Program Guide: Germany: Milestones in Two Centuries
| Program Provider |
|
Vanderbilt University Virtual School |
| Contact Information |
|
Jan Zanetis
jan.zanetis@vanderbilt.edu
110
21st Ave., Suite 850
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone:
(615) 343-8848
Fax: (615) 343-1145
|
| Program Title |
|
Germany: Milestones in Two Centuries |
| Target Audience |
|
Education: Grade(s): 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12 |
| Primary Disciplines |
|
Social Studies/History |
| Secondary Disciplines |
|
Gifted & Talented |
| Program Description |
|
The wide chronological range and discussion
of German Geography and History through the last two centuries will
make this videoconference a "must do" with your students.
One of the great powers of the industrial world, Germany
rose from a collection of small states, principalities, and dukedoms
to become a unified empire in 1871. The German empire was
strategically located between France and Russia, and it clashed with
both nations as it attempted to expand its borders. This rivalry
resulted in World War I, in which Germany was defeated. Germany,
however, emerged again as a major force in Europe in the 1930s under
the leadership of Adolf Hitler.
There have been few changes
during the last two centuries on the western border of Germany with
France, Belgium, and The Netherlands, but the border in the east
with Poland has been redrawn several times in the same period and
now lies along the Oder and Neisse rivers. Part of Germany's eastern
border is shared with Czechoslovakia. The southern German borders
with Austria and Switzerland are more clearly defined by the ranges
of the Alps and by Lake Constance. The boundary between West and
East Germany did not follow natural features to any extent but was a
result of the division of Germany into zones of occupation after
World War II.
The name Germany is used in three senses:
first, it refers to the region in Central Europe commonly regarded
as constituting Germany, even when there was no central German
state, as was the case for most of Germany's history; second, it
refers to the unified German state established in 1871 and existing
until 1945; and third, since October 3, 1990, it refers to the
united Germany, formed by the accession on this date of the German
Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) to the Federal Republic
of Germany (FRG, or West Germany). The name Federal Republic of
Germany refers to West Germany from its founding on May 23, 1949,
until German unification on October 3, 1990. After this date, it
refers to united Germany. For the sake of brevity and variety, the
Federal Republic of Germany is often called simply the Federal
Republic. |
| Program Format |
|
The videoconference will be a 20-25 minute
presentation and may include visuals or audiovisuals to enhance the
presentation.
This will be followed by an interactive 10-15
minute question/answer session with students. |
| Objectives |
|
Students will:
1. Reflect on and discuss
a multicultural society emerging in Germany
2. Think critically
about the politics of race and immigration in Germany
3.
Investigate and report on some German political parties whose main
policy goals are the exclusion or restriction of immigrants in their
society.
4. Write profile on Germany
5. Consider the
influence of foreign languages on German in everyday
speech.
6.Explore "verbal nationalism"
7. Compare and analyze
language preservation issues affecting various countries.
8.
Think critically about the way language relates to national
identity. |
| Vocabulary Words & Definitions |
|
prohibited, proliferation, disparagingly,
nationalism, legislation, lobbying, corruption, assimilated, visa,
complexity, flourishing, isolation, supremacy, obligatory,
fortify |
| Participant Preparation |
|
Students should have SOME familiarity with
this subject. Teacher should brainstorm with students before the
videoconference and ask students to prepare some sample questions to
ask presenter during the interactive question/answer
session.
Please have students that will ask questions seated
near a microphone. Please make sure you understand how to mute and
unmute your microphones. |
| Suggestions for Pre Program Activities |
|
I.Students respond to prompts:
"What
words used in German everyday speech are from a foreign language?
Create a list of these words.
Do you know from which
language these words originated?
How do you think they were
introduced into the German everyday language?"
II. As a
class discuss:
a. What language is spoken in Germany?
b. What
are Germany's goals for preserving the German language? What are the
motivations for these goals?
c.Are English words used in
Germany?
d. Which languages have been the primary influences on
Germany historically?
e. Why would language legislation pose a
problem for Germany?
f. What is "verbal nationalism," and why
might it be particularly successful in Germany as opposed to other
countries?
g. In what other countries are similar debates about
language preservation taking place?
h. Where does German rank
globally in terms of the number of people in the world who speak
it?
i. In which other countries around the world is German
spoken?
II. Explain to students that the language discussion
in Germany is one of many debates involving the preservation of
language and culture taking place around the globe.
Germany
and France have discussed the "infiltration" of English words into
their vocabularies. Then there are "linguistic nationalists," who
are fighting against the inclusion of a second language or the
establishment of a bilingual state.
Divide students into
four groups, and assign one of the following countries to each
group: Germany, France, Canada, and the United States. --Discuss:
1) How does the use of language represent the broader notion of
national or cultural identity?
2)What is the ultimate fear or
concern each of these countries has for its own language?
3)Is
legislation a reasonable option to preserve a country's language?
Why or why not?
4)How might both sides of these language debates
reach a compromise? |
| Suggestions for Post Program Activities |
|
Discuss in class:
1) What are some
reasons non-Europeans immigrate to European countries?
2) What
makes some European countries more or less favorable for
emigration?
3) How do European countries differ from established
"countries of immigration," like the United States, Canada, and
Australia in terms of their understanding of multiculturalism? How
are they alike?
4) Is there a difference in immigrant populations
between countries with histories of colonialism, such as Britain and
France, and others, like Denmark and Norway?
5) How might these
countries work to resolve tensions between immigrants (or
non-whites) and European nationals? |
| Supplemental Resources |
|
Portals to the World:
Germany
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/germany/de.html
Goethe
Institut - Germany Online
A collection of Internet links to
information on German society and culture.
http://www.goethe.de/lks/enindex.htm
All Facts About
GERMANY
http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_germany.htm |
| National Standards to which this program aligns |
|
Grades 6-8
World History Standard 44-
Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an
interdependent world.
Benchmarks: Understands the causes and
effects of population growth and urbanization (e.g., why population
growth rate is accelerating around the world, and connections
between population growth and economic and social development in
many countries; the global proliferation of cities and the rise of
the megalopolis, as well as the impact of urbanization on family
life, standards of living, class relations, and ethnic identity);
Understands the motivations, moral imperatives, and goals of
specific separatist movements around the globe and the potential
impact on the affected populations
Geography Standard 9-
Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human
populations on Earth's surface.
Benchmarks: Understands
demographic concepts and how they are used to describe population
characteristics of a country or region; Knows the ways in which
human movement and migration influence the character of a
place
Geography Standard 12- Understands the patterns of
human settlement and their causes.
Benchmarks: Knows the
similarities and differences in various settlement patterns of the
world; Knows ways in which both the landscape and society change as
a consequence of shifting from a dispersed to a concentrated
settlement form
Geography Standard 13- Understands the forces
of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's
surface.
Benchmarks: Understands factors that contribute to
cooperation (e.g., similarities in religion, language, political
beliefs) or conflict (e.g., economic competition for scarce
resources, boundary disputes, cultural differences, control of
strategic locations) within and between regions and
countries
Grades 9-12
World History Standard 44-
Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an
interdependent world. Benchmarks: Understands the role of political
ideology, religion, and ethnicity in shaping modern governments;
Understands major reasons for the great disparities between
industrialized and developing nations; Understands the role of
political ideology, religion, and ethnicity in shaping modern
governments; Understands the role of ethnicity, cultural identity,
and religious beliefs in shaping economic and political conflicts
across the globe; Understands common arguments of opposition groups
in various countries around the world, common solutions they offer,
and the position of these ideas with regard to Western economic and
strategic interests
Connect to State Standard
Geography
Standard 9- Understands the nature, distribution and migration of
human populations on Earth's surface. Benchmarks: Understands
population issues; Knows how international migrations are shaped by
push and pull factors; Understands the impact of human migration on
physical and human systems
Connect to State Standard
Geography
Standard 12- Understands the patterns of human settlement and their
causes. Benchmark: Knows the consequences of factors such as
population changes or the arrival/departure of a major industry or
business on the settlement patterns of an area
Connect to State
Standard
Geography Standard 13- Understands the forces of
cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's
surface. Benchmarks: Understands how cooperation and/or conflict can
lead to the allocation of control of Earth's surface; Knows the
causes of boundary conflicts and internal disputes between culture
groups; Understands the changes that occur in the extent and
organization of social, political, and economic entities on Earth's
surface; Understands why some countries are land-locked; Undestands
how external forces can conflict economically and politically with
internal interests in a region |
| Cancellation Policy |
|
The full fee will be charged to sites that
cancel with less than 48 hours notice unless there is a school
closing due to snow or weather emergencies. |
| Is
video taping allowed? |
|
No |
| Video
Taping Notes |
|
Videotaping is NOT allowed.
Streaming
Video is available for all Vanderbilt Virtual School
Videoconferences. |
Go Back
Register Now
|