This year we had the Adventkalender up throughout December, so I tied that in to some of our activities. In German 1, I divide students into groups and sent them into the hallway to take notes on the information there. We then came back and played a trivia game and watched Mickeys Weihnachtsgeschichte to finish up class.
With German 2-4, we actually go caroling through the school. Each year we sing O Tannenbaum. I ask the other teachers if they wouldn't mind our classes coming by to sing a quick Christmas carol during the day. Each class had a list of ten or more other teachers to visit all around the school. When we visit a class, a student introduces his/her class and the song they're about to sing. This year, again because the Adventkalender has been up, I added something new - trivia questions! After singing, we asked for two volunteers from the class. Each volunteer got a different multiple choice question about German Christmas traditions. If they got the question right, they got a candy cane :)
We spend December practicing the lyrics (usually once or twice a class if we have time). To make things a little faster (since we have so many classes to visit), we usually only sing the first verse. German 2 students have a bit of trouble the first time through, but by German 4 they all have it memorized and can't wait to sing!
- Frau Leonard
