Model EU

In German 4 we do a unit on Globalization as prep for the AP exam (last year, since my German 3 and 4 classes are combined, German 3 gets a taste of this unit as well).  The unit basically goes over what Globalization is, the pros/cons of it, and what it looks like in various forms (focusing on the EU and activism/protest).

Once we've settled into the unit, coming up with our own class definition and discussing Globalization in a general sense, we take a look at the EU.  Believe it or not, some of my students didn't know what the EU even is, so we had to start with that.  I then broke students into groups and had them brainstorm the pros and cons of the EU.

Previously I had found this activity (alas, I no longer know where I got it from - if anyone knows a source I can credit, please email me or leave a comment!).  It has pro/con statements about the EU.  Print them out, cut them up and have the groups sort them as positive or negative statements.  I also made this Power Point to go along with it.

We then do a mock EU.  Depending on class size, I either give each student their own country or have them work with a partner.  You can either randomly assign countries or have a lottery to let students pick.  Also depending on class size, you could make it a mock UN to have more countries involved.  I try to limit it to the EU, though I will also include non-EU member countries from Europe just to get some varying perspectives.

Here's a list of the countries I incorporate.  Obviously with smaller classes, not all of them will be represented:

- Deutschland

- Oesterreich

- die Schweiz

- Belgien

- Luxemburg

- Liechtenstein

- England

- Frankreich

- Italien

- Spanien

- die Tschechische Republik

- Polen

- die Turkei

- Griechenland

Students are given class time to research their country.  I give them this worksheet to complete - it covers basic information about their country (GDP, languages spoken, government system in place, currency, etc.).  The second page covers more specific information that will be discussed at our mock EU.  There are a series of proposed agenda items that they will debate and then vote on - their job is to find out what their country's perspective and vote would be.  In the vote, they will either be FOR or AGAINST the proposal... though they're also allowed to abstain.

Each country has a set number of votes (think of the electoral college).  I based these numbers on the overall populations of these countries combined, and found out how much of that total each country possessed.  I.e. Germany had 17% of the total population, so they get 17 votes.  Though I now notice it only adds up to 98, so I must have rounded down a few times to get even numbers.  

- Deutschland: 17

- Oesterreich:  2

- die Schweiz:  2

- Belgien:  2

- Luxemburg:  1

- Liechtenstein:  1

- England:  11

- Frankreich:  14

- Italien:  10

- Spanien:  10

- die Tschechische Republik:  2

- Polen:  8

- die Turkei:  16

- Griechenland:  2

We sit in a large circle.  I also have students sit with their country's flag displayed for the rest of the class to see.  During the discussion, their job is to speak up for their country, argue against other countries that disagree, and vote at the end of each topic discussion.  Students are also assigned another random student in the class.  They will take notes on how they think this student did during the discussion - basically if they participated, made their opinion clear, and had good points.  I'm part of the discussion only as the moderator - I propose topics for discussion and then keep track of the votes at the end.

I use this rubric to grade their overall performance.

This activity often leads into a discussion on the nature of politics.  Smaller countries complain that their votes were basically meaningless unless they all worked together.  It's really a good jumping off point, especially if you want to pair up with a Social Studies teacher.

I've liked doing this activity with my students because it's not just looking up information about other countries but having to apply it.  They find out more about the EU and often a lot more about their own views on current issues.

- Frau Leonard

Stammtisch: Class Lead Discussions for German AP

During our World Language Inservice Meetings we sometimes have “Swap Shop Workshops.”  I love these workshops – you bring in several copies of one or two activities you do, sometimes related to a theme like speaking activities or writing activities, and trade ideas with others in the shop.  It’s a great way to get activities and new ideas, and usually there are people from multiple languages so it gives you ideas you may have never thought of otherwise. 

Last year at one of these Swap Shops, one of the French teachers at Mt Hebron High School, Christina Crise, introduced a speaking activity she does with her AP students.  I immediately fell in love with the activity and vowed to implement it this year with my AP students.  Over the summer I spent time modifying the material she had given us for German.  The end result was Stammtisch.

So… what is Stammtisch?  Well, a German Stammtisch is a “regular’s table” where friends come together at a restaurant or café and discuss different topics.  With this set up in mind, German 4 students prepare and discuss a topic in a relaxed “café” setting.  By café setting, I mean they’re allowed to bring in food. 

We start with a list of topics.  There are serious topics on there like, “Should doctors be allowed to help their patients commit suicide?” to more trivial ones like, “Who would win in a fight – Darth Vader or Voldemort?”  The point is that the questions don’t have a clear cut answer – everyone has an opinion on it (sometimes very strong opinions), and it’s unlikely everyone will be able to agree. 

Students work with a partner to prep a topic.  They pick from the list of questions (or come up with their own).  Their job is to find new vocabulary words related to that topic that they think will be necessary to discuss the topic.  For example, for the topic of “Should doctors be allowed to help their patients commit suicide?” words might include suicide, patient, doctor, and terminal.  They submit those words to me for approval/correction, then the rest of the class has time to work with and learn them.

On Stammtisch day, students first take a short vocabulary quiz.  Then we re-arrange our desks into a circle and start discussing the topic.  The students leading the discussion can bring in food – not a requirement – and have to actually further conversation.  Each student represents one side of the issue, either pro or contra.  They need to have questions ready that will help re-open discussion if it fizzles out, but the idea is to let the conversation evolve naturally when possible.  Obviously some topics with some groups will get more discussion than others.

Students get graded for both parts – when they lead a topic and when they participate in someone else’s topic. 

I didn’t want to overwhelm them at first.  This was something totally new.  I didn’t introduce the idea until towards the end of 1^st Quarter.  I told them what Stammtisch was and what they’d be doing, but I started with an example that I ran.  Our topic was “Should there be school uniforms for students?”  I gave them a list of relevant vocabulary words and lead the discussion, representing both the pro and contra sides.  After the discussion, I gave them a copy of the questions I had used as examples.

So far it’s been a huge success – the kids enjoy it and look forward to it.  Often I’ll ask a question in class and after brief discussion they’ll decide that it’s a “Stammtisch question” that we should discuss in more detail later.  We do one every two weeks, usually on a Friday or a shortened day.

My favorite parts so far have been:

• It builds off the Socratic Seminars they’ve been doing for the past two years.
• It’s teaching argument forming, which is a skill they need for the AP exam. 
• It emphasizes impromptu speaking – there are no scripts, no notes, just the words they learned and what they already know/feel about the topic.
• It builds vocabulary for topics we don't normally cover and that are interesting to the students.
• It’s more informal than other means of assessment.  I like performance based assessments, and this feels really natural as a task – what’s more practical than knowing how to argue!
• You really get to know your students better and they get to know each other better.  It’s really interesting to see what they think about some of these topics, and to see students who normally don’t interact with each other team up on an issue. 
• Best of all… it tricks them into building vocabulary and speaking skills while having fun!

It’s been so successful with German 4 that I plan on introducing it during 4^th Quarter with German 3 as a fun way to end the year and to prep for German 4 next year.

If you’re interested in trying Stammtisch with your German students, my resources are available on my TPT account – just click here.

- Frau Leonard