School Launch

Parent guide · Grade 2 German · Unit 5

Lesson 5.2 Vater unser

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
Pray the Lord’s Prayer in German, line by line. Tell what each line means. Sing part of Guten Abend, gut’ Nacht.
You need
  • Stiff paper or card stock
  • Markers, colored pencils, gold crayon
  • Clear tape or contact paper (optional)
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:20))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Pray the Lord’s Prayer in English with your parent. Jesus taught this prayer to His disciples. German Christians have prayed it in German for five hundred years. Today you learn it too.

  2. Read aloud: The story. One day the disciples saw Jesus praying, and they asked Him: Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus said: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther taught German children to pray this prayer every morning and every evening, and German Christians still pray it in church every Sunday. Here it is, the way German churches pray it today: Vater unser im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name. Dein Reich komme. Dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel, so auf Erden. Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute. Und vergib uns unsere Schuld, wie auch wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern. Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen. Denn dein ist das Reich und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit. Amen.

    Read aloud: How German sounds. Go one line at a time. Vater unser im Himmel (FAH-ter OON-zer im HIM-mel): Our Father in heaven. Geheiligt werde dein Name (guh-HY-likht VEHR-duh dine NAH-muh): hallowed be Your name. Dein Reich komme (dine RIKE KOM-muh): Your kingdom come. Dein Wille geschehe (dine VIL-luh guh-SHAY-uh): Your will be done. You already know Brot (bread) and Himmel (heaven)!

    Read aloud: Say it and pray. Fold your hands. A parent says one line in German, and you say it back. Do the first four lines today, and add a line or two each day. By the end of the week you can pray the whole Vaterunser in German.

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

    • das Vaterunser [dahs FAH-ter-oon-zer]: the Lord’s Prayer
    • beten [BAY-tun]: to pray
    • der Name [dehr NAH-muh]: name
    • das Reich [dahs RIKE]: kingdom
    • der Wille [dehr VIL-luh]: will
    • Amen [AH-men]: amen

  4. Show: What does Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute mean?

    Say this: “Brot is bread.”

    Say this: “Heute is today.”

    Say this: “Gib uns is give us.”

    Answer: Give us this day our daily bread.

    Show: What does Dein Reich komme mean?

    Say this: “Reich is kingdom.”

    Say this: “Komme is come.”

    Answer: Thy kingdom come.

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

    Ask: Say to pray in German.

    Listen for: Beten.

    Ask: What is the German name for the Lord’s Prayer?

    Listen for: Das Vaterunser.

    Ask: What does Amen mean?

    Listen for: So be it.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Make a beautiful card with the German Lord’s Prayer to keep by your bed.

    Steps:

    1. A parent writes the Vaterunser on the card in neat letters, or prints it.
    2. Decorate the first letter V in gold, like the painted capitals in Gutenberg’s Bible.
    3. Draw a border of stars and a moon.
    4. Keep it by your bed and pray it each night.

    Tips for you:

    • Make a second card in English to compare.
    • Underline the words you know: Vater, Himmel, Name, Brot.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My card has the whole Vaterunser and a decorated capital.
    • I can pray the first lines from memory.

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

    1. In your German notebook, copy the first two lines of the Vaterunser: Vater unser im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name. Draw folded hands beside them.

  8. Read aloud: Martin Luther wrote a little book for families in 1529, the Small Catechism. It teaches the Ten Commandments, the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, with the question: Was ist das? (What does this mean?). German children have learned from it for almost five hundred years.

    • Saying Vater with a v sound. Say FAH-ter.
    • Saying Reich like rich. The ei says eye: RIKE.

  10. Sit in a circle. The first person says the first line of the Vaterunser in German, the next says the second line, and so on around the circle. If someone forgets, everyone helps. End together with Amen.

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

    Listen for: Pray the Lord’s Prayer in German, line by line.; Tell what each line means.; Sing part of Guten Abend, gut’ Nacht.

  12. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

    Matthew 6:9 (KJV)

    In the German Bible of Martin Luther (1912 revision), this verse reads: <i lang="de">Unser Vater in dem Himmel! Dein Name werde geheiligt.</i> Jesus taught us to call God our Father and to honor His name. In Luther’s Bible the prayer begins Unser Vater in dem Himmel; churches today pray Vater unser im Himmel.

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.