Lesson 3.2 Morgen, Mittag, Abend

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: What do you do in the morning? At lunchtime? In the evening? At night? Act each one out. Today you learn the times of the day in German.

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: The story. About two hundred and fifty years ago, a German poet named Matthias Claudius loved God and loved his large family. He wrote an evening song for his children. The moon has risen, he wrote, the little golden stars shine bright and clear in the sky; the woods stand black and silent, and from the meadows the white mist rises. In the last verse he asks God to let us sleep in peace and to watch over our sick neighbor too. German families have sung Der Mond ist aufgegangen at bedtime ever since. The Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning, and He keeps us all through the night.

   Read aloud: How German sounds. Morgen is MOR-gun. Abend ends with d, which sounds like t at the end of a word: AH-bunt. Mittag is mid-day: MIT-tahk. And you already know Nacht: NAHKHT. Greet people at each time: Guten Morgen! Guten Tag! Guten Abend! Gute Nacht!

   Read aloud: Say it and move. Stretch and yawn: der Morgen! Point straight up at the sun: der Mittag! Watch the sun go down with your hand: der Abend! Close your eyes: die Nacht! Make a round moon with your arms: der Mond!

3. New words

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

   • der Morgen [dehr MOR-gun]: morning
   • der Mittag [dehr MIT-tahk]: noon
   • der Abend [dehr AH-bunt]: evening
   • die Nacht [dee NAHKHT]: night
   • der Mond [dehr MOHNT]: moon
   • die Sonne [dee ZON-nuh]: sun
4. Show how

   Show: It is evening and a neighbor comes to visit. What do you say?

   Say this: “It is evening: der Abend.”

   Say this: “The greeting is Guten Abend.”

   Answer: Guten Abend! (GOO-tun AH-bunt)

   Show: You eat lunch at what time of day?

   Say this: “Lunch is at noon.”

   Say this: “Noon is der Mittag.”

   Answer: Der Mittag.

5. Practice together

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

   Ask: Say morning in German.

   Listen for: Der Morgen.

   Ask: Say night in German.

   Listen for: Die Nacht.

   Ask: Say moon in German.

   Listen for: Der Mond.

   3 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: My day clock

   Read aloud: Make a picture strip of your day from morning to night.

   Steps:

   1. In the first box draw yourself waking up. A parent writes der Morgen.
   2. In the second box draw lunch. Write der Mittag.
   3. In the third box draw supper with the family. Write der Abend.
   4. In the last box draw yourself asleep under the moon. Write die Nacht.
   5. Tell your day in German, box by box.

   Tips for you:

   • Add the greeting for each time: Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, Gute Nacht.
   • Color the sky a different color in each box.

   Done when your child can say:

   • My strip shows four times of day.
   • I can name each one in German.
7. Sketchbook

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

   1. Draw a sun rising, a sun high, a sun setting and a moon in your picture dictionary. A parent writes der Morgen, der Mittag, der Abend and die Nacht.
8. From history

   Read aloud: Matthias Claudius also wrote for a newspaper called the Wandsbek Messenger. He signed his little articles Asmus, and he wrote about simple things: the moon, the seasons, his family and his faith in God.

9. Watch for
   • Saying Abend with a d sound. At the end of a word d sounds like t: AH-bunt.
   • Mixing up morgen. Der Morgen is the morning, but morgen with a small m means tomorrow.
10. Game: Day and night

    A parent calls a time of day in German. For der Morgen, stretch; for der Mittag, pretend to eat; for der Abend, wave at the sunset; for die Nacht, lie down and close your eyes. The parent calls faster and faster!

11. Narration

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

    Listen for: Name morning, noon, evening and night in German.; Greet people at each time of day.; Sing part of Der Mond ist aufgegangen.

12. Scripture

    They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

    In the German Bible of Martin Luther (1912 revision), this verse reads: <i lang="de">sondern sie ist alle Morgen neu, und deine Treue ist groß.</i> God’s mercies are new every morning. Every day starts fresh with His love and faithfulness.

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. 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.