BC Education - German 5 to 12

Preface: Using This Integrated Resource Package

This Integrated Resource Package (IRP) provides basic information teachers will require in order to implement the German 5 to 12 curriculum. This document supersedes the German 5 to 12 Integrated Resource Package. The information contained in this IRP is also available via the Ministry web site: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/irp.htm . The following paragraphs provide brief descriptions about each section of the IRP.

The Introduction

The Introduction provides general information about German 5 to 12, including special features and requirements. It also provides a rationale for teaching German 5 to 12 in BC schools.

German 5 to 12 Curriculum

The provincially prescribed curriculum for German 5 to 12 is structured in terms of curriculum organizers. The main body of this IRP consists of four columns of information for each organizer. These columns describe:

provincially prescribed learning outcome statements
suggested instructional strategies for achieving the outcomes
suggested assessment strategies for determining how well students are achieving the outcomes
provincially recommended learning resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

Learning outcome statements are content standards for the provincial education system. Prescribed learning outcomes set out the knowledge, enduring ideas, issues, concepts, skills, and attitudes for each subject. They are statements of what students are expected to know and be able to do in each grade. Learning outcomes are clearly stated and expressed in observable terms. All learning outcomes complete the stem: "It is expected that students will . . . . ". Outcome statements have been written to enable teachers to use their experience and professional judgment when planning and evaluating. The outcomes are benchmarks that will permit the use of criterion-referenced performance standards. It is expected that actual student performance will vary. Evaluation, reporting, and student placement with respect to these outcomes depend on the professional judgment of teachers, guided by provincial policy.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Instruction involves the use of techniques, activities, and methods that can be employed to meet diverse student needs and to deliver the prescribed curriculum. Teachers are free to adapt the suggested instructional strategies or substitute others that will enable their students to achieve the prescribed learning outcomes. These strategies have been developed by specialist and generalist teachers to assist their colleagues; they are suggestions only.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

The assessment strategies suggest a variety of ways to gather information about student performance. Some assessment strategies relate to specific activities; others are general. These strategies have been developed by specialist and generalist teachers to assist their colleagues; they are suggestions only.

Provincially Recommended Learning Resources

Provincially recommended learning resources are materials that have been reviewed and evaluated by BC educators in collaboration with the Ministry of Education according to a stringent set of criteria. These resources are organized as Grade Collections. A Grade Collection is the format used to organize the provincially recommended learning resources by grade and by curriculum organizer. It can be regarded as a "starter set" of basic resources to deliver the curriculum. These resources are typically materials suitable for student use, but they may also include information primarily intended for teachers. Teachers and school districts are encouraged to select those resources that they find most relevant and useful for their students, and to supplement these with locally approved materials and resources to meet specific
local needs.

The recommended resources listed in the main body (fourth column) of this IRP are those that either present comprehensive coverage of the learning outcomes of the particular curriculum organizer or provide unique support to specific topics. Further information about these recommended learning resources is found in Appendix B.

The Appendices

A series of appendices provides additional information about the curriculum, and further support for the teacher.

Appendix A lists the curriculum organizers and the prescribed learning outcomes for each grade for the curriculum.
Appendix B consists of general information on learning resources as well as Grade Collection organizational charts and annotations for the provincially recommended resources. New resources are evaluated and added to the Grade Collections on a regular basis.
Appendix C contains assistance for teachers regarding provincial evaluation and reporting policy. Prescribed learning outcomes have been used as the source for samples of criterion-referenced evaluations.
Appendix D acknowledges the many people and organizations that have been involved in the development of this IRP.

Explanation of Section

Curriculum Sub-Organizer as seen on the World Wide Web

Grade and Curriculum Organizer

Grade 5 - Communicating

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Internal links to each
section of the document

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

request and provide information about day-to-day activities and interests
participate in short conversations
describe activities and interests in oral and written forms
participate in familiar activities

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Communicating in other grades click on an icon below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Students are now using German to express their personal interests and are beginning to use it to interact in everyday situations. To experience success, students need to be provided with many opportunities to practise and develop the language they need.

Ask students to prepare questionnaires to find out what their peers do in their free time. (Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?) Have each student record as many responses as possible within a given time, graph the results, compose a paragraph using the graphed results, and then share the results with a partner or the class.
Invite students in pairs to role-play two friends making plans for the weekend. Ask them to include activities they enjoy, referring to places, times, and people, and to use new expressions or phrases. Have each pair of students rehearse the role play and present it to the class.
Have students work together to compose individual letters to send to an exchange class via mail or E-mail. Students' letters should contain information about themselves (e.g., age, grade, family, interests, pets) and questions for their exchange partners. Letters should also contain appropriate salutations and closings.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Suggested Assessment Strategies
To develop effective German language skills, students need to focus on communicating an increasing range of information. All assessment criteria are related to how effectively students are able to convey relevant and understandable messages in a variety of situations.

When students prepare questionnaires and report on their peers' leisure activities, assess their abilities to:
- use the question structures they have learned
- sustain their use of German as they ask and respond to questions
- record responses in German
- use vocabulary and structures they have practised
When students present role plays to the class, look for evidence that they are able to:
- create logical sequences of questions, suggestions, and responses
- convey a sense of interaction and flow in their conversations
- elicit all the information they require from one another to reach conclusions
- make themselves understood using German
- take risks to add details to and variations on the required information
Before students send letters to an exchange class, offer feedback on the extent to which they have:
- considered the interests and knowledge of the recipients of their letters
- included appropriate information
- included details to add interest
- composed complete sentences
- used appropriate, correctly spelled vocabulary (including capitals) accompanied by the correct articles
- arranged the information in a logical order
- followed appropriate conventions, including forms of address