COURSE OUTLINE FOR GERMAN V AP
GERMAN V covers a wide range of topics. The students are expected to be and most invariably are fairly proficient in the spoken language. This course will cover special problems and topics in grammar, vocabulary, and stylistics throughout the year. A comprehensive list of idioms will also be introduced. The students will receive an extensive as well as intensive exposure to Epik, Dramatik und Lyrik in German literature. Thus, representative short stories, novellas, dramas and poems will be analyzed and interpreted. Works by writers such as Dürrenmatt, Brecht, and Goethe will be studied from a philosophical as well as literary-analytical point of view and ideas will be applied to today’s world. Special discussions originating from current events articles will take place frequently throughout the year. Videotapes from Germany and Austria will bring the life of the respective cultures into the classroom. Because the course is primarily designed to focus on the GERMAN ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST, all of the above-mentioned areas will be treated with respect to this exam. In addition, a chief aim will be to develop the students’ aural comprehension skills. Therefore, a variety of listening activities have been built into the course. There will be a ban on all English spoken during the language periods. Students in this course are not required to take the AP exam, however, those who do not take the exam, are expected to take a cumulative exam for the second semester during the second meeting (and third one, if needed) of the final week for seniors. The A.P. designation on the student’s transcript will be changed to an “Honors” designation.* All students in this course are required to make a submission to “Polyglot”, the Pingry classical and modern language publication. The N.A.T.G. Examination will be offered this year to all Pingry German students in levels II -V.
*See Pingry Handbook
SOURCES (Quellen):
Sprache l. Sprachheft: Deutsch für Fortgeschrittene-Hueber
2. Übungen zu Präpositionen und synonymen
Verben-Hueber
3. Deutsches Übungsbuch: Redewendungen/idiomatische Wendungen
4. Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik
5. Versuch es mit Humor
Literatur l. “Der Jasager und der Neinsager” - Brecht
2. Junge deutsche Prosa - Feix und Schlant
3. “Besuch der alten Dame” - Dürrenmatt
4. “Die Geschichte vom Schleier” - Goethe
5. Selected Poems – “Der Erlkönig” – Goethe
6. “Damals war es Friedrich” - Richter
Aktuelles l. Zur Diskussion - Sevin & Sevin
2. New Jersey Freie Zeitung
Kultur 1. Dating Game - Video
2. Begegnung mit Schulkindern - Video
3. Am österreichischen Rundfunk - Video
4. Am Touristenverkehrsamt Köln - Video
5. Eine Tour durch eine mitteralterliche Burg-Video
6. Ein Interview außerhalb des Berliner Olympiastadions
6. Gefährliche Wege - Audio-cassette
7. Hörverständnisübungen - Georgetown University Series
8. “Otzi” - A.A.T.G. Test Video
Filme l. “Die letzten Tage von Sophie Scholl”
2. “Die verlorene Ehre von Katharina Blum”
3. “Das Leben der Anderen”
4. “Die Dreigroschenoper”
5. “Die Blechtrommel”
6. “Divided We Fall” 9/2010
Vocabulary from the “Wie sagt man . . ?” section of the German Quarterly is displayed at a station in the classroom without being presented and is tested on a biweekly basis.
Many classes begin with a reading from “Versuch es mit Humor” and “In Your Own Words” in order to routinely address listening comprehension on a smaller scale beyond some of the larger units that will be devoted to this skill.
Students are required to read from our “Leseecke” where publications and periodicals in German such as Spiegel, Juma, and Scala are at their disposal. They report monthly on one article or story they read in a round-table discussion format.
Cooperative learning is a critical component of instruction. Structures used include: Jigsaw, STAD, Coop-Coop, Stand Up and Share, Numbered Heads Together, Corners, Pairs Check, Inside-Outside Circles, etc.
Students are often asked to divide into groups of four for the purposes of closure (processing of the learnings), usually in discussion format in German. Because there is no intention of checking for understanding at that time, the instructor is only present on the periphery of the activity and plays virtually no role. The groups have a “Gesprächsleiter” and a “Protokollant” who reports what the groups accomplished via an “Ergebnisprotokoll” or a “Verlaufsprotokoll”. During the reading of the “Protokoll”, all students fill out a “Protokollformular” with generic questions to test listening comprehension.
Role playing is also an important component and an avenue for most extemporaneous activities. Students are asked to role-play anything. In addition, an instructor might walk into the room and say, for example, “Gestern habe ich einen Seiltänzer gesehen!” The students are then required to react to, add to, or question the “Aussage” with a rejoinder. They might say: “Wirklich?” or “Quatsch!” or “Wo war’n Sie denn?” or “Ein gefährlicher Beruf! So was wagte ich bestimmt nicht!”, etc. They may even react to, add to, or question the rejoinders of their classmates. This activity continues until everyone has said at least something or the theme has been exhausted. Another example: “Unser Haus hat einen großen Keller. . .” Students: “So wunderbar für eine Fete!”, “Ja, wir haben sowieso eine Feier fürs Wochenende vor!” and so on and so on. The instructor usually has to terminate the rejoinders because the students become very proficient at this. All Pingry School language instructors are trained to develop effective communicative structures as they monitor the learning of the students and adjust their teaching extemporaneously, on their feet!