1 - How Are You Today, and Why? ~5 mins
How are you today, and why? Answer in English first, and use a real because.
Today you will do the same in German: name a feeling, then join a reason with weil.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Name eight feelings in German
- Say how you feel and give a simple reason with weil
- Pick out emotion words in a short birthday conversation
Take three or four quick answers in English only. The point is the shape feeling + because, not a long story. Do not teach the German words yet; the flashcards in the next step introduce them.
Write weil on the board as you close the hook and say it once: vile. Keep the frame Ich bin …, weil … visible for the rest of the lesson. Tell the class they will meet both again after the first cards.
Keep the mood light: smile when someone offers a funny reason. Real feelings are welcome, but nobody has to share anything private.
2 - Eight Emotion Words ~10 mins
English meaning first, then German. Listen to the German, repeat it together, then flip to check the spelling.
We learn the first four feelings with Ich bin …, weil … and a reason from the board. Quick thumbs check. Then we meet the other four the same way.
Order every card (hear → say → see): show English, play or say the German, class repeats twice, then flip to confirm spelling. Do not ask pupils to guess German before they have heard it on first contact. A short “say before flip” pass is only for a second run of cards they have already heard.
Split the set to protect memory:
- Core production set (teach first, use in every sentence): glücklich, traurig, müde, aufgeregt
- Recognition set (hear, say, match later; lighter sentence demand): wütend, ängstlich, stolz, überrascht
After the first four cards, model the full pattern and have the class echo it. After the second four, one more choral round with the core set.
Pronunciation list (keep beside you):
- glücklich — GLUEK-lish
- traurig — TROW-rikh (no umlaut)
- wütend — VUE-tent
- müde — MYUE-duh
- aufgeregt — OWF-guh-raykt
- ängstlich — ENGST-lish
- stolz — shtolts
- überrascht — UE-ber-rasht
Reason chunks on the board all lesson (closed set; not free invention):
- weil ich Fußball spiele (vile ikh FOOS-bal SHPEE-luh) — because I play football
- weil es spät ist (vile es shpayt ist) — because it is late
- weil wir heute Fußball spielen (vile veer HOY-tuh FOOS-bal SHPEE-len) — because we are playing football today
- weil heute mein Geburtstag ist (vile HOY-tuh mine guh-BOORTS-tahk ist) — because today is my birthday
- weil wir eine Party haben (vile veer EYE-nuh PAR-tee HAH-ben) — because we are having a party
Model sentences (concrete, mimicable):
- Ich bin glücklich, weil ich Fußball spiele. — I am happy because I play football.
- Ich bin müde, weil es spät ist. — I am tired because it is late.
- Ich bin aufgeregt, weil heute mein Geburtstag ist. — I am excited because today is my birthday.
Core success today: German feeling + weil + a board reason chunk or a short English reason. Full German reasons from the board are the stretch, not the pass mark.
Teacher aside (optional, once): You may also hear Ich freue mich, wenn … for happy-excited. Today we stick with Ich bin aufgeregt, weil … so everyone masters one clear pattern.
Nuance on ängstlich: In everyday German, ängstlich sits closer to anxious, fearful or timid than a jump-scare “scared”. Pupils may later meet Ich habe Angst (ikh HAH-buh AHNGST). For this lesson, treat ängstlich as our theme word for scared/afraid and keep the focus on clear pronunciation.
Warmth: Celebrate big umlaut faces on müde and wütend. Over-act the vowel once, let them laugh, then settle and say it cleanly. Keep weil (vile) on the board the whole time.
3 - Match the Feelings ~10 mins
We match on the board as a class. When it is your turn, say the German aloud as the pair is found. Listen for every feeling, even the ones you will not write later.
Whole-class IWB matching (volunteers or teacher-led flips). This is consolidation, not first contact. No desk cards or partner packs are required.
If a pair is missed twice, stop and chorus the German before moving on. After a match, invite one volunteer to stretch a core feeling into a short sentence using a board reason chunk: Ich bin traurig, weil es spät ist. Accept Ich bin …, weil … + English reason if the German chunk is not ready. Keep recognition set words mainly to “say the word clearly” unless a confident pupil wants a full sentence.
Optional print extension only if you already have cards: pairs at tables can replay the same match. Default delivery is board whole-class.
4 - Into Your Copy ~3 mins
Open your copy. Write one sentence: Ich bin …, weil …
- Feeling: German from the list on the board (copy the umlauts carefully)
- Reason: a chunk from our reason box, or a short reason in English this time
Model on the board stays up while you write.
Pause the board interactives. One choral Ich bin …, weil … round with a board reason chunk immediately before pens up.
Keep visible the whole three minutes:
- Frame: Ich bin …, weil …
- All eight spellings with umlauts where needed: glücklich, traurig, wütend, müde, aufgeregt, ängstlich, stolz, überrascht
- The closed reason-chunk list from step 2
- One model: Ich bin aufgeregt, weil wir heute Fußball spielen. (ikh bin OWF-guh-raykt, vile veer HOY-tuh FOOS-bal SHPEE-len)
- One place-flavoured stretch model (optional for confident writers): Ich bin stolz, weil ich das Lied auf Deutsch singen kann. (I am proud because I can sing the song in German.)
Success criteria: German feeling + weil + reason (English allowed). German reason chunk = extension only. Walk the room and check for weil and at least one correct umlaut where the chosen word needs one. Do not collect the books.
Steer hesitant writers toward the core four: glücklich, traurig, müde, aufgeregt.
5 - Birthday Party Listening ~10 mins
Books closed. Listen for feeling words you know from today. We will hear the clip twice, then answer the questions together on the board.
Play the clip once on the class speakers with books closed. Play it a second time, then reveal the questions on screen and answer together. Ask which emotion words they caught. If a pupil only heard a partial word, replay that stretch and have the class call out the feeling.
Scenario summary (platform clip: birthday-party): Friends meet at a birthday celebration. Speakers greet each other, talk about the party and gifts, and name how they feel.
Emotion words to listen for (likely targets): glücklich, aufgeregt, überrascht (others may appear; celebrate any correct catch).
Suggested questions and answers (use if the on-screen bank matches; otherwise adapt to what is on screen):
- How does the birthday child feel? — glücklich / happy (or aufgeregt / excited).
- Which feeling word did you hear about the gift or surprise? — überrascht / surprised.
- Name any other feeling word you caught. — Accept any correct emotion from today’s list.
No-audio fallback script (read slowly twice, then ask the same questions):
Kind 1: Hallo! Heute ist meine Party. Ich bin aufgeregt, weil wir eine Party haben!
Kind 2: Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Ich bin glücklich, weil ich hier bin.
Kind 1: Ein Geschenk? Ich bin überrascht!
Kind 2: Super. Ich bin stolz, weil du so glücklich bist.
Pronunciation reminder: Geburtstag is roughly guh-BOORTS-tahk. If someone gasps at that long compound, praise the hear: that is a real German listening win.
Unlock the full learning experience
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.