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College in High School German

Course Description

This is the first course in intermediate language training from the University of Pittsburgh. The course is designed to continue to enhance students’ German language proficiency. It integrates all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and provides practice in these skills.

Course Big Ideas

  • Vocabulary
    • German History after World War II
    • Reunification of Germany
    • Festivals
    • Amusement Parks
    • Hobbies
    • Switzerland
      • History, Science, Film Festivals, Manufacturing of chocolate and cheese, government
    • Environment
    • Sustainability 
  • Grammar
    • Review of grammar concepts learned in previous German concepts (throughout each  chapter/unit of study)
    • Temporal Prepositions for time and general use
    • Temporal Conjunctions and sentence structure
    • Präteritum (Past) verb tense and use
    • Plusquamperfekt (Past Perfect) verb tense
    • Sentence structure with multiple prepositional phrases
    • Konjunktiv II (subjunctive) verb tense in both present and past tenses
    • The correct word for “if” and sentence structure for subjunctive sentences
    • Passive voice and its use in various tenses
    • Genitive Case and alternate forms to express possession
    • N-Declension nouns (identification and grammatical changes needed)
    • Relative clauses - definition and use
  • Cultural Topics related to each textbook chapter
     

Course Essential Questions

  • What was life like in both East and West Germany between the end of World War II and the Reunification of Germany in 1990?
  • How does one learn and share about various festivals and amusement parks in Germany? 
  • How does one express what one would do in various situations? 
  • What are some of the important historical and cultural aspects of Switzerland? 
  • How does one use the passive voice and in which circumstances? 
  • How does Germany handle various environmental topics and situations? 
     

Course Competencies

  • Reading for understanding and supporting details.
  • Writing compound and complex detailed sentences, paragraphs, and essays based on topics from the textbook.
  • Active listening in the target language with the teacher, peers, and authentic materials from the textbook and online new companies.
  • Speaking in the target language in order to share personal information, general information, and specific information based on the topic of each chapter.
  • Compare and contrast language and culture between the target country and others.

Course Assessments

Formative and summative assessments done through: 

  • Teacher created vocabulary and grammar assessments
  • Teacher created speaking assessments
  • Teach created writing assessments
  • Blink Learning Online assessments 
  • Materials required by the Faculty Liaison at the University of Pittsburgh (This may change from year to year.)
     

Course Units