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Germany in Class
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September 2009 |
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Dear Educators, Welcome to the September edition of "Germany in Class!" I hope everyone had a good start to the 2009/10 school year. I know I could hardly believe it when the page turned and suddenly summer was gone. "Freedom Without Walls" continues in full force! Our third panel discussion in the Newseum will happen on November 2 at 10:00 am. Once again, we'll be streaming the discussion live right here on Germany.info. We also have not one, but two DVDs up for grabs! Both are about the Berlin Wall and both can be ordered simply by emailing me at the address below. Want to know more about the DVDs and extra resources? Check out the first article in the Social Studies section! Need more information about the Berlin Wall? Make sure to look at the Freedom Without Walls InFocus on Germany.info. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Jennifer Clardy jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info "Germany in Class" is looking for a few good educators to share their wealth of knowledge! Have a great classroom idea of your own that is begging to be shared? It can a lesson plan or article that provides food for thought. Send it to jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info and if your lesson plan is featured in "Germany in Class," you'll receive a gift bag full of Germany Info goodies for your own classroom! |
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In this issue
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Headlines |
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| Third Newseum Discussion on November 2, 2009 | |||||||||
The German Information Center USA, in cooperation with Deutsche Welle TV, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the BMW Foundation and the Newseum will present the third and final panel discussion about the Berlin Wall on November 2, 2009, at 10:00 am. The discussion will be streamed live on Germany.info. For more information stay tuned to Germany.info! |
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| Election Results in Germany | |||||||||
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The elections for the 17th German Bundestag have taken place. According to the official provisional results, 33.8 percent of the votes went to the CDU/CSU, 23 per cent to the SPD, 14.6 per cent to the FDP, 11.9 percent to The Left and 10.7 percent to the Greens.
"I am happy and satisfied this evening,” declared Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday evening, and added, "I would like to be the Chancellor of all Germans, so that our country can recover, particularly during the crisis in which we find ourselves.” The newly elected Bundestag will have 622 members of parliament. According to the official provisional results, the CDU/CSU will have 239 seats, the SPD 146, the FDP 93, The Left 76 and the Greens 68. Coalition between CDU/CSU and FDP is the aim After the parliamentary elections, the CDU/CSU and the FDP aim to form a new government. Coalition negotiations should begin no later than next week. Today the parties are discussing the outcome of the election. The newly elected Bundestag must meet for the first time within 30 days. Source: Press and Information Office of the Federal Government |
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| Frankfurt Auto Show Sings the Trabi Electric | |||||||||
The world famous symbol of East Germany, the Trabant automobile, is set to make a comeback. An electric-powered prototype of the new “Trabi” was presented for the first time at the world’s largest motor show, the IAA in Frankfurt am Main. Source: Young Germany |
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German Language |
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| Berlin Wall Classroom Simulation | |||||||||
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Siggi Piwek offered up a German-language simulation unit on German immigration in January of this year. His unit was so popular that now he's offered up another one. This time the subject is the Berlin Wall. The entire simulation is so large that we weren't able to feature it fully in "Germany in Class." However, Siggi has generously offered offered to send any teacher that asks the missing pieces for the mere cost of postage for the CD. In order to receive a copy, please contact Siggi at the email address listed below.
"I have been a teacher at the Milwaukee German Immersion School for 10 years. I am an active member in Tainernetzwerk - Mittler Westen sponsored by the Goethe-Institute in Chicago, and in the Multiplikatoren Netwerk of Canadian German Teachers. This summer I participated in the Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP), a study tour of Germany for American Social Studies teachers. I will also participate in the TraiNDaF II program, a training program to advocate for German language programs at all levels. In addition to teaching these topics in my classroom, I offer workshops dealing with Landeskunde im DAF-Unterricht, German immigration to America, and innovative approaches to teaching grammar." "I do not have a personal connection to the German capital of Berlin. However, I became interested in how I could help my fourth grade German language immersion students build historical and cultural knowledge about this fascinating metropolis because of the Berlin anniversaries (2008: 60 years Berlin Airlift; 2009: 20 years fall of the Berlin Wall). In addition, Berlin is a truly multicultural city; more so than any other city in Germany, and thus American students can draw on their own living experiences when discussing aspects of the social life in Berlin. Last but not lease, it is important that our students do not just learn the German language, but also develop a deeper understanding of Germany's history, culture, and society." "I hope that the ideas and materials will be useful to teachers and their students. I suggest that teachers look at the 'Unterrichsübersicht' file first. IT is not necessary, and may not even be desirable (based on your learning objectives) to teach all of the lessons. If you are short on time (less than 10 days), I would suggest that you provide a historical overview about the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989. My students were particularly interested in the many ways East Germans tried to escape across the Wall. I would then do the Berlin Wall simulation, so that students understand some of the economic and social realities of life on both sides of the Wall. Finally, I would watch Night Crossing, a Disney movie which deals with two families' attempts to escape East Germany, and discuss character traits and motivations of refugees. These insights could then be extended to other situations; for example, illegal immigration of Mexicans to the United States." "This unit is a wor-in-progress, and I intend to build on it when using them in my classroom next year. I am always interested in suggestions on how to improve my content teaching and methods, and welcome any ideas that other teachers have. As only part of the unit is being published, I will also gladly send teachers copies of the rest of the unit. I simply asked to be reimbursed for the postage. You can reach me at piweks@milwaukee.k12.wi.us. Have fun with the materials, and a great start to the 2009/20 school year!" |
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| Deutsch@YG Podcast: Oktoberfest Crash Course | |||||||||
Oktoberfest is almost over. Soon the tents will close, the Wiesn will quiet down and the crowds of visitors will depart Munich. Don't despair for too long because Young Germany's podcast can get you ready for next year's trip- or to make a last minute trip to catch the end of this Oktoberfest 2009! Their Oktoberfest Crash Course gives information about Oktoberfest, some German phrases that are useful during your visit and of course, a few pieces of Bavarian dialect. |
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Social Studies |
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| Need some ideas for class? Try the DVDs from the German Information Center USA! | |||||||||
The German Information Center has two DVDs for teachers. One is a historical documentary from the German Federal Foreign Service and Deutsche Welle TV called "The Fall of the Berlin Wall" and talks about Germany from the end of World War II until the Berlin Wall came down. The second DVD is titled "Freedom Without Walls" and was produced by the German Information Center USA. Additionally, there is a downloadable teacher's kit for the videos, complete with ideas for your classroom and links to more information about the events discussed on the videos. These DVDs are available at no cost and while supplies last. You can request a copy of the DVDs by writing me at jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info. For those of you only interested in the "Freedom Without Walls" DVD, you can also request your copy through the contact form linked below. Additionally, several videos and previews are available on Germany.info through Freedom Without Walls TV. Information about "Freedom Without Walls" The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago marked the end of the Cold War, the beginning of a fully united Europe and proof that peaceful change is possible, even in the moments when it seems most unlikely. But what did it mean for people's lives and careers? The film "Freedom Without Walls" portrays creative young people living and working in Berlin today as they explain how the fall of the wall has shaped their lives and the city they live in.
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| From No Man's Land to Nature Preserve - The Inner German Border | |||||||||
Walls, security fences, and automatic shooting mechanisms defined the inner German border that split the land into two for decades. Nonetheless, it has been crystal clear since reunification that these borderlines are not only a blemish in German history – but also an extraordinary jewel of nature. Along the erstwhile no man's land, nature unfolded freely like nowhere else. Now, the border zone is home to a unique nature preserve – the Green Belt.
Conservationists quickly recognised the invaluable worth of the biodiversity and established the Green Belt Project to protect it. The old borderline stretches from Travemünde on the Baltic Sea to the Czech border near Hof in Bavaria and traverses the diverse landscapes of Germany. Bush- and woodland landscapes are part of it, as are moorland and swamps.
It is the aim of Green Belt project that is coordinated by the envirnomental alliance BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) to declare the borderline and the nearby areas a reserve. The German states can only take this action if the German federal government cedes ownership of the former borderlands to them. Only Thuringia got its share of the borderline in 2008. Consequently, about half of the total acreage of the borderzone is protected. Eighty-five percent of the green belt is a natural landscape but commercial areas and roads are already encroaching. In 2003, an initiative to extend the Green Belt along the former iron curtain and throughout Europe was developed. Along a course of over 5,200 miles from the Barents in the north to the Black Sea in the south, a European Green Belt would pass through 25 countries. Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe is working together to preserve nature in the space that once divided it. |
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| Oktoberfest - A Truly German Tradition | |||||||||
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Over the course of the 15-day festival in Munich—which takes place this year from September 19 to October 4—some 1.75 million gallons of beer and hundreds of thousands of pork sausages and spit-roasted chickens are consumed by over six million visitors from around the world. How and why did this popular tradition begin?
The origin of Oktoberfest can be traced back to October 12, 1810, the wedding day of Bavaria's Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Against tradition, the couple invited Munich's common people to the festivities. The events were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates—now called Theresienwiese (Theresa’s Meadow) after the bride. Forty thousand people showed up. A year later, they decided to throw the party all over again as an anniversary tribute to the royal couple. The big event at the first festival was a horse race and then an agricultural show. By 1818, events included a carousel and swings, tree-climbing competitions, wheelbarrow and sack races, barrel rolling races and goose chases. Mechanical rides were added in the 1870s. And in 1908, the Oktoberfest boasted Germany's first roller coaster. To really get the party started, makeshift beer and food stands began cropping up by 1818. They kept coming until 1896 but were soon replaced by sponsored beer halls, much like today's local brewery-hosted beer tents. The horse races ended in 1960, and the agricultural show now happens once every four years. Over time, the fair's dates were extended and eventually moved forward, to the end of September for better weather. The first Sunday in October marks its finish. It still takes place on the Theresienwiese, known to locals as "Wies'n." For two weeks, the meadow's 103 acres become a metropolis of beer tents, amusements, rides, performers and booths, peddling gastronomic delights and traditional confections. Visiting photographers are amazed by dirndl-sporting waitresses carrying almost six gallons of beer at a time—the equivalent of 66 12-ounce bottles. Munich's mayor always opens the festivities by driving a wooden tap into a barrel of beer and proclaiming, "O'zapft is!" ("It's tapped!"). On the first Sunday, the Costume and Riflemen's Procession takes place. About 7,000 performers, marching bands, riflemen, groups in traditional garb and historic uniforms, horses, old-fashioned carriages and floats parade for two-and-half hours through the city center. The second Sunday features an open-air concert by 400 musicians from all of the Oktoberfest bands. Between events and beer tents, guests can ride a Ferris wheel, roller coaster or water slide, navigate a labyrinth, visit a haunted house, watch a variety of performers or play dozens of midway games. Not surprisingly, Oktoberfest has inspired many similar festivals around the world, all modeled on the Bavarian original. The largest by attendance each year is in the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The largest in the U.S. is Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati in Ohio with a half-million visitors each year. And there are at least 110 more U. S. Oktoberfests in 36 of the 50 states, including eight each in California, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. Source: www.GermanOriginality.com |
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Announcements |
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| German Information Center USA at NCSS and ACTFL | |||||||||
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The GIC USA will be attending the annual conferences for the National Council for the Social Studies and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The NCSS Annual Conference will take place in Atlanta, GA, on November 13-15, 2009. Come visit the GIC USA (Booth 328) in International Alley. The 2009 Annual Convention and World Languages Expo for ACTL will be held in San Diego, VA, on November 20-22. Stop by the GIC USA (Booth 1825) in the German Pavilion. See you in Atlanta and San Diego! |
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| American Schools Participate in Berlin "Dominoaktion" | |||||||||
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Congratulations to the Classen School of Advanced Studies and Allentown Central Catholic High School! Each of these schools will have a "domino" in the Dominoaktion in Berlin on November 9, 2009. As part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city of Berlin will erect a domino wall across the city and send it tumbling down on November 9th. Designs on the dominos come from across the world. Two of the designs are from Nancy Boudreau and her students at the Classen School of Advanced Studies and Charles Strasbaugh and his students at Allentown Central Catholic High School. These schools designed their dominos in the United States and then partner schools in Berlin painted the designs on the dominos. |
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| Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program | |||||||||
The Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program is a distinguished transatlantic initiative that offers twenty accomplished young Americans the opportunity to complete a high-level professional development program in Germany each year. Over the course of a nine-month program, Bosch Fellows complete two work phases at leading German institutions, both customized to each fellow’s professional expertise, and attend three seminars with key decision-makers from the public and private sectors, taking place across Europe. Fellows are recruited from business administration, journalism, law, public policy and closely related fields. No German language skills are required at the time of application. Application Deadline: October 15, 2009 for the 2010-2011 program year. Program Highlights
The program is fully funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung, one of the largest foundations in Germany, with the goal of creating a new generation of American leaders who have firsthand experience in the political, economic and cultural environment of Germany and the E.U. For more information, please visit the program's website: |
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