Tag Archives: Winter

Schneemann Lesen & Malen / Snowman Read & Color

Posted in 5th - 6th Grade, Coloring Pages, Getting them to read more, Uncategorized by

Our winter break has ended, however we are taking a week of remote learning before heading back into the building. And so I wanted to give my students some activities to get German fresh again without having to use screen time. They are getting enough virtual meetings and online assignments already.

Since my 5th & 6th graders really like to color, I created a snowman read & color activity. To help them along, I added a second page of vocabulary.

To make sure I had set it up correctly, I had Hippo try the activity for his at-home German lesson yesterday. It went very well!

Download the PDF for FREE here:

Schneemann Lesen-und-Malen GitADownload

Viel Spaß!

SL: Was trägt kleiner Bär? / What Will Little Bear Wear?

Posted in 1st - 4th Grade, Story Listening, Uncategorized by

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2019-01-29 14.35.14

Sometimes a story works so well in 1st & 2nd grade, that I have to tell it again to the 3rd & 4th graders, even if it is a simple one. (The first image is from grades 1 & 2, the second image is from grades 3 & 4.) This story by Else Holmelund Minarik is a sweet classic. Perhaps you know the Little Bear stories, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak?

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Little bear repeatedly goes inside to tell his mother he is cold. So she gives him a hat, then a coat, then snow pants. Finally she asks him if he wants a fur coat? He says yes! So she takes back the hat, the coat, and the snow pants and there you have it! He has his fur coat and is not cold anymore 🙂

It’s a sweet little story, and has great repetition for a beginner Story Listening lesson.

I added a bit of detail for the 3rd & 4th graders, and they enjoyed it just as much as the younger students.

SL: Klingelingeling

Posted in 1st - 4th Grade, Story Listening, Uncategorized by

2019-01-15 14.22.582019-01-16 14.20.45

Klingelingeling by Nicola Smee is one of my favorite read-aloud books (arsEdition, 2010; original English title: Jingle-Jingle). It’s a fun story with some great repetition. I told it last year in 1st & 2nd grade. Read about that here.

Even though those students heard the story last year, they didn’t mind hearing it again. Nothing like some repetition for language learning!

You can see my two boards above. The first one (on the white board) was in 3rd & 4th grade. There are a few more details in my story for them. And the chalkboard version was for 1st & 2nd grade.

All the children are surprised when the horse climbs into the sleigh to go down the hill with the other animals! And then of course, when they all go flying out of it at the bottom of the hill, the giggles can’t be suppressed!

It is definitely a hit and a great story for beginning Story Listening in German.

klingelingeling

SL: Der Maulwurf im Winter – The Mole in Winter

Posted in 1st - 4th Grade, Uncategorized by

2019-01-09 14.39.46

As the weather turns cold and we anticipate snow, I am starting to bring out my winter stories. Here is one about a mole who is eager to go sledding, but there is no snow on the ground. So he and his friend, the chickadee, come up with the idea to give a cloud some water to drink through a straw. Then when the cloud blows some wind, it sends plenty of snowflakes to the ground. The little mole can finally go sledding! Just watch out for that hill!

It was a great story for the 1st and 2nd graders. I was pleased that they were able to guess the my drawing was indeed a mole! And of course, they loved it when the mole went flying off of the hill and landed in the powdery snow.

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Der Maulwurf im Winter was written by Hana Dosocilova and Zdenek Miler (LeiV, 2007).

Story Listening: Die rote Blume

Posted in 1st - 4th Grade, Story Listening, Uncategorized by

2018-11-20 13.51.13

“Die rote Blume” is a short story – a VERY short story – from a collection by Erwin Moser. It is from his second collection about two mice named Manuel und Didi. These two mice are best friends and have all kinds of adventures. (Manuel & Didi: Das zweite große Buch der kleinen Mäuseabenteuer, 2009)

I’ve always loved reading these stories in my German story hour at the library. They are entertaining for both the children and the adults 🙂  They can be a little tricky to use for Story Listening, because there is often a humorous or ironic twist at the end. That can be hard to capture in a way that the children understand. This one is a bit more straightforward.

The children enjoyed the story, so I’m sure I’ll be telling them more about Manuel & Didi later in the year.

Manuel und Didi II

Winter Activities

Posted in Coloring Pages, Crafty Projects, Games, Language Themes, Uncategorized, Word Posters by

Here on the east coast, winter has made a very loud arrival! Two days with no school – and this the first week back after a long break! Then I realized I’ve never posted any winter activities! So here are a number of random worksheets and craft ideas you can do in German 🙂

Schneemann malen nach Zahlen

This simple color by number is great for the little ones just learning their numbers and colors. The color words are written in the corresponding color, making it easier for them to do on their own. Download the PDF here: Schneemann Malen nach Zahlen GitA

Schneemann Malen nach Zahlen GitA-page-001

Tierspuren

Here are two simple worksheets to talk about the tracks that different animals leave in the snow. There is a black and white version. And if a little extra help is needed, there is a colored outline version. Then the colors can be easily paired up.

Tierspuren GitA-page-001

Download the worksheets as PDF files here:

For a follow-up activity, see if you have any little animal figures. Winter animals would be best, but whatever you’ve got! Then get out the play-doh and roll it out. Let your child walk the animals through the play-doh to make tracks. Then compare them. It’s also a great opportunity to talk about animals in German!

If you have snow and it isn’t brutally cold, go for a walk and see if you see any tracks. Before you go, talk about the kinds of animals that live in your area. Maybe look up what their prints look like, so you can identify them when you see them.

Winter Wortschatz

Here are five winter word posters you can print out full-sized or print 6-to-a-page to make flashcards. Print two sets to make a game of memory!

Download the PDF file here: Winter Wortschatz GitA

There is also a coloring page of all five words to go with them.

Winter Wortschatz Malvorlage GitA-page-001

Download the PDF here: Winter Wortschatz Malvorlage GitA

Winter Labyrinthe

I just put up a post with 10 easy German winter mazes! You can find them here 🙂 Here is an example:

Schneeflocken fangen GitA-page-001

Other ideas

There are tons of great craft ideas out there! I’ve been collecting them on a Pinterest board for years. Check it out here!

I also saw a list of 40 snow day boredom busters on Mommy Poppins. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration there?!

Viel Spaß!