Home›Lesson Plans›World Languages›German · Grade 8

German Transportation — Die Verkehrsmittel

Eighth graders learn transportation words in German — Bus, Zug, Auto, Fahrrad, Flugzeug — and sort them into public transport and personal ways to travel.

Grade 8Die Verkehrsmittel50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name transport.
  • ✓Tell public from personal.
  • ✓Sort the ways.
  • ✓Say how you travel.
Essential Question

How do you get around? Let’s learn ways to travel in German — die Verkehrsmittel!

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Öffentlich oder Persönlich?

Project this and sort each into öffentlich (public transport) or persönlich (personal travel).

🚌 Sort each — public transport or personal?Try it
🚌 Öffentlich (public)
🚗 Persönlich (personal)
Tap a way to travel, then tap a box.
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 — How Do You Get Around?

5 min

How do you get around? Let’s learn ways to travel in German!

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask how they get to school.
  • Ask how to say it.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Die Verkehrsmittel

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present transport words.
  • Say them aloud.
  • Note public vs personal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Repeat.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Sort Them

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Öffentlich oder Persönlich?
  • Sort each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

12 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Ich fahre mit dem Bus.”
  • Say how you travel.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a way to travel.
  • Say what it means.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Explain 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 1.2

Interpretive: understand transport words.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to community.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare transport words.

ACTFL
Cultures 2.1

Explore German transit.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Transport picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Ich fahre mit dem ___.”
  • Use transport images.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with Bus and Auto.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add die U-Bahn.
  • Give directions.
  • Plan a trip.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🚌Transport cards
  • 💻Öffentlich oder Persönlich?
  • 🗣️Audio
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

das Verkehrsmittelmeans of transportder Busbusder Zugtraindas Autocardas Fahrradbikedas Flugzeugplanedie Straßenbahntramzu Fußon foot
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 does “der Zug” mean?
Train.
QUESTION 2
Is “das Fahrrad” public or personal transport?
Personal.
QUESTION 3
What does “zu Fuß” mean?
On foot.

Reflect: die Verkehrsmittel.

Have students say how they get to school in German (like “Ich fahre mit dem Bus”). A printable transport 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 Transportation (Die Verkehrsmittel)Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

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

📝 German Transportation (Die Verkehrsmittel)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 Transportation (Die Verkehrsmittel)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: das Auto, das Fahrrad, das Flugzeug, das Verkehrsmittel, der Bus, der Zug, die Straßenbahn, zu Fuß
  1. bus
  2. tram
  3. bike
  4. car
  5. means of transport
  6. train
  7. on foot
  8. plane

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does “der Zug” mean?
  2. Is “das Fahrrad” public or personal transport?
  3. What does “zu Fuß” mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) der Bus · 2) die Straßenbahn · 3) das Fahrrad · 4) das Auto · 5) das Verkehrsmittel · 6) der Zug · 7) zu Fuß · 8) das Flugzeug
Part B: 1) Train. 2) Personal. 3) On foot.