A Sixth German Starter Unit

Mein Haus, mein Zimmer 🖤❤️💛 ⇢ My House, My Room 🛏️ 🛋️

Published by Roslyn Green in March 2023

This unit was originally developed for accelerated students and would therefore serve ideally as extension material. A detailed downloadable booklet for students is provided. There is also a range of online quizzes:

  • Two audio quizzes with quite challenging texts to work through
  • Some “pin and label” quizzes to simplify vocabulary learning
  • Two useful quizzes for learning and mastering the prepositions for describing location.

Masculine NounsFeminine NounsNeuter NounsPlural NounsPrepositions


Bildlexikon 1: Mein Zimmer | My Room


  • das Bett → bed
    • Ich mache jeden Tag das Bett. → I make the bed every day.
  • das Zimmer → room | das Schlafzimmer → bedroom
    • Ich habe mein eigenes Zimmer. Ich muss es nicht teilen. → I have my own room. I don’t have to share.

  • der Schreibtisch → desk | der Stuhl → chair
    • Ein Stuhl steht vor dem Schreibtisch → A chair is (standing) in front of the desk.
    • Manchmal lerne ich auf dem Bett, weil das bequemer ist. → Sometimes I study on the bed, because it’s more comfortable.
  • vor → in front of | auf → on
  • stehen – to stand often used to refer to the position of objects

  • der Nachttisch → bedside table | die Vase – vase
    • Der Nachttisch steht neben dem Bett. → The bedside table is beside the bed.
    • Eine Vase steht auf dem Nachttisch. → A vase is on the bedside table.
  • neben → beside, next to

  • die Lampe → lamp | die Kommode → chest of drawers
    • Eine Lampe steht auf der Kommode. → A lamp is on the chest of drawers.

Bildlexikon 2: Prepositions

  • The dative case is required after prepositions denoting position:
    • masculine: der → dem
    • feminine: die → der
    • neuter: das → dem
    • plural: die → den

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay



  • die Tasse→ cup | die Untertasse – saucer
  • der Tisch → table
  • die Frau → woman
  • das Handy → mobile phone
  • das TabletiPad, tablet
    • Die junge Frau sitzt an dem Tisch (oder am Tisch). The young woman is sitting at the table.
    • Sie hat ein Handy in der Hand. She has a mobile in her hand.
    • Die Tasse, die Untertasse und das Tablet sind auf dem Tisch. The cup, saucer and tablet are on the table.

Image by Watercolor Artist from Pixabay


  • das Regal → shelf
  • die Couch → couch
    • Das Regal ist über der Couch. → The shelf is over/above the couch.
    • Die Couch steht unter dem Regal. → The couch is under the shelf.

Image by Luda Kot from Pixabay

  • die Kinder children
  • die Katze cat
    • Die Katze ist zwischen den Kindern. The cat is between the children.

[Note the addition of the dative -n ending to the plural noun: Kindern]


Image by Watercolor Artist from Pixabay

  • das Kinderbett cot or crib
  • der Stuhl chair
    • Der Stuhl steht neben dem Kinderbett. The chair is beside the cot.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay


  • die Couch couch
  • der Couchtisch coffee table
  • das Fensterbrett windowsill
    • Der Couchtisch steht vor der Couch. The coffee table is in front of the couch.
    • Die Katze sitzt hinter der Couch auf dem Fensterbrett.

Online Activities

Quizizz: German Prepositions

This introductory quiz checks and reinforces learners’ memory of the meaning of prepositions. There are also questions and photos that prompt learners to choose the correct preposition from four options.

Learners can play the “preview” or “flashcard” version of the game without creating an account.


Quiz: Describing Positions with Prepositions

In this quiz about the key prepositions for describing the position of people and objects, learners can select the correct preposition to match a range of pictures containing people, furniture and teddy bears.


Quiz: Über Katzen und Präpositionen | About Cats and Prepositions

This quiz also has deer, dogs and a man doing magical things with a soccer ball in it. To describe each scene correctly, choose the right preposition.


Quizizz: Bei mir zu Hause: Eine Wortliste

Learners encounter 20 nouns for inside the house and the surroundings.


A Pin and Label Matching Quiz: Mein Zimmer | My Room

Sixteen colour-coded nouns for the bedroom: masculinefeminineneuter. Learners can click on the💡on the top left of the quiz to read through the vocabulary list.


A Pin and Label Matching Quiz: Mein Haus | My House

Twenty-four colour-coded nouns for the whole house: masculinefeminineneuter. Learners can click on the💡on the top left of the quiz to read through the vocabulary list.


A spontaneous presentation by Laura Bühler

Mein Zimmer in Deutschland | My Room in Germany → Audio and Quiz

Laura describes her small room in a student hostel in Germany to a class of year seven students in Melbourne.

Audio Quiz with Full Text: Lauras Zimmer in Deutschland


Recorded by Carolina Seez

Mein Zimmer | My Room → Audio and Quick Quiz

A teenager describes her room, which is also her refuge. Click on the picture to see the full text.

Quick Quiz: Mein Zimmer → Match 16 pictures of objects in a bedroom with their German names.

Worksheet: Mein Zimmer → Vocabulary explanations and exercises based on the text

A Fifth German Starter Unit

Hobbys und Freizeit 🖤❤️💛 ⇢ Hobbies and Leisure 🏑🎻📚🎞️

Published by Roslyn Green in March 2023

This unit was originally developed for accelerated students and would therefore serve ideally as extension material. It includes a downloadable booklet for students; a range of online quizzes, including three audio files with texts to work through; and two Kahoots that can be played amongst students or by the whole class, one on Conjugation and the other about Freizeit und Hobbys.

Bildlexikon

  • gehen – to go (in this example, conjugated)
  • joggen – to jog (in this example, the infinitive goes to end)
    • Ich gehe gern joggen. – I like going jogging.

  • schlafen – to sleep: a vowel-changing verb
    • Sie schläft gern. – She likes sleeping.

  • essen – to eat: a vowel-changing verb
    • Er isst gern Honig. – He likes eating honey.

  • fern/sehen – to watch television
  • This is a separable verb with an added complication: sehen is also a vowel-changer.
    • Sie sehen gern fern. – They like watching TV.
    • Siehst du gern fern? – Do you like watching TV?

Useful Links

Online Activities


Crossword: Hobbys und Freizeit | Hobbies and Leisure

This crossword takes you through all sorts of hobbies, with pictures for each one and a lightbulb to click on for help.


Audio Quiz: Am Wochenende mache ich gern nichts | On the weekend I like to do nothing

This quiz provides practice with identifying and conjugating the vowel-changing verbs – and with talking about a lazy weekend.

Kindly recorded by Carolina Seez

Conjugation Quiz: Am Wochenende mache ich gern nichts

Fill in the missing verbs and practise identifying the vowel-changing verbs.


Quiz: Hobbys und Freizeit | Hobbies and Leisure

Through this quiz you can revise wording for hobbies and leisure activities. There is also a question in which you can practise the conjugation of können (can, to be able to).


Audio Quiz: Kimberleys Hobbys | Kimberley’s Hobbies

One of my most memorable accelerated students, Kimberley, wrote this text after less than one year of learning German. This quiz includes her text, audio and some very simple questions.

Recorded by Carolina Seez


Quiz: gern, lieber, am liebsten

Complete sentences that describe people’s hobbies and preferences by adding gern, lieber, lieber als or am liebsten.


Kahoots:


Audio Quiz: Charlottes Familie, Hobbys und Interessen | Charlotte’s Family, Hobbies and Interests

Charlotte grew up in Australia, but she always speaks German with her mother, so she is completely bilingual.


A Third Unit for German Beginners

Published by Roslyn Green in February 2023

Meine Familie 🖤❤️💛 ⇢ My Family 🫶🏾

This unit guides learners towards talking about their families and pets. The words for family members are introduced, along with adjectives for describing their characteristics. There is a free booklet for students to download, along with quizzes and activities, including an interactive online crossword and a Kahoot about family and pets.

Useful Links 


Online Activities 

Audio Quiz 1: Guten Tag! Ich heiße Pierre

This quiz is based on the text on page 2 of the unit booklet.


Audio Quiz 2: Leider habe ich keine Geschwister

The audio and quiz are embedded below ↓. This quiz is based on the text on page 8 of the unit booklet.

Herr Smith kindly recorded this audio.


Audio Quiz 3: Ich heiße Lana

The audio and quiz are embedded below ↓. This quiz is based on the text on page 9 of the unit booklet.

This audio was kindly recorded by Linda Manteuffel.


Crossword: Meine Familie

This crossword is embedded below ↓.



Audio Quiz 4: Meine Familie

You can read the text in the quiz below the audio and fill in the missing words.

Note: This text is quite challenging for beginners. It was recorded for this blog by two lovely young teachers from Germany, Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing. So you may need to pause the audio between the slides of the quiz.

This text was both written and recorded by Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing.


A Second Unit for German Beginners

Published by Roslyn Green in January 2023

Über mich 🖤❤️💛 ⇢ About me 🧒🏽

This unit guides learners towards introducing themselves and describing their origins in German. It covers regular verb conjugation in a simple way and provides practice with verbs such as wohnen (to live) and kommen (to come). There are also exercises related to the irregular verb haben (to have).

In addition to a downloadable booklet (embedded below), there are speaking flashcards, quizzes and a simple audio recording.

For a more challenging version of this unit, intended for fast learners, an alternative booklet as well as additional but related activities are available on this page.


Bildlexikon – Picture Dictionary: haben and sein

haben – to have: Ich habe heute Geburtstag. → Today is my birthday.

sein – to be: Ich bin zwölf Jahre alt. → I am 12 years old.


haben – to have: Wir haben eine Katze. We have a cat.

sein – to be: Sie ist süß. She is sweet.


haben – to have: Wir haben beide Laptops. → We both have laptops.

sein – to be: Wir sind Freunde. → We are friends.


haben – to have: Mein Bruder hat ein neues Handy. → My brother has a new mobile phone.

sein – to be: Es ist fantastisch. → It is fantastic.


Useful Links


Online Activities

Flashcards

These are question and answer flashcards. The first side has a greeting or question and the second side has an appropriate answer. The flashcards will “speak” if you click on the tiny microphone above the cards. A printout of this conversation is also provided below.



A Fill the Gap Quiz: Using Three Verbs – kommen, wohnen and sprechen

Revise your knowledge of these three key verbs.


A Jumble Kahoot: Place the words in the right order to answer the questions

Play with your class or with a small group of friends.


Audio text from page 7 of the unit booklet

Hallo! Mein Name ist Phoebe.

This audio was kindly recorded by Linda Manteuffel.

Read the text while you listen:

Hallo! Mein Name ist Phoebe und ich komme aus Neuseeland. Meine Eltern kommen aus England. Natürlich spreche ich Englisch, genau wie die Kinder in Australien. Meine beste Freundin heißt Sophie. Sie kommt aus China. Woher kommst du?

Ich wohne auf dem Land. Das finde ich super, denn ich liebe Tiere. Ich habe mein eigenes Pferd!

English Translation: Hello! My name is Phoebe and I come from New Zealand. My parents come from England. Of course I speak English, just like the children in Australia. My best friend is called Sophie. She comes from China. Where do you come from?

I live in the country. I think that’s wonderful, because I love animals. I have my own horse!


A Fill the Gap Quiz: Conjugating haben – the verb to have

Learn the conjugation of this crucial verb and practise using it correctly in sentences.



A German Starter Unit

Published in January 2023 by Roslyn Green

Ich lerne Deutsch 🖤❤️💛 I am learning German 🥨

This is a unit of work for beginner learners who are starting high school German. I wrote it in 2017 and updated it in 2022, improving the downloadable unit booklet and adding two quizzes and a Kahoot. The audio files were kindly recorded by Anthony Jäckisch, a gifted and charismatic young teacher with a melodious voice.

For fast learners, there is a more challenging version of this unit on this page, which also provides additional quizzes and activities on the conjugation of sein – to be and haben – to have.

All the very best from Roslyn Green

A tribute to Jacinda Ardern, a woman of integrity, honour and kindness: It has been a pure pleasure to live in a nearby country while Jacinda Ardern was the Prime Minister of New Zealand. I always hoped that her empathy, decency and humanity would rub off on our politicians in Australia. I wish her the very best for the next phase of her life.

Useful Links and Booklet 



Online Activities

Quick Introductory Quiz

The list of essential words in the table below will help you to complete the quiz.

Masculine NounsFeminine NounsNeuter Nouns
der Lehrer – male teacherdie Lehrerin – female teacherdas Buch – book
der Mann – mandie Frau – womandas Handy – mobile
der Junge – boydie Schule – schooldas Mädchen – girl
der Hund – dogdie Katze – cat
der Freund – frienddie Freundin – friend

Audio 1: Short text from page 4 of unit booklet

Hallo! – Guten Tag! – Ich heiße Finn.

This audio was kindly recorded by Anthony Jäckisch.

Audio 2: Short text from page 9 of unit booklet

Ben: Hallo! Wie heißt du?
Mia: Ich heiße Mia. Und du?

This audio was kindly recorded by Anthony Jäckisch.

Kahoot: Introduction to German

This quiz can be played with your class or in a small group of friends. It includes introductory questions about noun genders, German numbers and simple introductory sentences.


Revision Quiz Based on This Unit

This quiz provides practice with essential nouns, the concept of gender, subject pronouns and the conjugation of sein – to be. The last question includes a simple audio text with a fill-the-blank exercise.

Embedded below ↓