Okay, this is my last geography post for Isaac’s 3rd grade (last school year) studies! This was the last country we studied before school ended in July. I am so happy to be caught up! (At least on the geography—I still have lots more posting to do!)
Germany was fun. I’ve always been fascinated by this country because my parents lived there back in 1969-1970 (US Army), and I grew up watching their slides, looking at their postcard scrapbooks, and playing with German souvenirs! Although there were lots of things to learn about Germany, we mostly focused on castles, composers and fairy tales. How fun is that?!! Well, we enjoyed it anyway. So…..here’s a look at Germany:
NOTE: We did the Fairy Tale Travels activity throughout this unit. I found the lesson plans online; however, they are no longer there! I did find the MAP, though! (Hurray!!!) So, here’s what you do. You simply read the following fairy tales and map their locations:
The Fisherman and His Wife -from the region of Holstein, along the Baltic Sea.
The Bremen-Town Musicians-from Bremen, of course.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs-from Alfeld, on the river (south of Hannover).
Sleeping Beauty -did it really happen in Sababurg Castle in the Reinhard Forest (northeast of Kassel)?
Hansel and Gretel-from the area of Marburg on the river Lahn, where Jacob and Wilhelm attended the university.
Little Red Riding Hood -from the river Schwalm area near Alsfeld.
Rapunzel -from Steinau on the river Kinzig, where Jacob and Wilhelm lived from l791 to 1796.
Rumplestiltskin--from Bad Konig or Heppenheim (northeast of Heidelberg).
Source: Fairy Tale Festival Map published by the German Tourist Office.
Week 1
Monday: Stamped passport with flag sticker, located Germany on world map and globe, located capital, bordering countries and water bodies, looked up Germany in atlases, read A Visit to Germany, and watched a YouTube travel video.
Tuesday: Map page (printable from Homeschool Creations), Geography from A to Z: forests, mountains, rivers, marshes, meadows; listened to Western Europe Song, Fairy Tale Travels: The Fisherman and His Wife (map)
Wednesday: Notebook page (printable from Homeschool Creations), Time for Kids website, other websites(Brandenburg Tor, Brandenburg Gate Panorama, and North Frisian Islands), Famous Germans chart, listened to Western Europe Song, Fairy Tale Travels: The Bremen-Town Musicians (map)
Thursday: Flag page (printable from Homeschool Creations), Government & Religion, currency, listened to Western Europe Song, Fairy Tale Travels: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (map)
Friday: Castles of Germany/Rhine River (this website has an interactive map of castles on the Rhine) youtube video on castles on the Rhine, Neuschwanstein and “Mad” King Ludwig (see THIS really cool website for a nice photo tour and fascinating history of Neuschwanstein and of Ludwig II himself…the site also includes a few games, a great crown craft, and puzzles for kids), intro to Brothers Grimm (2 good websites to read their fairy tales online: Grimm’s Fairy Tales and National Geographic: Grimms’ Fairy Tales), Fairy Tale Travels: Sleeping Beauty (map).
Week 2
Monday: German Language (YouTube videos and also Genki German site—it teaches German with songs!), German Composers: Bach, Favorite Classic Composers, pp. 6-7 and listened to music selections, Fairy Tale Travels: Hansel and Gretel (map).
Tuesday: WW2, Hitler, Berlin Wall, German Composers: Beethoven (Beethoven-Haus Museum), Favorite Classic Composers, pp. 12-13 and listened to music selections, Fairy Tale Travels: Little Red Riding Hood (map)
Wednesday: Autobahn, lederhosen, steins, alpine hats, bratwurst, German dogs report (with pictures), German Composers: Brahms, Favorite Classic Composers, pp. 16-17, listened to music selections Fairy Tale Travels: Rapunzel (map)
Thursday: Read Look What Came From Germany, studied important people: Einstein, Wernher von Braun, Gutenberg, Travel for Kids: Germany (website), Black Forest and Rothenburg (youtube), Fairy Tale Travels: Rumplestiltskin (map).
The finished fairy tale map:
Friday: Around the World in 80 Tales, p. 98 “The Dwarf’s Gift,” ate some apple strudel, read Berlioz the Bear, read Destination Detectives: Germany, and discussed German cars (Volkwagen, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and more).
Not long after this unit, we traveled back to the USA. Since then we’ve watched some of my parents’ slides of Germany, and I’m also planning to show Isaac that postcard scrapbook!
Resources used:
I'm linking this post to "History and Geography" at All Things Beautiful.
