Grade 6 Understanding Culture and Society

It is expected that students will:

• identify elements of German-speaking cultures that are different from or similar to their own
• identify the presence of German-speaking cultures in the community

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Understanding Culture and Society in other grades click on an icon below.

Students continue to share various aspects of their own backgrounds and compare these with aspects of German-speaking cultures. They develop an understanding of how diversity enriches their lives and of how much they share with students in German-speaking countries and regions.

• Invite a member of the German-speaking community to speak to the class about a particular celebration from his or her culture. Ask students to compare and contrast this celebration with celebrations from their own cultures. Organize a Celebrations of Our Class display.
• Help students imagine the flavour and excitement of a well-known German-speaking city (e.g., Berlin, Vienna, Zurich) by presenting a slide show or video about its tourist attractions. Ask them to note interesting features and then share them during a class discussion.
• Suggest that students conduct opinion polls in simple German to identify their classmates' preferences in leisure activities. Post the results in the classroom. For comparison purposes, provide students with information on leisure activities enjoyed by children in German-speaking countries.
• Brainstorm with students a list of jobs that interest them. Provide the German name for each job, then create and distribute copies of a grid of these jobs, asking students to use German frames to survey the class and find out which students are interested in each job. Have students individually graph their results, indicating the numbers interested in each job and writing short captions below their graphs to explain the results. Provide students with information on jobs in Germany and Canada and ask them to make comparisons.
• Have students examine the yellow pages of their local telephone book to identify German-named businesses. Develop a table of businesses listed under various categories (e.g., restaurants, bakeries, automotive dealers). Students present their findings to the class.

Building knowledge of German-speaking cultures enhances students' language development as well as increasing their appreciation of their own and other cultures. Students demonstrate their growing cultural understanding through their participation in class and community activities, their representations of what they learn, and the questions they ask.

• As students describe and share their own celebrations, leisure activities, and career interests and compare them with those in German-speaking cultures, they can demonstrate their awareness in a variety of ways (e.g., Venn diagrams, collages, charts, paragraph frames). Assessment could be based on:
  • amount of information students include
  • accuracy and relevance of the information
  • evidence of insight (e.g., identifying some of the more subtle features)
  • appropriate differentiation between similarities and differences
  • logic of the generalizations or conclusions that students offer
• After students have watched a slide show or video about a well-known German-speaking city, have them create postcards illustrating important landmarks or sites. Ask them to include messages (in English, with some German words included) to friends or family members describing features of the sites chosen and explaining their importance. Look for evidence that students have:
  • represented key features of the landmarks or sites
  • offered detailed and accurate explanations
• When students discuss elements of German-speaking cultures, look for evidence that they:
  • respect their classmates' views
  • are willing to consider a variety of opinions
  • put forward their own ideas tactfully
  • support their views with specific reasons and examples

Print Materials

• Pack's An

Note: Additional information will be provided as soon as resources to support learning outcomes are identified.

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