German KS2: Getting directions in Berlin

Primary resources > German KS2 > Virtually There Germany

Charlie talks to his German friends Annika and Jens via his tablet.

They are looking for the venue where their band are playing a gig.

They accidentally go into a spooky Second World War bunker, and are told off by a security guard.

He gives them directions to the café, and Charlie helps them remember where to go.

They arrive just in time, but cameras aren’t allowed inside, so Charlie can’t see their concert.

This short film focuses on German vocabulary for directions, making positive and negative sentences, and things that are not allowed.

It is from the BBC series, Virtually There: Germany.

In this series of short fun films, a British boy practices German by talking to a group of children in Berlin via a tablet. Virtually There: Germany revises basic German vocabulary in a series of real-life settings, and using memorable songs.

Teacher Notes

This short film is useful for introducing or revising directions in German, talking about emotions and talking about rules.

You could practice directions with your class by asking pupils to turn 'rechts', 'links'.

Invite a volunteer to act as a 'robot' to respond to class directions, for example, taking one step to the right.

You could give your pupils a simple map, and dictate directions to see if they arrive at the correct street or building.

You could display a simple map on the interactive whiteboard and ask your pupils to give directions on how to get from A to B.

Pupils could also role play asking for directions: one pupil takes on the role of a passer-by and other pupils imagine they are lost in a town.

You could highlight the phrases “Annika hat Angst” (Annika is scared) and “Ich habe keine Angst” (I’m not scared) and teach pupils some more emotions that they can practice making positive and negative sentences with.

You could also talk about things that are “Verboten” (not allowed) in school, and ask pupils to draw posters.

Use this short film to practice pupils’ general comprehension of spoken German when they don’t know all the vocabulary.

Go through it slowly, stopping after each German sentence and ask what the characters mean, even if the pupils don’t understand all the words.

This short film also provides curriculum links to history, providing opportunities to talk about the function of bunkers during wartime.

Support pronunciation by highlighting ß in 'Straße' and 'Großbritannien', and point out that ß is also written as ss.

Curriculum Notes

This short film could be used for teaching German at KS2 or at a beginner level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2nd Level or beginner level in Scotland.

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