Teaching German Using Story Listening in the Elementary School

2019 – 2020

I am now in my second year of teaching German and continue to use Story Listening in every class. This year, my 1st-graders are my only 1st-year students. I find I am taking a different approach with these 6 and 7-year-olds. I’ll write more about that in a separate post. In short, to help with classroom management, I am working a lot with one story (Danke, Bär) and even using that story as a guideline for adapting other stories. Next year, I plan to do this right from the start. But for now, here is how the stories are lining up:

Grade 1 (2019-2020)

1. Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt – my own variation of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar
2. Goldlöckchen (Goldilocks)
3. Danke, Bär (Thank You, Bear) by Greg Foley
4. Eine Reise (Journey) – from Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel (An I Can Read Book, level 2)
5. Kleine Eule, ganz allein (Little Owl Lost) by Chris Haughton
6. Danke, Bär (Thank You, Bear) by Greg Foley – with forest animals
7. Danke, Elefant (Thank You, Elefphant) inspired by Thank You, Bear by Greg Foley
8. Danke, Martin – The legend of St. Martin
9. Danke, Nikolaus – The legend of Nikolaus and the Three Daughters
10. Danke, Maus (Thank You, Mouse) – inspired by Thank You, Bear by Greg Foley
11. Klingelingeling (Jingle Jingle) by Nicola Smee
12. Der Maulwurf im Winter (The Mole in Winter) by Hana Doskocilova
13. Was trägt kleiner Bär? (What Will Little Bear Wear?) by Elsa Holmelund Minarik (An I Can Read Book)
14. Die rote Blume (The Red Flower) – a short story from the collection Manuel und Didi: Das zweite große Buch der kleinen Mäuseabenteuer by Erwin Moser
15. Der verlorene Knopf (The Lost Button) from Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
16. Danke, Mädchen – a version of the Sterntaler, or Star Money fairy tale
17. Der dicke, fette Pfannkuchen (The Big Fat Pancake) – European fairy tale
18. Fuchs, der Tiger (Fox the Tiger) – an I Can Read! book by Corey R. Taber

2018 – 2019

In my first year of teaching German in the Elementary School, I have ALL beginners. They are all starting from the same place. Here is a list of the stories I am using to teach these 1st-year students in grades 1 through 4. They are listed in the order I am teaching them, so they should get progressively longer throughout the year. If I have a blog post about the lesson, you can click on the link. I try to describe the story and what challenges & successes I had.

Grades 1 – 4 (Fall 2018)

1. Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt – my own variation of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar
2. Der süße Brei (The Sweet Porridge) – a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm
3. Eine Reise (Journey) – from Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel (An I Can Read Book, level 2)
4. Das Langnasenschwein (The Long-Nosed Pig) by Keith Faulkner
5. Goldlöckchen (Goldilocks)
6. Wie die Sterne in den Apfel kamen (How the Apple Got its Star) – a fairy tale from the Waldorf Schools (taught in 3 & 4, but was a little too challenging)
7. Das grüne Halsband (The Green Ribbon) – a slightly creepy Halloween story (taught in 1 & 2 only)
8. Die kleine, alte Frau, die vor nichts Angst hatte (The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything) by Linda Williams
9. Die Legende von Sankt Martin (The Legend of St. Martin)
10. Sterntaler (a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm – works nicely with Martinstag)
11. Die rote Blume (The Red Flower) – a short story from the collection Manuel und Didi: Das zweite große Buch der kleinen Mäuseabenteuer by Erwin Moser
12. Die Legende von “Stille Nacht” (The Legend of “Silent Night”)
13. Der Nussknacker (The Nutcracker) based on the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1816)
14. Nikolaus und die drei Töchter (Nikolaus and the Three Daughters) – a legend about St. Nikolaus

As I progressed with the students, it became clear that the older children could handle longer and more complex stories, while the younger children still needed shorter, more repetitive stories. So after the winter break, I began telling different stories to the two groups. Some of the stories still overlap, but I usually simplified them for grades 1 & 2.

Grades 1 & 2 (Winter & Spring 2019)

1. Jürgens Hobbys
2. Der Maulwurf im Winter (The Mole in Winter) by Hana Doskocilova
3. Klingelingeling (Jingle Bells) – by Nicola Smee
4. Was trägt kleiner Bär? (What Will Little Bear Wear?) by Elsa Holmelund Minarik (An I Can Read Book)
5. Der dicke fette Pfannkuchen (The Big Fat Pancake) – European fairy tale
6. Der Wunschbrunnen (The Wishing Well) – from Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel (An I Can Read Book, level 2)
7. Schneeballschlacht (Snow Balls) by Robert Munsch
8. Die Ente und der Apfel (The Duck and the Apple) – fable
9. Die drei kleinen Schweinchen (The Three Little Pigs)
10. Wer hat Angst vorm kleinen Wolf? (Who is Afraid of Little Wolf) by Yayo Kawaruma
11. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
12. Die Schildkröte hat Geburtstag (The Turtle’s Birthday) by Elizabeth Shaw
13. Mmh, Plätzchen (Mmm, Cookies) by Robert Munch
14. Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle – my 3rd version
15. Chamäleon Kunterbunt (The Mixed-Up Chameleon) by Eric Carld
16. Folge niemals einem Dinosaurier (Never Follow a Dinosaur) by Alex Latimer

Grades 3 & 4 (Winter & Spring 2019)

1. Silvester und das Jahrkind (Silvester and the New Year Child) – a fairy tale from the 18th century by Eduard Mörike
2. Klingelingeling (Jingle Bells) – by Nicola Smee
3. Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty) – a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm
4. Was trägt kleiner Bär? (What Will Little Bear Wear?) by Elsa Holmelund Minarik (An I Can Read Book)
5. Heidi by Johanna Spyri
6. Der Grüffelo (The Gruffalo) by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
7. Die Brautschau (Looking for a Bride) – a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm
8. Schneeballschlacht (Snow Balls) by Robert Munsch
9. Wo ist Mami? (Monkey Puzzle) by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
10. Die Schöne und das Biest (Beauty and the Beast), French fairy tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve (1740)
11. Der leere Topf (The Empty Pot) – Chinese tale
12. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
13. Aschenputtel (Cinderella) – a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm
14. Die Prinzessin im Pyjama (The Paper Bag Princess) by Robert Munch
15. Der Klang von Musik (The Sound of Music) – adapted from the movie
16. Drei dicke Freunde (Animal Train) by Chris Wormell