Help with school project in Germany

[finknottle]

Ds1's new secondary school has a project week in mid-Feb and I've volunteered to do something wrt English.

It's only 4 half-mornings, well, 3 really and then a presentation on the Open Day on the Sat.

Ds1 is so happy there and the teachers are v good. It's a small village school, quite new and while they've been renovating work-shops & labs etc, they've few resources for English.

As the children only really started learning English at the start of the school year they won't be up to much language-wise but need to be involved, i.e. we need to do something they can present.

I thought I'd do a British Isles display:

England
Wales
Scotland
Ireland

We can paint flags,
have posters/maps showing capitals etc
typical food, maybe write out short descriptions
sport (rugby, hurling, football, cricket)

So I need material. Have a couple of magazines I can cut a few pics out of.
Thought I'd contact the embassies in Berlin but the project starts on Feb 13th and don't have much time.

Help! Ideas, old mags you don't need - anything, please

Never liked Blutwurst neither...my mum used to make it, and whenever it was on the menu I would cry beforehand....just teh thought of it was so vile...but Blackpudding looks even more disgusting...and dh trys to get me to try it, but there is just NO WAY, lol...

OH, if you gonna go for Marmite, forworn them by saying it is a bit like spreadable Maggi...

Yes, I am Scottish. Good thing about Germany is that there is a lot of interest in Scotland/UK. They do tend to have a rather romanticised picture of Scotland though. It might be nice to show the children (and their parents the "real" UK.

food: Stovies, Mince Tatties and Neeps

sport: football, rugby

drink: irn bru, whisky

person: you could do the old, "look at all these famous inventors from Scotland, Alexander Graham Bell..." but don't know if they would really be interested. What age are they? Would they be interested im music? Scottish/British bands?

Have a look at this website for a list of highland games in Germany We went to one last year, quite bizarre really to see loads of Germans running around in kilts. The DCs liked it.

You might find someone willing to come along to the school and play bagpipes for the kids. They would enjoy that (even if their ears wont)

You are all so kind Thanks for all the offers of help.
Agree about black pudd -

Kindersurprise - lots of good ideas there. If the project were bigger & I had more time then I'd def try & get someone from the larger cities around here. The primary has a much bigger project week and there are a couple of hundred rather than dozens of pupils (it's only 2 yrs of secondary here) also they do a full week with months to prep so shall save ideas for that.
As it is, it's now Friday morning, the projects start Weds and I still don't know if enough have signed up for mine. If I don't plan s/thing over the weekend it'll be too rushed next week.
Have an awful feeling the head was waiting for my outline before distributing the list as the form was languishing in ds1's rucksack for 3 days May otherwise have had more time.

Mamapyjama - another kind offer but there isn't time to send stuff. Shall put our printer to good use over the w/end I think.

Thank heavens for the internet

They're 10/11/12. Ds1 told me this am he hopes I'm not too disappointed if not enough want to do it
English has only just become a 'proper' subject for them since August with marks, tests, vocab etc and lots find it really hard as it's all slog. May put them off which is a shame as I want to make it fun and interesting.

So when do you find out if you got out of it or not?

bless your son...
I remember english lessons at school as being difficult ....and didn't learn all that much...always bottom of the class...
however that project sounds like fun and just the right thing to get Kids interested and involved...
I think the Kids will find it a refreshing change to the usual stuff that goes on in german schools (because, unless it has changed, it's all pretty academia set out, with little fun taking place....well in lessons anyway....).
That is something I like in Britains schools...!

10 am Monday morning. Still not heard.

Have you been practising flapjacks all weekend then?

er, no. Had a d & v bug and tho' I feel a lot better I can't face food At least the children are better.
Didn't get more than an outline done at the weekend as I felt grim and had 2 reports to write for the sports club.

Also have stacks of appts this week, half of which I'll have to postpone if the project goes ahead and I am now wishing it won't.

Rang the sec and she was as ever clueless

Well, if you haven't heard, maybe it's off, eh?
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/088290616X/yourdotcomfor-20

We were at a talk given by this man last night - known as the candy bomber or Schoko-pilot. Lovely old guy, 87 years old now. We borrowed the book "Mercedes and the Candy Bomber" from the library last week to read about it first. The German girl from the story was there too, she's a granny herself now I'd say.

He was saying how he thought he'd get in trouble for dropping the chocolates but apparently when he was called to see the general about it, he was told to just carry on with it. He said he'd get thousands of letters from children addressed to the Schokoladenpilot at his base, with little maps showing where the dc lived and asking him to drop something there but no way could he locate the houses from above, so he'd send them a package to their home address. He says too he even got letters from dc in East Berlin and he dropped his chocolates there too. Hadn't known that part of it.

sorry to hear about the bug, I hate those, especially at the weekend. At least during the week, it's an excuse to not take dd to school!

So many hadn't handed in their forms by Friday that they're only deciding this am apparently. The teachers do it every year so have stuff prepared mostly.
Am just still feeling grotty tbh.

If you're not feeling well, why not call and say you can't do it this time after all?

Tempted but I'd feel really awful if they've been organising things to make it go ahead. Head was v keen. The pupils have a 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice dep on how full the projects are so it takes some working out to balance it all.
Also, having finally offered s/thing would feel cowardy custard.
Teachers used to producing stuff at last minute - I'm rather out of practice, lol.

I'm sure the head will be keen, what with English being a Pflichtfach for everyone nowadays and all this emphasis on modern languages, she will be wanting to involve you if she can obviously. It's tough on you though when you feel sick.

Right, I have 30 mins before I have to go out so am going to get big sheet of paper and sketch out the 3 days - hour by hour with all the ideas I've got so I feel it's more in place.
Then I'll stop faffing

Do you have any idea how big the group is likely to be?

no, I know a-nuthing.
Off to sketch out plan. 4.5 hrs x 3 days.

May the force be with you!

Head called & said not enough had wanted to do it.
Not sure if relieved or disappointed as had pretty much got it sorted
Haven't lost anything - rather opposite I s'pose as I've been talking to the heads of both locations (school split) and made contact with their English teacher - and have shown willing.

And if anyone else wants advice on similar, I'm yer woman, er nottle, so to say

And thank you all for your offers of help and your suggestions - I'd also like to thank my agent and my mum, oh, no wait, I didn't win a BAFTA
rats

nearly finky, nearly! (rolls up the red carpet)

Well you will be well in with them now, so well done. So now you can concentrate on your Easter tree which we're apparently supposed to be making now according to Califrau. I still don't know HOW to make one though.

Na, I love doing bits with dd and ds2 and don't mind all their easter baskets and chicks and stickers on the kitchen window etc. but I draw the line at putting stuff outside the house

What a shame after all your brainstorming.

What do you mean a tree outside? Where have you guys been living the past years? Inside

I thought every German household had one, or is that just my weird friends? Perhaps it is more common in Bavaria, where we used to live.

Go on, off to the Easter tree thread to find out how its done