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$800

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German 3, 4, & 5 for High Schoolers (Part 1 of 4)

Completed by 6 learners
Ages 13-18
Live Group Course
Take the next steps to fluency. UNIQUE HYBRID FORMAT: 1 weekly Live Session + Guided Work provides the equivalent of 4 sessions per week.
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(200 reviews)
Popular
Rising Star

Live video meetings
1x per week, 8 weeks
4-18 learners per class
45 min

What's included

8 live meetings
6 in-class hours
Mastery Evaluation
2-4 hours per week. Your young person can expect to spend between 2 and 4 hours per week on the Guided Work portion of this class. (This will, of course, vary for each student.) Guided Work will include… + reading guides + reading + “grammar training” videos + “grammar training” worksheets + advanced grammar and writing practice Additionally, your student should expect to spent time in daily vocabulary study and studying for quizzes & exams.
Assessment
Students will complete occasional quizzes and one exam per quarter.
Letter Grade
Letter Grades are optional. Quarterly Reports provide individualized information on your student's expanding abilities.

Class Experience

US Grade 9 - 12
Intermediate Level
German 3, 4, & 5 for High Schoolers lets your young person continue on an exciting language-learning journey that will…
• transform your student into a confident communicator
• prepare your student to meet college entrance requirements
• open doors for a career in business, engineering, global health, communications, government, the arts…the sky’s the limit!

The German for High Schoolers curriculum will give you peace of mind and your young person a rich learning experience with solid outcomes.

+ ENROLL YOUR STUDENT in German 3, 4, & 5 today to secure a spot for 2025-2026.
+ MESSAGE ME with any questions. I’d love to send you a PDF on the World Language College Entrance Requirement, a link to the German for High Schoolers Trial Class, and a link to a Meet & Greet session.

Your young person will be making great strides toward fluency!

--Jennifer Bjornstad, PhD

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UNIQUE HYBRID FORMAT: LIVE SESSION + GUIDED WORK
The class follows a hybrid format, with two components:

1: Each Monday, students in German 3, German 4, and German 5 come together in our Live Session for speaking practice, discussion of our readings, follow-up on grammar assignments, and cultural enrichment.

2: During the week, your student will work individually on the Guided Work assignments. I will teach them via interactive videos, reading assignments, reading guides, and grammar-practice worksheets.

Students can expect to spend two to four hours per week on the Guided Work assignments.

In my experience, students at the intermediate level are able to do the more independent “Guided Work” quite successfully.

The live meetings, quarterly exams, and weekly “Study Trackers” provide them with frequent checkpoints.

GERMAN 3: 
• Quarter 1: Grimm fairy tale “Das Mädchen ohne Hände”
• Quarter 2: Chapter book by Peter Härtling, Ben liebt Anna (part 1)
• Quarter 3: Chapter book by Peter Härtling, Ben liebt Anna (part 2)
• Quarter 4: Vater und Sohn comic by e.o. plauen + writing assignment
• plus…Grammar Training videos + level 1 worksheets 
• plus…advanced grammar instruction in simple past tense, two-way prepositions, and adjective endings

GERMAN 4:
• Quarter 1: Autobiography by Erich Kästner, Als ich ein kleiner Junge war
• Quarter 2: Novella by Heinrich Böll, Das Brot der frühen Jahre (part 1)
• Quarter 3: Novella by Heinrich Böll, Das Brot der frühen Jahre (part 2)
• Quarter 4: major writing assignment
• plus…Grammar Training video review + level 2 worksheets
• plus…paragraph-writing assignments with individualized feedback & practice via “Targeted Learning Worksheets”

GERMAN 5:
• Quarter 1: Biography of Käthe Kollwitz
• Quarter 2: Novel by Jurek Becker, Bronsteins Kinder (part 1)
• Quarter 3: Novel by Jurek Becker, Bronsteins Kinder (part 2)
• Quarter 4: major writing assignment
• plus…Grammar Training video review + level 3 worksheets
• plus…paragraph-writing assignments with individualized feedback & practice via “Targeted Learning Worksheets”

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PRICING & CLASS VALUE
I know that the cost of this class represents a significant investment in your young person’s education. 

The class price includes…
+ expert instruction
+ instructor-created lesson plans, activities, & materials
+ once-a-week Family Letter
+ once-a-quarter individualized Quarterly Report
+ close instructor-parent communication

You’re getting the real deal here. I am a true advanced professional with 25+ years of teaching experience, training, awards, and a PhD. Teaching on Outschool is my full-time job. I take my work seriously and spend a lot of time thinking about how best to support each student. I teach just a small number of students per year, so you can be sure your young person is getting the personalized attention that builds confidence, honors each student’s unique abilities, and leads to language-learning success.

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FAQ
Q: Do you teach the class in GERMAN or in ENGLISH?
A: Both! I use a “partial immersion” approach. At the German 3, 4, & 5 level, most of class time is spent in German.

Q: Are you a NATIVE SPEAKER of German?
A: I am a “near-native” speaker of German. I have a BA, MA, and PhD in German and I have spent significant time in Germany, so my language skills are top-notch. As a near-native speaker, I offer students the best of both worlds: I have clear pronunciation, advanced vocabulary, and excellent grammatical accuracy, and I speak a standardized “textbook” German that is very easy for students to follow.

Q: Does it matter that you are a TRAINED TEACHER?
A: I sure think it does! I have read hundreds of books and articles on teaching, presented at dozens of teacher conferences, and published articles on specific teaching methods. In my class, your student will be the beneficiary of years’ worth of training.

Q: What PROFICIENCY LEVEL will my student achieve?
A: The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) provides a scale of proficiency levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. Students have generally achieved the A2 level by the end of German 2. German 3 brings them to the B1 level, and German 4 and German 5 into the coveted B2 range.

Q: We have a SCHEDULING CONFLICT. Can my student still take the class?
A: Absolutely. Your student can catch up on a missed class by watching the class video, posted by Outschool after each class session.

Q: Can we count this class for HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT?
A: Quite possibly. If you are a homeschooling family creating your own transcript, simply list German 3, Parts 1 - 4 as one full high school credit (same for German 4 and German 5). If you are working with a high school guidance counselor, you can submit the class description, my credentials, and your student’s exam scores and narrative reports for possible credit from your school.

Q: We missed the beginning of the school year! Is it TOO LATE TO START?
A: I often accommodate students with a late start. Message me and let’s see if we can make it work. If your student is ready for work at this level, they may be able to jump right in.

Q: I don’t think we’ll be able to get the TEXTBOOK by the first day. Is that a problem?
A: No problem. Last-minute enrollments are welcome. I can provide scans of the first few pages until your student’s book arrives.

Q: I have more questions. Can we GET TOGETHER to talk?
A: Yes, please! I love getting together with students and their families to learn about their particular questions, concerns, and needs. Send me a time that works for you, and we can do a Meet & Greet session: 
https://outschool.com/classes/german-for-high-schoolers-meet-greet-8GBQiwIM.

Learning Goals

Students will improve their skills in READING, WRITING, LISTENING, & SPEAKING
Students will improve their GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY

Syllabus

8 Lessons
over 8 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Week 1
 -	der/die/das
-	simple past tense
-	discuss our favorite fairy tales 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Week 2
 -	verbs in the present tense
-	simple past tense
-	make hypotheses about “Das Mädchen ohne Hände“ 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Week 3
 -	word order: regular word order, inverted word order, w-questions, yes/no questions
-	simple past tense
-	discuss part 1 of the story – the pact with the devil 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Week 4
 -	haben/sein/werden
-	simple past tense
-	discuss part 2 of the story – the queen in exile 
45 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Learning Needs
Everyone is welcome! The class is set up in a clear, straightforward way that allows all students to succeed. If your student needs extra support, we will work together to make sure they have a fabulous learning experience.
Parental Guidance
GERMAN 3 Das Mädchen ohne Hände does have a violent beginning, when the main character loses her hands, and involves the betrayal of the girl by her father. As is common in many fairy tales, the situation is (partially) restored at the end. If you feel that this topic is one your student might find troubling, feel free to have a look at a summary of the story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Without_Hands. GERMAN 4 Erich Kästner’s autobiography is meant for both kids and adults, but it is heavy-hitting in a few spots when he talks about his mother’s psychological difficulties. We will not be including those passages in the excerpts we read. GERMAN 5 Käthe Kollwitz’s biography includes the death of her son in World War I and the death of her grandson in World War II. Her artworks portray difficult topics such as hunger, war, and revolt.
Pre-Requisites
Students who have reached the intermediate level by taking German 1 and German 2 with me are ready for this class. Students who have reached the intermediate level in another way, e.g. Duolingo, other classes, home language, etc. are also
Supply List
+ Kontakte: A Communicative Approach, 8th edition, ISBN: #978-1259307423

We use the 8th edition of the textbook. Please be sure you do not purchase any other edition by mistake.

I highly recommend that students have access to a paper copy of the textbook rather than an e-book version. A brand-new hardback can be purchased from Amazon for around $70 and will enable your young person to do the exercises without the distraction of past students’ notes or answers. We use the textbook in German 1, German 2, & German 3, 4, & 5, so you will get a lot of good use out of it.

NOTE: You DO NOT need the “access code” that you may see mentioned in the Amazon listing.

+ all materials for Part 1 of the class will be provided by the instructor
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Meet the teacher

5.0
200reviews
Popular
Rising Star
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Indiana Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Indiana Teaching Certificate in Foreign Language
Doctoral Degree in Foreign Language from University of Wisconsin-Madison
I am an expert German instructor with 25+ years of experience.
+ I was a full-time professor of German at Valparaiso University from 2001 to 2019.
+ I have been teaching high school German on Outschool since 2020.

A few highlights of my expertise:
• I have a PhD in German.
• I am a near-native speaker of German.
• I have lived and traveled in Germany extensively. 
• I was a tenured professor at Valparaiso University.
• I am a licensed high school teacher (grades 5-12, German and ELA).
• I have won several teaching awards.
• I homeschooled my own son for several years.
• I have taught the German 1 class many, many times in this format, with this textbook.

I really know my stuff when it comes to German language, history, literature, and culture. I’m also an approachable and welcoming teacher—our virtual classroom is a lively, warm, and congenial place.

If you’re interested in the German for High Schoolers curriculum for your young person, please reach out.

+ ENROLL YOUR CHILD in German 1 today to secure a spot for 2025-2026.
+ MESSAGE ME with any questions. I’d love to send you a PDF on the World Language College Entrance Requirement, a link to my Trial Class, and a link to a Meet & Greet session.

--Jennifer Bjornstad, PhD

Reviews

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