What is our focus in German language arts this year?

A large focus of 5th grade German language arts is the preparation for the German language diploma exam level A1 or A2 in March/April.

The German Language Diploma exams (Deutsches Sprachdiplom-DSD- for more information please see attachment below) consists of 6 levels (A1-C2). It was created within the European Framework of Languages (europäischer Referenzrahmen für Sprachen) to provide a standardized language proficiency measurement for European languages.

Levels:

A – Elementary language proficiency (Elementare Sprachverwendung A1 und A2) 

B – Independent language proficiency (Selbstständige Sprachverwendung B1 und B2) 

C – Advanced language proficiency (Kompetente Sprachverwendung C1 und C2) 

The diploma test includes reading and listening comprehension, letter writing and an oral presentation.

What do we like our students to know by the end of this year?

Listening comprehension:

• Students should be able to comprehend stories and conversations in new content areas.

• Students should achieve a comprehension rate of at least 75% in the German language diploma (A2).

Reading comprehension: 

• Students should comprehend books in reading level 3.

• Students should achieve a comprehension rate of at least 75% in the German language diploma (A2).

Writing: 

• Students are able to write a friendly letter and answer four questions in present tense and past perfect. Students should achieve at least 3 out of 4 points in each part of the writing rubric (criteria: structure, content, vocabulary, grammar, and spelling/ punctuation)

Oral Communication:

• Students should be able to make a 5 minute presentation about a topic of their choice. They should be able to answer questions about their daily lives in present tense and past perfect.

How parents can help students at home: 

Listening Comprehension: 

Establish listening comprehension routines (10 minutes every day). Encourage your child to listen to German CDs, German video clips, etc. (There are some useful links on the teacher websites). Videos can be checked out in the library.

Reading Comprehension: 

Establish reading comprehension routines (20 minutes every day) and have your child answer the questions on the online reading program “Antolin” .

Writing: 

Practice the formal parts of a letter with your child. Click here for an  example.

Practice sentence structures in past perfect and present tense 

Oral Communication: Encourage your child to speak only German in class and ask frequently about how often they were a “Sprachmeister” (days were they only spoke German in class). All recommendations of the 3 previous parts also help to strengthen the oral communication.