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Lesson 1: Germany International Festival: Passport to the World Lesson Series

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International Festival: Germany 

Teachers: Sara Conway, Barbara Geary, Joy Evans
Project Children L.E.A.D. Director: Dr. Vincenne Revilla Beltran
Subject Area: Multicultural Diversity
Grade level: Early Pre-School (Ages 2-3)
Length of Lesson: 60 minutes

I. Objectives

A. The children will learn that the story "Hansel and Gretel" is from Germany

B. The children will learn a matching game

C. The children will learn about the kinds of food that are eaten in Germany

D. They will also learn what a gingerbread house is made of

II. Pennsylvania Department of Education Indicators and High scope Key Experiences

A. Education Indicators

  • 1.18 Teachers support children's competent and self reliant exploration and use of classroom materials

  • 1.20 Teachers support children's development of friendships and provide opportunities for children to play with and learn from each other

  • 1.21 Teachers help children practice social skills and build friendships by helping them enter into, sustain, and enhance play

  • 2.27 Children have varied opportunities and are provided materials that encourage them to engage in discussions with one another

  • 2.75 Children are provided varied opportunities and materials to understand diversity in culture and language

B. High scope Key Experiences

  • Social Relationships

  • Sense of Self

  • Communication

  • Physical Development

  • Exploring Objects; Pre Representation

  • Exploring Attributes of Objects; Classification

  • Space

III. Materials

  1. Book- "Hansel and Gretel"

  2. Large sheet of brown paper

  3. Colorful shiny confetti

  4. Glue

  5. Scissors

  6. Hansel and Gretel matching game

  7. Pictures of German food

  8. Gingerbread cookies

  9. Gummi bears

  10. Cold cuts (meats)

  11. Cheese

IV. Procedure

  1. The teacher will read the "Hansel and Gretel" story to the children

    1. After the story the teacher will discuss the concepts in the story to the children in a simple manner. The teacher will discuss that the house made of bread and sugar and candy is called a gingerbread house. The teacher will also explain to the children that the story is from Germany and that gingerbread is from Germany.

  2. Activity One

    1. The children will be given a large sheet of brown paper that has been cut into the shape of a house by the teacher.

    2. A few children at a time will come over to the tables and squeeze glue onto the house and place confetti on it. The confetti represents candy and icing.

    3. After all the children have had a chance to add some confetti to the gingerbread house it will be set aside to dry.

    4. When the gingerbread house dries the children will be able to look at their work and discuss it with their classmates

  3. Activity Two

    1. The teacher will have a "Hansel and Gretel" matching game made up for the children.

    2. The teacher will have pictures of items from the story put on index cards. There will be two of each picture.

    3. The teacher will give the children instructions on how to match up the pictures.

    4. The children will be free to play the matching game as they wish

    5. The children will play the game with a classmate and converse and work with a friend to find the matches

  4. Activity Three

    1. The teacher will discuss some German foods with the children

    2. The children will be shown some pictures of some German foods

    3. The teacher will ask the children if they have ever tasted any of these foods

    4. The children will be given a taste of several German foods which will include gingerbread cookies, gummi bears, cold cuts and cheese

    5. The teacher will ask the children what foods they liked and disliked

V. Evaluation

The children seemed to be really interested in the story of "Hansel and Gretel." Some of the children had a bit of trouble sitting still because the story was a little bit long for them. When the story was explained to them they did ask questions about the house made of bread and sugar. They also asked about the lady who was really a witch. The children had a fun time making the gingerbread house. Some of the children talked about it with their parents when they came in to pick them up at the end of the day and showed their parents their work. They also told them it was from Germany. Not all the children took part in the matching game, but the ones that did really got into it. They talked about the pictures and talked with their classmates about things that they remembered from the story. The children also enjoyed tasting some of the German foods. Their favorite overall was the gummi bears. As a whole this lesson was successful. The children seemed to be interested in learning something new and they had a lot of fun doing all parts of this lesson.