A Task of Olympic Proportions

As many of my students can tell you, I am an Olympic Superfan.  I can’t run beyond a light jog, catch anything other than a cold, or hit a barndoor with a banjo, but I adore the Olympic Games, both summer and winter.  So I am always pleased when the Winter Games coincide with German 1’s Freizeit und Hobbys (Hobbies and Pastimes) unit and I can pull out A Task of Olympic Proportions.

Students choose two German-speaking athletes at random and do some research: place and date of birth, hometown, etc.  They create a Steckbrief (info page) for each one and then present them to their classmates orally for a speaking grade. As part of the process, they might have to learn some new vocabulary for the sport, but they are only graded on what they already know.  It’s a great way to practice the third person of verbs they’re already familiar with.

Er wohnt in… (He lives in…)

Sie ist 22 Jahre alt. (She is 22 years old.)

Check out some of the Steckbriefe they submitted.