German I, Semester 2, Die Schule und Pflichten
Sections:

Introduction  |   Section 1  |   Section 2  |   Section 3   |   Dictionaries

  Section One:

Part A  |   Part B  |   Part C  |   Part D   |   Part E   |   Part F

Section One - Part E

Key conceptsDer Schultag
The school day in a German-speaking country is organized differently than yours. The students have a weekly schedule, not a daily one, so they do not have the same classes everyday (or even every other day). Many times, the students do not change rooms--the teachers do. The students usually do not have lockers since they stay in the same room much of the day. Generally, the students have a specific plan of study and they do not have a great deal of choice about what courses they take. Though it varies, most schools require their students to begin learning their first foreign language (usually English) in grade school, and later they begin taking their second foreign language class.

Der Studentplan
As a student in the United States, you have a school schedule that is fixed. If you are not on a "block" schedule, you go to the same class first hour each day, correct? (If you are on the block schedule, you have a schedule that varies some.) Let's look at an American schedule.

Stunde Montag Dienstag Mittwoch Donnerstag Freitag
Erste Deutsch Deutsch Deutsch Deutsch Deutsch
Zweite Algebra Algebra Algebra Algebra Algebra
Dritte Physik Physik Physik Physik Physik
Mittags- pause (Essen) (Essen) (Essen) (Essen) (Essen)
Vierte Informatik Informatik Informatik Informatik Informatik
Fünfte Englisch Englisch Englisch Englisch Englisch
Sechste Geschichte Geschichte Geschichte Geschichte Geschichte
Siebte Chor Chor Chor Chor Chor

Your schedule might look similar or it might look quite a bit different. We're actually looking at this to review the ordinal numbers, which are called that because they show in what "order" things come. Do you remember them from giving dates? The general rule for forming them is to add -te to the numbers through 19, and -ste to the numbers above that. Of course, if you look at the schedule above, you see the three exceptions immediately: erste, dritte, siebte. Since there are all adjectives, they will actually have the correct adjective ending for their use in a sentence.

Let's practice some dates. (Remember, in German it's "the 20th of June", not "June 20.") Give the German for:

June 20 right arrow
May 5 right arrow
January 17 right arrow
December 24 right arrow
February 1 right arrow
April 13 right arrow
March 7 right arrow
July 4 right arrow
October 3 right arrow

Two other adjectives that are helpful when putting things in order are:

nächste right arrow next
letzte right arrow last

Vocabulary Practice

Hörübung
Practice these numbers in this activity. JigSound

Writing PracticeSchriftliche Übung
How well do you know your months? Let's see if you can say which month each of these is, using an ordinal number. When you finish, click on the month to see the correct responses.

März
Juli
Mai
November
Juni
September

Key Concepts Große Gebäude (Big Buildings)
When we say things like "my doctor's office is on the fourth floor," we're also using ordinal numbers. Which floor in the United States is the first floor? Maybe you have never stopped to think about this. Generally, in English, the first floor is the ground floor. So, if you are in a hotel and your room number is 168, for example, you are on the first floor. If your room number is 268, you are on the second floor--the first one off of the ground, etc. In Europe, the first floor of a building (office building, hotel, etc.) is usually called "the ground floor." In German this is called das Erdgeschoss. The actual numbering begins at the first floor above that floor. So, the second story/floor in the United States would be the first floor in a German-speaking country. The numbers are then one behind ours because they do not begin numbering with "der erste Stock/die erste Etage" until after "das Erdgeschoss."

Let's do a quick practice.

If someone tells you to come to this floor: It would correspond to which floor in the US?

Keep this in mind, as you will need it for your project.

Written AssignmentDein Stundenplan
What is your school schedule like? Make a schedule in German similar to the one above. Be sure to use course names in German and the ordinal numbers to put things in order as you have them during the day. Also write a paragraph of 4-5 sentences in German talking about your classes. Diese Aufgabe hat 16 points.

Oral AssignmentMündliche Aufgabe
When you finish writing your paragraph about your school day, make a recording of yourself saying it and submit this to your teacher. Diese Aufgabe hat 8 Punkte.

Go on to Part F.

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