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German Curriculum
German, like other foreign languages, is taught in Waldorf Schools for a variety of reasons.
Because language itself helps shape our thoughts, learning another language can offer us a glimpse
into how others view the world. From the content of the songs, stories and verses we use in class,
the children gain exposure to aspects of German culture. Through the study of grammar in the
older grades, the children can develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for their own
mother tongue. Learning grammar in any language can be challenging, and the hard work middle
school students invest in mastering various aspects of German grammar can also help strengthen
their will forces and help develop self-discipline.
At The Waldorf School of Atlanta we begin simply in kindergarten and Grades I through III by
immersing the children in the spoken language. Once a week, in their circle time, the kindergarten
children are given just a little taste of the sound and feel of the language through German verses,
songs, and finger plays. In the first three grades we expand on this experience by adding stories
and games that help the children deepen their experience. Stories are told with the aid of drawings
or puppet plays so that the children have a more intuitive understanding of their content. We
always strive to offer a concrete example, like holding up a candle and saying, "Das ist die
Kerze." In the earlier grades all work is oral, with no reading or writing.
As children enter Grade IV and are fairly adept at reading and writing English, we introduce the
German alphabet to them. While visually almost identical to our own alphabet, the German
alphabet represents very different sound qualities. In order to help the children quickly make the
connection between the letters and their sounds, we begin by writing out and reading aloud verses
the children learned by heart in previous years. Soon the children are able to read German aloud
almost as well as they read English. We make picture dictionaries to help the children visualize
vocabulary words that are already known aurally. In Grade V, we revisit stories heard aloud in
previous grades, in a printed form and begin more focused work with grammar.
The work of the middle school years is a bit more strenuous. We pull the language apart to study
its nuances. We make more comparisons to English, which show almost as many similarities to
German as differences. In the middle school Main Lesson, the children may learn history impacted
by German speaking people. This Main Lesson work can then be reinforced in German class
through a short lesson, for example, on how the Romans fared when they first encountered the
Germanic tribes or about the German noblemen who assisted our own struggle for independence.
Though only two, forty-minute periods are available for German each week, our goal is to expose
the children to as many different aspects of the language and culture as possible. Further information
can be found in Teaching Foreign Languages in Rudolf Steiner Schools by Michael Stott,
which is available from Hawthorne Press.
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