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Parent guide · Grade 3 German · Unit 4

Lesson 4.2 Guten Appetit!

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 20–30 minutes
Goal
Name the things on a German table.; Say the table prayer and Guten Appetit!; Ask politely for food: Kann ich bitte… haben?
You need
  • A real plate, fork, knife, spoon, glass and napkin
  • Small paper labels and tape
  • A place card
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:38))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Set the table for supper. Name every thing you put down in English. Today you learn them in German, and how to behave at a German table.

  2. Read aloud: At a German table. Before the meal, many Christian families pray: Komm, Herr Jesu, sei unser Gast, und segne, was du uns bescheret hast. (Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and bless what You have given us.) Then everyone says Guten Appetit! and only then begins to eat. Germans eat with the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right, and they keep both hands on the table (not in the lap).

    Read aloud: Asking politely. Kann ich bitte das Brot haben? (May I please have the bread?) Kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben? (Can you please pass me the salt?) When someone passes it, say Danke! and they answer Bitte! At the end: Danke, das war lecker! (Thank you, that was delicious!)

    Read aloud: To God’s glory. Paul wrote: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Good manners, thankfulness and kind words at the table are a way to honor God in everyday life.

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

    • der Teller [dehr TEL-ler]: plate
    • die Gabel [dee GAH-bel]: fork
    • das Messer [dahs MES-ser]: knife
    • der Löffel [dehr LÖF-fel]: spoon
    • das Glas [dahs GLAHS]: glass
    • lecker [LEK-ker]: delicious
    • Guten Appetit! [GOO-tun ah-puh-TEET]: Enjoy your meal!
    • bitte [BIT-tuh]: please
    • danke [DAHN-kuh]: thank you
    • das Brot [dahs BROHT]: bread

  4. Show: Ask politely for the water.

    Say this: “Water is das Wasser.”

    Say this: “Kann ich bitte… haben?”

    Answer: Kann ich bitte das Wasser haben?

    Show: Everyone has sat down and prayed. What do you say before eating?

    Say this: “Wish everyone a good meal.”

    Answer: Guten Appetit!

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

    Ask: Say fork in German.

    Listen for: Die Gabel.

    Ask: Say spoon in German.

    Listen for: Der Löffel.

    Ask: What do Germans say before eating?

    Listen for: Guten Appetit!

    3 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Set a German place setting and label each part.

    Steps:

    1. Set the plate in the middle, the fork on the left, the knife on the right with the blade facing in, and the spoon above the plate or beside the knife.
    2. Label each thing in German: der Teller, die Gabel, das Messer, der Löffel, das Glas, die Serviette.
    3. Write a place card with a family member’s name in German letters.
    4. Explain your setting to the family in German.

    Tips for you:

    • Set the table for the whole family.
    • Write the table prayer on a card in the middle of the table.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My place setting is labeled in German.
    • I can name each thing.

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

    1. In your German notebook, draw a place setting and label it. Copy the table prayer and three polite questions.

  8. Read aloud: In Germany the big hot meal was traditionally eaten at noon, Mittagessen. Supper, Abendbrot (evening bread), is often bread, butter, cheese and cold meats.

    • Starting to eat before Guten Appetit! Wait until everyone has said it.
    • Saying Löffel with a plain o. The ö is round: LÖF-fel.

  10. At supper, nobody may pass anything unless asked in German: Kann ich bitte die Kartoffeln haben? Whoever forgets bitte has to wait a turn.

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

    Listen for: Name the things on a German table.; Say the table prayer and Guten Appetit!; Ask politely for food: Kann ich bitte… haben?

  12. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

    1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV)

    In the Luther Bible (1912): <i lang="de">Ihr esset nun oder trinket oder was ihr tut, so tut es alles zu Gottes Ehre.</i> Even eating and drinking can be done to honor God: by thanking Him, sharing, and being kind at the table.

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.