Deutsch als Fremdsprache

Einheit: Weihnachten 🎄

Roslyn Green Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Einheiten, Quizzes, Units, Vocabulary , , , , , ,

Published by Roslyn Green in November 2022

Unit: Christmas

Jump to Links and Unit Booklet
Jump to Quizzes and Activities

Bildlexikon: Weihnachten

  • das Geschenk → present, gift
  • die Bescherung → the present-opening
    • Wann ist bei euch Bescherung? → When do you open your Christmas presents?
  • der Weihnachtsbaum → Christmas tree
  • den Weihnachtsbaum schmücken → to decorate the Christmas tree
  • die Weihnachtskugel oder die Kugel → bauble
    • Wir haben den Weihnachtsbaum mit Kugeln geschmückt. → We’ve decorated the Christmas tree with baubles.
  • der Nikolaustag
    • Am Nikolaustag stellen die Kinder ihre Schuhe vor die Tür. → On St Nicholas’ Day, the children put their shoes in front of their house door.

Useful Links

Weihnachten – Einheit November 2022Download

Online Activities

Match the Pin and Label Puzzle

The pins are based on the gender of the noun: blue for masculine nouns; red for feminine nouns; green for neuter nouns. Click on the ⓘ symbol on each label to hear the noun pronounced. For English translations of each expression, click on the lightbulb .

Kahoot: Weihnachten

This Kahoot is based on the vocabulary on pages 2-4 of the unit booklet. The quiz is entirely in German, but most of the questions are quite simple.

Quizizz: Mein Wunschzettel → paper version on right

This quiz focuses on the correct accusative endings after sentence starts such as:

  • Zu Weihnachten wünsche ich mir…
  • Ich hätte gern…
Mein Wunschzettel-Quizizz

A Word and Picture Quiz

This quiz provides many pictures to help you recall the Christmas-based vocabulary. It has some more challenging questions towards the end but there are several ⓘ symbols with translations.

Download PDF of Completed Quiz

Worksheet in PDF form: Weihnachten

This handout is based on a very simplified version of Annik Rubens’ excellent description of Christmas in Germany, which is embedded on the left.

You can read the full text of this podcast episode here .

WeihnachtsspielDownload

This game is best printed on an A3 piece of paper for each group of 2-3 students.

This is a set of more detailed instructions for students who can handle a range of sentences and are fairly independent.

A Christmas Board Game

Students can play this game with dice and buttons. Wherever they land, they must try to make up a sentence using the infinitive expression on that square.

Another option could be for the first student to ask a question based on that square’s expression. The second student could answer the question.

Kahoots for Those Desperate Moments 😱

Roslyn Green Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Games , , , , , ,

Published by Roslyn Green in November 2022

Here are thirty freshly updated Kahoots to accompany teachers and learners through the last exhausting months of this year. These games could be just the thing to get you through a torturous afternoon period in a long and wearing week. Students can also play them in little groups with one student hosting.

I’ve listed the Kahoots roughly in order from the simplest to the most difficult, with links to related pages that also offer individual quizzes for early finishers.

Please note: You may have to click through Kahoot’s marketing prompts initially. But hopefully you will get to a point where you can “continue as guest” or log in if you have an account.

Introduction to German

Beginners answer simple questions about greetings, noun gender, numbers and self-introduction. Suitable after 4-6 lessons of German.

Unit of Work: Ich lerne Deutsch

Woher kommt…? / Was ist das?

This Kahoot provides practice with questions about people’s origins and the names of objects.

Unit of Work: Über mich

Jumble Kahoot: Ich lerne Deutsch

Learners respond to each question by placing four words (or sets of words) in the right order. This could be played with a class or by a small group of students.

Unit of Work: Über mich

Mein Steckbrief

This is a simple introductory game for students who are in the first 2-3 months of learning German. Players need to choose the correctly written sentence in each question.

Unit of Work: Über mich (Accelerated)

Freunde, Freundinnen, Freundschaft

In this simple Kahoot, useful words for friends, friendship and the characteristics of friends are introduced.

Doktor Tierlieb: Ein Doktor für Tiere

Learners can revise animal names in singular and plural forms, definite and indefinite articles, and adjectives.

Audio text  | Handout

Related Page: Animal Quizzes

Mein Schultag

Players experience a simple school day in German, from breakfast before school to feeling tired afterwards.

Unit of Work: In der Schule
Unit of Work: In der Schule (Accelerated)

Note: Both of the above units provide downloadable booklets for students.

Schulsachen

This game revises the names of school items; ein/e and kein/e; and the uses of common school objects.

Unit of Work: In der Schule
Unit of Work: In der Schule (Accelerated)

Note: Both of the above units provide downloadable booklets for students.

Pure Conjugation

Learners revisit the conjugation of important verbs, including sein, haben and some common vowel-changers.

Related Page: Regular Verb Conjugation
Related Page: Taming the Vowel-Changers

End of Year German Quiz

This Kahoot provides revision for the first year or two of German learning.

Hobbys und Freizeit

The questions focus on the conjugation of key verbs for describing hobbies.

Unit of Work: Hobbys und Freizeit
Related Page: Hobbys und Verben

German Word Order with weil and denn

This is a jumble puzzle in which students need to place words in the correct order to form or complete a sentence. Each question allows a minute to work out the puzzle.

Weihnachten

This quiz offers 20 questions in which simple vocabulary is introduced and then reiterated in the following question. Ideal after a year or two of German.

Unit of Work: Weihnachten

Allgemeinwissen | General Knowledge in German

This quiz is purely in German. A new word is introduced with the help of a simple sentence and picture, then reinforced in one or two of the following questions. The students therefore learn new German words by applying their existing general knowledge.

This is actually my most popular German Kahoot – it has been played more than any other. Who would have thought?

A Multitasking Verb: werden

Practise using and conjugating werden in two of its roles: as a verb meaning to become, to get, to turn; and as an auxiliary verb to create the future tense.

Related Page: A Super Verb: werden

Cases and Adjective Endings

Players have to distinguish between the nominative and accusative cases and then choose the correct adjective endings in simple sentences.

Unit of Work: Adjective Endings

Comparisons: Mein Hund ist größer als dein Hund!

Learners can practise making comparisons, including with irregular comparatives such as größer, wärmer, älter, jünger, länger, etc.

Persönlichkeit und Aussehen

Players can learn and revise adjectives for describing personality and appearance.

Unit of Work: Wie bist du? Wie siehst du aus?

German: The Perfect Tense

This Kahoot focuses purely on the correct conjugation of the auxiliary verb: sein or haben. There are several simple sentences with a variety of activities represented.

Unit of Work: The Perfect Tense

Which Past Participle? – The German Perfect Tense

The key task for learners is to choose the correct past participle from four options. There are several simple sentences with a variety of activities represented.

Unit of Work: The Perfect Tense

The Long Weekend in the Present and the Perfect Tenses

Each question has a sentence in the present tense, followed by an equivalent sentence in the perfect tense. Players have to choose the correct auxiliary verb and past participle to complete the perfect tense sentence.

Unit of Work: The Perfect Tense

In den Schulferien habe ich…

Players choose between sentences that describe school holiday activities. They also revise W-question words, which should then allow them to pose questions about the holidays themselves.

Ich mache eine Party!

Learners revise vocabulary related to giving a party, inviting people to come, preparing for the event, and so on.

Viele Familiengeschichten

This Kahoot introduces key verbs for love, marriage and marriage breakdown, as well as exploring the complexity of family relationships in a very simple fashion.

Unit of Work: Familienleben

Manchmal verstehen wir uns gut, manchmal nicht

This Kahoot reinforces vocabulary for describing how people get along — or don’t. Some questions require the use of weil to give reasons for feelings; others revise the reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive and Reciprocal Verbs in German – Accusative Reflexive Pronouns

Learners practise the usage of verbs such as sich anziehen, sich verstehen, sich beeilen, etc. This Kahoot provides good practice for the accusative reflexive pronouns and common verbs that require them.

Traumtag oder Horrortag?

In each question a typical teenager experience is described. The students have to decide what kind of day is represented. Later questions present players with 4 situations; they have to choose which belongs to a happy day or an awful one.

Die Umwelt

Players are asked to choose between options that are friendly to the environment and actions that might lead to harm. The vocabulary is summarised in the two pages buttoned below.

Related Page: Umwelt: A-Z
Related Page: Umweltschutz: Verben A-Z

Relative Pronouns

This is a relatively challenging quiz for senior or more advanced students. Students need to choose between relative pronouns and distinguish between nominative, accusative and dative cases.

Die Wechselpräpositionen

This is a relatively challenging quiz for senior or more advanced students. I made it originally for students learning German at the Goethe-Institut in München, so it is completely in German and includes some photos from that visit.

Related Page: Die Wechselpräpositionen

Umweltschutz: Verben A-Z 🌳

Roslyn Green Deutsch als Fremdsprache, German as a Foreign Language, Quizzes, Verbs, Vocabulary , , , , , ,

Verbs for Discussing Environmental Issues

This post was published by Roslyn Green in October 2022.

Sentence Patterns
Verbs A-Z
Quizzes and Activities

The Conjugated Verb as Sentence Anchor

German word order is delightfully fluid. The only immovable part is the conjugated verb, which is reassuringly anchored in the second position. In the examples below, the conjugated verb is a modal verb. Other elements can move around, as illustrated by the floating subject, which is usually placed first or third. In sentences with modal verbs, the other verb in the infinitive form generally goes to the end.

Sentence Patterns

Key: subject ♦ modal verb ♦ infinitive verb

  • Wir müssen sofort handeln. [act, take action]
  • Im Haushalt kann man den Müll leicht trennen. [separate, sort]
  • Im Supermarkt können wir immer Stofftüten benutzen. [use]
  • Bei uns zu Hause könnten wir sicher weniger heizen. [heat]
  • Morgen musst du deine alten Kleider aussortieren. [sort out]
  • Dann können wir sie zum Secondhandladen bringen. [take]
  • Die Regierung sollte bedrohte Tierarten schützen. [protect]
  • Wir müssen die Vielfalt der Natur für kommende Generationen bewahren. [preserve]
  • Die Politiker sollten erneuerbare Energien fördern. [promote]

Bildlexikon: Verben A-Z

It’s useful to focus on the verbs required to give advice and make suggestions about protecting the environment. Here’s a handy list.

das Licht ausmachen oder ausschalten – to turn out the light

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Stoff- oder Jutetaschen benutzen – to use cloth or jute bags

Image by Artur Konik from Pixabay

erneuerbare Energien erzeugen – to generate renewable energies

Image by Markus Distelrath from Pixabay

das Umweltbewusstsein fördern – to promote environmental awareness

Image by Dorothe from Pixabay

zu Fuß gehen statt mit dem Auto fahren – to walk instead of drive

Image by Lorraine Cormier from Pixabay

andere Menschen inspirieren – to inspire other people

David Attenborough from John Cairns, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

gegen die Klimakrise kämpfen – to fight against the climate crisis

Image by cubicroot from Pixabay

umweltfreundliche Produkte kaufen – to buy environmentally friendly products

Image by rodgersm222 from Pixabay

nachhaltiger leben – to live more sustainably

Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay

einen Becher oder eine Trinkflasche mitbringen – to take a cup or water bottle with you

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Bäume pflanzen – to plant trees

Image by Nico Wall from Pixabay

Papier und Karton recyceln – to recycle paper and cardboard

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay

den CO2-Fußabdruck reduzieren – to reduce your carbon footprint

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

die Natur und die Umwelt respektieren – to respect nature and the environment

Image by homecare119 from Pixabay

Energie / Strom sparen – to save energy / electricity

Image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay

Plastik vermeiden – to avoid plastic

Image by G J Whitby from Pixabay

Haushaltssachen wiederverwenden – to reuse household items

Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay

Fenster und Türen zumachen – to close windows and doors

Image by yeshimss from Pixabay

Quizzes and Activities

Quiz: Verbs for Discussing Environmental Issues

Practise using the verbs listed above, including in sentences with modal verbs.

Become more and more familiar with the pattern shown on the left.

Match Pins and Labels: Umweltschutz: Haushalt, Stadt, Welt | Protecting the Environment: Household, City, World

This quiz is quite difficult even though it is full of pictures. Click on the for translations of all the phrasing. Each picture must be matched with a phrase about taking environmentally friendly action.

Kahoot: Die Umwelt

Players are asked to choose between options that are friendly to the environment and actions that might lead to harm. The vocabulary includes the wording summarised on this page, some modal verbs, and the use of denn to give explanations.

Umwelt A-Z ♻️

Roslyn Green Deutsch als Fremdsprache, German as a Foreign Language, Vocabulary , , , , , , , ,

Umweltprobleme und Umweltschutz A-Z

Jump to Quizzes and Activities

Posted by Roslyn Green in October 2022

Bildlexikon | Picture Dictionary

Colour Coding of Nouns: Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural

  • die Abholzung – deforestation
  • Bäume abholzen – cut down or clear trees

Image by Picography from Pixabay

  • Bäume pflanzen und schützen – plant and protect trees
  • Bodenerosion verursachen / vermeiden – cause / avoid soil erosion

Image by Nicole from Pixabay

  • die CO2-Konzentration in der Atmosphäre reduzieren – reduce the level of CO2 in the atmosphere

Image by Pixource from Pixabay

  • die Dürre
  • Dürren nehmen zu – droughts become worse or occur more often

Image by Luis Iranzo Navarro-Olivares from Pixabay

  • Energie sparen – save energy
  • den Energieverbrauch reduzieren
  • erneuerbare Energien fördern – foster / promote renewable energies
  • die globale Erwärmung – global warming

Image by PIRO from Pixabay

  • das Fleisch
  • kein / weniger Fleisch essen – eat no meat / less meat

Image by Uwe Ruhrmann from Pixabay

  • die Gefahr
  • Der Klimawandel ist eine Gefahr für die Menschheit. – Climate change is a danger for humanity.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

  • die Heizung
  • das Haus so effizient wie möglich heizen – heat the house as efficiently as possible

Image by Etadly from Pixabay

  • der Jutebeutel – jute bag (the picture above shows a 40-year-old slogan to reduce plastic use)
  • die Jutetasche, Stofftasche – jute or cloth bag

Adrian Michael, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  • der Klimawandel oder die Klimaveränderung – climate change
  • gegen den Klimawandel kämpfen – fight against climate change

Image by Patou Ricard from Pixabay

  • die Luftverschmutzung – air pollution
  • die Luft mit Abgasen verschmutzen – pollute the air with waste or exhaust gases

Image by alvpics from Pixabay

  • die Mülltrennung – waste separation / sorting
  • den Müll trennen – separate or sort waste
  • mehr / weniger Müll produzieren – produce more / less rubbish

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay

  • Naturkatastrophen vorbeugen – prevent or take precautions against natural catastrophes
  • die Nachhaltigkeit – sustainability

Image by Hans from Pixabay

  • das Ozonloch – hole in the ozone layer
  • Ökosysteme schützen/zerstören – protect/destroy ecosystems

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

  • die Plastikflasche – plastic bottle
  • die Plastiktüte – plastic bag
  • Plastik vermeiden – avoid plastic

Image by 💙♡🌼♡💙 Julita 💙♡🌼♡💙 from Pixabay

  • die Regenwälder schützen – protect the rainforests
  • Die Regenwälder produzieren eine Menge Sauerstoff. – The rainforests produce a great deal of oxygen.

Image by stokpic from Pixabay

  • Strom sparen – save electricity
  • der Sauerstoff
  • Sauerstoff ist lebensnotwendig. – Oxygen is essential to life.

Image by PIRO from Pixabay

  • bedrohte Tierarten schützen – protect endangered species
  • Treibhausgase emittieren / reduzieren – emit / reduce greenhouse gases

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

  • die Überschwemmung – flood
  • die Überbevölkerung – over-population

Image by sweetreilly0 from Pixabay

  • die Vielfalt der Natur für kommende Generationen bewahren – preserve the diversity of nature for future generations
  • die Verpackung – packaging

Image by Myléne from Pixabay

  • die Wiederverwendung, die Wiederverwertung – reusing and recycling
  • der Welthunger – world hunger
  • die Wüstenbildung – desertification

Image by Wälz from Pixabay

  • Die Zeit ist knapp. Wir müssen handeln. – The time is short. We must act.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Quizzes and Activities

Puzzle: Umweltfreundlich oder umweltfeindlich? | Protective or harmful to the environment?

Classify each action according to its likely impact on the environment. Reveal the picture under the puzzle.

Quiz: Umweltfreundlich oder nicht? | Environmentally friendly or not?

Learn important verbs for talking about the environment and determine which actions are environmentally friendly and which might lead to negative impacts in the long term.

Match Pins and Labels: Umweltschutz: Haushalt, Stadt, Welt | Protecting the Environment: Household, City, World

This quiz is quite difficult even though it is full of pictures. Click on the for translations of all the phrasing. Each picture must be matched with a phrase about taking environmentally friendly action.

Deutsches Essen A-Z 🥔

Roslyn Green Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Vocabulary , , , , ,

German Food A-Z

Posted by Roslyn Green in October 2022

Jump to Quizzes and Activities

Bildlexikon A-Z | Picture Dictionary A-Z

There are only 21 foods pictured below, not 26. All the same, these options should sustain you for some time. There are several combined forms: for example, die Wurst (sausage) is the basis for die Currywurst (curried sausage); and der Apfel (apple cake) leads naturally to der Apfelkuchen (apple cake).

  • der Apfel (die Äpfel)
  • der Apfelkuchen – apple cake
  • das Brot (e)
  • das Brötchen – bread roll

Image by bennopic from Pixabay

  • die Currywurst – curried sausage

Image by hansiline from Pixabay

  • das Ei (er)
  • das Spiegelei – fried egg, sunny side up
  • das Gemüse (generally used as both a singular and plural form)
  • das Hähnchen – chicken

Image by phuong hoang thuy from Pixabay

  • der Honig (singular only) – honey
  • der Joghurt (s) – yoghurt
  • der Kaffee (usually singular)
  • der Cappuccino (s)

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

  • der Käse (plural: die Käsesorten) – cheese
  • Note: This is a rare masculine noun ending in an –e
  • die Marmelade (n) – jam, spreads made with fruit
  • die Nudeln (usually referred to in plural form)
  • der Nudelsalat – noodle salad
  • die Nudelsuppe – noodle soup
  • das Obst (no plural) – fruit
  • der Quark – a type of soft cheese

Image by charlykushu from Pixabay

  • der Reis (no plural) – rice
  • das Rührei oder die Rühreier – scrambled eggs
  • der Schinken (-) – ham

  • die Schokolade (singular form only) – chocolate
  • der Tee (s) – also: die Teesorten – tea, types of tea

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

  • die Wurst (plural: die Würste) – sausage
  • die Currrywurst (curried sausage)

Image by -Rita-👩‍🍳 und 📷 mit ❤ from Pixabay

  • die Zitrone (n) – lemon

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Quizzes and Activities

A Pin and Label Quiz with Speaking Clues: Deutsches Essen A-Z | German Food A-Z

Actually, there isn’t a food for every letter. It was hard to fit 26 pictures on the screen. All the same, this is an easy way to learn many key nouns for food. The pins are colour-coded: masculine | feminine | neuter. So you will learn the genders as well.

Quiz: Ein leckeres Frühstück | A Delicious Breakfast

Match each labelled breakfast food with its German name. Learn the genders as you work.

Gender Check Quiz: Frühstück am Wochenende | Breakfast at the Weekend

Can you classify all the German nouns for breakfast foods into the correct gender groups – and reveal the picture below the puzzle?