ALD Afro-German Lesson Plans

This is a level 3 or 4 (high school) or intermediate (college) unit on the African Diaspora in Germany.

Die Afrikanische Diaspora in Deutschland

Thematic Curriculum Unit - Performance Assessment and Planning Guide
Communication Modes: Performance assessments

Interpretive: ACTFL Standard 1.2, 2.1,

• Students will read stories of selected Germans of African descent from various historical periods and demonstrate understanding by answering questions
• Students will see the film "DiasporAfro" and demonstrate understanding by identifying key facts ("Wer, Was, Wo, Wann") for each individual in the film

Interpersonal: ACTFL Standard 1.1, 2.1 ,2.2, 4.2

In small groups, students will discuss what they knew about the African Diaspora in Germany before the unit, items of interest they learned during the unit, and questions they still have about the topic

Presentational: ACTFL Standard 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 4.2, 5.2 Students will present individual projects (written or oral) on subjects relating to African Diaspora in German speaking countries

Unless otherwise noted, all instruction and student activities are in German. Note: The Peformance Assessments above are intended as summative assessments. to provide evidence of achievement of the learning goals. Quizzes on content, vocabulary, and grammar, homework assignments, and other formative assessments are used as learning checks to monitor student progress and comprehension within the unit.

Click here for teacher background information (in English) (PDF file)

Lesson Plans: Day 1

Prelearning Activity:
Play selection from German Hip Hop music by German American artist(s) at beginning of hour
(Resource: lyrics and URL for Sisters Keepers)

Brief class discussion about the music selection:
Was für Musik ist das? Wo hört man diese Musik? Kennst du dieses Lied? Kennst du diese Gruppe? Kennst du eine andere Gruppen, die diese Art von Musik spielen/singen? Vestehst du etwas von dem Text? Was? Wie findest du diese Musik? usw.

NOTE: This music selection will be played again later in the unit, with activities to help the students understand the text.

Einführung:

• Wer ist deutsch?

  Show picture of Germans of African descent (Resource #2: Afro-Germans) on overhead transparency or power point slide. Identify individuals by letter. Students guess which persons are of African descent and write letters identifying them on scratch paper.

  Partner activity: Students compare their guesses with their partners and give reasons for their choices

  Briefly sample and discuss choices, then show actual identities

• Show pictures of Germans of African descent from different countries (Resource #3: Afro-German adults and Afro-German children)

  Brainstorm: Woher kommen sie? Warum? Wann? Was machen sie in Deutschland? (Was haben sie gemacht?)

  Gather student responses on visual organizer, like an "Assoziogram"

• "Die afrikanische Diaspora* in Deutschland" Was ist das? (Explanation by teacher, class Q and A)

  Operational definition of "die afrikanische Diaspora": The members of African Diaspora are those individuals of African heritage and/or Africans, who live outside the continent of Africa. These individuals are either descendents of Africans, who were involuntarily taken out of Africa, or they are Africans from one of the African countries, who are residing in a country outside of Africa. This term is relatively new. Paulette Reed-Anderson, an African American historian, coined this phrase.

Overview of Unit: Teacher shares with students (in English, if necessary) the overview of the (2-3 week) unit , with a focus on what the students will be able to do and understand by the end of the unit. This overview will provide purpose and meaning for the practice activities within the unit.

Hausaufgabe: To provide context: Read (in English) descriptions of the following historical periods of Africans in German speaking countries:

• Middle Ages
• Slaves in Germany
• German colonies in Africa
• The Weimar Republic
• The Third Reich
• Germany Today

(Homework Assignment #1)

Day 2

Students will work in the computer lab to using maps of Africa to find answers to questions about the geography of Africa and the history of German protectorates and colonies in Africa. ACTFL Standard 3.2

(Resource #4: Webquest)

Photos furnished by Paulette Reed-Anderson and Beauftragter für Integration und Migration.

Day 3

Review of information from Webquest activity: (Open-note "quiz": students demonstrate understanding of webquest information in short quiz)

Students will read and answer questions about Germans of African descent from historical periods. Copy from Resource #5 to create a packet of the biographies and statements of individual Germans of African descent. Divide the students into small groups and assign each group one text from the packet of texts. Using reading strategies to understand the text in detail, the students in each group work together to become the "experts" about that text. They will each be responsible for "teaching" this text to other students when the small groups are "jigsawed" into new groups on Day 4. (Resource #5: Individual histories of Afro-Germans in German - not available)

For teachers: Individual histories in German (Resource #6 English texts)

Day 4

Students meet in small groups from Day 3 to review their texts and make sure everyone in the group understands the text in detail to share with new groups. Jigsaw class members to create new groups with an "expert" for each text in each new group. Students work together to read and understand the texts.

Hausaufgabe: Teachers write comprehension questions based on text (incorporating vocabulary and expressions the students have identified as necessary to understand and discuss topic. This material could also be used to create or support grammar learning goals.

Day 5 (Content and vocabulary review)

Content review:
Small group or partner activity: Students are given information strips with key biographical information about the individuals from the texts. Sort the information by individual. (Resource #7: small group activity)

Check for accuracy in large group. (Can use overhead transparency strips)

Fill in names of individuals on historic timeline (from Homework Assignment #1)

Vocabulary review:
Possibility 1: Using wordsplash of new vocabulary on the board or overhead, students identify word as teacher describes word in German.

Possibility 2: Students write a paragraph (or 10 minute writing) about the topic of the African Diaspora in Germany using key vocabulary provided in Assoziogram or word splash.

Days 6 and 7

Wer ist deutsch? Ein viel diskutiertes, umstrittenes Thema
(Discussion of Germans of African Descent, nationalized Germans from Africa, and African Asylum seekers)

View short film "Schwarzfahrer" and select from supporting materials to introduce topic. (This film may have been shown in previous level of German study. Re-enter and review language learned at that level.) Expand with new vocabulary, (e.g. xenophobia, social justice, discrimination, equality) phrases, and content knowledge from this unit. (#8: "Scharzfahrer" materials)

Day 8

Introduce film "DiasporAfro" to illustrate the experiences of youths of the African Diaspora, growing up in Germany. The film has an accompanying transcript of the dialogue that can be adapted for classroom reading, vocabulary, and grammar exercises to enable and support comprehension. (Search for the film by title for purchase information.)

Suggested use: View film with students, check for understanding the gist and any details they were able to comprehend. Then use segments of scripted dialogue for more in-depth comprehension exercises by individual students, partners, or small groups, as appropriate to your level and class.

Explain final project for unit:
Presentational Performance Task : (Resource #10: rubric) Students will demonstrate acquired knowledge of the African Diaspora in Germany by preparing a written or oral project, such as poetry writing or reading, music, maps, a report, incorporating a theme such as "Heimat, "equality and social justice, Pan Africanism,etc.

(Establish timeline and determine whether there will be in-class worktime. Daily assignments may vary according to in-class project worktime provided.)

Subsequent lessons:

Pop Kultur: Befreiung und Hip Hop

Activities to expand and enrich the unit

• Play CD or show DVD produced by an African or Afro-German musician to introduce the topic
  Suggested activity: Cut text from selected song into strips
  Students listen to song multiple times to put strips in order
  In class discussion or small groups, answer vocabulary and comprehension questions
• Introduce the Afro-German community activitist, Mai Ayim, and read one of her poems of liberation. (Resource: poem by Mai Ayim)
• View documentary film "Black People, Black Berlin," in which May Ayim is one of several people interviewed about the integration of Afro-Germans in German society. ("Black People, Black Berlin", Producer and Director Fountainhead Tanz Theatre, Germany, 1990.)

End of unit:

• Presentational Communication Assessment: Presentation of class projects
• Interpersonal Performance Assessment: Small group discussions (See performance assessments at beginning of this unit plan) For Rubric, see (Resource #14)

Communities and Connections: ACTFL Standards 3.1, 4.2, 5.1

Possible activities:

• Have a round-table discussion with students from social studies classes or other world languages about immigration and asylum seeking issues of other countries, including the U.S.
• Prepare a visual or multi-media display for the school library to share the information from the class projects with the student body and community.
• Check with a university department for International Programs to see if they can provide guest speakers (visiting students or professors) to address this topic.
• Because the texts are also provided in English, this unit could be shared with or used by a social studies or history colleague and incorporated into their curriculum.

A lesson plan based on the short-film "Schwarzfahrer" (PDF Format)
Note: This is a large file and may take awhile to download.