This short, two-page story about Jana and her vegetable garden can be used to test students’ knowledge of various coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. Students reading the story will fill in the blanks with the appropriate conjunction. Included is a small glossary, an answer key and an English translation of the text. Appropriate for 2nd or 3rd-year students of German, or for adult learners at around the A2.2 level.

This 2-page set of study notes reviews basic introductions, countries & languages, conjugations for the pronouns ‘ich’, ‘du’ and ‘Sie’, and the prepositions ‘aus’ & ‘von’. Relevant vocabulary is included. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page set of study notes contains vocabulary pertaining to jobs, career and schooling. The student can review various occupations and how to differentiate between male and female forms (Lehrer-Lehrerin, Arzt-Ärztin, Kaufmann-Kauffrau, etc.). The preterite tense (simple past) is illustrated here for the verbs ‘haben’ and ‘sein’. Also, there is a section on prepositions used for discussing things done in the past or during a space of time: ‘seit’, ‘vor’ and ‘für’. Concise explanations of the rules for using these prepositions are provided. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page set of study notes reviews how to use the two-way prepositions (in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen) — which can be either accusative or dative. These are often used to indicate location or direction. Different ways of saying “to” in German are also covered (nach, in, zu, etc.). Basic directions (Wegbeschreibungen) are shown in graphic form with annotations. This handout is packed with information, including a large amount of vocabulary pertaining to different forms of transportation and the things one might find in a typical city. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page study handout includes vocabulary and phrases related to travel, tourism and staying at the hotel. Grammar topics include the modal verbs ‘müssen’ and ‘dürfen’, with special emphasis on how to negate ‘müssen’ correctly. The imperative mood (giving commands) is also covered, with example sentences provided in the ‘du’, ‘ihr’ and ‘Sie’ forms. Adverbs used when describing a sequence of events (first… then… and finally…) are included in this handout. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum. Note: local prepositions ‘über’, ‘unter’, ‘vor’, ‘neben’, ‘an’, etc., are not covered in this handout, but appear in “Review Notes 11”. This lesson focuses more on travel vocabulary.

This 2-page study handout includes vocabulary related to health, wellness and parts of the body, and also the components of a letter or email (date, sender, recipient, salutation, etc.). Grammar topics include the modal verb ‘sollen’, using the verb ‘weh tun’, all eight possessive articles including ‘unser’, ‘sein’ and ‘euer’, and all eight dative personal pronouns. Handy phrases used when visiting the doctor are included. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page set of study notes includes vocabulary pertaining to clothing, cosmetics and hygiene. Grammar topics include demonstrative pronouns in the nominative case, comparative/superlative forms of ‘gut’, ‘viel’ and ‘gern’, and the dative verbs ‘gefallen’, ‘passen’, ‘stehen’ and ‘gehören’. Sentences in German are provided for the demonstrative pronouns and dative verbs, along with parallel English translations. The reflexive verbs ‘sich anziehen’, ‘sich ausziehen’ and others are also touched on. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page set of study notes includes vocabulary pertaining to customer service. Grammar topics include separable verbs with “-machen” as the root (aufmachen, zumachen, etc.). Also included are prepositions used when referring to time: “ab”, “bis”, “in”, “vor”, “nach” & “bei”. Each preposition is used in one or more sample sentences with parallel English translation. The Konjunktiv II forms of “können” and “werden” (könnten, würden) are touched on. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

This 2-page set of study notes includes vocabulary pertaining to celebrations and holidays. Grammar topics include ordinal numbers and basic examples on how to use the verb “werden”. Example sentences in German are provided along with parallel English translations. These notes can be used in tandem with an already established curriculum — or they can even be the basis for a self-directed curriculum.

teacher and student can focus on different aspects of the imperative. Separate sections are dedicated to Sie-commands and ihr-commands, while the rules for du-commands are explained in detail over the course of several pages. Some example sentences are color coded for clarity. (The du-command rules are illustrated using large fonts and graphics.) Students new to the imperative mood can concentrate on pages 1-5, while more advanced students can make use of the material on pages 6-8, which deals with du-commands ending in “e” and commands using “bitte”, “doch bitte” and “doch mal”. This topic is at the middle to upper A1 level. To get the most out of this lesson, students should already be familiar with at least 30-40 of the most common verbs in everyday German. A glossary for some of the more advanced vocabulary used in the example sentences is provided on page 8. Some cultural information is also provided.

This 5-page lesson provides detailed information on how to express opinions using the verbs ‘finden’ and ‘gefallen’. Color-coded example sentences explain the underlying grammatical differences between these two verbs. Students will learn to how to use them to make statements, to ask yes-no questions and questions with “wie”.

Possessive articles (also known as ‘possessive pronouns’), are noun modifiers used to indicate ownership or possession. In English, these are: ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘our’, etc. German possessive articles share the same endings as the article ‘kein’. If you know these endings, it should be easy to use the possessives. This very thorough 8-page handout explains how to use German possessives in the nominative and accusative cases. The handout is subdivided into 4 separate sections, each emphasizing a different grammatical concept, and is complete with charts and example sentences. Some of the example sentences are color coded as an aid to understanding the grammar. This lesson is at the higher end of the A1 level. As a prerequisite, it would be beneficial for the student to already be familiar with the possessive articles “mein”, “dein” and “Ihr”.

This handout explains how to differentiate between things that are similar, the same, or one-in-the-same using the words ‘ähnlich’, ‘gleich’ and ‘derselbe’. More than 25 sample sentences are provided along with parallel English translations. (As a prerequisite, students should already be comfortable with article and adjective declensions in the accusative and dative cases.)

This set includes five color printables in landscape view on German family vocabulary. It is geared towards brand-new students at the early A1 level and introduces them to both nuclear family and extended family names. Brief stories and example sentences in German are provided together with helpful glossaries.

This ten-page, easy to read set of printables explains the rules for most present-tense verb conjugations in German. Geared towards beginners, these review notes summarize essential conjugation rules and common exceptions and can be used as a quick test prep tool. Common types of stem-changing verbs and verbs ending in “-eln” and “-ern” are shown. The special verbs ‘haben’, ‘sein’ and ‘werden’ are also highlighted. The final page touches on how to conjugate separable verbs. (Modal verb conjugations are not discussed in this handout, but appear in other lessons.) This lesson is in “landscape” view and can be printed or projected as slides.

This six-page printable covers basic two-dimensional shapes and common solids. Parts of this handout can be used by absolute beginners, while other parts may be more suited for those students at the A2 level due to grammar and vocabulary. Names and descriptions of the shapes are given in German. Students can translate the more difficult words into English using the embedded glossaries.

This handout explains how to use the prepositions ‘am’, ‘um’, ‘von’ & ‘bis’ as relates to time. Days of the week are introduced here, and the student learns how to say things like “on Monday”, “on Friday” (am Montag, am Freitag), etc. The student also learns how to ask: “What time is it?” / “What time are you ____ ?”, etc. Numerous sample sentences are provided, with translations and clear explanations. Some cultural-linguistic info is also included. (Knowing how to tell time using German ‘official time’ is recommended before using this handout.)

This 5-page color printable is an introduction to plurals in German. Common German nouns that students are likely to encounter early on are shown in their plural forms. This lesson does not contain any rules or guidelines for forming the plural, but instead introduces new learners to the different types of plural endings for nouns and to plural articles in the nominative case (die, keine). Plural forms of compound nouns are also touched on. Before using this lesson, students should already be familiar with gender and how to use articles in the nominative singular. Pages are in ‘layout’ view and can be used as slides.

In this lesson, the student is introduced to definite articles in the nominative case (der, die, das). A tight relationship exists between these articles and a noun’s gender, and so gender is discussed here in detail. Techniques for memorizing gender are covered as well. There is a section on the plural article (die), with examples of plural nouns used in sample sentences. The handout ends with a short exercise on definite articles and gender.