Die Tagesereignisse....or my eye opening effort at finding resources for high school German

Title of Activity: Die Tagesereignisse (Current Events)

Resources:
ZDF - Heute Nachrichten (2007, October 1). Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
http://www.zdf.de/ZDFheute/inhalt/20/0,3672,20,00.html

Das Wetter Uebung (2007, February). Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syiFvdwMLEs

German Newspapers (2007). Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/germany.htm

European radio stations streaming live on the internet (2007). Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
http://www.listenlive.eu/germany.html

LEO German-English Dictionary (2006). Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
http://dict.leo.org/ende?lang=en&lp=ende&search=current%20events

Grade Level: German as a Second Language 30 (3 year program)

Activity: Throughout the term, students will listen to varied radio broadcasts, watch different newscasts and read multiple newspapers in German briefly at the beginning of each class. They will discuss with the class the meanings of the media items (identifying main ideas and specific details). This will require them to look up any words they may not know. They will also discuss consuming German news as a Canadian Audience (analyzing how our lives are changed by the fact that we can access news from Germany).

General Outcomes:
Language Competence: Students will understand and produce German effectively and competently in spoken and written forms

Specific Outcomes:
Aural Interpretation: understand the main points and specific details of oral texts on familiar topics
Written Interpretation: understand short written texts on a variety of topics, and understand the main points and specific details of written texts on familiar topics

ICT Outcomes:
Communication: Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning (General)/ use appropriate strategies to locate information to meet personal needs (Specific)
Foundational Knowledge: Students will understand the role of technology as it applies to self, work and society (General)/identify technologies used in everyday life (Specific)

Why use technology?: Basically, these exercises would not be possible without technology (specifically the Internet, streaming video, streaming sound, and audio-visual technology). Technology connects us worldwide by bringing the German media to our classrooms. In this case, it especially allows students to hear native speakers speaking German, it offers useful vocabulary (that is largely conveniently repetitive) and exposes them to new points of view and ways of doing things.