GRADE 8 German My Surroundings – My Town (Wohin?)**- writing – Guided Writing Notes
German — Guided Writing: My Surroundings — My Town (Wohin?)
Age: 13 (Kenyan context). Focus: grammar for answering the question "Wohin?" (Where to?) using verbs of motion + accusative. Short guided writing exercises to practise sentence construction in German.
Specific learning outcomes (what learners will be able to do)
- Fill missing letters in German words and read them aloud to peers.
- Complete sentences by filling blanks with the correct noun (correct article and case).
- Match short texts to pictures of places in town.
- Combine parts of words to form whole words.
- Reorder parts to form logical sentences.
- Explain why correct sentence construction matters for clear communication.
- Recognise categories of guided writing (words, phrases, sentences, short paragraphs).
Quick grammar notes — "Wohin?" and sentence construction
- Wohin? asks for a destination. Use verbs of motion (gehen, fahren, laufen, laufen, kommen) + Accusative.
- Common prepositions for destination: in, nach, zu, auf, an.
- Remember articles in accusative:
- der → den, die → die, das → das, die (Pl.) → die
- zum = zu + dem, zur = zu + der, ins = in + das
- Basic sentence order for a simple statement: Subject + verb (conjugated) + (preposition + article + noun/place) + (other). Example:
Wohin gehst du? — Ich gehe in die Schule.
- All German nouns are capitalised (Schule, Markt, Kirche).
Vocabulary: common places in town (with article and example)
Guided writing categories & sentence construction (for guided lessons)
- Words: spelling, gender, capitalisation (e.g., Schule, Park).
- Phrases: preposition + noun (e.g., in die Schule, zum Markt).
- Simple sentences: S + V + phrase (e.g., Er geht in die Schule.).
- Compound sentences / short paragraphs: link sentences with conjunctions (und, aber, denn).
- Guided steps: model → guided practice (pair work) → independent writing → read aloud and peer feedback.
Exercises (match each exercise to the learning outcome)
Exercise A — Fill missing letters and read aloud (a)
Complete the words, then practise reading them to a partner.
- S_chule →
- M_rkt →
- P_rk →
- K_rche →
- Kr_nkenhaus →
Exercise B — Fill the blank with the correct noun (choose correct article & accusative) (b)
Write the full phrase (preposition + article + noun) to complete each sentence.
- Wohin gehst du? — Ich gehe in ____ (die Schule).
- Wohin geht Maria? — Sie geht zu ____ (die Bank).
- Wir fahren in ____ (das Krankenhaus).
- Ich gehe auf ____ (der Markt).
- Er geht nach ____ (Nairobi).
Exercise C — Match texts to pictures of places (c)
Read each short text and write the letter of the picture that matches. Pictures: A 🏫 B 🏪 C 🌳 D 🏥 E ⛪
1) "Ich habe Schule. Ich gehe dorthin mit dem Bus." — ____
2) "Am Samstag kaufe ich Gemüse und Brot." — ____
3) "Am Sonntag besuche ich einen Gottesdienst." — ____
4) "Bei schlechtem Wetter muss man manchmal ins Krankenhaus." — ____
5) "Am Nachmittag spiele ich Fussball und spazieren im Grün." — ____
Exercise D — Combine parts to form complete words (d)
Join the left part and right part to build the place words.
1) Schu + le → ______
2) Kran + ken + haus → ______
3) Mar + kt → ______
4) Kir + che → ______
Exercise E — Match sentence parts to make correct sentences (e)
Reorder the parts (1–4) to create correct sentences about destination.
- a) in / die Schule / geht / er
- b) Wir / zum / Markt / gehen
- c) Du / ins / gehst / Krankenhaus
- d) Sie / zur / Bank / geht
Exercise F — Reflect: Why is sentence construction important? (f)
Write one short answer in German or English: How does correct word order and correct article help someone understand where you are going?
Exercise G — Guided writing categories (g)
List the category (word / phrase / sentence) for each item below and write one example in German:
- Example: "Schule" — (word) — example sentence: "Ich gehe in die Schule."
- "in die Bank" — (choose category and make a sentence)
- "Wir fahren nach Nairobi" — (choose category and explain why)
Teacher notes & suggested activities
- Pair reading: students practise Exercise A and read aloud to partner; partner corrects article capitalisation and pronunciation.
- Use local places in Kenyan towns for relevance (Markt → market, Bank, Schule, Park, Krankenhaus) when writing sentences.
- For Exercise B, emphasise case: motion → accusative. Show how articles change (der→den, das→das, die→die).
- Matching texts to emoji/pictures: encourage short oral justification in German (1–2 sentences).
- Assessment: collect 3 written sentences per learner and check correct preposition + article + noun and word order.
Answer key (for teacher)
- Exercise A: Schule, Markt, Park, Kirche, Krankenhaus
- Exercise B examples:
- Ich gehe in die Schule.
- Sie geht zur Bank.
- Wir fahren in das / ins Krankenhaus. (ins Krankenhaus)
- Ich gehe auf den Markt. (oder zum Markt)
- Er geht nach Nairobi.
- Exercise C matches:
- 🏫 A
- 🏪 B
- ⛪ E
- 🏥 D
- 🌳 C
- Exercise D: Schule, Krankenhaus, Markt, Kirche
- Exercise E correct sentences:
- Er geht in die Schule.
- Wir gehen zum Markt.
- Du gehst ins Krankenhaus.
- Sie geht zur Bank.
- Exercise F: sample answer — "Richtige Satzstellung und Artikel zeigen genau, wohin jemand geht. Ohne Artikel oder mit falschem Fall ist die Bedeutung unklar."
- Exercise G: teacher judges; example: "in die Bank" = phrase; sentence: "Ich gehe in die Bank." "Wir fahren nach Nairobi" = sentence (contains verb + destination).