First Step auf Deutsch 106: Going to the Farm lesson plan

Lesson Overview

One of the girls brings her cat, “Tink,” to visit Frau Falcone, and Frau Falcone asks about the color of the cat’s eyes. The other children have a dog as a pet. The word for cat is “die Katze,” and the word for dog is “der Hund.” They discuss animals and their colors, and they also talk about which animals they prefer.

They all go to the living room where there is a toy farm displayed on the table. They learn the words for farm (der Bauernhof), barn (die Scheune), and farmer (der Bauer). As they pull out different stuffed animals from a basket, they learn the words for these animals: cow (die Kuh), sheep (das Schaf), rooster (der Hahn), pig (der Schwein), rabbit (der Hase), and horse (das Pferd). Where would all of these animals be found? In a house or in a barn? Frau Falcone asks questions, such as, “where is...?” and “who has...?”

The children pantomime the sounds and motions of different animals. As each student finishes, the children try to guess which animal was imitated. The teacher repeats the name of the animal.

When they go back to the room, all of the children are asleep. Frau Falcone wakes them up by holding up the toy rooster and making his sound. (See Culture about the sounds animals make.) They learn that the animals have different sounds in German. Frau Falcone also talks about what we get from different animals. For example, we get wool from sheep (for mittens, socks, and sweaters), and milk from cows.