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German Describing People

Eighth graders learn to describe a person in German — name, age, appearance, character, and hobbies — and put a full description in order auf Deutsch.

Grade 8Personen Beschreiben50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Describe a person.
  • ✓Cover age & appearance.
  • ✓Order a description.
  • ✓Talk about people.
Essential Question

How do you describe a friend in German? Build a description step by step — Personen beschreiben!

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Put in Order · Interactive

Order the Description

Project this and have students put a German description of a person in order.

👤 Put the description in order!Try it
Tap “Name” first!
The Lesson · Communicative Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Describe a Friend

5 min

How do you describe a friend in German? Build it step by step!

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe a person in English.
  • Ask how to start.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Describe.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Personen Beschreiben

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present the parts of a description.
  • Say them aloud.
  • Note the order.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Repeat.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Order It

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Order the Description.
  • Put it in order.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Order.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

12 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe a classmate.
  • Cover all five parts.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Describe.
  • Cover it.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name the first part.
  • Say a description word.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice-High).

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: describe a person.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: talk about people.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare describing people.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to social description.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Description-part cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Sie/Er ist ___.”
  • Use a person profile.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with name and hobbies.
  • Order two at a time.
  • Use one person.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Describe a full person.
  • Add more details.
  • Write a profile.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 👤A person profile
  • 💻Order the Description
  • 🗣️Audio
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

die Personpersonder Namenamedas Alteragedas Aussehenappearanceder Charaktercharacterdie Haarehairnettnicebeschreibento describe
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is a good FIRST part of a description?
The name (Das ist…).
QUESTION 2
What does “Sie hat braune Haare” describe?
Appearance (she has brown hair).
QUESTION 3
What does “Sie ist nett” mean?
She is nice.

Reflect: Personen beschreiben.

Have students describe a friend in German with a name and one detail (like “Das ist Anna. Sie ist nett”). A printable describing sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 German Describing People (Personen Beschreiben)Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 German Describing People (Personen Beschreiben)Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ German Describing People (Personen Beschreiben)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: beschreiben, das Alter, das Aussehen, der Charakter, der Name, die Haare, die Person, nett
  1. to describe
  2. name
  3. person
  4. appearance
  5. nice
  6. age
  7. hair
  8. character

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is a good FIRST part of a description?
  2. What does “Sie hat braune Haare” describe?
  3. What does “Sie ist nett” mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) beschreiben · 2) der Name · 3) die Person · 4) das Aussehen · 5) nett · 6) das Alter · 7) die Haare · 8) der Charakter
Part B: 1) The name (Das ist…). 2) Appearance (she has brown hair). 3) She is nice.