Lesson 3.2 Kreis, Quadrat, Dreieck

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this together: Look around the room. Find something round, something square, something with three corners and something long. Today you learn shapes and opposites in German.

2. Teach the new idea

   Read aloud: Shapes. German builds shape words from parts: Ecke means corner, so das Dreieck is the three-corner (triangle) and das Viereck is the four-corner. Das Rechteck is the right-corner shape (rectangle). Der Kreis is the circle, and das Quadrat is the square. All the -eck words are das words.

   Read aloud: Opposites. groß / klein (big / small), lang / kurz (long / short), gerade / schief (straight / crooked), dick / dünn (thick / thin). Use them with ist: Der Kreis ist groß. Das Dreieck ist klein. Die Linie ist gerade.

   Read aloud: The crooked made straight. The prophet Isaiah said that when the Lord comes, every valley shall be exalted, every mountain made low, and the crooked shall be made straight. John the Baptist preached these words to get people ready for Jesus. God makes crooked hearts straight when we turn to Him.

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 Kreis [dehr KRICE]: circle
   • das Quadrat [dahs kvah-DRAHT]: square
   • das Dreieck [dahs DRY-ek]: triangle
   • das Rechteck [dahs REKHT-ek]: rectangle
   • lang [LAHNG]: long
   • kurz [KOORTS]: short
   • groß [GROHS]: big
   • klein [KLINE]: small
   • dick [DIK]: thick, fat
   • dünn [DÜN]: thin
4. Show how

   Show: A slice of pizza has three corners. What shape is it?

   Say this: “Three corners: drei Ecken.”

   Say this: “Triangle is das Dreieck.”

   Answer: Das Dreieck.

   Show: Say The circle is small.

   Say this: “Circle is der Kreis.”

   Say this: “Small is klein.”

   Answer: Der Kreis ist klein.

5. Practice together

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

   Ask: Say circle in German.

   Listen for: Der Kreis.

   Ask: Say square in German.

   Listen for: Das Quadrat.

   Ask: What is the opposite of groß?

   Listen for: Klein.

   3 more on the lesson page.

6. Project: Shape monster

   Read aloud: Build a funny monster out of paper shapes and describe it in German.

   Steps:

   1. Cut out circles, squares, triangles and rectangles in many colors and sizes.
   2. Glue them together into a monster: a square body, a circle head, triangle teeth, rectangle legs.
   3. Describe your monster: Der Kopf ist ein Kreis. Der Kreis ist grün und groß. Die Zähne sind Dreiecke.
   4. Give your monster a German name.

   Tips for you:

   • Make one leg long and one short: ein Bein ist lang, ein Bein ist kurz.
   • Hang it up and let the family describe it in German.

   Done when your child can say:

   • My monster has at least four kinds of shapes.
   • I can describe it with shapes, colors and opposites.
7. Sketchbook

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

   1. In your German notebook, draw and label der Kreis, das Quadrat, das Dreieck and das Rechteck. Write four pairs of opposites.
8. From history

   Read aloud: The German word for kindergarten comes from Friedrich Fröbel, who opened the first one in 1840. He gave children wooden blocks, balls and cubes, his famous Gifts, to learn shapes through play.

9. Watch for
   • Saying Kreis like crease. The ei says eye: KRICE.
   • Saying der Dreieck. All -eck shapes are das words.
10. Game: Shape hunt

    A parent calls a shape in German: ein Kreis! Run and find something round in the house, hold it up and say Das ist ein Kreis! Then the parent calls a color and a shape together: ein rotes Rechteck!

11. Narration

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

    Listen for: Name four shapes in German.; Use the opposites groß/klein, lang/kurz, gerade/schief.; Describe a picture with shapes and colors.

12. Scripture

    Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

    In the Luther Bible (1912): <i lang="de">und was ungleich ist, soll eben, und was höckericht ist, soll schlicht werden</i> Isaiah promised that God would make the crooked straight and the rough places smooth. John the Baptist used these words to prepare the way for Jesus.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 20–30 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.