School Launch

Parent guide · Grade 1 German · Unit 1

Lesson 1.1 Mutter, Vater, Kinder

Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.

At a glance

Time
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal
Name mother, father, brother, sister and baby in German. Count the children in a family painting. Say the commandment about father and mother.
You need
  • A large sheet of paper
  • Crayons or markers
  • Family photos (optional) and glue
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:54))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Who lives in your house? Name everyone in your family in English: Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, babies. Today you learn to name them in German.

  2. Read aloud: The story. About two hundred years ago in Vienna, the capital of Austria, there lived a painter named Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. One summer a man named Dr. Eltz asked him to paint his whole family on holiday in the mountain town of Ischl. What a big family! There is the father in his black coat, holding one of his little boys in his arms. There is the mother in a beautiful red dress, with the baby on her lap. And all around them are their children: big brothers in hats ready for a hike, sisters in white dresses, a boy kneeling in the grass and a little girl in pink. Behind them rise green hills and snowy mountains. Can you count all the children?

    Read aloud: How German sounds. In Vater, the v sounds like f: FAH-ter. Schwester starts with schw, said shv: SHVES-ter. The u in Mutter and Bruder sounds like the oo in book or boot. Remember the little word in front: die Mutter, der Vater, der Bruder, die Schwester, das Baby.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Rock a pretend baby: das Baby! Stand tall like Dad: der Vater! Give a big hug: die Mutter! Flex your muscles: der Bruder! Twirl: die Schwester!

  3. Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

    • die Mutter [dee MUT-ter]: mother
    • der Vater [dehr FAH-ter]: father
    • der Bruder [dehr BROO-der]: brother
    • die Schwester [dee SHVES-ter]: sister
    • das Baby [dahs BAY-bee]: baby
    • die Familie [dee fah-MEE-lee-uh]: family
  4. A large family gathers on a grassy slope in front of a mountain village: the father in a black coat holds a little boy in yellow, two older boys in hats stand beside him, the mother in a wide red dress sits holding a baby in white, a grown daughter in a white dress with a blue sash stands behind her, a girl in white leans toward the baby, a boy in a tan suit kneels in the front and a little girl in pink stands at the right, with green hills and snowy mountains behind them.
    The Notary Dr. Josef August Eltz with His Wife and Eight Children in Ischl, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, 1835. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Waldmüller loved bright daylight and clear colors. He painted every face so carefully that we can see each child’s own look. The family seems to have stopped for a moment on a summer walk. Look how the children turn toward the mother and the baby: the baby is at the very center of the picture.

    Point and find:

    • Count the children in German.
    • Find the father. Who is he holding?
    • Find the mother. What color is her dress?
    • Find the baby. Where is the baby sitting?

    Ask:

    • “What do you think the family will do next on their holiday?”
    • “If someone painted your family, where would you like to be?”

  5. Show: The parent points to Dad. Who is that in German?

    Say this: “Dad is the father.”

    Say this: “Father is der Vater.”

    Answer: Der Vater! (dehr FAH-ter)

    Show: Count the children in the painting in German.

    Say this: “Point to each child.”

    Say this: “Count: eins, zwei, drei…”

    Answer: Acht! (eight)

  6. Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

    Ask: Say mother in German.

    Listen for: Die Mutter.

    Ask: Say father in German.

    Listen for: Der Vater.

    Ask: Say baby in German.

    Listen for: Das Baby.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Draw a family tree with your family on it and label it in German.

    Steps:

    1. Draw a big tree with a strong trunk and branches.
    2. Draw (or glue a photo of) each person in your family on the branches.
    3. A parent writes die Mutter, der Vater, der Bruder, die Schwester or das Baby under each one.
    4. Point to each person and say who it is in German.

    Tips for you:

    • Add your grandparents at the roots of the tree.
    • Count how many people are in your family in German.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My tree shows everyone in my family.
    • I can name each person in German.

  8. Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

    1. Draw your family in your picture dictionary. A parent writes die Mutter, der Vater, der Bruder, die Schwester and das Baby under the right people.

  9. Read aloud: Bad Ischl, the town in the painting, is in the Austrian Alps. It was a favorite summer town for families from Vienna. Austria is one of the countries where people speak German every day.

    • Saying Vater with a v sound. German v sounds like f: FAH-ter.
    • Saying Schwester with sw. Say shv: SHVES-ter.

  11. A parent describes a family member without saying the name: She is tall and she reads to you. Answer in German: die Mutter! Then you describe someone and the parent guesses.

  12. Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Name mother, father, brother, sister and baby in German.; Count the children in a family painting.; Say the commandment about father and mother.

  13. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

    Exodus 20:12 (KJV)

    In the German Bible of Martin Luther (1912 revision), this verse reads: <i lang="de">Du sollst deinen Vater und deine Mutter ehren</i> This is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. God tells children to honor their father and mother: to love them, listen to them and obey them.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

  1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Picture study and show how.
  2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
  3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.