Das Lutze Einhaus: Lesson Plan and Introductory Activity

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THE LUTZE HOUSEBARN
A Unit for Level I – II Students of German

©Karyl Enstad Rommelfanger

The author grants permission to reproduce multiple copies of the Lutze
Housebarn unit for educational purposes

AT THE CLOSE OF THE UNIT STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:

1. Talk about the Gottlob Lutze family and their farm.
[See: Das Lutze Einhaus and the The Lutze Housebarn – For the Teacher]
2. Describe the Lutze housebarn, its rooms and their location.
[See: Einhaus Zimmer]
3. Discuss the animals and crops raised on the Lutze farm.
[See: Matching and Listening Exercise]

STUDENTS WILL ALSO:

1. Discuss the importance of historic preservation.
2. Sing an emigration song from the last century.
3. Use U.S. Census information to obtain pertinent information about the
Lutze family and farm.
[See: Census Interview Pair Activity]

CULTURE:

1. Students will learn to label in German the floors of a building in a culturally appropriate
manner.
2. Pinpoint on a map major areas of German-ethnic settlement in the United States.
[See: Introductory Pair Activity, Partners A and B]
3. Locate the state of Saxony on a current map of Germany


GRAMMAR:
This unit will reinforce present tense and cardinal numbers.


ASSESSMENT IDEAS:

1. The student builds a model of the housebarn, labeling rooms and floors.
2. The student role-plays a member of the Lutze family and writes a letter home describing the
home and farm.
3. The student researches and writes a report in German about an historic
building in his/her community, talking about its age, its rooms, and other basic facts.
4. The student compares and contrasts in German their house or apartment with the Lutze
Housebarn.
5. A quiz [Quiz 1 and Quiz Option 2]


INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY

1. Orally review numbers in German, 1-100

2. Pair Activity: Students will do a pair activity from which they will determine the percentage of Americans of German-ethnic background were living in the various states of the U.S. in the year 1990.
[See: Introductory Pair Activity, Partners A and B]

3. A follow-up class discussion in German would be an appropriate way to wrap up this activity: Questions such as, “Leben mehr Deutsch-Amerikaner in Iowa oder in Montana?” can force students to focus in on states with the largest percentages of German-American ethnic settlement.

4. The teacher may also want to brainstorm in English some reasons why Germans might have been especially attracted to the midwest. (The availability of cheap land in areas recently opened up for settlement is a prime reason – especially the case in Wisconsin in the 1850’s. But students might also mention relatives already here, similar landscape, the tendency of immigrants to go to areas where others of their nationality and language had settled. Germans were often misled about the climate, however. Thinking the climate in the midwestern part of the U.S. would be similar or maybe even warmer, many immigrants were rudely awakened to harsher summers and winters.)


INTRODUCTORY PAIR ACTIVITY – PARTNER A
U.S. CENSUS – NATIONALITIES

PAIR ACTIVITY: The Federal Government takes a census of its citizens every ten years. A census not only provides information about how many people live in the United States, but asks many other questions as well. The 1990 U.S. Census asked people about their ethnic backgrounds. You will use some of the information compiled from that census in doing this exercise. Your job is to find out from your partner the percentage of Americans who claimed German ancestry in the year 1990. To do this you must ask your partner:

You ask: Welcher Prozentsatz Deutsch-Amerikaner leben in ________?

Your partner answers: ____ Prozent.

Minnesota ______

Pennsylvania ______

Indiana ______

Missouri ______

Iowa ______

South Dakota ______

Montana ______

Colorado _____

MAP EXERCISE: Now transfer the statistics information above to your map. Then, using two different colored pencils, color in the 6 states with the largest percentage of German-Americans. Then color in the remaining states from the exercise with a different color. The shading of these states will also allow you to recognize the original settlement patterns of German-speaking people in the United States.


INTRODUCTORY PAIR ACTIVITY – PARTNER B
U.S. CENSUS – NATIONALITIES

PAIR ACTIVITY: The Federal Government takes a census of its citizens every ten years. A census not only provides information about how many people live in the United States, but asks many other questions as well. The 1990 U.S. Census asked people about their ethnic backgrounds. You will use some of the information compiled from that census in doing this exercise. Your job is to find out from your partner the percentage of Americans who claimed German ancestry in the year 1990. To do this you must ask your partner:

You ask: Welcher Prozentsatz Deutsch-Amerikaner leben in ________ ?

Your partner answers: ______ Prozent.

Wisconsin ______

Ohio ______

Kansas ______

Illinois ______

North Dakota ______

Nebraska ______

Wyoming ______

Oregon _____

MAP EXERCISE: Now transfer the statistics information above to your map. Then, using two different colored pencils, color in the 6 states with the largest percentage of German-Americans. Then color in the remaining states from the exercise with a different color. The shading of these states will also allow you to recognize the original settlement patterns of German-speaking people in the United States.


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