A child-led introduction to Füssen, Germany, suitable to support study of a European location at KS2.
The video
Phillip: My name is Phillip. I live in Halblech, in Bavaria.
Phillip: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: Halblech is a few kilometers away from Schwangau and Füssen. This region is called Allgäu. My father is a soldier and works, in Dresden, training officers.
Phillip's mother & father: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: Once, he was stationed in Afghanistan.
Phillip's mother: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: That was quite hard for my mom, because she was all alone.
Phillip & family: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: My house is made from wood and concrete. The concrete comes from our family business, which was started by my grandpa and grandma.
Phillip's grandpa: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: My mother, grandpa and uncles all work at the gravel pit. Grandpa and I often drive the bulldozer together in the gravel pit, and we dig from the huge mounds of gravel and sand. Once, we found a mammoth tooth in the sand.
Phillip's grandpa: SPEAKING BAVARIAN-GERMAN
Phillip - TRANSLATED: It's a lot of fun driving the bulldozer with my grandpa. This is the land of kings and castles. Neuschwanstein is the most famous castle.
Caption: Konigsschlosser.
Phillip - TRANSLATED: King Ludwig built it. Some people say he was mad, but he's often called the Swan King, or Fairytale King. This castle has been a location for lots of films, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sleeping Beauty. I can see the castles from my house and from my school. This is my classroom, and from here I can see Neuschwanstein Castle.
In Bavaria, we have many old customs. For example, we have a traditional costume club. Each club has its own costume with its own colours. My feather is a real eagle's feather, but eagles are now protected.
Our mountains and lakes are really beautiful. Our mountains are called the Alps. Lots of tourists come up here to see the beautiful views and enjoy the tasty food. From the top of the mountain, you can see all the lakes, rivers, and woods.
The most famous lakes in our area are called the Forggensee, the Bannwaldsee, and the Alpsee. The Forggensee is the largest. It's man-made, and it was built to help generate electricity. At the power plant, there's a section that looks just like a pair of trousers. In Bavaria, we've got about 4,200 hydroelectric power plants.
What I really love is fishing by the river. The river is called the Lech. I fish for trout all year round, except in winter, when we're not allowed to. The river's important, because we use its water for drinking. It's pure, clear, and flowing water from the mountains. We don't need to clean the water with chlorine because it's so clean.
In the summer, lots of children come here to build stone men by the river. It's quite tricky, because you need to be careful that the stones are balanced.
Phillip: No, that's not good idea.
Phillip - TRANSLATED: I love where I live, and if you were to visit Allgäu, you would love it too.
Video summary
Download/print a transcript of the video.
Füssen lies in the Allgäu region of Bavaria in Germany, famous for its mountain lakes, the Alps and castles including Neuschwanstein, which has been featured in a number of films.
Philipp is 12-years-old and is a member of a traditional dancing and cultural group.
He dresses in lederhosen and dances traditional German dances. His family own a concrete factory and their business depends on the mountains for the mined stone.
The area has many lakes and fast running rivers that help power the local hydroelectric plants.
There are about 14 plants in the Füssen area alone, and around 1400 in Bavaria. Lots of tourists come to ski in the winter and paraglide in the summer.
Teacher Notes
Pupils could consider the similarities and differences between their own town and the Allgäu region of Bavaria in Germany by presenting this information in a Venn diagram.
Using the clip as a stimulus, pupils could complete further research on Bavaria - its tourism, hydroelectricity industry and its traditional dress and dance, before writing a report about these.
Pupils could write a 'Day in the Life of…' diary for Philipp, the young presenter of the film - while at home, at his father's concrete factory, fishing by the river and at school. This report or diary could be accompanied by a glossary explaining the key vocabulary.
Pupils can design their own poster or brochure advertising 'Bavaria', using persuasive language and information shown in the clip.
This clip is relevant for teaching Key Stage 2 in English, Progression Step 3 in Wales and 2nd Level (Scotland) students about life in other countries. The National Curriculum for Geography at Key Stage 2 emphasises study of a European location and making comparisons with a location in the United Kingdom.
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