what students need to be able to do in Latin.  It's highly unlikely that they will be conversing in the language.  In most situations, they will be translating to or from Latin, and as they get further in their studies it will be more and more translation from Latin.  While the ideal is for students to be able to sight-read everything, this I think is an activity that moves them in the right direction.  

For French and German, it really doesn't make sense to me to use this game the way I learned it while student teaching.  I admit it - my students continue to play it, especially in Level 1, but it's something that bothers me.  

The Solution (?)

I think I've finally found a way to fix my issue with this game.  Today my German 2 students were reviewing for a quiz on Monday related to the Deutsche Bahn and rail-travel in general.  I had some Numbered Head sentences ready to go (Examples: "The train departs at 3:45" and "It's a one-way ticket on an express train.").  

We divided up into groups as usual, were about to start when I decided that today was it.  Today was the day I was going to fix what was wrong with the game.

I told my students that instead of giving them a sentence to translate, I would give them a situation.  This prompt would be somewhat general and as long as their sentence worked within this situation, it would count as correct.  I did warn them that the usual issues like grammar and spelling still counted, but that groups would actually end up with different sentences.  

Examples of situations:

- Ask if your train is delayed - be specific about the train

- Ask for a one-way ticket to a German city

- Tell a passenger that the train is arriving on time (be specific!)

- Tell a passenger the price of their ticket and ask how they are paying

- Tell a passenger their train number and track number

- Ask if your train (be specific!) makes any transfers

The first round was a little slow.  The students weren't sure what would and wouldn't work.  They were used to already having all the information, they didn't want to have to be creative and supply any details themselves.  But as they got a little farther, they definitely adapted and got better at giving me more details.  While the first sentence got me answers that were basically "Is my train on time?", by the end of the last prompt we got to I was getting responses like "The train is on time and will arrive in Frankfurt at 10:45."  

The students also got to see different approaches to the same "problem."  Some students used different tenses, some groups wanted more complex word order, some used more usual vocabulary.  There wasn't just one answer, there were a lot of ways to get a right answer which I think is more accurate to how language works.  There's no one way you HAVE to say or ask for things - it's about getting the idea across in a way that works for you.  

This version definitely makes me feel better about using this game.  While the prompts are in English (I don't want to provide vocabulary clues), it's not a direct translation.  I think with some work I could eliminate the need for English totally, but I'd have to do some planning ahead of time to come up with situation descriptions and images to help get the idea across.  

I'm not terribly sure if this would work with early Level 1 topics.  The vocabulary is very limited as it is that I don't know if having prompts would actually get me any variety.  It might be trickier, but it's definitely something I want to work on.  

- Frau Leonard

Product Review: Buzzers

PRODUCT REVIEW: Set of Four Buzzers (Teacher's Discovery)
Product Description: These buzzers make your lessons exciting games. The set contains four colored buttons, each with their own individual sound. The yellow light buzzes, the red sounds like a siren, the green has a laser sound and the blue sounds the charge! Three inches in diameter. Ages three and up. Requires two AAA batteries per unit (not included).
Cost: $24.99 for a set of four, $69.99 for a set of twelve

I wanted to get a set of buzzers for games like jeopardy, but looking at the cost of some of them (like Eggspert), it wasn't something that was feasible.  I noticed this set as I was browsing Teacher's Discovery.  Although four isn't an ideal number of buzzers, the price was right so I figured I'd go for it and got the set of four

I just got them in the mail yesterday and tried them out today with my students.  I gotta say - I really like them.  They're super-easy for students to use (they literally just have to push down).  They're fun because of the different noises.  I can't wait to use them again.

Practicality: 4/5
Not something you could use every day.  Great for review activities or games where timing is important (it's so frustrating trying to figure out who raised their hand first - the different sounds make it so easy).  BUT they're not very big and come in a box that makes storage super easy.

There's also the issue of having only four.  For smaller classes, this isn't a problem, but for my large class of 33 these buzzers wouldn't really work.  

Two other things to keep in mind: 
- There's no off switch.  Put the batteries in and they're always ready to go.  Makes it easy to set up, but I did hit a couple buzzers just trying to take them out of and put them back in the box.
- You'll need a very small screwdriver to be able to open the back panel.  Batteries aren't included, so you'll need 2 AAA batteries for each buzzer (8 in total for the set of four).  

Accuracy: 4.5/5
The different sounds makes this perfect - I can easily identify which group buzzed in first.  I mentioned above that they can't be turned off... which means some students who have an itchy trigger finger are likely to set off the buzzer in between rounds/questions.  I very quickly had to make a rule where I deducted points from a group if their buzzer went off when no question was being posed.  

Fun: 5/5
The sounds, the colors, the thrill of trying to buzz in first... My students were hooked from the second they saw the buzzers, never mind when they actually got to use them!  

Overall: 13.5/15 (90%)

I'm really happy with this purchase - it's something fun that was relatively inexpensive.  I'd definitely recommend this if you have an appropriately sized class and have games/activities that could make use of them.  

- Frau Leonard

Jenga as a Review Game

Is it terrible that I saw this online and can't remember where I got it from?  If you know someone who has posted this game, let me know so I can link to them!

This is a new game I tried out this week as my students prefer for Midterms.  Basically, this game is Jenga with content questions that students need to answer each time they place a block.  

Materials

Obviously you'll need some Jenga sets.  I purchased six sets with the idea that groups of 3-6 could play (covering up to 36 students).  I shopped around and found out that buying six sets of Jenga was actually somewhat expensive...  But then I found Pavilion Jumbling Towers at Toys R Us.  They're about half the cost of actual Jenga sets, though they don't actually line up correctly.  Even so, they work well enough for what I need (and were even on sale when I happened to get them!).

They don't quite line up....

After you get the Jenga sets, you'll need to mark each piece with a number.  I gave each block a different number (1-48).  I had toyed around with the idea of repeating numbers because I was worried about having to come up with 48 questions.  Once I actually started writing questions, however, it ended up not being a problem (especially for midterm review - there are SO many topics to cover that they each only ended up getting about four questions).  

Number on one side, color coded on the other

I also color coded my sets.  On one side there's the number and on the other it's colored in.  I thought I might need to be able to keep sets separate in case they got mixed up.  This extra step was actually the most time consuming, but I think it'll be helpful in the long run.  

Game Set Up

I'm not going to lie - this takes time to set up.  You'll need 48 different questions... AND the answers.  I typed up all the questions and answers and printed them out (front and back).  This takes 3 sheets of paper per set.

I folded each paper in half and cut along the question side.  This way students could fold up the sheet to see the answers... but only to whichever question they were answering.

I was extremely thankful for having two student aides to help cut these out.  I might even go so far as to use card stock and laminate these before cutting them out next time - I did re-collect them and will store them for next year's midterms just to avoid setting them up again.

I also recommend using different colors if you have multiple class sets - there's a lot of paper (3 pages per set, up to 6 sets per class, and for me 5 different subjects) and it's just an easy way to keep it all organized.

Game Play

Basically students pull a block of their choice and answer the corresponding question.  If, for example, I pull out the block labeled 6, I then must answer question 6.  

Students use their score sheet to keep track of group points.  They get points for removing and placing blocks without knocking over the tower.  They also get points for answering the questions correctly, but lose points if they knock over the tower.  This makes it fun even for students who may not be able to get as many questions right - they can earn points no matter what!

There are actual rules for Jenga (such as only using one hand, not taking blocks from the top three rows, etc) that might need to be explained.  Most groups seemed to have someone who knew how to play and would enforce these rules - for the other groups I would just explain them as needed.

Reflection

All of my classes, from my 33 students in Latin 1 to my AP German students, played this game this week.  While I like this game as a review activity, there are definitely some things to keep in mind for next time. 

Some students are more interested in playing Jenga and not in reviewing.  Some of them even tried just building random structures.  This was more true for the larger, lower level classes - it only happened in Latin 1 and German 1.  I had given the classes a lot of time to play, but I think to eliminate this problem it should be limited to 15-20 minutes for these classes.  My upper level students, however, played for 50 minutes and were able to balance playing Jenga and answering questions.  

I had a few students - actually, just one - who was unable to play at all.  He for some reason compulsively just knocked over the whole thing when it was his turn.  There were other students who  Somewhat surprising since these are High School students, but oh well.  In the future I think I'll need an alternative activity ready for students who - for whatever reason - can't handle this activity.

Overall it was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to step back and support them as opposed to lead them in an activity.  It still needs some tweaking to get the activity where I want it to be.

If you're interested in any of the materials I used to play these games, they're available for free on my TPT account - just click here.  

- Frau Leonard

LINGO: End of Class Game

In one of my recent posts I talked about Black Stories, which I've found to be a great way to end class if we have some extra time (and the kids love it so far - they ask for a new card every day).  But what do you do with lower level classes that finish early?

One quick game that my students like is LINGO.  It's based off the game show by the same name, but instead of using English words, obviously we use German words (or French or Latin).  

How do you play?  You have a five letter German word that the class is trying to guess. Students need to figure out what my word is by using other five letter words.

Students guess a word and you use circles and squares to let them know if the letters are in the word they chose.  Circles mean that letter is in the word they're trying to guess... it's just not in the right spot.  Squares mean that letter is in the word they're trying to guess AND it's in the right spot.  No symbol means that letter isn't in the word at all.

Here's how a game might look...

Students have a total of five chances to figure out the word.  All words are five letters long, and for the sake of clarity I don't use any words that include umlauts.  

This is a great end of class game or quick warm-up to get them thinking.  To make things go faster, I keep a binder ring with a bunch of five letter German words.  This way I don't have to think of words on the spot and I have a visual to double check letters (which I definitely need...).  

It's also great to have because once students are familiar with the game, you can give them the words and let them lead the game.  The only rule - if you don't know what the word means, you can't use it (keeps German 1 students from grabbing German 4 words and stumping the class)!

If you're interested in a set of cards for German, I have some available on TPT - just click here!

- Frau Leonard  

Numbers Game

Here's a quick game you can do with your level one students when they're learning numbers.  You'll need to break students into groups of 3-4.  Each group will need a cup, three dice, and a piece of paper to keep score.

Students take turns rolling by putting the dice in the cup.  Technically, they don't need a cup, but I tell students use them so that the dice don't go everywhere and nothing gets lost/no one gets hit.

After students roll, they lift up the cup to see what numbers they have.  They have to say the numbers they got, then add them up.  This is how many points they earned for this roll.

Points for this roll: 4 + 6 + 3 = 13

Now that I've rolled, I have to make a choice - do I stop, or keep going?  If I stop, I write down how many points I got that round and pass off to the next player.  Those points, however many it is, can't be lost later.

If I keep going, I get to roll again and keep adding those points to my total for this round.  I can roll as many times as I want to keep getting more points.  BUT... If even one of the di has the number 1, I lose all the points I would've gained that round.

There's a 1 - no points for me this round :(

The goal of the game is to be the first person to get to 200 points.  Basically, you can go slow and steady and just do one roll at a time or you can be a real risk taker and go for a lot of points in one turn!

My students love this game.  Even with full immersion, the rules are simple enough that the kids will know get it (just make sure to demonstrate each part!).  And not only are they practicing their numbers, but they get to learn other phrases like: to roll, cup, dice, stop, again.

I'd love to take credit for the idea, but I found it in some random German textbook one of my co-workers used in college.  Or maybe from a random Deutsch als eine Fremdsprache book I bought.  No idea, but it's a fun game and I thought I'd share!

- Frau Leonard

Ice-Breakers for Day One

In my last post I mentioned I'd have other Ice-Breakers for Day One, so here I am with some activities for each level of German!

GERMAN ONE

• Deutsch I: Find Someone Who...  This is a basic find someone who activity that's (almost) all in English.  Students look for other students who already know a little bit about German culture and language.  

• Deutsch I: Survival Vocabulary  Maybe not as much fun as the other activities, but this is a list of words and phrases that are important to surviving in an immersion classroom.  Have students try to figure out what the words mean first, then go over as a class.  I usually have a 

• Cognate Activities   Another way to build student confidence early on is with cognate activities.  You do need to remember to warn students, though, that not every German word is a cognate and it won't all be this easy.
  
  The activities linked above are really useful.  I wish I could take credit for them, but to be honest I have no idea where I got them from.  If anyone recognizes them, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!
  
  I have other cognate activities available on my TeachersPayTeachers site - please take a look at German Cognate Cards and German Cognates: A Pre-Quiz.

• Wer bist du?  This is a homework assignment I give out each year.  Students have to create their own personal page with their name and at least five pictures that represent them.  They can draw their pictures, use actual photos, take pictures from magazines, or use their computer - it doesn't matter.  This is a great way to begin associating each student with what makes them them.  Students love to make their personal pages and like seeing what other students put on theirs.  Definitely have them share these with their classmates and put them on the wall!
  
  Examples:

    

GERMAN TWO AND UP

• Classroom Expressions  Similar the Survival Vocab worksheet above, this has a list of phrases that will be important throughout the school year.  This list is much more thorough and can be used by any class above level one (in fact, by the end of level one a lot of these phrases will be familiar to students already).  The list is broken down into two lists - what students need to be able to say and what the teacher will say to them.  There's even room at the bottom in case students have other phrases they want to add.
  
  This list is based off of a list I received from my mentor teacher way back when.  I'm not sure if his was the original or if it came from somewhere else first.

• Partner Interviews  Here are a couple of partner interview activities.  These get students both listening and speaking in German and on a topic they know a lot about (namely, themselves!).  The first interview activity in the file is one I have my German 2 students do, while the second is for German 3.  Note that for Level 2, the questions are already there and they can just focus on the answers.  For Level 3, they will have to generate both the question and the answer.

• Culture Review  Quick "quiz" for students to try and complete.  All the questions relate to German speaking-countries, but mostly Germany.  This is a nice little review for German 2.
  
  Also check out my German Trivia Cards if you're looking for a similar type of activity for upper level classes.

• Find Someone Who...  Unlike the version above for Level 1, these two are entirely in German.  The first one is a bit more basic in vocabulary, while the second one is slightly more complex.  Both use primarily the present tense, but the second one does have some more difficult grammar forms (past tense).  Typically I use the first one with German 2 and the second with German 3.  Unfortunately my German 4 classes are usually so small that activities like this don't really work.
  
  Both of these boards are, I think, based off of ones I received from other teachers.  I've changed them over the years based on which boxes are almost always left blank.

• Scattergories: Vocabulary Review  This is a review game I do with my students based on the board game Scattergories.  Students are given a list of themes.  A letter is randomly drawn (or you can pick it).  Students then have to come up with a German word that starts with that letter for each of the themes on the list.  After a few minutes, students compare words.  They get a point if they wrote a word that no one else has.  No points if multiple people wrote the same word.  I really like doing this game because you can adjust it to any themes you've covered in previous levels and it can be quick - an end of class review or a beginning of class opener.

• Most Used Words  About.com hast a list of the Top 30 Spoken Words and the Top 100 Written Words in German.  With upper levels, I like to have them guess the top 20 from each list, just to see what they think the most common words are.  It's a fun (and often frustrating) game for the students and a quick way to review very core vocabulary words.  Also a great discussion for the differences between spoken vs written language.

Hope you enjoy these activities and get the chance to try them out!  Let me know how they go or if you have any recommendations.

- Frau Leonard