Curriculum
Our school has been teaching German on Saturday mornings to children from preschool to high-school levels for over 50 years. Most of our children are fairly proficient in German, and therefore classes are taught primarily in German. While our main focus is on teaching children to speak, read and write German, we are also dedicated to teaching German language, culture, music and literature.
Our faculty consists of experienced, native German-speaking teachers, who have been selected for their knowledge of German and their teaching ability. All teachers receive ongoing specialized teacher training from the German-American School Association. This is in addition to their teaching qualifications received elsewhere (either in the U.S. or in Europe). Our dedicated faculty members meet regularly in order to set short and long-term goals and to collaborate on classroom and curriculum issues. This ensures a continuity of teaching as well as a smooth transition between classes for our students.
Overview of classes
Kindergarten: Students learn German vocabulary appropriate for four to five-year old children through games, songs, crafts and rhymes. Emphasis at this level is on developing listening and speaking skills. This class is taught in both German and English.
The Unterstufe (taught in German) is for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders, and focuses on the development of beginning reading and writing skills in German. Vocabulary continues to be expanded and grammar concepts (e.g. conjugation in the present tense) are introduced.
The Mittelstufe (taught in German) is an intermediate level class generally geared to 3-5th graders, where the learning of German grammar and spelling is emphasized. Vocabulary is expanded and greater demands are made of listening and speaking skills. Children begin writing short essays.
The Oberstufe is our highest level class, composed of 6th through 9th grade students. This class emphasizes more complex grammar and writing skills, as well as conversational skills. AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) tests levels 2 through 4 are administered. These are the same tests taken by High School German students all across the country. Several of our students are now preparing to take the German Advanced Placement test for college credit. After graduating from the Oberstufe, students can have completed a curriculum equivalent to 3rd and 4th year High School German.
Our school is very pleased to offer the Einstufe, a class for children older than 7 who would like to learn German. This is a mixed-age classroom, taught in both English and German, where students become prepared to join the Mittelstufe (taught in German) within 2 to 3 years.
Age-appropriate textbooks are used in all classes. The German-American School Association imports these books from Germany for us. All classes also have weekly homework assignments. Weekly class visits to our parent-run school library offer children the opportunity to check out German books and movies to read and view at home during the week.
An important part of the curriculum is our weekly music and singing time, where we learn a wide variety of traditional and contemporary German songs. Twice a year, the children prepare and participate in a school program: at Christmas and the end of the year. This is always a time of high excitement at our school. Programs include songs, poems, sketches and plays. Recent play productions have included all-school casts in: Schneewittchen, Träumerle im Märchenwald, Florian und Floriana, Die Jodelschule, and Winnetou 4 ½: Auf nach Kalifornien!
We have had an active parent group that helps plan programs and extra-curricular festivals and activities, such as Faschingsumzug (Mardi Gras parade), Laternenumzug (St. Martins Day), Weihnachtsbasteln und Osterbasteln (Christmas and Easter crafts), and ice-skating outing in the Spring. The children enjoy a traditional Kasperltheater every year, usually in the Fall.