CHAPTER 4Grimm Brothers and Other Tales

LET’S EXPLORE MODERN GERMANY102

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4.4 fAmIly vAcATIOn AlOng The germAn fAIry TAle rOAd

fOcus QuesTIOns:

• how does travel enhance one’s understanding of the culture and history of one’s own country?

?

lessOn OvervIew:

This lesson focuses on the family vacation of a fi c-tional girl, Annalena, and her parents on the so-called Märchenstraße or Fairy Tale Road along the Weser River. The students will follow the trip through a Pow-erPoint presentation which integrates many aspects of German culture and history. They will visit many of the picturesque towns associated with the fairy tales and folktales of the Brothers Grimm, including a stay in the town of Hamelin. Annalena and her parents will also stop in the small city of Vechta in Lower Saxony to visit grandparents and fi nally will spend a day in the former Hanseatic city-state of Bremen. Through this lesson, the students will revisit many topics which have previously been the focus of other lessons in this book: measurement, transportation, food. The narra-tive of the PowerPoint also integrates conversion skills of temperature, distance, and fi nally euros into dollars.

TeAcher bAcKgrOund InfOrmATIOn:

This lesson integrates many different topics about Germany: geography, the tales of the Grimm Brothers and Baron Münchausen, food, transportation, monetary systems, time, temperature, the metric system, archi-tecture, and even the Holocaust. The Märchenstraße or Fairy Tale Road is the historic route through Germany traveled by the Brothers Grimm in order to collect and sample traditional stories.

TIme:

1-2 (45-minute Class Periods)

Mittellandkanal

HanauFrankfurt

Bremen

Bremerhaven

0 km 10 20 30 km

Entfernungen:

Gesamtlänge mit Abzweigungen:Frankfurt – Hanau ca. 30 kmHanau – Bremerhaven ca. 700 kmDiese Karte ist nicht maßstabsgerecht.

Autobahn ICE-Bahnstrecke Lebensstationen der Brüder GrimmDeutsche Märchenstraße

Frankfurtam Main

Hanau

Marburg

Hameln

Nienburg

Buxtehude

Bremerhaven

Kassel

Bremen

Hannover

Hamburg

Helsa Grossalmerode

Immenhausen

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Lahntal

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Herbstein

SchauenburgWolfhagen

Fürstenberg

Wahlsburg

Polle

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Steinau

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Homberg/Efze

Knüllwald

FritzlarBad Wildungen

Hofgeismar

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Hann. Münden

Bodenwerder

Schwalmstadt

SchrecksbachWillingshausen

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Hessisch Lichtenau

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nach München

nach Heidelberg

nach Rhein/Ruhr

nach Würzburg

nach Dresden/Eisenach

nach Nordhausen/Eisleben/Halle

nach Dortmund

nach Berlin

nach Rhein/Ruhr

nach Rhein/Ruhr

nach Lübeck

nach Schwerin

nach Kiel

nach Cuxhaven

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Grebenstein

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sTAndArd #1 CULTURE.

sTAndArd #3 PEOPLE, PLACES AND ENvIRONMENTS.

Chapter 4 Grimm Brothers and Other tales

Let’s expLOre MOdern GerMany 103

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InsTrucTIOnAl resOurces:

• Märchenstraße PowerPoint (PowerPoint 4.4 A on resource disc)

• Märchenstraße PowerPoint Narrative (handout 4.4 b on resource disc)

• Märchenstraße PowerPoint Worksheet (handout 4.4 c on resource disc)

• Map of Germany

• Calculators

PrOcedure:

dAys 1-2:

• Anticipatory set: The teacher should ask the students if their families take travel vacations and what they do on their trips. How do they travel? Where do they stay? What do they do for meals? This activity should provide background for introducing the vacation trip of a fictional girl from the city of Berlin and her family on the Märchenstraße, a route that follows the Weser River.

• Before beginning the Märchenstraße PowerPoint (PowerPoint 4.4 A on resource disc), the teacher should make sure that the students are somewhat familiar with the section of Germany where the trip occurs. Us-ing a map of Germany, the teacher should point out (or ask the students to point out) the locations of Berlin, Kassel, Hamelin, Vechta, and Bremen as well as many of the other smaller towns and cities where the family stops. It is important that the teacher locate the Weser River which also factors into the trip.

• The teacher should distribute the Märchenstraße PowerPoint Narrative (handout 4.4 b on resource disc) to each student. The teacher should read through the entire script to become familiar with the different aspects – day with time and weather, activities with distances etc. The teacher should predetermine how he/she plans to use the narrative. For example, one could expand any of the locations for the purposes of discussion, or one could focus on what the family eats, etc.

• After the completion of the Märchenstraße PowerPoint (PowerPoint 4.4 A on resource disc), the teacher should distribute the Märchenstraße PowerPoint Worksheet (handout 4.4 c on resource disc) and have the students individually or with a partner answer the questions. In order to complete the conversions, the students will need calculators. The completion of the worksheet may become a homework assignment.

dAy 2:

• The teacher should allow students time to complete the worksheet before reviewing the answers with the students.

• As a final activity, the students should assume the identity of Annalena and write a letter to their American cousin in Milwaukee describing the vacation trip. In the letter, the students should include how they trav-eled, several highlights of the trip, and what they liked the best.

whOle grOuP reflecTIOn:

• The teacher should ask the students to share what they learned about Germany from this vacation trip of a fictional family from Berlin. Did this lesson give them any insight into Germany that they did not know before?

Chapter 4Grimm Brothers and Other tales

Let’s expLOre MOdern GerMany104

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mOdIfIcATIOns:

• The worksheet can be modified depending on the age of the students. In addition, the teacher may opt to have the entire class work on it together rather than as individuals or in pairs.

• Rather than writing a letter to your American cousin about your trip, the students could create a scrapbook of the five highlights of the trip with illustrations and captions.

exTensIOns:

• The teacher could assign students to read the Grimm Brothers’ fairytales that are mentioned in the Power-Point (PowerPoint 4.4 A on resource disc): Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, Puss in Boots, Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Bremen Town Musicians, and then share the stories with the class.

• The teacher could assign the students to read several stories about Baron Münchausen and also research the life of the actual historic personality.

• Reference to UNESCO World Heritage Sites is made when the family is in Bremen. The teacher could assign an on-line research project in which students select one of the 36 sites in Germany.

• There are many references to the transportation system in Germany. Students should investigate more about Deutsche Bahn and its extensive railroads, including the ICE. The family rents a Mercedes for their trip. Students might research and report on the different automobiles manufactured in Germany (Mer-cedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Opel). Another transportation project could focus on the Autobahn system.

• When Annalena and her grandmother are shopping in Vechta, they see the Stolpersteine (Tripping Stones). The teacher might instruct the students to research these Holocaust memorials and discuss their signifi-cance.

• Half-timber houses are prevalent in the area of Germany the family visited. The teacher might assign stu-dents to research this style and other types of architecture associated throughout history with Germany (e.g. Bauhaus in the 1920’s).