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Middle School German Textbook


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Hi,

 

We are looking for a German Textbook at middle school level. Does anyone know of one? We use Rosetta Stone and we are in need of additonal instruction to understand how the grammar works.

 

Susie

 

Barrons Learn German the Fast and Fun Way is pretty good. I was using that with my kids recently.

 

If you can also speak German, then you might check out Das Neue Deutschmobil. But this is a text for German as a second language for children and doesn't have English explanations.

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If you can also speak German, then you might check out Das Neue Deutschmobil. But this is a text for German as a second language for children and doesn't have English explanations.

 

For anyone who speaks German, I found what might be even a better choice than Das neue Deutschmobil for middle school and up - my kids are using DnD at their Sat. School, so I'm very familiar with it. I was suggesting my mom use it for my nephew who she's trying to teach German to, but it seemed no one was selling a teacher's manual for it (there wasn't one for sale either at Continental Books or the Klett website). Also, it's aimed to start in elementary, and my nephew's already in 6th grade.

 

I noticed that Continental Books was also selling a series called Ping Pong Neu from Hueber aimed at middle school and up. In some ways it's very similar to Deutschmobil, but the pictures of the kids and examples are older. Also, they have a teacher's manual easily available, and there are extra online activities, worksheets and games aligned with it on the Heuber website. It's also less expensive, and my mom was able to get the whole set from Amazon Germany for even less than from Continental Books or Hueber directly (even including shipping).

 

Like Deutschmobil, the entire thing is in German, though, so the teacher has to be fluent, or at least be able to read it very well.

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I think that Continental Books does carry a teacher manual for Das neue Deutschmobil. I did my order over the phone and we had a discussion over if I needed the teacher manual or not.

 

(BTW, I decided not to get the TM, because I didn't anticipate having any problem with the grammar. I'm thinking of going ahead and getting it, if only to have an idea of how to best pace the course.)

 

Also, for reading material National Geographic World has a lot of material online, as does GeoLino.

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I think that Continental Books does carry a teacher manual for Das neue Deutschmobil. I did my order over the phone and we had a discussion over if I needed the teacher manual or not.

 

Well, if they sell it, for some unknown reason it isn't listed as available on their website, at any of the three levels - here's what's available for Level 1:

 

  • KL1048 - Textbook& CD $45.95 ISBN:9783126761048

  • KL1011 - Workbook $35.95 ISBN:9783126761017

  • KL1038 - Vocabulary Book $19.95 ISBN:9783126761031

  • KL1089 - Test Book $24.95 ISBN:9783126761086

The Test book is just tests (my kids take those at their Sat. School), and the vocab book is I think sheets of vocab practice (because I see sheets like that coming home too.)

 

The TM is also not listed anywhere on the Klett website. :confused:

 

Yes, it exists, as I have the ISBN for it on the back of our copies of the books... it is also not available from Amazon.de. It is listed on the website of European Bookshops in London, England (did a Google search) - levels one and two are available there; three's out of stock.

 

Schoenhof's has it listed, but what doesn't it have listed. I've gone into their shop and ordered stuff in person (I live nearby) and waited up to 8 months for stuff, given up in frustration, and ordered from the aforementioned European Bookshop all the way across the pond and gotten the same stuff within a week or two.:glare:

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We actually have Das Neue Deutschmobil I and II. I just pulled it out again. We used it a while ago and then stopped. Now that I look at it again, I think, it actually may have the explanations I need. Thank you for reminding me to take a look at it again. :001_smile:

 

Off to add more grammar work.

 

Susie

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Hi,

 

We are looking for a German Textbook at middle school level. Does anyone know of one? We use Rosetta Stone and we are in need of additonal instruction to understand how the grammar works.

 

Susie

 

If you're looking for something with a wealth of grammar practice, I think that sections of German in Review would not be out of reach for a middle school student. I had my kids doing some of the verb and article drills in it earlier this year.

 

OK, I just popped over to Amazon and I can't believe the prices for this book. I think if you checked the used book sellers on abebooks.com or the used section of a college bookstore that you'd find this for under $50.

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If you're looking for something with a wealth of grammar practice, I think that sections of German in Review would not be out of reach for a middle school student. I had my kids doing some of the verb and article drills in it earlier this year.

 

OK, I just popped over to Amazon and I can't believe the prices for this book. I think if you checked the used book sellers on abebooks.com or the used section of a college bookstore that you'd find this for under $50.

 

Thanks so much! I found an old copy (1972) on Amazon. That should be alright? Grammar doesn't change that much. What do you think?

 

Susie

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Thanks so much! I found an old copy (1972) on Amazon. That should be alright? Grammar doesn't change that much. What do you think?

 

Susie

 

You might see if you can find one that is a little more recent, like since the German spelling reforms. There have been some minor stylistic differences that I know of like the falling away of the use of Fraulein. I'm not sure what has changed that is more substantial.

 

It is such a common college textbook, that I think you ought to be able to find a more recent version.

 

Update: Abebooks.com has some 3rd editions for under $20. I searched for German in Review and then used Sparks for the search further term.

Edited by Sebastian (a lady)
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If you're looking for something with a wealth of grammar practice, I think that sections of German in Review would not be out of reach for a middle school student. I had my kids doing some of the verb and article drills in it earlier this year.

 

LOL - I just hauled out my old German in Review today to go over strong and weak adjective endings with my dd (who's in Deutschmobil 3). Hey, in German in Review I know where everything is, and it's laid out the way it makes sense to me - it seems like they've re-ordered the cases or something since my time... :confused: Anyway... love that book!

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LOL - I just hauled out my old German in Review today to go over strong and weak adjective endings with my dd (who's in Deutschmobil 3). Hey, in German in Review I know where everything is, and it's laid out the way it makes sense to me - it seems like they've re-ordered the cases or something since my time... :confused: Anyway... love that book!

 

The re-ordering of cases doesn't really matter in the whole scheme of things, right? It doesn't change the grammar? The order I remember is Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ, Accusativ

 

Do you think it is okay to use a 1972 version of German in Review?

 

Susie

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The re-ordering of cases doesn't really matter in the whole scheme of things, right? It doesn't change the grammar? The order I remember is Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ, Accusativ

 

Do you think it is okay to use a 1972 version of German in Review?

 

 

The re-ordering of cases doesn't change the grammar a whit. But the way I learned it, it made nice little patterns that made it way easier to memorize - it went Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv. I'm teaching my kids that too (alongside the new way they're learning at Sat. School). I just looked and my copy of Grammar in Review is from 1967! :001_huh: I got it my freshman year of high school when I took German 3... that was in 1978, so you'd think I'd have the 1972 edition... :tongue_smilie:

 

My dd does complain about the spelling, but she's already been brainwashed that the silly new way is "right" ... ;) ... so I'm not too worried about that throwing her off.

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For anyone who speaks German, I found what might be even a better choice than Das neue Deutschmobil for middle school and up - my kids are using DnD at their Sat. School, so I'm very familiar with it. I was suggesting my mom use it for my nephew who she's trying to teach German to, but it seemed no one was selling a teacher's manual for it (there wasn't one for sale either at Continental Books or the Klett website). Also, it's aimed to start in elementary, and my nephew's already in 6th grade.

 

 

I bought the tm through Abebooks last year.

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I liked this order because that is their typical order in a sentence.

 

Hm, I never thought of it that way! (Probably because I learned them in the other order.) My dds are learning their "other" names as 1. Fall, 2. Fall, 3. Fall, 4. Fall at Sat. School - so hopefully they can get the benefit of both orders.

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  • 1 year later...
The re-ordering of cases doesn't change the grammar a whit. But the way I learned it, it made nice little patterns that made it way easier to memorize - it went Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv. I'm teaching my kids that too (alongside the new way they're learning at Sat. School). I just looked and my copy of Grammar in Review is from 1967! :001_huh: I got it my freshman year of high school when I took German 3... that was in 1978, so you'd think I'd have the 1972 edition... :tongue_smilie:

 

My dd does complain about the spelling, but she's already been brainwashed that the silly new way is "right" ... ;) ... so I'm not too worried about that throwing her off.

 

The right order of cases has always been nominative (also known as: erster Fall), Genitiv (2. Fall), Dativ (3. Fall) and Akkusativ (4. Fall). I have seen in horror some English textbooks deviate from this order, but I swear, this is the order it's been taught for hundreds of years...

 

as for the spelling, don't like the new ones either - but, that's the law of the land(s), as agreed upon by the German countries (at, ch, de), so you'll do your dd a favor if you teach that. I can also point you to ancient English spelling that I think makes more sense... but the measuring yardstick is something that Webster or Oxford dictionary would embrace.

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