Grade 8 Understanding Culture and Society

It is expected that students will:

• describe and share the activities and interests of young people in German-speaking countries with those of Canadian young people
• identify some similarities between German-speaking cultures and their own or other cultures

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

Students' growing knowledge of the German language will allow them to compare the lives of young people in Canada with those in German-speaking countries.

• Provide students with a German student's school timetable and ask them to compare and contrast it with their own. Have students discuss similarities and differences in the school year (e.g., frequency and length of holidays).
• Invite students to examine samples of German family crests (Familienwappen). Ask them to compare and contrast these and other German crests (e.g., of school teams) with symbols, crests, and coats of arms from their own and other cultures (e.g., Aboriginal totem poles, Celtic symbols). Then have students design their own personal or family crests, writing captions to describe something unique about themselves. Display students' crests around the classroom.
• Provide students with copies of German youth magazines (e.g., Das Rad, Schuß, JUMA, Zusammen). Discuss with students similarities and differences between the German-speaking young people portrayed in the magazines and themselves.
• Have each student create a German-language tourist brochure about things to do and see in the local community, using acquired vocabulary to identify points of interest (e.g., buildings, parks, tourist attractions). Ask students to present and display their brochures in class.

Students should be encouraged to use German as much as possible in all classroom activities. However, the assessment of this organizer should focus on the cultural learning outcomes and not on students' language skills. Students demonstrate their cultural knowledge through talking, writing, representing, and engaging in classroom activities.

• Have students use a variety of formats (e.g., Venn diagrams, graphs, comparison charts, dramatizations, simulated interviews) to compare their activities and interests (e.g., school timetables, leisure activities, youth magazines) with those of students in one or more German-speaking countries or regions. Look for evidence that they are able to:
  • recognize and describe aspects of their own activities and interests
  • report accurate, detailed, and relevant information about the hobbies and leisure activities of German-speaking young people
  • identify similarities and differences
  • draw logical conclusions from the information they have analysed and presented
  • demonstrate a willingness to learn about similarities and differences among cultures
  • state their views openly and respectfully
• When students compare German family crests to symbols, crests, and coats of arms from their own and other cultures, look for evidence that they are able to:
  • recognize the role that traditions and customs play in their lives
  • identify similarities and differences among different cultures and the symbols used
  • speculate about the reasons for some of these differences
  • develop questions for further research
  • Before students prepare brochures for German tourists, discuss criteria such as:
  • focusses on sites and features likely to interest tourists from Germany
  • makes connections between local sites and those in Germany

Print Materials

• Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland
• Pack's An

• Deutsch Aktuell (Levels 1-2)
• Deutsch Heute Neue 1, 2, 3 (Neue Ausgabe)
• Gute Reise!

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